An idea to make the autumn PPV season a bit more interesting

[Mr. Nerfect]

The WWE has had a problem over the last couple of years with their buys for PPVs such as Night of Champions, Hell in a Cell, Bragging Rights and even Survivor Series. Hell, Bragging Rights has already been scrapped (despite being a pretty interesting concept, in my opinion). I think it's good to cull the number of PPVs over that period, because there is an over-saturation there. But there are other problems with the shows.

Hell in a Cell has never really had appeal as an event to me, because HIAC used to be about the end to blood feuds. You just don't get two guys and throw them into a Hell in a Cell match. They are using the structure to sell the match, opposed to being a structure appropriate for a feud between two guys who want to really hurt each other. Night of Champions suffers because the WWE has conditioned us to not really care about any other titles than the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship. And because they like to get as many top level talents on the show as possible, there are clusterfucks around the top titles that dilute stories between the competitors, and main eventers going after the mid-card titles and such. That can be interesting, but it sort of messes up the direction of a lot of guys. Essentially, the PPV really becomes filler.

Anyway, my idea was to sort of create a link between Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell, using the Bragging Rights concept. At NOC, you have the six championships contended, but in addition to that, you either offer one or two inter-brand matches. The main event could be a WWE Champion vs. World Heavyweight Champion match. You could also do an IC vs. US Champion match, but it depends on time constraints and stuff like that, too. The winner of that match gets an advantage for their brand's team heading into an adapted concept making its debut in the WWE -- War Games.

Now, I know I was talking about clusterfucks and blood feuds, and this doesn't quite cover them -- but right now the hottest feuds in the WWE are Cena vs. Punk, Riley vs. Miz and Christian vs. Orton -- and it's unlikely they'll be feuding at HIAC. But by having two teams of five get inside the Hell in a Cell structure for brand supremacy, you're bound to have bad blood on both sides, which adds intrigue to the boiling pot that would be War Games.

So, let's hypothetically go with this scenario:

* CM Punk beats John Cena at Money in the Bank, but then MITB Winner Rey Mysterio cashes in and claims the WWE Title. Cena is owed a rematch, and they talk respect and stuff, but Rey takes little shots at Cena reminding him that Cena owes him his job, and stuff like that. The Rock is named the Special Guest Referee for a SummerSlam match between the two in Rey's stomping ground, and Mysterio retains the title after some shenanigans.

* Meanwhile on SmackDown!, Christian cheats his way to the World Heavyweight Title and then defends it in a Fatal 4-Way against Orton, Sheamus & Mark Henry at SummerSlam.

* Night of Champions sees Cena regain the WWE Title from Mysterio and Orton defeat Christian one-on-one to win the World Heavyweight Title. Thus, the show closes with Cena vs. Orton, which Orton wins to give SmackDown! a bit of a rub and attention.

* So as a result, "War Games for Bragging Rights" sees Orton and Team SmackDown! get the advantage heading in. Theodore Long creates a team of Orton, Christian, Sheamus, Mark Henry & Sin Cara. Something like that. Team RAW is John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio & The Miz. Essentially, you just play off the bad blood between the sides, and on their own teams.

Basically, the idea is to create a rivalry big enough for Hell in a Cell, but also continues to the storylines on each brand. I haven't written this too eloquently, but I hope the general idea gets through. Do you guys like the idea, or is Noid drunk again?

[The Naitch]

Noid = genius

seriously you should work for WWE

[Shisen Kopf]

They need to have TL Hopper and Who vs The Godwins open every PPV.

