Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Leave it to Vince McMahon and try to corner every single television demographic imaginary. In the late summer of 2012, WWE returned to the Saturday morning market by giving us a show geared toward kids only. The show was known as ‘WWE Saturday Morning Slam’ and it was shown on the CW network as a part of the Vortexx Saturday morning block. Vortexx was a block of animated shows by a company called Saban which was best known for producing ‘The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ franchise.
WWE was added to the Vortexx block of shows on August 25th, 2012 and in turn….produced a 30 minute show. While WWE programming was known for television ratings like TV-14 and TV-PG, this particular show had a rating of TV-G. How could a business that was known for violent acts receive such a low rating? Simple, the matches never showed violent strikes to the head or face. If a match actually had a move deemed too violent…the show would edit it out and show fans in attendance instead.
The matches were also very comedic based. For example, a two wrestlers would run the ropes and one would stop, but the other kept on doing it. A wrestler (Curtis Axel) would be the victim of an airplane spin and become dizzy. In that moment, Axel rolled up and pinned the referee while his opponrnt (Sheamus) made the three count. The matches were very simplistic, but it also allowed WWE stars to do different things that they normally couldn’t do on the main shows.
There were no real bitter rivalries or storylines carried over from Raw and Smackdown. The former King of the Death match and hardcore wrestling turned lovable teddy bear…Mick Foley was named the Saturday Slam General Manager. Not much actual wrestling, as the show was only 30 minutes…but it was packed with different things like backstage comedy skits and public service announcement videos.
Comedic skits included a battle between Mick Foley’s ‘Socko’ and Santino Marella’s ‘Cobra’ for sock puppet dominance. The show would also do wrestling spotlight features. It would select one wrestler each week and do a special segment on them. It was a way to introduce new, young fans to WWE superstars.
The wrestling action was called by Josh Mathews and a different “special guest” color commentator each week. The announcers kept everything light and funny to appease to the younger demographic.
While many wrestling fans and critic hated the show….the ratings for it did quite well. It was the CW’s top rated program on Saturday mornings. It averaged over 1 million viewers and was tops in all the key children’s demographics. The press release for WWE Saturday Morning Slam said this:
WWE Saturday Morning Slam packs the riveting in-ring action, the larger-than-life WWE Superstars, and the WWE’s entertaining brand extensions into the fastest, most energy-filled half-hour on television. WWE Superstar profiles, behind-the-scenes footage and an exclusive WWE match every week will all combine to make WWE Saturday Morning Slam the perfect destination for the youngest viewers in the WWE Universe. The show will also include highlights from WWE’s Be a STAR anti-bullying campaign and other community initiatives.
Despite the success of Slam, it only lasted until May 11, 2013. The show was abruptly canceled after roughly nine months. Why the sudden cancellation? Reportedly, the CW, Saban Entertainment and WWE had a falling out of creative differences of how the show should be presented. The CW and Saban wanted more creative control over Slam and as we all know…Vince McMahon wasn’t about to let an outside company dictate how his brand should be showcased.
So with both parties at an impasse, WWE Saturday Morning Slam was quietly canceled without much of an announcement.