High Road/Low Road 02.23.07: The Placement of No Way Out
Posted by Chad Nevett on 02.23.2007
No Way Out is stuck between two of the most popular pay per views that the WWE has to offer. Should No Way Out be removed from this slot? You decide in this week's High Road/Low Road.
Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road! A brief explanation of the column: Uncle Trunx takes the Low Road (negative view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related "stuff" while Sat takes the High Road (positive view).
The Results for TNA's attempt at a Women's Division:
High Road: 25%
Low Road: 59%
Both Roads: 15%
E-Mails:
No e-mails this week because we didn't receive any concerning TNA's attempt at a Women's Division.
This week's High Road/Low Road featuring...
The Placement of No Way Out
High Road:
No Way Out needs to be between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania because with it there would be a huge gap between the two pay per views. The gap between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania is about two months. That is too much of a gap and a pay per view is needed between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. This isn't the old WWE where you can have a large gap between pay per views.
Low Road:
You're right; this is the modern WWE where we get 15 Pay Per Views a year. Given that the Rumble is now Late January and Wrestlemania is in March or early April, that's two months. Given that the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania are two of the biggest events of the year, No Way Out seems like an afterthought. It's one of those events which gets lost in the shuffle too easily, and it feels as if it's in there just to get wrestling fans to pay out more money to WWE.
High Road:
No Way Out allows for the main event of WrestleMania to get some extended build. This year's main event is going to help build the RAW and SmackDown main event. Last year, No Way Out helped build the triple threat match. WrestleMania is the biggest pay per view of the year and it deserves an extended build. No Way Out allows for that happen.
Low Road:
Surely the amount of TV time they have available is enough to build to a decent Wrestlemania? It wasn't a problem in the days before we had a PPV every five minutes; feuds lasted months and often years, and paying them off at an event like Wrestlemania made them feel special. Now, with a feud needing to be built and paid off every months or two, Wrestlemania often doesn't feel like it's providing a climax to the year, it feels like a thrown together show in parts. I feel that the proliferation of pay per view events is contributing to this, and having No Way Out between the Rumble and Wrestlemania is a perfect example of this.
High Road:
No Way Out is a good place to lay the foundation for some of the matches at WrestleMania. This hasn't been done that much at No Way Out, but feuds can develop at this pay per view. There were a few notable feuds that began at No Way Out. Brock Lesnar and Goldberg had been arguing back in 2004, but the thing that started it was when Goldberg interfered in the Eddie Guerrero/Brock Lesnar title match. Another feud that was started at No Way Out was in 2005, when Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio won the title. No Way Out is the perfect place for feuds to begin.
Low Road:
Surely if a feud is worthy of being finished off at the biggest show of the year, it shouldn't be thrown together at the last minute. Goldberg vs Lesnar is hardly a feud which set the world on fire.
High Road:
No Way Out should remain between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania because some years it can be used to have the winner of the Royal Rumble put the title shot on the line against a wrestler. Now, this should be used all the time and it should be used when it makes sense. An good example of this would be last year where we saw Randy Orton face Rey Mysterio for the title shot.
Low Road:
Why does the title shot need to be put on the line? Surely that makes the Royal Rumble win far less relevant? If they want the Wrestlemania main event to feel special, screwing around with the participants a month prior to the event doesn't help the cause. The build from the Rumble to Wrestlemania should gain in intensity running up to the show, rather than having to use car crash booking techniques to fuel another event between the two. To me, it hinders the buildup rather than helping it.
High Road:
This point isn't true this year, but it has been used in the past. No Way Out can be used to determine the number one contender for the world title. At the 2004 No Way Out, we saw Kurt Angle defeat John Cena and the Big Show to earn a shot against Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania 20. At the 2005 No Way Out, we saw John Cena earn a title shot by defeating Kurt Angle. No Way Out is a good place for the number one contender to be determined.
Low Road:
As I said before, if Wrestlemania is to feel truly epic, the number one contender / main feud should be in place earlier than No Way Out and the build should already be progressing. Having to create angles and twists to satisfy a motive of financial gain doesn't help make the bigger events seem special. We are losing that big time feel for the main 4 PPV events because there are so many others to be considered.
High Road:
This is a minor point, but if No Way Out was removed, it would have a big impact on the rest of the pay per views. If No Way Out was removed, then RAW would have an extra pay per view. If No Way Out was moved to a different month, then for ten months the WWE pay per views would be crammed together, with a huge gap between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. I'd rather stick with the formula that we have then to go with the gap.
Low Road:
Given that the brand extension seems to be becoming less relevant by the week, I don't think it would matter if a PPV was removed. To be honest, I'd be in favour of evening the balance by removing a few more. Sadly, the trend looks to be in the opposite direction.
The Final Say
Sat: No Way Out is a great pay per view because it can be used to help the build for WrestleMania. No Way Out also can add some mystery to WrestleMania by putting the title shot on the line or determining the number one contender.
Uncle Trunx:
No Way Out is an unnecessary distraction in the build to Wrestlemania. It results in a dilution of the "Star factor" of both the Rumble and Wrestlemania, it leads to Wrestlemania being booked later than I would like with short feuds which lack the epic feel Wrestlemania deserves and it's yet more money being demanded by WWE in an oversaturated market. I think that getting rid of it (and several other PPV events) would be a move which would benefit the wrestling fan, if not the WWE finance department.
Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?
High Road/Low Road Plugs
We are taking the high road on these articles so you should read them...
There are other articles that we didn't list, so check them out as well.
E-mail us your reasons for taking the High Road or the Low Road and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road at satuncletrunx@gmail.com. Your reply will be included in next week's column.
