There is a new upcoming pay per view, Hell In A Cell and it has a very of a familiar feel to it. In large part due to the fact that we have just seen three of the main event matches at the very last pay per view, provided of course Taker and Punk have their almost certain rematch in a few weeks. Now I know there tends to be hang over from one ppv to the next as fueds continue to evolve and resolve but this is ridiculous. Anyone who bought Breaking Point has to feel completely ripped off by the fact that almost forty percent of this upcoming show is a repeat. How can you justify charing 40 dollars for a new themed ppv one month, then 3 weeks later do the exact same thing with the only exception being now there is a giant fence around the ring.
The WWE is in need of a major change to fix this continuing problem and the solution is less ppv’s. Thats right Vince McMahon, that gaurenteed money you have every month from the fans, who no matter what you put out there for a given ppv, will buy regardless of quality (and btw that number is surely dwindling) needs to be sacraficed for the greater good of the overall product. If you don’t make sacrafices now, the product is gonna suffer and fans will get so bored with seeing the same thing week after week ( I don’t say month after month because there aren’t enough days in between ppv’s to use that term accurately) that the buy rates and the ratings will tail off so severely that it will cause a major overhaul not even the WWE has seen. Including the massacre of 05. Was it 05 when all those firings happenened? Anyone..
Where to start, what to cut first? How about start with the most recent event and start with Breaking Point. I love the visuals they have for advertising the match previews but thats about it. The idea of seeing an entire ppv filled with submission themed matches just doesn’t cut it. While I enjoy an ocassional submission match, no one wants to sit through an entire ppv loaded with them. If a fued gets to such a point where the two men have fought each other in every possible way and there is no other conclusion to the fued than to have them battle in a match of will power, have a submission themed MATCH. The whole idea behind gimmick matches is that they happen infrequent enough for them to continue to be effective and provide shock value. An entire ppv, despite only happening once a year, takes away from that value and effectiveness. Besides there aren’t likely to be three plus matches on a given pay-per-view where the fueds have reached that level.
That’s one ppv down where to next? How about Bragging Rights. Yes, if you have read the reported theme for this upcoming event, it is an entire card full of triple threat matches featuring stars from ECW, Raw and Smackdown. With the main event being a champion of champions challenge featuring the champion of the respective brands with no apparent reward other than, you guessed it, bragging rights. What better way than to send fans running toward the exit than by finishing up a ppv with absolutely nothing at stake. Now assuming that there would at least be a few titles on the line throughout the night with some possiblity of anticipation, otherwise, we can all look forward to a night of Big Show vs Kane vs Vladamir Kozlov type matches. (I can hear the collective cringe already) This PPV was designed to take place of Cyber Sunday and I’m all for fan interaction assuming that it’s legitamite but the only thing worth bragging about here would be taking this ppv off the yearly calendar.
Now I am a realist, I do understand that for financial reasons alone, WWE is very unlikely to trim any ppv, particularly not the 4 or 5 it would require to significantly alter the current state of the company. In saying that, if a third ppv were to be dropped my next and most noteworthy cut would come in the form of No Way Out. (hold off on your criticism) Now the easy pick here is The Bash as they are now calling it.(great name guys) With more people being outdoors and out of town in the summer ratings are down, that along with the existance of a party themed mid year ppv already, thats right I’m talking about SummerFest, (Nice one Piven) The Bash along with its name is an easy one to lose. All that aside, No Way Out causes more problems than it does good. This is an easily omittable show considering its sole purpose, which is to clear up the title picture and start moving forward towards WrestleMania, is exactly what the Royal Rumble does. Not only are the champions of each brand in place but the rumble match itself uncovers what superstar will challenge for the title of their choice at the main event of Wrestlemania, thus setting the foundation for the entire pay-per-view.
Now I’m not gonna get too much into ideas for improving the show, they are just all together, lets face it entirely too good and would consume an entire article, so I digress. But I will leave you with a couple. For starters let the process of the Royal Rumble winner choosing his WM opponent take more than one week. Bring him from show to show week after week causing havock and interacting with the respective champions to help develop the potential fueds. In the meantime you have half a dozen stars on each show (yes minus ECW) trying to persuay the rumble winner to make his or her decision(sadly that statement isn’t far fetched in the world of WWE) thus making for some compelling storylines on all three brands. (yes minus ECW) As far as filling out the other main event once the rumble winner makes their decision. How about a series of tournaments on each brand to fill up the spots for ONE elimination chamber match to face the reamining heavyweight champion. Seeing as it’s one less chamber match to take place, it’ll be filled with stars like The Undertaker, Triple H and Randy Orton. Not Mike Knox and Big Daddy V.
It’s these types of decisions that have to be made for the future of WWE. Risky moves like this are warranted and necessary for the overall well being of the company. This is the type of move that Vince took when he first brought wrestling to PPV, or when kept all his younger talent in the mid ninties in favor of worn down veterans, or when he started the XFL. (Ok so 2 out of 3 ain’t bad but you get the idea) With great risk comes great reward and if executed properly these changes would help bring about heightened ratings, increased buyrates and long term product stability. But it’s gonna take will power, determination and vision, something Vince prides himself on. Because if things remain the same and we’re treated to the same mediocre shows week after week and year after year, not only will it be the eventual downfall of wrestling as we know it but it’ll be De-Ja-View all over again.