[Razzamajazz]

first thought was war games plus just a tiny bit of blood, not much, but enough to get the point across.


now to read the thread

[Razzamajazz]

that would be much better than wrestlemania was

[Shisen Kopf]

Heres how I would book the autumn. In October the new PPV will be called Autumn Brawl. Sounds better than Fall Brawl right? Main event is Cena vs Del Rio vs R-truth vs Christian vs Orton vs Big Show vs Kane vs Ziggler vs Morrison vs Cody Rhodes vs kofi vs Swagger vs Zack Ryder in the first ever: Barb Wire, inferno, baseball bat, Texas strap ladder on a pole match. With special guest referee Droz. All participants are strapped together and have to climb the ladder to get the ladder so that they can use it to climb over the flames and out of the barb wire cage. Coming this Autumn! Serious rasslin.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

If WWE had an autumn themed ppv they would probably have a throw your opponent in a raked leaf pile to win match. There would also be a random bobbing for apples contest with the divas. A scarecrow dance contest with Michael Cole will also be included.

If WWE ever has War Games it'll probably only be after Vince is dead and Triple H is in full time charge.

[James Steele]

If WWE ever has War Games it'll probably only be after Vince is dead and Triple H is in full time charge.

I'm counting down the days my friend.

[CSL]

the glaring problem I see (if I'm reading correctly, which I might not be) is a PPV main event essentially being nothing but a build/hype job towards another PPV. The 'deciding who gets an advantage at War Games' stipulation isn't a great incentive to buy the show ("Pay $40 to see who gets an advantage the next time you pay $40") That's if I'm reading it right.

[James Steele]

the glaring problem I see (if I'm reading correctly, which I might not be) is a PPV main event essentially being nothing but a build/hype job towards another PPV. The 'deciding who gets an advantage at War Games' stipulation isn't a great incentive to buy the show ("Pay $40 to see who gets an advantage the next time you pay $40") That's if I'm reading it right.

I read that Cena/Orton headlines the ppv, and Orton wins just to give SD! the rub and they happen to get the 1-man advantage in War Games. Could have read it wrong, but he never said anything about a "winner gets advantage" stip. Either way, War Games = AWESOME.

[Executioner]

The WWE has had a problem over the last couple of years with their buys for PPVs such as Night of Champions, Hell in a Cell, Bragging Rights and even Survivor Series. Hell, Bragging Rights has already been scrapped (despite being a pretty interesting concept, in my opinion). I think it's good to cull the number of PPVs over that period, because there is an over-saturation there. But there are other problems with the shows.

Hell in a Cell has never really had appeal as an event to me, because HIAC used to be about the end to blood feuds. You just don't get two guys and throw them into a Hell in a Cell match. They are using the structure to sell the match, opposed to being a structure appropriate for a feud between two guys who want to really hurt each other. Night of Champions suffers because the WWE has conditioned us to not really care about any other titles than the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship. And because they like to get as many top level talents on the show as possible, there are clusterfucks around the top titles that dilute stories between the competitors, and main eventers going after the mid-card titles and such. That can be interesting, but it sort of messes up the direction of a lot of guys. Essentially, the PPV really becomes filler.

Anyway, my idea was to sort of create a link between Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell, using the Bragging Rights concept. At NOC, you have the six championships contended, but in addition to that, you either offer one or two inter-brand matches. The main event could be a WWE Champion vs. World Heavyweight Champion match. You could also do an IC vs. US Champion match, but it depends on time constraints and stuff like that, too. The winner of that match gets an advantage for their brand's team heading into an adapted concept making its debut in the WWE -- War Games.

Now, I know I was talking about clusterfucks and blood feuds, and this doesn't quite cover them -- but right now the hottest feuds in the WWE are Cena vs. Punk, Riley vs. Miz and Christian vs. Orton -- and it's unlikely they'll be feuding at HIAC. But by having two teams of five get inside the Hell in a Cell structure for brand supremacy, you're bound to have bad blood on both sides, which adds intrigue to the boiling pot that would be War Games.

So, let's hypothetically go with this scenario:

* CM Punk beats John Cena at Money in the Bank, but then MITB Winner Rey Mysterio cashes in and claims the WWE Title. Cena is owed a rematch, and they talk respect and stuff, but Rey takes little shots at Cena reminding him that Cena owes him his job, and stuff like that. The Rock is named the Special Guest Referee for a SummerSlam match between the two in Rey's stomping ground, and Mysterio retains the title after some shenanigans.

