wrestling / Columns

The 8 Ball 6.12.13: Top 8 Extinct WWE PPVs

June 12, 2013 | Posted by David McGregor

Welcome to the new, and possibly not improved, 8 Ball for the Wrestling section of 411. I am David McGregor and I previously wrote for this site last year, over on the gaming section predominantly.

To be honest though, I started on the site with the hope of writing a list-based column over on the wrestling section. And after 6 months away and a deadly dissertation I finally got it!

The topic for this week is going to be extinct PPV’s. The PPV’s of yesteryear! These are the shows that Vince McMahon canned for one reason or another. And this isn’t specific years, just the show in general. For example, Backlash or Judgment Day not No Mercy 2009.

This week I will just be looking at WWE shows, that won’t stop people commenting I know.

My criteria for deciding are basically which ones I enjoyed and which I like the concept of. As well as those that tended to have good matches consistently each year.

Top 8 Extinct WWE/WWF Shows

Number 8 – Taboo Tuesday

Stay with me on this one. I believe that fan interaction is a brilliant idea. But the execution of that since 2007 has been pretty awful, especially when it stopped being a PPV and moved onto being a special episode of Raw.

But in back in 2004 when Vince McMahon made the special announcement of a new fan interaction based PPV, it did seem like it could be a big thing. Indeed the show was great, although there were some issues that would ruin the whole idea in later shows. Some of the matches seemed too obvious, I think Flair even asked the fans for a Steel Cage match when it was one of the options to vote on. That pretty much makes the idea redundant. But the show was great, HBK and Triple H had another fantastic match and Orton and Flair closed the show with a bloody classic. The shining moment of the whole fan interaction idea was the Intercontinental Championship Match between Jericho and whomever the audience decided. There were 15 people to choose from and 4 who could have easily won it. That is the kind of thing the show should have been built on. Letting the WWE audience choose from a whole host of choices, with 3 or 4 being really possible.

The pinnacle for the whole fan interaction idea was Taboo Tuesday 2005. There were some great ideas, such as Foley v Carlito in which the audience choose which of the 3 personas he would be. That is a fantastic idea! All three of the personas are so different that it changes the whole makeup of the match, something that very few of the stipulations actually did. That’s what was missing from a lot of the choices; they didn’t affect the match all that much.

I still think the idea was great, but it was just the execution that wasn’t very good. For logistic reasons it would be hard to let the audience choose everything, but a more difficult choice makes for a better product in the end. Skewing too much to one side, like Cage v Regular Match v Submission Match, will only lead to the whole idea being shit on by the fans. Had they had an Ambulance Match v Cage Match v Strap Match, and that is a decent selection of choices that the fans can look forward to. But those kinds of choices will only ever be available on PPV, so they can make as much money as possible. I say bring back Taboo Tuesday, the world is more vocal than ever through social media and the like so why the hell not? And they do love their social media.

Number 7 – Breaking Point

I am normally not a fan of submission matches, unless they have the right mixture of talent. And when it was announced that Breaking Point (fantastic name by the way) would be main evented with predominantly submission matches, it is fair to say I wasn’t looking forward to it at all. But I’ll be damned; they made the PPV one of the best of 2009.

It is phenomenal to watch when the right talent meet and make an idea fly, well maybe not a Championship Scramble match but hey! I like the ingenuity that the WWE put into Breaking Point, aside from the crappy screw job finish to Undertaker v Punk. I loved the Submissions Count Anywhere Match, which was a stroke of genius. As a lot of submission matches are ring based, and very methodical, for a newer fan that could be seen as dull. But DX v Legacy was an excellent match and it was completely different from any submission match I have ever seen. Which was exactly what the show needed.

I think a night of submission should definitely return, although I think this one may be better suited to a special episode of Raw. Although Raw is predominantly a flashy show, I don’t think a couple of 15 minute Submission matches would work. Submissions Count Anywhere matches can return any time though!

