The Wrestling Menu #45 - The Importance of Pay-Per-Views & Judgment Day Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 4:43 PM EST




THE WRESTLING MENU #45

Welcome one and all to the 45th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Feedback has been down lately, loyal readers. Don't forget about me now!!! You know, something that Brendan Campbell wrote in his latest column got me thinking about whether I am controversial enough. Then I realized that if I went out of my way to be controversial just for the sake of extra feedback, it wouldn't really be me writing. Yes, I do feel like getting angry in my columns every now & then, and will sometimes do so. But not just for the sake of it.

If space & conditions permit though, I may turn heel (so to speak) next week, on something that I do feel fairly strong about right now. Having said all this, remember that I will respond to all feedback. So please don't hesitate to e-mail me about this column, or anything, for that matter, relating to the professional wrestling world.


APPETIZERS - Pay-Per-Views

I haven't got too much of an opinion as yet regarding the upcoming 'hard' split of pay-per-views, between Raw & SmackDown. With the incomplete television shows that Australians such as myself receive, I'm probably not the most unbiased person to speak about them anyway. I think it's going to be worth a try, and we will just have to wait & see how successful they will be. One thing I will state is that the WWE have to work a lot harder on storylines & the set up of feuds than they are doing right now, to pull this major change off.

However, I did want to talk about Pay-Per-Views in general today. I want to state my opinion on the importance of these monthly pay-per-view's to the WWE. In fact, while throwing around my thoughts on that topic, I came to realize the relative significance of each of the monthly events to each other. Everybody knows that WrestleMania is the event that the WWE tends to work around each year, but did you notice that they were placing more significance on the so-called 'Big 5' than the 'Other 7'? When referring to the Big 5, I'm talking about Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King Of The Ring, SummerSlam & Survivor Series.

With the King Of The Ring ppv gone, this will be even more pronounced, as the 'Big 4" will now be the events where wrestlers from both shows will appear. These will be the cards where you will tend to see the cream of the crop, in terms of performers, wrestle. There is also a good reason for the distinction between ppv's; The WWE do understand that a lot of their demographic cannot afford to purchase 12 ppv's a year. These people will predominantly view 3-5 a year & you can usually bet your bottom dollar that they will usually be 3 or 4 of the Big 4.

Furthermore, the distinction can be important for the casual fan who doesn't watch the WWE religiously (on tv & ppv). These people will usually roughly know when the important parts of (for want of a better term) the WWE season are coming around & usually tune in at these times. For example; January to April, for the Royal Rumble through to WrestleMania

No matter what the structure throughout the year, I am a huge believer of the importance of pay-per-views. I believe these monthly events should be a payoff for those people that purchase them. Apart from the fact that the viewer pays their hard earned cash in order to watch the show, the people that usually do so, are those loyal watchers that the WWE cannot afford to lose. Let's face it, it's only going to be the loyal fans that purchase Judgment Day this Sunday!!!

Without a core fanbase, a company such as the WWE will struggle, because the demographic they aim at is a highly unstable market. There would be a lot of people that watch the WWE on a casual basis. That is, they like wrestling, but do not follow it from week to week. A company cannot rely on this type of market long-term, as somewhere along the way, there would be a downturn of business which would lead to extended periods of terrible cash flow. This, my friends, is what leads many companies (no matter what the industry) to go bankrupt.

Another important factor about pay-per-views is that they should, in most cases, be the culmination of a feud. I know that this is not always possible considering that there are 12 ppv's a year & 104 tv shows a year. Raw & SmackDown are obviously entitled to their share of great matches & huge surprises, but these should be to either set a feud up or continue its progression, not to end the feud. If a feud is going to be ended, it should be done at a pay-per-view, and then if a rematch is not on the cards, the next week of television should start to pave the way for the next group of feuds. By ending a feud at a ppv event, that payoff factor for the people that spend their money is there.

