Question about TV matches

[slabinskia]

I was wondering what they do with the events that are taped ahead of time in regards to editing in the tv commercials. For example, if there is a long match and they put in a 5 minute commercial break, do they edit out 5 minutes of the match or do they return where they left off before the break and pretend like 5 minutes has passed during the match ?

[The Amazing Rando]

For the long Shawn Michaels/John Cena match last year, I remember at the end of a commercial break the two men had moved about two feet or so from when the commercial started. I think I only noticed because I had known beforehand that the match was not as long as the time they had given for it on television.

[yankovic fan]

I remember once there was a semi-major match on Raw involving maybe Mr. Perfect in 1993 that went to commercial and when RAW came back on, the match was over. They then showed what happened.

 

The following Saturday on Mania, at the point the match went to commercial it cut back to Pettingil who says something along the lines of 'yeah it went to commercial and there was a winner declared!" Always thought it was silly.

[JHawk]

It varies.

 

ECW and SmackDown this week essentially came back right where they left off.

[RepoMan]

OF course on Raw you can always tell when they're going to break b/c they have a spot where one or both wrestlers gets knocked out for a while.

[MillenniumMan831]

Generally after one guy just went splat on the outside.

[SamoaRowe]

I really hate commercial breaks during matches. It drives me nuts that it's perfectly acceptable to have a commercial free 20 minute block to have an extended in-ring interview, but we can't have an eleven minute match without needing a break somewhere. My philosophy is that on television, you really shouldn't be having matches that are any longer than what can be contained in a single segment (make more room for the entire roster to have a chance to shine).

[Dandy]

I know that in WCW they always had the tape machines rolling in case anything happened during the break.

[haws bah gawd]

I know that in WCW they always had the tape machines rolling in case anything happened during the break.

 

True, yet I don't remember anything really significant ever happening during a break. Occasionally they would show some crazy flipping spot that a Luchadore did during the commercial, but that was about it.

[DrVenkman PhD]

Commercial breaks on live TV matches seem to be where they do their rest holds for a few minutes (or, as mentioned, sit on the outside to sell going splat). During a Raw I was at, during a Flair/Batista vs. Booker/RVD match, someone got Flair a bottle of water while Batista had one of the opponents in a rest hold. It looked kind of weird in person and naturally it was not part of the television broadcast.

 

I really hate commercial breaks during matches. It drives me nuts that it's perfectly acceptable to have a commercial free 20 minute block to have an extended in-ring interview, but we can't have an eleven minute match without needing a break somewhere. My philosophy is that on television, you really shouldn't be having matches that are any longer than what can be contained in a single segment (make more room for the entire roster to have a chance to shine).

 

I believe it is because they have 20 minute non-match segments go uninterrupted that they need to take "extra" commercial breaks in the middle of a 10 minute match, or have segments that are only 3 minutes long (ex. commercial - King and JR run down a PPV card and we cut to a shot where HBK IS WALKING~!, then another commercial).

[Dandy]

I know that in WCW they always had the tape machines rolling in case anything happened during the break.

 

True, yet I don't remember anything really significant ever happening during a break. Occasionally they would show some crazy flipping spot that a Luchadore did during the commercial, but that was about it.

That was a joke. Tony Schiavone reminded us of that every commercial.

[DrVenkman PhD]

I was going to use that joke too.

[Frosty]

Commercial breaks on live TV matches seem to be where they do their rest holds for a few minutes (or, as mentioned, sit on the outside to sell going splat). During a Raw I was at, during a Flair/Batista vs. Booker/RVD match, someone got Flair a bottle of water while Batista had one of the opponents in a rest hold. It looked kind of weird in person and naturally it was not part of the television broadcast.

 

I really hate commercial breaks during matches. It drives me nuts that it's perfectly acceptable to have a commercial free 20 minute block to have an extended in-ring interview, but we can't have an eleven minute match without needing a break somewhere. My philosophy is that on television, you really shouldn't be having matches that are any longer than what can be contained in a single segment (make more room for the entire roster to have a chance to shine).

 

I believe it is because they have 20 minute non-match segments go uninterrupted that they need to take "extra" commercial breaks in the middle of a 10 minute match, or have segments that are only 3 minutes long (ex. commercial - King and JR run down a PPV card and we cut to a shot where HBK IS WALKING~!, then another commercial).

 

 

There is no "extra" commercial breaks. They plan all of this out very carefully and know almost to the second (it's live so give or take a few) when they are going to go to break. The short 3 minute segments are on purpose and will usually be placed places where there isn't much going on or right before the ME starts so that you don't miss any of the "real" action. For example (a really bad example at that) watch Oprah for a day..... she will have a Huge Segment usually about 15 mins, then 2 moderate segments about 10 mins and then she'll have 3 really short segments near then end of the show where she will cram in all her filler and other crap.

[DrVenkman PhD]

Hence the " ", friend. My point was on a typical televised serial, you get 3 commercial breaks for approximately 3 minutes a piece, getting 21 minutes of program time in 30 minutes. Since Raw will often contain a segment that encompasses the entire 20 minutes of TV time in one go, and they can't very well air 9 minutes of commercials in a row, you get quick segments ("content" as they call it in the TV biz" before throwing right to another commercial. This is obviously all planned but the point still stands.

[bob_barron]

WCW once had a lumberjack match end during the commercial

[Ed Wood Caulfield]

That just sounds like something WCW would do.

[Jericholic82]

or matches that apparantly "End" and then come back from break and the match is restarted due to controversy (this happened on the latest Raw 97 ep on 24/7)

 

I remember that like starting in 98 or so, RAW would hardly ever have commercial breaks during a match, maybe due to most typicla matches lasting like 3-5 mins. but staring in the early 2000s we went back to the old way. Now a typical WWE tv show will have at least 2 matches go to break.

 

and there's nothing wrong with having a match end during a commercial, because it makes it seem more "real" cuz if it was real, wrestlers wouldn't wait untill the break was over to beat their opponents and shows wouldn't always end on time on tv. Like how PPvs can have 20 min matches and the same guys will always end their match appropriate to tv time remaining on raw or sd.