wrestling / Columns

High Road/Low Road 08.13.10: 7 on 7 at SummerSlam

August 13, 2010 | Posted by Sat

Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road!

A brief explanation of the column: Sat takes the High Road (positive view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related “stuff” while Chad Nevett takes the Low Road (negative view).

7 ON 7 MATCH AT SUMMERSLAM

High Road:

I look at this match and I could see multiple things happening. My first guess was that this match is not going to be the end of this feud just because the logical option seems to be that somebody from Cena’s team would betray the team. But then I thought that this does not seem possible just because of the fact that tension between the teammates is already being teased. I think that just because we have no idea what is going to happen has to make this match that much more interesting.

Low Road:

It would have been better if the WWE hadn’t settled the inner tension of the team. By having them unite at the end of Raw and send the Nexus running, it took some of the drama out of the match. Part of the appeal was seeing if the team could band together to take on a solidified faction and, now, that element is gone to a degree. There is some uncertainty, but not as much as there could have been.

High Road:

One of the smart things that the WWE did was that they shored up John Cena’s team. The Great Khali probably should not have been on the team at all and it was probably for the best that they removed him from the team. While the team still has only six members, they have teased The Miz joining the team. I think the elimination of the Great Khali makes John Cena’s team a very good one.

Low Road:

Except the Great Khali wasn’t the only questionable member. Bret Hart’s involvement still looks like a bad move considering how limited he is in the ring. While the Miz is a logical choice for the group since he’s the US Champion and the Raw Money in the Bank winner, he would be a poor choice since, unlike Jericho and Edge, he has no reason to want to eliminate Nexus. He’s too self-centered to care about anyone other than him, a trait shared with Jericho and Edge, but, at least, with them, they set up problems with Nexus. The team still needs to lose some dead weight and the only teased replacement wouldn’t make sense.

High Road:

Having an elimination match at SummerSlam is a smart move because it shows that the WWE is thinking about their upcoming pay per views. Most likely, Bragging Rights will be a multi man match which is going to be a one fall match and then the Survivor Series will be an elimination match. I think having the elimination matches separated from each other is a smart move by the WWE.

Low Road:

Those pay-per-views aren’t far off, so it isn’t an issue for me. I think worrying about that sort of thing is stupid as the type of match that occurs should be determined by the storyline. I’ll concede that an elimination match makes sense here, but not because of its relationship to other PPVs.

High Road:

The main complaint about the 7 on 7 match is that Cena’s team has some members who have had nothing done to them by the Nexus. For the most part, the team makes sense because most of the guys do have a reason to be in this match, but there are some guys who do not have a reason. I am okay with some of the guys on the team just because it would have been really difficult to get 7 guys who have a reason to be in this match.

Low Road:

The Nexus has attacked a lot of people. Having them attack a few more to provide reasons for them to want revenge wouldn’t be too difficult. This story has been going on more than long enough to accomplish that and that the WWE hasn’t is sloppy. Anyone involved in this match without a personal stake detracts from it. The whole point of the match is that it’s personal.

High Road:

Some would argue that having conflict on John Cena’s team is a bad idea. I think it is nice to have some conflict on John Cena’s team because it shows that even though there is some conflict, they are able to work around it because they realize the importance of the situation at hand.

Low Road:

I’m not sold on the problem, though. I understand wanting revenge against the Nexus, but this whole argument that they’re fighting for the business is lame. It doesn’t ring true and every time someone raises it, I just laugh at the absurdity. How does seven guys who were pissed about not being treated fairly when they worked their asses off to get into the WWE wanting to destroy the WWE make any sense? At least with Jericho and Edge, it’s clear that they’re doing it for revenge, the only motive that makes sense. The WWE hasn’t made that clear enough to sell the rift between teammates.

High Road:

Right now, there are not a lot of matches announced for SummerSlam. I think that this bodes well for the 7 on 7 match because the match is bound to get a fair amount of time. An elimination match needs to get some time because if it doesn’t then there will be eliminations that come really quickly and the match will not be as good. I think the fact that there are not that many matches announced should help the 7 on 7 elimination match.

