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What's the story?
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, SummerSlam is set to have a run time of anywhere between five and a half to six hours in total.
In case you didn't know....
SummerSlam is considered to be one of WWE's biggest PPVs of the year. It's one of the big 4 PPVs, alongside Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and Survivor Series.
Also read: 5 ways SummerSlam can compete with WrestleMania
Since 2016, WWE has been giving more importance to Big 4 PPVs, and now all the 4 PPVs are made into weekends which feature an NXT Takeover, the PPV, RAW and SmackDown Live all in the same city, and generally the same venue as well.
Since then, the amount of time for each event has expanded as well, going over 5 hours, and WrestleMania now hitting upwards of 6 hours.
The heart of the matter
The Observer noted that the event is set to be five and a half to six hours, which is presumably including the pre-show. The pre-show for Big-4 events is now 2-hours. The two hours usually comprises of 2-3 matches(maximum) and backstage interviews along with a talk from the panel, which usually involves Renee Young, Booker-T, Jerry Lawler and Sam Roberts or Peter Rosenberg.
Some of the matches expected to take place on the pre-show are most probably the SmackDown Women's title match, a tag-team match between The Hardyz, The Revival and Gallows & Anderson, and maybe one more.
The main show is set to be stacked with at least some 9-10 matches, which itself is a lot. However, WWE has taken the "more is more" approach with their bigger shows, so it is what it is.
What's next?
WWE is gearing up for SummerSlam big time. The Biggest Party Of The Summer is yet to be sold out, according to The Observer, but there are very few tickets left.
Expect many more matches to be announced to fill the card. WWE also tries to ensure that all their superstars get a spot on the bigger shows.
Author's take
Shows which last six hours of so can be tiresome and burn out not only the crowd but audiences watching on the Network and on TV as well.
The problem SummerSlam faced last year was that John Cena vs AJ Styles went on 3rd and stole the entire show, so the crowd was not left with much energy for the remainder of the show. Hopefully, they rectify the match order to ensure that the crowd's energy is preserved more.
Even if I'm not a big fan of the "more is more" approach, it is what it is, and the Big-4 PPV weekends will only continue to expand.
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