Scott,
With Punk/Bryan this Sunday on a nothing PPV that might threaten the record for lowest buy-rate for a WWE show ever, it got me thinking. Why doesn't WWE do any best of x series like we've seen in the past? Obviously the argument against is that there is no pay-off until the last match and with a smart crowd, the results of each match are tough to keep interesting, and you need 2 good workers as well. But, the way WWE books with even-steven booking anyway and frustratingly no pay-offs most of the time, doesn't it seem like this would work really well with the current product? You couldn't do it with the Cena or Lesnar, but an upper card series with 2 good workers could be great and could elevate both. They essentially did it with Bryan/Sheamus, and that worked out well for both in my opinion. There is no way they could do a 7 match series, but 3 or 5 with at least one of the matches on RAW seems like it would help the PPV, RAW, and those involved. How great would a Punk/Bryan best of 5 over the summer have been? They essentially do this anyway without the playoff series type of drama...with Vince's desire to be more mainstream, doesn't it seem like he would want a playoff type of format like the major sports?
-Rusty Rae
They tried it in 2004 with John Cena and Booker T and it wasn't great, to say the least. And there was the Hardyz/E&C series in 99 that worked out pretty well for them. So it's been done. But here's the thing -- fans are conditioned to know that the payoff would have to be on PPV, so if you're doing a best of 5 and Bryan wins the first two, then they know that Punk has to win the next two in order to get to the PPV blowoff. So for me it would kind of deflate the suspense and defeat the purpose of saving the big deciding match for the PPV. But at least we'd know what the main event was going to be for a few shows in a row, so that's something.
I remember WWE tried to recreate the Booker/Benoit series as well. That didn't go nearly as well as it did in WCW. I recall Orton subbing in for Booker for one of the matches.
ReplyDeleteBooker was pretty deteriorated as a wrestler by that point, and Benoit was so musclebound it was hurting his performances.
ReplyDeleteThe WCW Benoit/Booker series is the only good example of the "best of" series in a major company since the '80s.
At least it would give a logic to endless series of rematches we have
ReplyDeletenow. And its quite possible to break the fans' conditioning that it
will always go to the final match by booking a series which doesn't.
Really clever bookers could use the series format to string together
story-lines over multiple shows. Imagine if the final three matches were
on Raw, a Smackdown and Sunday PPV. You could have the heel lose the
Raw match by DQ as a result of deliberately injuring the face in the
hope that the face would have to forfeit the Smackdown match.
Plus in a world with Twitter and YouTube you don't even need to have all
the matches on TV shows. Have one or two at house shows and then post
fan-cam footage on YouTube.
Over the Limit this Sunday won't have the lowest buyrate in WWE history. It'll be low, I guarantee that, but Punk/Bryan will grab some buys. December to Dismember in '06 only had 2 matches promoted, and one was a tag match with everyone involved from a different brand, and it was SUPPOSED to be an ECW-only show. Over the Limit has Punk and Bryan and the Fatal 4 Way as the best selling points, even if Ace/Cena is the most promoted match out there, people will buy for the 2 title matches. Hell some people might even buy to see Johnny get his ass kicked, or to see who the 'unsigned' superstar is that will inevitably help Ace beat Cena, even though it's obviously going to be Big Show, some people might think it could be a returning Batista, and any Batista fan who has even the thought of him returning will buy the show for it. Low buys for this show, but not the lowest in history
ReplyDeleteI love that booking Idea for the last 3 matches, plus if they did it often enough they COULD have series end in something other than the 7th match, in fact that's a swerve that wouldn't royally piss everyone off like their most recent ones have
ReplyDeleteDecember to Dismember did so poorly that WWE.com has made it part of the Heyman-Lesnar storyline saying that perhaps Heyman has returned for revenge after leaving the company over a dispute as to whose fault the abysmal show was. we all know it was Vince's. Heyman wanted to book Punk to win the belt with him and RVD as the finalists after Big Show was eliminated right at the start of the Match so everyone knew that a new champ would be crowned. Instead we got Bobby Lashley waiting for Show's pod to open, the 2 of them having one of the shittiest encounters in history, and then Lashley wining the tittle to massive "We want refunds" and "TNA" chants from the crowd. that is how bad this show was, The people would have rather been watching TNA (I do realize this is before TNA went to COMPLETE shit but still)
ReplyDeleteHere is the Article i referenced if anyone is curious
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2012-05-14/payday-payback-paul-heyman
For the idea to ever work, they would need to end a series before the 5th match. And they would need to stay away from the heel always being up 2-0. Hell, just copy any baseball/hockey/basketball playoff results to keep the order of wins and losses interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis idea has me thinking; I would like to see a heel champ demand he only defend his title in series', whether that's best of 3 or 5. It would need to be someone who still treats wrestling like a sport. I think Bryan could pull it off pretty well. He could even use the Wrestlemania lost to Sheamus as his motivation ("I worked too hard to get to this level, too hard to win the title, and I shouldn't lose it because of a cheapshot before the match really begins!")