Low Road:

Not necessarily, new matches can still be announced for Smackdown or added on the night of the show. Usually, when WWE PPVs look underbooked, that means last minute matches added because they don’t want the show to seem empty and see that as a better solution than giving matches more time. This could get the necessary time, but I wouldn’t use the lack of booked matches as evidence for that.

High Road:

The 7 on 7 match has to be the most anticipated match out of the SummerSlam card. I look at the two world title matches and I am not interested in them at all. Orton/Sheamus will probably have a good match, but is anybody buying the pay per view because of that? The same thing can also be said about the Mysterio/Kane match. I think the most of the buys for SummerSlam will be because of the 7 on 7 match because it is the only interesting match on the card.

Low Road:

I’m looking forward to the Kane/Mysterio match, but I’ve been digging that story quite a bit. Otherwise, I have to agree. This is clearly the main event match, the one the WWE has spent the most time selling, but that’s only a good thing if you think it’s been handled right. Since it’s the centerpiece of the show, it could be the thing that prevents people from buying SummerSlam if they haven’t liked the Nexus story.

Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?

High Road

Low Road

Both Roads

OR

Simply write “High Road”, “Low Road”, or “Both Roads” in the comment section.

Results for Hardcore Justice:

High Road: 39%
Low Road: 52%
Both Roads: 09%

Sat: I think that this is a both roads because I can see this topic has its High Roads and its Low Roads.

Chad Nevett: Low Road all the way. Not even a question. When I’m looking forward to your free ‘would have been the pay-per-view’ episode of Impact more than the PPV you chose to go with FAR more, then it’s hard to call it a High Road. Nope, Low Road. One of the easiest Low Roads I’ve written yet.

E-Mails:

These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.

Dan Vedral Writes:

One of the best things about ECW was the air of “anything can happen”. The format for Hardcore Justice allows for much of the same. Announcing just a few matches is VERY ECW. As a rabid original ECW fan, I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen at the PPV. Yes most of these guys are broken down and don’t have much left in them. But these are still the same guys who bled buckets for us, gave us storylines that put anything WWE or TNA could ever come up with to shame, and revolutionized an entire industry.

I’ll put my faith in Dreamer’s ability and passion in a heartbeat over the rehashed, tired product that TNA and WWE shovel to us each week. Maybe, just maybe, I’m going to see something a little different this Sunday. And that is something to be excited about.

Sat: One of the reasons only a few matches were announced was they only had a few top guys that they could showcase.

Chad Nevett: I understand the reasoning behind only announcing two matches, but I think copying what ECW used to do looks less professional now than it did then. The standard is to announce the full card (aside from the surprise matches that TNA and the WWE do from time to time for reasons that escape logic) and not doing so gives the impression that you don’t know what you’re doing.

Comments:

Below are the comments for last week’s columns and our responses. Every comment will not be included because it makes our lives a lot easier. The comments section was last looked at on Tuesday Morning Pacific Time.

Uwe Writes:

The lowest possible road ever.

Just the thought of an entire pay per view with these fossils creeps me out. I know that people mostly remember only the good things of their past, but sometimes things look better in retrospect than they actually were. And believe me, after the novelty factor wore off, ECW was nothing more than a stunt show without any redeeming quality to it. So besides the nerdiest fanboys in the world, who is actually looking forward to this and say “damn, I have to see that show”? It makes me sad actually that this is taking place at all.

Sat: I think there are quite a few people who want to see the show. The question is will they pay for the show? My gut is that they won’t.

Chad Nevett: ECW had its appeal and purpose back in its prime, but this over a decade later and I don’t see the point beyond nostalgia. And, thankfully, with modern technology, any time someone wants to relive the past, there are numerous ways to do so that don’t involve wasting a PPV.

The Gold Standard Writes:

High Road. I think and hope this is the last ECW reunion show. I’ll admit it’s sad to see old favs like raven and sandman (don’t know if he’s appearing) and company wrestle past their prime seeing they weren’t ring technicians in their prime. I still love some ECW. The RVD vs. Jerry Lynn match should be awesome and honestly I wouldn’t be surprised to see RVD drop the title to Lynn in some screwy fashion. I like TNA but I wouldn’t put it past them to put the title on a wrestler not under contract.

Sat: Well, Lynn was not able to go and I think that will hurt the buys that the pay per views gets.

