Booking Marvels
 

Plain and simple, booking is something that fascinates me in wrestling. I love the characters, I love the work, but what I really love is a storyline realized for the fans over the course of time. Some wrestlers are legends because of booking, like Brock Lesnar. Some feuds are so epic that they still have strength now, like Kane vs. The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. What angles did you love and/or would you love to see?

Hollywood Hogan vs. Sting was epic. The crowd was so into Sting it was amazing. He didn’t wrestle a match for one year and was the most over guy in the company.

I loved that Taz v Triple H angle on Raw a decade ago.

ECW Champ v WWF Champ, back when Taz was still credible.

The amazing thing about booking is though, no matter how great the storyline, the payoff has to be great for the angle to be worth a damn.

Look at that very same Sting example you gave. Sting was over as hell, the hottest act in WCW, and booked fantastically...but the way they finally did his match with Hogan, it killed almost all of the gains he had built over the past year.

Taz chasing Shane Douglas for the ECW strap.
Goldberg in the beginning (no hype, no music, no pyro, no promos. Just squash after squash).
The Rock feuding with Austin over the IC strap.
The NAO forming and getting over from the sheer strength of giving Road Dogg a live mic and licence to shoot nightly. In that case, it was the lack of rigid booking. They would have never gotten over in the heavily scripted PG era.
A bit melodramatic, but the build up leading to Mach proposing to Miss "UlizabiT" was pretty memorable bit of booking too.

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That match is still great, regardless. People make too much of the finish being screwed up.

Loved that feud, wish the IC/US belts got that kind of attention now.

Dixie Carter: In the Ass

Honestly, I enjoyed the Taker/ Ministry of Darkness angle up until it became intertwined with the corporation.

You also have to acknowledge the brilliant early booking and development of the N.W.O. From Scott coming out the stands, to the guerrilla style surprise attacks to the Hogan heel turn.

Kurt Angle's first year in the WWE was booked perfectly.

He should have had a grand entrance and beat the piss out of Hogan, pinning him dead center of the ring.

Instead, he just walked out normally, had a good, if not standard match, and a terrible finish.

Another booking marvel: making Miz credible. Went from reality TV washout to near main eventer when everyone left him for dead.

For what it is Edge vs John Cena has always been booked really well. It is one that I never mind when they revisit.

Jericho vs Michaels have always had great feuds as well. Especially the 2008 one that was filled with tons of heat and emotion.

The booking of Taker vs HBK wrestlemania 26 was brilliant as well. The WM25 build was honestly better but since it had more on the line the mental breakdown of the HBK character over the course of months to get his match with Taker was brilliantly done....The match itself was booked brilliantly as well.

As far as Reality TV people go, Miz was actually pretty successful.

I loved how Lesnar was booked from the get go. Destroyed 3 people on his debut, fueded with both Hardys, won KotR, destroyed Hogan, beat Rock for the title, signed exclusively to SmackDown!, fued with Big Show, fued with Taker, fued with Angle.

The guy came off as a legit monster and I was a huge mark for him.

DX vs Nation was another great feud. It also set up the match which pretty much guaranteed HHH and Rock would be staying around for awhile.

King of the Ring needs to be brought back. It showcased real wrestling unlike the spot fest that is MITB and it's more credible than that stupid fucking brief case they all seem to have to carry around.

I love the MITB matches. I love the gimmick briefcase and what it represents.


I, too, LOVE King of the Ring but I also agree with those who have said that the concept of being "king of wrestling" is aged. It really just doesn't fit the young/hip phase that wrestling is in currently.

MITB is a nice replacement to the KOTR tournament. It is the WWE's best offensive maneuver to counter the X Division matches that excite the few TNA fans.

The briefcase is cool, too. I like that they carry it around. It shows just how much getting into the main event means to the guys who win. It creates controversy & also is a good weapon.

Miz has grown leaps and bounds since his MITB win. Giving him new and fresh things to rant about on the microphone.



So, in summary. I also love the KOTR tournament but I understand why it isn't used. The time has passed. In my mind the MITB is the modernized version of being "king".