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What's the story?
In recent weeks, there has been speculation about WWE's Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live's contracts with USA Network. The contracts are set to expire next year, and no new contract has yet been finalized.
The shows have attracted a lot of attention from other networks including FOX, but losing Raw would hurt USA Network's ratings as they do not have any other big shows which pull in so many viewers.
Speculation from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (H/T Ringside News) has come up, however, which suggests that USA Network may be about to replace Raw and SmackDown with another big wrestling oriented show.
In case you didn't know...
With the contract of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live coming up, there has been a lot of talk of the shows moving to FOX. A move to FOX would be profitable for WWE, and the fact that FOX has canceled a lot of recent shows may be a sign that they are opening up a few new slots.
The viewership and ratings of both the shows would be a huge boost to FOX as well, and the deal may be mutually beneficial.
The heart of the matter
Dave Meltzer speculated that if Raw and SmackDown Live were to move from the USA Network, the shows would leave a big gap. Both attracted a big audience, with Raw being more successful than the Blue Brand show, and they might yet fight to resign them.
However, if they are unable to tie down WWE to a contract for Monday Night Raw, then they may look to replace it with a similar sort of product.
Meltzer talked about USA Network possibly approaching Impact Wrestling, and that Impact would 'love to' be associated with the Network. Their current contract with PopTV is not worth as much as the $1 Million contract which USA Network might offer them.
What's next?
All of this is nothing more than pure speculation for the moment. WWE Raw and SmackDown Live are both set to air on the USA Network for the rest of 2018.
Author's take
It would be interesting to see Impact Wrestling landing such a big contract with the USA Network. It would increase their viewership and possibly help them regain their size.