Chad Nevett: Every reunion show is the last one. It never ends.

ROH Commish Writes:

Low Road.

How could you not mention the obvious: why devote a whole PPV to EV2.0 when you could have just mixed Dreamer, Raven, Richards and Rhino into the original PPV.

Sure, it wouldn’t be deemed special but in reality, this PPV is a WEAK rehash of 2005.

The guys they are bringing in add nothing to TNA and TNA’s bottom line. Dixie is in the habit of giving charity to guys who are A) drug abusers, B) malcontents or C)underachievers. I truly believe Dixie is doing this out of pity but she doesn’t realize she is being worked. Dixie can’t fire anyone. Guys that haven’t been used in months are getting big money. Christy Hemme can’t wrestle so she gets over $100,000 to do interviews. Dixie is a mark and you can’t be a mark when you are the promoter.

Sat: It seems to me that you are right. Dixie has made some questionable decisions and I think eventually all of these bad decisions will hurt TNA.

Chad Nevett: Part of me thinks we’re going to be watching TNA slowly collapse over the next couple of years… I don’t want that to happen, but 2010 has had so many questionable calls that haven’t paid off and have hurt the company that it doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility.

Guest#9747 Writes:

Low Road.

Sure, it is nice to play for a one time boost in PPV sales, but how does this help TNA in the long run? Without any TNA matches and only three regular TNA wrestlers in the show, there are no showcases for the real TNA product.

People polled say they want some ECW, or miss it in some way. But I think that this is one of those cases where reality disappoints. NONE of the ECW wrestlers are in their prime. Nobody at 40 or older is. So yeah, I think people miss ECW the way it was. But you can’t recreate it with the very same wrestlers a decade later.

Let’s face it, few of the wrestlers that Paul Heyman was left with after the WCW and WWF talent raids were great workers even in their primes. If they had gotten better, they would have been working the indy circuit all this time. They haven’t been.

Sometimes it is better to just let things go.

Sat: The show really showed that the guys are way past their time. And I think TNA knows that there is no long term gain from this, but TNA is worried about the short term gains.

Chad Nevett: TNA is grasping at straws and it’s sad to watch.

Bob Shultz Writes:

High Road.

We need this show. Latest ECW related thing was the WWECW brand which was embarrassing. It’s that simple.

Sat: You can argue whether we need this show or not, but I think this show is going to get some people signed to TNA who should not be signed.

Chad Nevett: I don’t understand this argument at all. Anyone can tell the difference between ECW and the WWE’s version, so why is anyone upset? It’s just a name. A name, I might add, that wasn’t used on Sunday. So, if the point is to redeem the name, how can that happen if they weren’t legally allowed to use said name? It doesn’t make any sense.

Guest#8675 Writes:

Low Road

WWE did this much better 5 years ago back when most of these guys could actually still go in the ring.

This is gonna be a nightmare of botches. And what’s the over/under for total number of bladings in this thing? I’ve got 10.

Sat: The pay per view was worse than I expected in terms of match quality, but really it was not a surprise given that the guys are so old and broken down.

Chad Nevett: I have no idea how good or bad the PPV was since I avoided it like the plague, only skimming Chris Lansdell’s recap of it for any signs that something of interest happened. Nothing did.

lethargic Writes:

Looooooow road.

I would love to see a real ECW reunion show. The problem is that everybody from the great ECW is dead, crippled, crazy, or 80 years old. So what we really have is a reunion of TNN ECW and nobody wants to see that garbage again. I’d love to see a reunion show have a three way dance between The Pitbulls, The Eliminators and The Gangstas…that can’t happen but oh, look, Simon Diamond…? Who gives a crap???

Sat: The main problem for ECW is the wrestlers are in no shape to be wrestling

Chad Nevett: There are a few guys who can still deliver and they’re either working steadily for TNA or WWE. Why TNA would want to put on a PPV mostly featuring people they had no interest in using two months ago shows how stupid the idea is.

midcard Writes:

Low Road

When the WWE did this it helped market there own product and lead to One Night Stand being a PPV for a few years that was actually pretty good. The ending was even good with Stone Cold leading the charge and it was part of his character being the badass anti-hero. This one shot deal isn’t getting any of the TNA talent over. From business stand point I can’t see how this helps TNA, unless this is so amazing that it turns out to be a must own ppv on DVD.