Number 6 – Vengeance

Screw Night of Champions, Vengeance was where the big guns came out. I don’t know why, but it seemed that every year we had a stacked card for Vengeance. The first Undisputed World Champion was crowned at Vengeance in 2001, then Undertaker, Rock and Angle have a classic at the same event the very next year. Further on down the line it became the Raw brands go to PPV, with Angle v HBK 2 and DX reuniting for the show. Smackdown didn’t really have an alternative, it just seemed like Raw had one massive PPV each year due to the Draft.

There was times when Vengeance was a better PPV than Summer Slam or the Survivor Series, which is pretty crazy when it’s meant to be a nothing B-level show. In 2005 we had Angle v HBK and a Hell in a Cell between Batista and Triple H, that is a two huge matches that could have easily main evented a major event.

When an event has such a good record for standard of show, people look forward to it. I think WWE made a mistake by taking that away, and it is far too late now as there wasn’t enough time left to create a brand around the show. It was one of my favorite shows every year, but I am well aware that its time has indeed passed.

I always looked forward to Vengeance each year, just shame it had to be devolved into Night of Champions, which for me has always been the worst gimmick PPV created.

Number 5 – Backlash

This was intended to be No Way Out, and that would have been a perfectly acceptable pick. But then I realized just how massive a show Backlash really was. You have one of the best top-to-bottom shows of all time in Backlash 2000, then the amazing Cactus Jack v Randy Orton of 2004 and even a fantastic Last Man Standing Match with Undertaker and Batista. On a side note, who actually saw those two having such great chemistry? Outstanding work from both of them!

The Backlash show was the perfect chances to either fix the mistake of WrestleMania, or up the ante with some gimmick matches. Some times Backlash was actually better than WrestleMania, 2000 and 2007 being prime examples of that. This is one of those shows that I really enjoyed every year, but that just doesn’t need to be there anymore. Extreme Rules automatically attaches stipulations to the big feuds, and while that may feel a bit forced it does exactly what Backlash would do anyway. There isn’t a desperate need for the show to return, but there were so many truly amazing matches and aspects of Backlash that it should go down as one of the all time greatest B-Level shows.

Number 4 – Fully Loaded

God I loved Fully Loaded, the name was meaningless but the few shows we got are some of my favorite of all time. I will be honest in saying that the major reason this show is here is because of Stone Cold Steve Austin v The Undertaker in a First Blood Match from Fully Loaded 1999. That was the match I watched when I was 8 and was completely involved, 100% believed in everything that was happening before me. Everyone has that match they watched as a child that is the reason they are still here. Most probably have a “better” match than mine, but I was a diehard Vince McMahon fan and his career was on the line! I didn’t watch wrestling regularly when Austin was going crazy in 1997/8, but by 1999 I was there every week. And I was definitely in McMahon’s corner, so the thought of him not being there next week was insane. What can I say; I have a thing for successful men.

But there were also some other great matches from the shows. Triple H and Rock were in a Two Out of Three Falls Match for the IC Title, and faced each other the next year in a Strap Match. But the other match that stands out is Jericho v Triple H in a Last Man Standing Match, definitely one of the absolutely best matches of either mans career. It isn’t a show I would immediately bring back, but for the brief time it was here I have a lot of memories. It was the show that cemented my seat every Monday night, or Friday as it was in the UK at the time.

3rd Place – Bragging Rights

Oh this one had so much potential! In fact I don’t think it was so much the show that got screwed up, I think it was more that they messed up the brand extension prior to this. Had this PPV been created in 2005 it would have been brilliant. But with so many jumps and drafts, the whole idea of a brand extension is pretty much dead. That single brand extension idea is what the entire show is founded on, if you don’t have brands fighting out of loyalty then you don’t have a show.

But that doesn’t stop me loving a good old-fashioned brand war. Survivor Series 2005 is a prime example of how to execute this kind of thing. Both shows hated each other for a few months, and then the best of Smackdown and some of the best of Raw went at it in 10-man tag team match. That is how the 14-man tag match should have been done, and there really is a need for a better prize. How about the main event of WrestleMania? Or a free draft pick? Anything is better than a crappy trophy. Bragging Rights is a good thing to win, but it just isn’t enough.

