Syfy getting back in WWE business – two-hour version of Raw to create Friday night TV battle

Ever since New Japan generated tremendous buzz for their Tokyo Dome Show on January 4, WWE has been jockeying with New Japan for space.

Now comes a mini-battle on Friday nights starting next Friday, May 27.

Syfy has scheduled a two-hour version of WWE Raw to air from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. EST in Smackdown’s old Friday night timeslot.

This will be going head-to-head with New Japan’s tape library series on AXS TV, which airs at 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. EST on Friday nights.

After being off this week, New Japan returns to AXS next Friday, May 27 for the start of a 10-episode series on the 2015 G1 Climax series. Former WWE announcer Jim Ross is calling the shows along with Josh Barnett.

Both sides could benefit from the mini-battle. WWE gets additional TV Revenue from licensing two hours of (re-run) programming on Syfy, which needs eyeballs on its network after losing Smackdown to USA Network in 2016.

Plus, Syfy hopes to bring back viewers to the Friday night timeslot. By 2014, WWE built a strong audience on Friday nights. The show fell one stairstep in 2015 when Smackdown moved to Thursday nights on Syfy. Smackdown has fallen another stairstep in 2016 Thursday nights on USA Network.

As for New Japan, it’s a chance to present a product that is an alternative to WWE’s flagship show, highlighting the differences between the approaches to pro wrestling.

WWE moving back into the Friday night space on cable TV (beyond the one-hour “Superstars” filler show on WWE Network), even with a re-run of Raw, should indirectly raise New Japan’s profile for an important stretch of shows. New Japan is trying to grow its U.S. presence, both from a live event approach with Ring of Honor and TV product approach with AXS TV.