When the news broke of WWE’s canceling of their popular program “Talking Smack,” Twitter ballooned with questions. How could such a beloved show have its plug pulled? Apparently, it wasn’t just fans who were surprised.
The programs’ figureheads, Renee Young and Daniel Bryan, were caught off guard by the news, seemingly left out of the loop. Like the rest of us, they had to find out the show had been yanked via Twitter:
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Hmmmm that’s one way to get news. https://t.co/sNIYUZfD7N
— Renee Young (@ReneeYoungWWE) July 14, 2017
I come online to support #SamiForSyria and find this out. I’m the GM!!! Nobody tells me anything!!! https://t.co/Dup7nBKvss
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) July 14, 2017
The Miz, the undisputed patron saint of the Tuesday night show, sent out sincere condolences.
RIP #TalkingSmack I enjoyed the freedom this show gave @wwe talent to showcase what they could do @ReneeYoungWWE brought the best out of all
— The Miz (@mikethemiz) July 15, 2017
Young needed to double dip on her disappointment:
Really disappointed about #TalkingSmack. We tried to make that show great. Guess I’ll go back to welcoming my guest at this time.
— Renee Young (@ReneeYoungWWE) July 14, 2017
More: WWE Fails To Censor Kevin Owens On Talking Smack
It’s clear, people are unhappy with the show’s abrupt end. Even stranger, it truly seemed like WWE’s talents were benefiting from the free-form arena Talking Smack supplied. The unscripted style has been a breath of fresh air in the modern wrestling era where the majority of what comes out of a superstar’s mouth was penned by a team of WWE writers. Young and Bryan have a great chemistry with all the WWE Superstars and Bryan, especially, had an effortless way to make it feel as if he were free to operate without the WWE pulling the puppet strings.
The show is not totally dead, however. Thankfully, the WWE will keep both Talking Smack and Raw Talk going as post-pay per view programs. WWE released the following statement.
“We continuously review WWE Network’s programming line-up based on a variety of factors, including viewership and subscriber research. Talking Smack and Raw Talk will air following pay-per-view events, and Tuesday will continue to feature 205 Live.”
WWE appears to be in fat trimming mode as they have slimmed down some of their other balance sheet warts. They recently cut specialized ring sets and pyro from their productions on top of making the first of possibly several releases in Austin Aries last week.
Stay tuned, folks.
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NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images) -
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