But I digress, there is so much potential there for the show. They could have even made the Iron man Match a staple of the show. Like the Elimination Chamber was for No Way Out, it was explicitly stated but it happened annually. There were so many avenues the show could have went down, but they didn’t have the back of a coherent brand extension. It could be brought back with some of the older established guys fighting off the newbies, or even re-establish the brand extension again and recreate brand loyalty. Hell, I just loved the inter-show fighting.

2nd Place – Armageddon

This is another show that fell victim to the gimmick PPV overload. I’m not against gimmick PPV’s, but renaming shows idiotic simple things for no reason irritates me. For a time Armageddon was one of the best shows the WWE did. Some huge matches took place there, from HBK v Triple H in a 3 Stages of Hell Match in 2002 to the 6 Man Hell in a Cell from 2000. It seemed like the place for a brutal confrontation, but none more so than the 4 Team Ladder Match in 2006. London and Kendrick, Taylor and Regal, MNM and The Hardy’s fought in a ladder match, an impromptu ladder match might I add, and it completely stole the show. The match was amazing, and sadly Joey Mercury got his face smashed in quite the horrific accident. But they kept going and were the match of the night, by a long country mile!

It seemed like the one PPV in which you could throw multiple gimmick matches onto the show and no one would bat an eyelid. This is why it irks me that it was renamed TLC, we already knew Armageddon meant stipulations matches galore! We expected Armageddon to be horrific and dangerous, it was in the name after all. I think there are some PPV titles that just click; you are instantly curious as to what it entails. Armageddon was one of those shows; this was going to be an insane and destructive night of wrestling. Most times in its later years it wasn’t and that’s why it probably got the can, but for a few shows it really lived up to its name. Screw TLC, it sounds too much like the channel where Honey Boo Boo came from. Not that I’m against that little girl, she works it. But Armageddon is not a place for that. Bring back Armageddon and treat the fans with an ounce of respect, we aren’t all morons.

1st Place – King of the Ring

It was an obvious choice for first place, but a deserved choice all the same. WWE today is plagued with stop start pushes, and a constant struggle of how to build talent properly. They are also looking for anyway to rejuvenate PPV business, and gimmick shows seem to be their way forward. Therefore why on earth has the King of the Ring not been re-established? It solves the two biggest problems the WWE have, and people haven’t shut up about it since it was cancelled in 2002.

Without even mentioning the matches, the prestige that has come from the show is without parallel. Sure, winning the Royal Rumble and main-eventing WrestleMania is the sign that you have made it. But, winning the King of the Ring was the sign you were on your way. Sadly, that moment has been given to the Money in the Bank winner now. You might be beating the same amount of people to win the coveted prize, but being King is something that will never be forgotten. Not every winner was destined for glory, looking at you Billy Gunn, but everyone bar Mabel has made a lasting impression in the wrestling world that won’t easily be forgotten. Ok, Ken Shamrock didn’t either but to be fair if he was signed 5 years later he would have been WWE Champion for sure!

Then there are the actual moments that made King of the Ring special. The infamous Hell in a Cell with Mankind and The Undertaker, Angle v Shane McMahon in a Street Fight and Bret Hart v Mr Perfect to name but a few. There have been some of the most entertaining and important matches of all time at King of the Ring. That isn’t a reason to bring it back; the past is not always going to repeat itself. But that is the reason people fell in love with it.

The King of the Ring shouldn’t come back because it was popular in the 90’s. It shouldn’t come back because Mankind got tossed off the top of the cell. It should come back because the title of King of the Ring means something. Austin or Bret being great former King’s means nothing, but it is a pedestal that a new guy can sit on. A pinnacle that can have the audience relate to a newbie as being of equal importance to previous winners. Being in the main event of WrestleMania, the actual last match means you have made it in wrestling. That’s the kind of achievement the WWE need to bestow upon their new guys. And that’s what I loved about the King of the Ring.

Until next time, I have been David McGregor and this is the 8 Ball!

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