Also one of the high road points is that the card is rather unknown so people will buy it to see what goes down. This is the anti argument for some of the weaker PPVs that have taken place, look at December to Dismember, the card was built around 1 match that was supposed to be huge and then a week before they said it would be the Hardys vs MNM, who could have had a great series of tag matches. The rest of the card looked like any other ECW TNN tv taping once it was finally revealed, how is this train of thought going to help TNA at all?

Sat: I think TNA might try to use this pay per view to capitalize too because ratings have been good though if they do it would be a huge mistake.

Chad Nevett: I’ve never seen December to Dismember, but the local Wal-Mart has a few WWE PPVs for $5 and that’s one of them. I’ve heard how bad it is and I’m always tempted to pick it up to see how bad, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do it yet. Is it so bad it’s worth seeing, readers?

SHADE Writes:

Low Road. I think the reason that only two matches have been announced so far is that there’s only about 4 ECW guys left who can actually still stand up straight. Sabu in his prime was god-awful and botched at least two spots per match and I’m sure The Sandman’s gonna be totally wasted and fucking up more as well. On TNA’s roster, there’s the main ECW guys that most people care about. Now they’re bringing in all these random guys like Axl Rotten and CW Anderson. Really? Does anyone care about these two anymore, let alone did they in the past? Besides the fact that there’s tons of these guys just like them showing up. Heyman and The Dudleyz both think this is an awful idea and that should be enough to not go through with this idea. One Night Stand was cool when ECW was still relatively talked about. Nail in the coffin? More like lighting the casket on fire after it’s been sealed shut

Sat: The problem is that there are very few guys who are still available that can still wrestle. Also, I think it was not a surprise that the Sandman did not wrestle and only was involved a little bit.

Chad Nevett: Since I wasn’t an ECW guy, I didn’t recognize a lot of these names. Not a good sign for the quality if these guys can’t regular work at any of the promotions I follow/read about.

thatguy Writes:

High road- RVD v. Jerry Lynn, RVD is an ECW original spot monkey. Jerry Lynn sells offense like few others, a match made in heaven. RVD needs guys like Lynn, Hardy or HBK to sell that ridiculous move set. This match will be good and makes sense as although these guys have battled many times few could name more reasons than a pure exhibition.

Low road- Dreamer v. Raven. This story arched and progressed so well. What are the outcomes people expect? If Dreamer wins he will either be labeled as Dixie’s company boy or ruining the years of abuse he took to get his one victory over Raven. Or Raven wins and it looks like Dreamer was being his humble business first guy who let’s the bad guy win in the end.

For as badly as the Ecw relaunch looked like damage to the legacy of the originals, Dreamer/Raven was one of the best feuds in history and will forever be punctuated by an over the hill exhibition that ruins the aura of this timeless rivalry. I predict a schmoz involving Foley taking the magic out of his anti hardcore Tommy Dreamer promos.

Sat: The Dreamer/Raven match was a definite low road. Seemed like it dragged way too much and they probably could have added another match or something.

Chad Nevett: As I said in the roundtable for this PPV, the only way I would have been interested in the Dreamer/Raven match is if Mick Foley took on the Cactus Jack persona, turned on both men, pinned one, and declared himself the winner. That would have been fun to see.

Guest#6757 Writes:

Remember, ECW was more than just people doing horrific things to their bodies; it was a place where quality wrestling took place, but almost everyone responsible for that part of ECW is retired, lost it, or still in the WWE.

You forgot to mention that some former ECW talent are dead, and I’m taking the LOW ROAD on this one this ECW reunion is just not interesting to me I’m actually more interested in the Thursday night show next week than this

Sat: I would say that the Thursday show is definitely more intriguing though I would have used that time to build to No Surrender.

