Was it not better when there were surprises in wrestling?

[Maluco]

Just saw on the main page that they announced the last three Rumble participents, and there I thought that they might just have 3 surprises.

Looks like in the fight for buyrates, they have left nothing for the actual event itself.

On that note, what was your favourite...

a) Surprise Rumble participent

b) Surprise comeback/unannounced appearance on PPV


PPV only, just to see if leaving a few surprises, got people watching for the "anyhthing can happen" factor that is lost today.

[Ben Rodrigues]

2001 had about 5 or 6 mystery entrants - that's one of the reasons it was so great.

[Kane Knight]

Surprises are rarely such in wrestling.

[Xero]

Very rarely does Vince watch RAW (he doesn't watch SmackDown! or ECW period) and say "OMG I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT TO HAPPEN!"...

[Rammsteinmad]

I like returns when they're not advertised in advance. RVD's return at last years Rumble woulda been a huge mark-out moment for me if we didn't know about it in advance. Imagine the live audiances reaction when his music hits and they're not expecting it?

Then again, with the internet these days, nothing is unexpected these days.

[Xero]

I like returns when they're not advertised in advance. RVD's return at last years Rumble woulda been a huge mark-out moment for me if we didn't know about it in advance. Imagine the live audiances reaction when his music hits and they're not expecting it?

Then again, with the internet these days, nothing is unexpected these days.
Not true, NOBODY expected Angle in TNA. I don't think it was ever seriously speculated to be him at that time (people figured he'd be in TNA sooner or later, but not that soon).

They did the "big surprise" thing right, even having Angle play it up on his site.

[El Fangel]

I miss the ass-kicking returns, like Taker at Judgment Day, Or Austin during the invasion.

[Indifferent Clox]

Yeah, I've been trying to get my fiance into it. she likes sabu which shows she has taste and promise. (and a promising taste I might add [she's sitting right here...]) She says everything is so predictible, and I'm trying to show her the standout moments in a crap show. Like SD has it's good moments every week. but with all the lackluster Entertainment on WWE I'm hard pressed to find anythig worthy of converting a new fan who isn't a male between the ages of 4 and 20 or at least celebrating a time which the clock is at 4 and 20.

I think it shouldn't go back to how it was back in the day but how it could be in the future.

[Xero]

I miss the ass-kicking returns, like Taker at Judgment Day, Or Austin during the invasion.
Yeah, that Undertaker return was pretty awesome. :cool:

Except, I believe that's where Vince's Baby Boy almost broke his neck on the Tombstone and basically banned it. (At least that's what I heard.)

[Rammsteinmad]

Not true, NOBODY expected Angle in TNA. I don't think it was ever seriously speculated to be him at that time (people figured he'd be in TNA sooner or later, but not that soon).

They did the "big surprise" thing right, even having Angle play it up on his site.

True. But that's just one. I want more. :yes:

[El Fangel]

Also I am holding out for when its a 2-1 or a 3-2 beatdown in the ring, and then you hear.....

IF YOU SMELL...WHAT THE ROCK...IS COOKING.

I would mark out like a motherfucker, because we he returns like that he sprints to the ring, and whoops ass.

I miss The Rock :'(

[thedamndest]

How many times has Goldust returned via a Rumble?

It sucks that they announce when a big name, ie, HHH, is going to be returning from injury. Even when Batista was just showing up at a PPV they announced it. I guess it makes sense for the to announce a PPV to increase buys, but they could have done that exact thing on Smackdown and had it actually be a shocking reason to watch. With the Monday wars over, there is really no reason to stay glued to your set anymore. I find it pretentious and sort of demeaning to the rest of the stars that two months in advance, the big name gets a date set. The implicit message here is "Okay, wrestling world, our big name is returning, shit will start happening again." It seems to disregard any potential exciting developments that may happen up until that point. But again, with no reason to fight for ratings, there is no reason not to announce it, as at this point the announcement should theoretically increase the otherwise unvarying ratings.

[RVDmark]

IF YOU SMELL...WHAT THE ROCK...IS COOKING.

He Fucking Promised he'd be back and as a wrestling fan I hold him to that.

Although talking of secret / unexpected returns, I'm wondering if Austin will return at the rumble. Also wait till Eddie Guerrero comes back from 'injury' no-one will expect his return, except maybe Shadow.

[Xero]

For a while there a (small) part of me was always wanting to hear something like "I LIIIIIEEEEDD" and Eddie coming out in his lowrider. :'(

[Corkscrewed]

Yeah.

I've always been a fan of unannounced surprises too. Sure, you can advertise some comebacks, but sprinkle in a good number of unannounced ones too, so that fans tune in to see if anything can happen.

[CYCLOPTERSAURUS]

I thought Mr. Perfect's surprise appearance a few years ago was great. Also, as far as surprise debuts, The Radicals had a fantastic debut.

[El Fangel]

For a while there a (small) part of me was always wanting to hear something like "I LIIIIIEEEEDD" and Eddie coming out in his lowrider. :'(
I know what you mean, but at least now he can finally have his match against the other half of Micheals tag team.

[Fox]

WWE has taken to the theory that they will achieve better ratings and better viewership if they announce the returns and arrivals of the big name attractions. I.E. they'll probably announce Triple H's return a couple weeks in advance with the idea that more people will tune in.

What I don't think they realize is that if HHH, or any other wrestler, instead of making a scheduled and expected appearance on RAW, did some sort of a big run in at the end of the show and kicked all kinds of ass, not only would the fans get a bigger kick out of it due to the surprise factor, but it would lead them to tune in next week to see what other surprises might be in store.

That's one of the things I miss most about wrestling. The element of big surprise. I remember when Sting showed up on Nitro after a long departure and won the WCW Championship during the first hour of the show. Or Jericho's surprise WWE Championship win (the one that never happened). These days, you would never see anything like that.

[thedamndest]

The problem is that the people they would be wowing are the people that would most likely have watched anyways. They have been trying to reach more people by watering down the product into a more all encompassing entertainment field, and in turn, have driven away people who actually wanted to see wrestling. Any fans they could potentially gain from this type of activity would be fad fans who like their seasonal reality television; they wouldn't be there for the wrestling. It's like Vince is saying to the public, "Hey, come watch this shitty movie we're releasing! We got wrestling too sometimes, you know?" It's bad enough that there is already the stigma to the public of "Isn't wrestling fake??!" but when you're trying to compensate for that fakeness by making your wrestling world into a media extravaganza, you sacrifice your original agenda. So really, it doesn't matter if they announce comebacks or not. We all miss the way it used to be, but they know where the consistant ratings are.

[Rammsteinmad]

Besides, these days it's not like:

"I haven't watched wrestling for some time but OH MY GOOOOOOOD!!!! I must watch it tonight coz Batista returns. Whoopdy Doo!!!"

[Mr. Nerfect]

The Armageddon Ladder Match was a good surprise. :y:

[Kane Knight]

For a while there a (small) part of me was always wanting to hear something like "I LIIIIIEEEEDD" and Eddie coming out in his lowrider. :'(

Vince is saving that for Mania 25.

Sadly, it'll be a midget, and Paul Bearer will say something about how he was "not quite brought back right."

[RGWhat316]

I also like it when there are unannounced surprises. Benoit was one of the last ones at No Mercy a couple months ago. But even though I can see how they could increase buys by saying someone will return at a ppv, they could make more with someone who watches the ppv, sees someone return, and go and tell their friends what happened. That might make the person want to order the replay. But it's better when someone returns unannounced, so we get the bigger mark out moments.