They also did it with Benoit and Booker as well after the Cena/Book feud and that didn't work either.
ReplyDeleteI've never been convinced that Punk should have got the title there as it was probably a bit too soon, but the original plan of Punk making Show tap to the Anaconda Vice absolutely should have happened.
ReplyDeleteThe big booking error in that match was Punk and RVD being the first two eliminated. Not only were they by far the most over but there was no way Test or Holly were getting the strap so it was a foregone conclusion that Lashley was getting the win, and he just wasn't over enough to justify it
I really like this idea.
ReplyDeleteI like this idea too. I was thinking Ziggler before you said Bryan, can totally picture Bryan though.
ReplyDelete"For the idea to ever work, they would need to end a series before the 5th match."
ReplyDeleteyes. it's pretty much the same as with 2/3 falls matches. we all KNOW (or: think we do) it will only end in the third fall, not earlier.
it is also the same reason no one really buys some moves as a finish, even if they look devastating. prime example is Orton's second rope ddt. he never beat ANYBODY with it, so why should I be excited/worried during a match if he goes for the cover after it?
I'm in favor of this idea in spite of how unmemorable the aforementioned Cena/Booker and ()/Booker series were, because I've been hoping for a long while that WWE would indeed try to make their booking more like athletic contests.. I.e. You win some and you lose some, then move on. None of this 50/50 crap.
ReplyDeleteWWE has shown time and again that they are terrible at writing storylines on their TV shows (it's partly why I don't watch them), but guys are still perfectly capable of telling stories in the matches themselves.
Cena/Lesnar is a great example. Not only because of Brock "legitimizing" WWE with his experience and MMA style, but the story they told in that match was better than seemingly anything either guy has done on RAW since Lesnar's return.. Lesnar destroyed him in the match, but fooled around one too many times and Cena barely escaped with the win after using a weapon. Lesnar doesn't lose credibility because he's just that damn good and talented and, just like after his first MMA loss, you know he's going to come back with a vengeance. The only way Lesnar could risk losing heat is if they put him in some incredibly stupid storylines following the loss.
So, yeah, I think a Bryan/Punk best of series would at least be just as good as their dancing midgets who fart on corpses or whatever the hell they're doing these days for "entertainment."
I LOVE DANCING MIDGETS FARTING ON CORPSES! lol. too funny
ReplyDeleteActually, TNA was at its best point then. LAX was red hot, Angle had just come in and was feuding with Joe, Sting had ended Jarrett's time on top, Christian was doing big-time heel work and AJ was killing it as the lackey.
ReplyDeleteBriscoes used to go around beating people in two straight falls.
ReplyDeleteThe Booker vs. Benoit series was MUCH better in WCW.
ReplyDelete"The only way Lesnar could risk losing heat is if they put him in some incredibly stupid storylines following the loss."
ReplyDeleteAnd that's exactly what they are doing.
Yeah, and it produced two legitimate ****+ matches in them, three ***+, and the other two were perfectly acceptable wrestling-type ** 3/4 star matches. Great series.
ReplyDeleteWhy was it always Booker in these Best of series anyway? Booker was a great wrestler but he didn't have nearly enough tricks in his arsenal to keep the matches from being repetitive. Even the classic series with Benoit from WCW dragged a little.
ReplyDeleteThe last great Best of Series was between Beer Money and the Motor City Machine Guns in TNA. Those matches were excellent and, even though you knew that it was going to end in the last match, there was still a lot of doubt about who would win in the end. And it got both teams over huge. If both MCMGs hadn't gotten injured I wouldn't doubt if we'd have seen Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin at BFG last year instead of Storm vs. Roode. Well, yeah, I would, but I could still see it happening.
Disagree with your take on Booker and his WCW series with Benoit. Many would argue it produced two legitimate ****+ matches in them, three ***+, and the other two were perfectly acceptable wrestling-type ** 3/4 star matches. Great series, IMHO. It was the one series that made WCW and its fans finally take notice of them.
ReplyDeleteThe Perfectly Acceptable Wrestling was the "dragging a little".
ReplyDeleteBy this logic RVD has to win the tittle. that's still cool cause he was over. Lashley not so much (besides the ECW tittle ment less than dirt i think Punk WAS ready for that)
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how TNA went from everyone's greatest hope for competition to a punch line in only 5 years
ReplyDeletePart of what helped keep the Machine Guns/Beer Money series fresh was that they had a variety of gimmick matches within the series. Which is a very TNA thing to do, but it worked pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI think the MVP Benoit 2/3 falls match ended in two strait falls (i Can't remember who won though)
ReplyDeleteYes, that was part of the point (not that I actually made any kind of clear point on the zero sleep I was going on). The outcome of the match wasn't the problem. The ridiculous storylines are.
ReplyDelete