Chad Nevett: I’m looking forward to The Whole F’N Show quite a bit. I think TNA made a big mistake by bumping this card since it has the payoff of the Motor City Machine Guns and Beer Money along with AJ Styles/Kurt Angle, two matches that I think people would have paid for. Especially the Guns/Beer Money one after four weeks of stellar matches on Impact. That’s how you build to a PPV, dammit! That’s how you get people wanting to spend money to see a match! And that’s the match they bump? Whatever. I get to see it for free, so I’m not too upset, I just think they managed to build this PPV right and then bumped it. Baffling.

FAIL Writes:

Lowest road possible.

You shit all over your current roster and hire a couple of guys for one night only, which has nothing to do with storylines, and you tell your real talents that they are not good enough.

Sat: I think the biggest problem will be that the roster will revolt just because they missed a payday.

Chad Nevett: Throw in rumors of top guys already annoyed/pissed off and TNA doesn’t look that great of a place to be these days…

Guest#4025 Writes:

Low Road

They won’t make more money on having a ECW ppv because most old ECW fans inside the TNA-fanbase is already gone. And the ones alive won’t fill huge buyrates.
Their is no possible reason to do this because they will certainly not attract new fans out of this.

Sat: They definitely can’t get new fans out of it.

Chad Nevett: I also think that HardCORE Justice possibly alienated some TNA fans. I know it turned me off. It became a skippable PPV for any TNA fans since it had nothing to do with TNA!

Guest#3222 Writes:

Both Roads

– TNA doesn’t get a lot of PPV buys anyway
– TNA fans get a PPV-caliber episode of Impact out of this
– Non-TNA fans get to see what they’re missing so they may complain more accurately
– It may lead to something bigger
– I think a more ideal solution may have been keeping TNA talent at the PPV and have an ECW special on Spike.

Sat: Is it smart to do a pay per view caliber TV show and a pay per view show that was not very good?

Chad Nevett: I think doing a PPV-caliber show on Impact is smart in that it reminds people that TNA’s PPVs can be very good when they focus on the wrestling and limit the stupid stories. I just think they would have been better off doing it in addition to a regular PPV. Maybe partway between two to show that, yes, the next one is worth buying without stepping on the toes of a PPV.

Jim Writes:

How many times can they drag ECW’s dead carcass out of the ground and throw it on TV? ECW was great. Let it rest in peace. ONS 05 was a perfect swan song for the company, no need to keep doing this bullshit. Low Road.

Sat: Probably cause ECW has the potential to make some money and until that is not true, we will keep seeing ECW popping up.

Chad Nevett: I’ll be curious to see what HardCORE Justice’s buyrates were to see if ECW does make money still.

The Great Captain Smooth Writes:

Both roads. Low, because there won’t be anything to come out of it. High, because I’m curious to see how a TNA production with these guys will compare to WWE’s ONS.

Chad Nevett: Judging from what I’ve read: TNA’s version was a hell of a lot worse.

Sat: TNA’s version was not even close to the WWE’s. I can’t see anybody arguing with that.

Guest#6599 Writes:

absolutely nothing good can come of this.

The show bombs, then it hurts TNA.

The shows succeeds, then TNA will likely continue with it.

Again-no good can come. Low road.

Sat: I’m afraid that if the show does good, then we will see more of ECW which is definitely a mistake.

Chad Nevett: Oh god, I hadn’t considered the possibility that this would be a success…

LOOK! Writes:

Hey Guys:

I know it isn’t possible to confirm, but based on some comments, you can tell it is one person typing over and over in a short amount of time.

Sat: It good be possible, but there is no way to know. I will admit that there were three or four comments that were a bit suspicious.

Chad Nevett: Definitely possible. I have no idea why someone would do that, but people do.

JLAJRC Writes:

Low Road, for the simple reason is that I’m not convinced this will simply be a one off PPV/angle.

Remember that rumor a few months back about TNA/Spike wanting to do four hours of wrestling on Thursdays, but for some reason it got scuttled? Well, with TNA Reaction coming, I can easily see them creating a new TNAECW show to come on before Impact, with TNA using the success of the PPV as their reason/excuse.

The problem is that TNAECW would be just a copy of WWEECW, which fans didn’t care for (but I think was really underrated). Why do something that failed, especially so soon since the last experiment hasn’t been dead a year yet?

Sat: I do not want to see TNAECW show at all.

Chad Nevett: No. Not going to happen.

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Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at [email protected] or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week’s column.

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