"Bring it to the table" WWE Network Premier: full recap
The ever-growing WWE Network library now has a brand new program on its content of original programming. "Bring it to the table" premiered this week, immediately after Raw went off the air. This particular program is a very interesting one and something that I believe most fans will find an entertaining addition to the already extensive Network library.
This first run of the show was hosted by Peter Rosenberg, JBL and Paul Heyman, with Rosenberg hosting the program. If you're not familiar with who Peter Rosenberg is, he is a very popular radio personality for Hot 97FM, as well as the host of his own podcast and his regular wrestling radio series entitled Wrestling with Rosenberg.
During the show, JBL and Heyman provided the expert analysis, while Peter represented the WWE Universe.
To give you a brief idea of what the show is all about, it's setup in a roundtable type of setting, with the three speakers surrounding the table. As the show begins, Peter Rosenberg brings up several different topics for discussion and then gets feedback from both Paul Heyman and JBL.
During the show, a wide variety of topics were brought up, most of which many fans want answers to; making for a really engaging program. One of the topics brought up, which was what they started things off with, was the war between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg.
Peter opened the discussion, but Heyman quickly got involved, making the assertion that despite the outcome of the Survivor Series match, Brock Lesnar is still the bigger name. Paul stated,
"All the headlines still read Brock Lesnar LOST to Goldberg....not Goldberg beat Lesnar. Brock is still the biggest attraction and the biggest draw in all of sports entertainment."
It's also worth noting that JBL agreed wholeheartedly with Heyman’s sentiment.
As the show proceeded, topics ranging from The Undertaker to James Ellsworth was discussed. Regarding Ellsworth, Rosenberg asked if anyone thought there was possibly some resentment about Ellsworth jumping straight to the main roster.
JBL noted that Ellsworth has drawing power, which is the reason for him being there. He went on to say,
"James Ellsworth has done great. The fans want to see him, he's a big draw. If you don't like him being there, you go out and draw like him and then he won't be there anymore."
One of the hot topics of discussion centred around some fans wanting to see Raw go back to a two-hour format. JBL took exception to this notion, citing that there's plenty of content to fill the time frame. He went on to mention that there are new additions to Raw, such as the Cruiserweight Division, which could occupy the third hour alone.
JBL also brought up the fact that WWE is tied to their current network contract until September of 2019, so they can't just suddenly change the format. Another key component to this talk is the fact that the company relies heavily on the television revenue, which JBL revealed accounts for 173 million dollars per year in income.
Paul Heyman simply added,
"People just b*tch....that's it. They b*tch about anything. If you don't like it, boycott it. Until then, S-T-F-U!"
Everything that was discussed was interesting and relevant to today's top wrestling topics. The show ended with the big question on everyone's mind, will Hulk Hogan ever return to the WWE? Heyman had a simple response, which was "Hulk Hogan will return when Vince McMahon deems him worthy to come back."
Meanwhile, JBL went a little more in depth but made it clear that Hogan made a horrible mistake, calling his remarks "deplorable and detestable." However, he did mention that Hulk Hogan was indeed an icon and that he's done a lot of good for the business. JBL went on to say that this is a decision that will ultimately be up to not only McMahon but Hogan as well.
Final Thoughts
From my perspective, this was a fantastic show, with three of the best possible candidates to lead such a forum. Sometimes wrestling fans want more than just Raw and SmackDown results, we want to know what's going on in the minds of those who make big decisions for the company and while we will never know everything, this provides a suitable alternative.
My only hope is that the show does continue with the same personalities and that the topics continue to be things that the common fans want to hear about. If they can accomplish just that alone, ‘Bring it to the table’ will become one of the most-watched original programs on the WWE Network.
As for a premier, it was a home run in my humble opinion. This is the exact type of content that many fans can really invest their time into. Well done, WWE...well done.
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