Another thing that I feel is a must on a pay-per-view is that the main, if not all, matches are given proper time to play out. This is so that the wrestlers themselves have every opportunity to prove to the worldwide audience just what they can do inside the ring. Often, timing constraints on the television shows result in rushed matches that don't allow for a proper story to be told and/or the wrestlers to show how good they actually are. Both of these objectives can be achieved at the monthly events, due to the extra time available & the lesser amount of (so-called) sports-entertainment segments at these shows.

To conclude this topic, I could probably summarize it as follows; Pay-Per-View events are very important to the WWE & its viewers, because no matter how bad the tv product may be at the time, ppv events are predominantly in-ring wrestling matches given greater amount of time than usual & resulting in the culmination of a feud. The WWE will usually come through with the goods, and therefore, the shows will more often than not, be worth our hard-earned dollars. For the WWE's sake, let's hope that Judgment Day surprises us!!!


MAIN - PPV Names

Apologies for probably having these 2 related topics the wrong way around (length-wise), but I felt it important to stress my views on the importance of pay-per-views, before I went off on this rant. This section is to specifically state a pet hate of mine that looks like it is going to return due to the so-called 'hard' split that is almost on our door-step. The beef I speak of are the names & positioning of the twelve annual pay-per-views.

I first thought of this late last year when I was thinking about reviewing an old pay-par-view for one of my columns. The idea to review an older version of the upcoming event seemed most logical to me. It was mid-September & Unforgiven was too close for me to do. So I thought the most logical step was to let it be until October. I went to the nearest & most convenient video rental store & saw what they had. Something suddenly hit me; I wasn't sure what the October ppv was. For some reason I thought it was Backlash. Then I got even more confused because I was sure the October '98 ppv was Judgment Day, which happened in May in 2002. By the time I thought through it logically, I didn't know if I was Arthur or Martha, so I didn't rent any video. I went home & WWE.com informed me it was No Mercy.

Obviously, I am not referring to any of the Big 5 from last year. I think that everyone knows when they occur. But the other 7 were at different times, a shamble. Finally, it had appeared that the WWE had settled down on the following:

February - No Way Out
April - Backlash
May - Judgment Day
July - Vengeance
September - Unforgiven
October - No Mercy
December - Armageddon

But can we rely on this holding true, with the upcoming hard split? The WWE have already brought back an old ppv name in Bad Blood, to replace King Of The Ring. I wouldn't bet against them getting excited once more & changing a few of the others around. This confusion cannot be good for business. I think that especially the casual fans remember which events from year-to-year they believe to be better than the others. Sometimes, this has an important effect on whether the viewer purchases the upcoming pay-per-view. Sure, none of the 'Other 7' ever had the distinctive feel about them like 'The Big 5', but impulse viewers that purchase ppv's on the spur of the moment do exist. This market must not be ignored by the WWE.

Think about some of the old WCW ppv's: Fall Brawl/War Games; Some people loved it, some disliked it. The same can be said of Souled Out, Road Wild & World War 3. But possibly the best examples are WCW Uncensored & the old-style WWF Survivor Series. Opinions on the structure of these 2 yearly events went from pure hatred to yearly best. Thus, it's important that each event leave their own mark in a viewer's mind.

Changing the name of a ppv just to freshen it up does not work. Neither does re-positioning it to another month. So I implore the WWE to do this immediately. Sit down and study the names & positioning (month they occur) of each of their monthly ppv events. If they don't like it, change it. But make sure you do it correctly, because you shouldn't be able to change them again for at least 10 years. I'm getting sick & tired of seeing events like Armageddon, Judgment Day, Vengeance & now Bad Blood changing months or disappearing & then re-appearing again.

To conclude, I'd like to prove my point by saying that the most consistent of the 'other 7' lately, has been No Way Out. Now I know this is partly because it is in between The Royal Rumble & WrestleMania, but it is also because it has held its February slot for a while now & has never been held in any other month. All this may sound unimportant to some, but it's also simple marketing methods to others.