* Meanwhile on SmackDown!, Christian cheats his way to the World Heavyweight Title and then defends it in a Fatal 4-Way against Orton, Sheamus & Mark Henry at SummerSlam.

* Night of Champions sees Cena regain the WWE Title from Mysterio and Orton defeat Christian one-on-one to win the World Heavyweight Title. Thus, the show closes with Cena vs. Orton, which Orton wins to give SmackDown! a bit of a rub and attention.

* So as a result, "War Games for Bragging Rights" sees Orton and Team SmackDown! get the advantage heading in. Theodore Long creates a team of Orton, Christian, Sheamus, Mark Henry & Sin Cara. Something like that. Team RAW is John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio & The Miz. Essentially, you just play off the bad blood between the sides, and on their own teams.

Basically, the idea is to create a rivalry big enough for Hell in a Cell, but also continues to the storylines on each brand. I haven't written this too eloquently, but I hope the general idea gets through. Do you guys like the idea, or is Noid drunk again?

I read that Cena/Orton headlines the ppv, and Orton wins just to give SD! the rub and they happen to get the 1-man advantage in War Games. Could have read it wrong, but he never said anything about a "winner gets advantage" stip. Either way, War Games = AWESOME.

I love you guys....this would be perfect in a world without Vince.

[Nicky Fives]

1 ring would not be enough for War Games...... If they were to do it, they would need to have the 2 rings to make it more authentic......

[MoFo]

Bring back some WCW PPV's like Halloween Havoc.

[Emperor Smeat]

I'm a bit surprised they never bothered to take more WCW themed events for the slower part of the year considering all they used was The Great American Bash until last year and recently using Night of Champions the last few years.

I think another problem with the lack of buyrates is due to the WWE traditionally tends to slow down both on quality and effort with the late year PPVs and only restarts the effort once the Rumble or "Mania" hype season begins.

[FourFifty]

WWE taking ideas (like Wargames) from WCW is no better than TNA taking ideas from WWE. Breaking ground and making waves is what Vince McMahon did to create the golden era of professional wrestling, which is the foundation of the modern industry. He didn't steal ideas. He made them.
(before you make the "Vince raped the talent of the nation and created a monopoly" argument, he created them, and let them showcase their talents on a national level. No one had to sell out, they chose to go where the money was, and still is)

How about this- Hire 2-3 new writers who focus on developing rookie talents (not finding little guys who can't speak English) and midcard storylines. Slowly phase out Triple H, Cena is going to lose his edge after his match with The Rock (because let's face it- this isn't just jumping the shark. After a year of build up this is launching a rocket ship over a flying shark that shoots fire out of its ass), and the main event scene is pretty weak already. Build up a stable, a new main eventer, and a solid tag team scene. Everything else will fall into place.
You cannot build magic. It just happens. Just try to make Survivor Series an important PPV again and you're done. Maybe over the next few years have a major title change hands at that PPV.


If need be allow WWE to take a small fall for a month or three (because let's face it- during the new Monday Night Wars WWE had Jack Fucking Swagger as the WHC, so what do they have to lose?) to build up new talents to get people to care about them.

You cannot accept arm chair booking at face value. There are too many egos at stake, and too much money to lose to let the internet run a fortune 500 company.

[James Steele]

War Games is still a proven idea that drew for 15 years and hasn't been done on a national stage since Fall Brawl 1998. If WWE took the concept and tweaked it enough to make it their own, it could provide something fresh if they ever get another stable elevated enough to have some kind of "final battle". Imagine this concept with the peak of the Nexus vs WWE angle instead of them just jobbing out in a normal 8-man tag at SummerSlam (DB might have actually gotten a sweet pop if he was the last man for Team WWE as the clock counted down.) Proven ideas + proven draws = $$$$. There isn't exactly a whole hell of a lot that can be truly brand new and revolutionary in wrestling. It is all about tweaking the "formulas" and making them unique in spite of being done before/familiar. Hell, Jim Cornette's 7-year rule is pretty spot-on.

