Hey Scott,
Was curious for your take on something. Since 2010, I feel like MITB has been 4-for-4 on thumbs up shows. You've rated highly both the 2011 and 2013 versions, and while the 2010 and 2012 editions don't quite make it to those levels, they are both very good and satisfying events.
For me personally, MITB has reached that rare level of becoming a guaranteed PPV buy every year, along with the Rumble, WrestleMania and Extreme Rules (ever since it got moved to after Mania).
So I guess my question is a 3-parter:
What shows, if any, do you consider must-buy PPVs every year?
Do you think MITB has surpassed Summerslam as the show of the summer (although this year's is looking pretty good)?
Do you think you'll ever rant on MITB '10 and '12?
Thanks for your time and very valued opinion!
I of course buy Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania habitually every year, and usually Extreme Rules as well. And yes, I definitely think MITB has surpassed Summerslam as the most important show of the summer, especially considering that the briefcase has more importance than most of the titles even do. Plus it's usually an easy thumbs up show with two matches that make for good drama and fantasy booking potential.
I don't buy any PPVs because I'm stingy/can never trust that it will be worth the money no matter what's booked, but if I was in the habit of buying PPVs it would be the Rumble, Mania and MITB
ReplyDeleteI'm old school, still buy the Big Four, Survivor Series, Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam. Don't think that will change other than will probably quit buying Survivor Series.
ReplyDeleteI could stream but streaming site I used for MitB was pretty bad.
Nothing is a guaranteed buy for me. It is all in the booking. I watched Mania the past three years, but passed on it this year because UT/Punk was the only thing I cared about.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've EVER bought SummerSlam, but will probably get it this year.
Mania and Rumble are guaranteed buys for me. My little cousins are huge fans and I have other friends who are casuals so I enjoy having everyone over to my place to watch those. Other than those two, nothing's a guaranteed buy.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way. I almost passed on Mania this year because Punk/Taker was all I cared about, but at the last minute a few of my friends wanted to do it, so we did it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, nothing is a guarunteed purchase anymore. I can wait for dvds if it's a good show.
ReplyDeletelast year's summerslam is the only one i've seen, and that was because there was nothing else to do that night so i checked out the stream.
ReplyDeleteback when i was buying ppv's the only guarentees was wrestlemania and the short lived one night stand. i ordered rumble 03 as a last minute decision and love the rumble but never went out of my way to get it again for some reason.
I haven't ordered a show or won't since WM 27. God, what a trainwreck.
ReplyDeleteWrestlemania is a guaranteed order for me. But this Summerslam looks amazeballs.
ReplyDeleteI won't pay money for any of them except Wrestlemania (because the streams are so unreliable) but I stream all of them... is what I would be saying if I were the kind of guy that participated in streaming paid events, which I am not.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question though, Rumble, 'Mania, and MiTB are my favorites, I usually enjoy TLC also.
ReplyDeleteThere is absolutley no reason to think of Survivor Series or Summerslam as any different than any other PPV now except that they have been around a long time.
I definitely agree mitb has become a must see ppv. Its a really good gimmick.
ReplyDeleteI just wonder if the survivor series wouldn't be better off going back to the team concept. At this point its just another b ppv anyway, they don't give a shit about. I think they could drum up some interest by having team wide feuds. Maybe you could say its too hard for creative to put the angles together but that doesn't make much sense.
Mania and the Rumble are always guaranteed buys for me, though I skipped Mania this year for the first time since I became a fan all those years ago because the big matches just simply didn't interest me at all.
ReplyDeleteI usually buy the Rumble and Mania but may get Summerslam this year just for Daniel Bryan.
ReplyDeleteOutside of Bryan/Cena, and Brock/Punk, the rest of the card is kinda terrible.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Bray Wyatt mark (thank you NXT), Cody-Sandow should be great, and I'll enjoy the Divas match. Only one I'm not thrilled about is the ADR-Christian match.
ReplyDeleteSurvivor Series definitely needs to go back to the team concept across the board. It makes no sense to call it the Survivor Series if you don't have survivor tag matches. Its like the Royal Rumble without the rumble match.
ReplyDeleteMITB has definitely joined the Rumble and Mania as my must-buys, the ladder matches seem to bring the goods every time.
ReplyDelete"Its like the Royal Rumble without the rumble match."
ReplyDeleteDon't give them any ideas...
WWE's own Twitter handle even admits its over Survivor Series now How about #MoneyInTheBank for @WWE's "4th Major?" ... @WWEUniverse, Post your thoughts with #WWE4thMajor tag.
ReplyDeleteyeah but BRYAN/CENA. and BROCK/PUNK, which as been built up 9000000 times better than this year's wrestlemania main event.
