 |
|
Home
Wrestling
WWE
TNA
Tape Reviews
Other
Sports
Basketball
Football
Baseball
Hockey
International
Entertainment
Movies / TV
Music
Gaming
Technology
Books / Comics
" The Gravel Pit "
|
|
|
|
Wrestling
The Other Perspective
Posted by Josh Coffey on May 6, 2002, 21:26
|
|
The Other Perspective- PPV's and Titles
Part 1. PPV's
I think that the WWF should just go back to four PPV's a year, like the good old days. That is a bold statement to make, but one that I feel would be better for the fans. As long as titles don't get hotshotted around on RAW & Smackdown, it would pretty much guarantee lengthy title reigns again. It might help to add a little prestige to the belts other than the top dog as well. $35 a month is a lot to shell out twelve times a year. The price, though steep, doesn't look as gruesome when it only has to be shelled out four times a year. Onto the pay-per-view's at hand:
1.) Royal Rumble - The winner of the Royal Rumble should be the #1 contender at Wrestlemania. This PPV, as always, would take place in January. The order of entry into the rumble itself, in my eyes, should always be televised. The winner of the rumble itself shouldn't be so painfully obvious to figure out. The WWF has to take some risks, so having someone like Rob Van Dam win a rumble full of stars such as The Rock, Austin & Triple H might not be a bad idea. They just have to keep in mind that he will be in the main event at the biggest PPV of the year, though, if built correctly, it could work.
2.) Wrestlemania - This would be the PPV where all feuds come to an end, and it would be what all the storylines lead up to. "Grand Daddy of them all" indeed. This PPV should take place during the beginning to middle of April. We want to avoid March all together to help spread out the PPV's accordingly.
3.) SummerSlam - The first PPV after Wrestlemania, should help establish storylines and heel/face alignment. This PPV would take place in July, hence the summer in SummerSlam. The Raw's & Smackdown's after Wrestlemania would be used to build up trust and friendship, this would be the PPV were anything could happen. Backstabbing, lies, deceit, you name it. You have to have swerves to make wrestling interesting. Now, of course, this wouldn't be the only time where swerves would occur, or that would become too apparent.
4.) Survivor Series - The SS was the best when it was 5 on 5 matches. It should go back to that. I liked the idea behind it. It would also be a lot easier for babyfaces to turn heel in a match like that. You should be able to tell that I'm a fan of surprising swerves. Also, it may give some of the undercard a chance to shine on PPV, because most of the main-eventers would be in one match. This PPV would take place on Thanksgiving night in November. I remember growing up, on Thanksgiving night my cousin and his parents would come over. This was the only time that I would see them all year. We would eat our feast, then as a family, watch the Survivor Series. My cousin & myself would fall asleep talking about what we had witnessed on the PPV.
Going back to this format may also allow the writing team time to develop in depth storylines that don't contradict themselves within two weeks. The King of the Ring PPV would be dropped, however, I'm not sure rather that would be a positive or a negative at this point. I'm not trying to knock the WWF writing team in anyway, though history should not be forgotten. The problem area comes when you think of how much money the WWFE would be losing due to the decrease in revenue from the eight pay-per-views a year. Twelve PPV�s a year make the WWF tons of money, but I think this would be better for the fans, at least in terms of quality. It's bad enough that the PPV's that are shown now have commercials. $35 commercials at that!!! The WWF should focus more on the fans and less on the money in my eyes. With the fans backing the WWF, the money will follow and continue to come in. A better product would equal more viewers and more people watching. The ratings would increase and the money would grow. People would begin to anticipate pay-per-views, whereas now it seems as if there is one on every other Sunday. Also, it's not as if Vince has to compete with WCW monthly anymore.
Part 2. The Title Picture
Dropping down to four PPV's year could also help another area that many construe to be a problem area, the WWF title picture. Cutting down to four PPV's a year would make title matches a much bigger deal. The Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship being defended would matter, unlike now where we have incredibly "over" wrestlers losing it at their first PPV defense, which is only a month or less away from when they won the title.
I also think that the WWF should go down to just three titles. Maybe four. Now, it could be argued that the IC title would be better if it were a TV title, then the champion would have to defend the title on every televised show. It does sound good, but then you would be throwing away all the history of the IC title. That wouldn't be worth it. Not for the WWF anyway.
The Tag Team Titles have a great history as well. The WWF is lacking for tag teams right now, but they are heading in the right direction. It wouldn't be right to get rid of them, so you have to keep them. If tag matches, like PPV's & Titles, were few and far between, the fan interest would begin to grow when an actual tag match was to be held. It should be a privilege to watch four wrestlers in one match, whereas now it seems as if the WWF does it, just to take up time.
The Cruiserweight/Light Heavyweight Title, if any, would be my fourth title. If the WWF goes out of their way to make this division credible, like they have been promising for months, than this would be a wise choice. You want your superstars competing for something. The only problem is, once someone is in the cruiserweight division, they can pretty much guarantee that they will never be a main eventer. Some of the cruisers, I'm sure, would be fine with that role, however others like Christian might not be. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, such as Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho. The WWF certainly has the firepower to get off the ground with the likes of: Kidman, Chavo Jr., Christian, Tajiri, X-pac, & possibly Juvi & Rey Jr.
The WWF Title should be the focal point of all wrestlers, the reasoning behind all main events. Sure, the storyline may start from "David Vs Goliath" or "I hate you because you're beautiful", or treachery, deceit, adultery, etc, but the heel should make it a point in their promos that they want the title. Just like the babyface should make it a point to say that they don't want to lose the title, and that it means everything to them, or vice versa depending on whom the current champion is.
With the PPV's being spread out, and titles regaining fan interest, the ratings would have to grow. New stars could be built & torches could be passed. It was once all about the fans wouldn't it be tremendous to return to that format?
Well, I hope that you enjoyed my first rant, and I hope that many more will follow. Please feel free to provide feedback. Until next time...
Josh Coffey
TheSmartMarks.com
Send feedback to [email protected]
| |
|
|
|
|
|