[FourFifty]

I'm not saying anything bad about war games, but let's face it- if ROH did a Hell In The Celll match they'd be seen as copy cats. If PWG had a King Of The Ring everyone would scream "rip off." Hell, if WWE did war games a lot of WCW fans would flip their shit and say WWE can't do anything original anymore.

[James Steele]

The difference is that WWE is the largest promotion in the world, bought the company they are ripping off, selling merch about said company, and the match concept hasn't been done in almost 15 years. WWE still does King of the Rings, Royal Rumbles, Hell in a Cells, etc so other promotions doing it would obviously called rip-offs. TNA got called a rip off for their Sting return promos because they did basically the exact same promos for Sting 2 weeks after WWE did them for Undertaker, but if it had been 15 years later I doubt anybody would have really noticed/cared. There aren't enough "WCW fans" left to really hurt WWE's image if they revived the concept. If anything "WCW Fans" might actually enjoy the revival of a staple match from their favorite promotion.

[Rock Bottom]

That's a neat idea.

Seems like the remedy for a void left behind by the Survivor Series back when it was awesome.

[Executioner]

I'm not saying anything bad about war games, but let's face it- if ROH did a Hell In The Celll match they'd be seen as copy cats. If PWG had a King Of The Ring everyone would scream "rip off." Hell, if WWE did war games a lot of WCW fans would flip their shit and say WWE can't do anything original anymore.

Id say WWE ripped off WCW anyway by making Hell in a Cell. WCW had the Thundercage, then WWE added a roof and replaced the metal bars with chain link fence. Same basic idea though, a cage match that "in theory" is unescapable and gives the wrestlers room around the ring to get closer to the fans for more spots. Of course there have been more better HIAC matches than the total number of Thundercage matches that WCW had. But I see what you mean.

[Executioner]

The difference is that WWE is the largest promotion in the world, bought the company they are ripping off, selling merch about said company, and the match concept hasn't been done in almost 15 years. WWE still does King of the Rings, Royal Rumbles, Hell in a Cells, etc so other promotions doing it would obviously called rip-offs. TNA got called a rip off for their Sting return promos because they did basically the exact same promos for Sting 2 weeks after WWE did them for Undertaker, but if it had been 15 years later I doubt anybody would have really noticed/cared. There aren't enough "WCW fans" left to really hurt WWE's image if they revived the concept. If anything "WCW Fans" might actually enjoy the revival of a staple match from their favorite promotion.

Agreed. Every promotion has ripped off/tweaked a concept by another rival. WCW took WCCW's Triple Dome of Terror concept in 1988, tweaked the cage and rules and made the Tower of Doom match. TNA ripped off WarGames with the Lethal Lockdown match. ECW did the 3-way Dance, then WCW created the Triangle Match and WWE developed the Triple Threat Match. Every promotion doesn't need to come up with an entirely new concept. Just take what has worked in the past. Make it unique for your company and run with it.

[Executioner]

1 ring would not be enough for War Games...... If they were to do it, they would need to have the 2 rings to make it more authentic......

Which if I'm not mistaken, Vince said he never liked the idea of using 2 rings because that cuts down on the amount of floor seating he is able to sell.

[Ultra Mantis]

I'm not saying anything bad about war games, but let's face it- if ROH did a Hell In The Celll match they'd be seen as copy cats. If PWG had a King Of The Ring everyone would scream "rip off." Hell, if WWE did war games a lot of WCW fans would flip their shit and say WWE can't do anything original anymore.

PWG have held an annual "King of the Ring" style tournament since 2005 by the way.

[James Steele]

Yeah, it isn't like a wrestling tournament was revolutionary when WWE started King of the Ring.

[#1-norm-fan]

What's the big deal about it being bad for WWE to "rip off" War Games? WWE literally owns the entire concept. Vince bought it along with everything related to WCW. It's hard to steal something you own.