ReplyDeleteYeah, when I was in high school around the same time, I luckily have a super-doting grandmother who would not only order the PPVs for me every month (without even me asking), but when I'd come over to watch it, she would also have pizza, wings, and soda already ordered. To paraphrase Edge & Christian, GRANDMAS RULE!
ReplyDeleteIf creative can't be creative perhaps they should replace creative.
ReplyDeleteMITB is a guaranteed buy with my group along with Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Something about the MITB matches themselves seem to lend well to general excitement from smarts, marks, and non-fans. The fact that there is something actually on the line (much like the Rumble) I think is the big draw, but obviously the match quality helps.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Survivor Series, I've always felt that a method for getting guaranteed buys and interest would be one 4v5 or 5v5 match where the survivors on the winning team would get a title shot at the December PPV.
Since WWE seems to have no real interest in building true number one contenders anymore, having matches like this and even what they did with KOTR the year that Brock won where the winner gets the shot at SummerSlam can help keep those shots logical but still let them put in whomever they want.
SummerSlam hasn't felt like a major event since 2005 (Hogan vs. Michaels).
ReplyDeleteRoyal Rumble Inferno Cage match! Oh DON'T give them ideas :S
ReplyDeleteSince you brought up Survivor Series, I don't understand why -- in an era where they want the fall shows to stand out with a "theme" -- they ignore the built-in theme of Survivor Series and forget about a card of 4-on-4 and 5-on-5 matches and instead just put on a ppv that lookalike all the others.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely the worst "stadium era" Wrestlemania.
ReplyDeleteI have not ordered a PPV since 1996.
ReplyDeleteSince when has WWE had even a 3rd Major? ;-)
ReplyDeleteI like the 1990 style, where the survivors from each team have a Final Match of Survival.
ReplyDeleteExactly. The good stuff is on YouTube fast enough.
ReplyDeleteI think it's probably because you get mix and match 6-man and 8-man tags on TV frequently, so it's not really a selling point outside of one match that they do each year (which I enjoy because I crack up when people are eliminated with transition moves).
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above poster where there should be something on the line... I also loved the Grand Survivor match in 1990.
MITB has proven that a PPV with something on the line translates into a draw.
Yes it was. Who thought it up?
ReplyDeleteAgree. Wyatt vs. Kane probably wont be very good but I'm interested in seeing it anyway, so long as it does what it needs to do and Bray takes the win.
ReplyDeleteADR vs. Christian should be solid and Cody-Sandow looks good-but-heatless.
Yeah but how do you determine who is on which team? I know back in '90 it was the remaining babyfaces against the remaining heels but kayfabe-wise, how did they determine those teams?
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree it's been true the last few years that MITB has outdone Summerslam, not this year. This Summerslam is the first PPV I've said I was buying the night after the previous PPV in a long, long time. That's how sucked in I was by the top of the card, and the undercard is looking excellent as well.
ReplyDelete99% agree though I was pumped for the first Cena / Batista match in 08.
ReplyDeleteThey tweeted something negative about Survivor Series?
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why they didn't bring back that Grand Survivor bit, it was pretty cool the year they did it.
ReplyDeleteWorst ever, period.
ReplyDeleteThat's a little much. 27 had a near-perfect HHH/Undertaker match, whereas 11 had nothin really memorable and 9 was downright terrible with an awful awful finish.
ReplyDeleteHell yeah. My Nana used to rent me every ppv in the video store and got me subscriptions to WWF, Raw, and WCw magazines every year. Not to mention the avalanche of wrestling toys & shirts at Christmas. Even though she hated trying to shop for that stuff and had to go out of her way to get it since I was her only grandson. God I miss that woman.
ReplyDeleteXD, I also call my grandma Nana.
ReplyDeleteWay to go WWE...
ReplyDeleteKill your second longest PPV concept.
You said everything I would have ever said too about the subject. I agree so much and it seems so logical it hurts. Hell I wish they would go back to the old goofy team names for the month too. In today's day and age you could even create Twitter accounts for The Show Offs or The Real Americans or whatever the team name is and hype the shit out of the alliances.
ReplyDeleteEven in kayfabe back then they used the terms "fan favorites" and "rulebreakers" to determine team lines.
ReplyDeleteThey should just make the main event a WWE-ized Torneo Cibernetico.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's not quite the worst - 9 continues to have the edge, but still.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, XI and 13 are oft mentioned as ''worst', but XI was at vaguely solid from top to bottom (only the UT/Bundy match was an outright stinker), and 13 has Hart/Austin (possibly my favourite match of all time) and that cracking Chicago Street Fight (it's pretty horrible otherwise though, admittedly). 15 and 12 are much worse, IMO.
See, I was firmly in the camp that didn't like Trips/Taker (though I really liked their rematch the following year).
ReplyDelete