DESSERT - PPV Predictions

Just in case you are new to this; My predictions will only be on the matches that I am 100% sure will be on the card. I will give my general thoughts on the match, such as the effectiveness of the feud so far & how good a match I think we will see. Of course, who I believe will win the match will always be included. Here goes:

SCOTT STEINER & TEST vs LA RESISTANCE: I'm not sure what to think about this match. It sort of was set up ok, but sort of wasn't. It sort of could be a decent bout, but sort of could stink up the place. Hopefully, these four will surprise us. I think that Steiner & Test can retain their status without winning this match. While burying La Resistance to a part-time team this early would be a mistake. Winners: La Resistance

JAZZ vs TRISH STRATUS vs JACQUELINE vs VICTORIA for the Women's Title: Now most of you guys will know that I'm one of the few fans of the women's division. I even liked that hardcore match from this past Raw (except for one badly botched move). But if something different doesn't happen in the division soon, I'm going to tear my hair out. What on earth is the deal with Lita & Molly? Why isn't Nidia on Raw? And how long do we have to wait for Gail Kim? Hopefully something extraordinary will happen at Judgment Day. Winner: Jazz

CHARLIE HAAS & SHELTON BENJAMIN vs CHAVO & EDDIE GUERRERO in a Ladder Match for the WWE Tag-Team Championship: I don't mind the idea for this rematch. While their match at Backlash wasn't too bad, it did not stand out like I hoped it would. Throwing a ladder or two into the mix could work. The big question is whether or not Team Angle can successfully adapt to this type of match. Chavo's rumored arm injury could also be a problem. I incorrectly predicted a Los Guerreros title win last month, and am willing to make the same mistake once more. Winners: Los Guerreros

BATTLE ROYAL for the InterContinental Title: Hooray, the savior of the midcard has returned. There is a God. Seriously, this title should never have gone anywhere, as it is an important stepping stone for wrestlers. I cannot see too many alternatives winning this battle royal. I don't think HBK has been entered, so I think it will come down to Booker T & Chris Jericho, depending on whether the WWE want a heel or a face with the title. I'm betting a face, so Booker T it is. The only question mark is the pneumonia Booker has. I had that a couple of years ago, and it really does knock you around a fair bit. If Booker cannot wrestle, don't discount the WWE swiftly changing the script & entering Goldberg to win the title. Winner: Booker T

BROCK LESNAR vs THE BIG SHOW in a Stretcher Match for the WWE Championship: I wish I was more interested in this match than I am. But as I sit here writing this drinking a rum & coke, I can only wish that I have another with me as this bout rolls around. I suppose Rey could come out & get some retribution on The Big Show to entertain us. Please bring on Benoit or Angle for Lesnar as soon as possible. Pretty please!!! Winner: Brock Lesnar

TRIPLE H vs KEVIN NASH for the World HeavyWeight Title: That will be another rum & coke please. Actually, make that two more, as this match will probably last 25 minutes. What worries me here is what could these 2 possibly show us that they haven't already over the last two episodes of Raw? I'm hoping they can surprise us like the HBK return match with Triple H from last year. But let's face it, neither of these 2 guys are HBK. The WWE couldn't possibly hand Nash the title... surely!!! The only thing to watch out for is a possible HBK turn. Other than that, fall asleep or get drunk. Winner: Triple H

POSSIBLE SPOILER: The following match is announced on the upcoming SmackDown. I don't know how to do that "Highlight the next passage" trick, so scroll down to read the spoiler... Go straight to the bottom of the page to read my overall thoughts on Judgment Day, if you do not wish to read the spoiler.






Oh, and by the way, I'm not predicting the bikini contest between SABLE vs TORRIE WILSON. If you ask "why?" I will answer with "why?".






An additional rumored match is either JOHN CENA vs BRIAN 'SPANKY' KENDRICK or CENA & THE FBI vs KENDRICK, BENOIT & RHYNO. If the singles match takes place, I definitely see Cena coming out victorious. If the 6 man match occurs, I think the outcome is less predictable, but would probably favor the face team.












MR.AMERICA vs ROWDY RODDY PIPER: You know what gets me? WCW set this feud up for about 3 months at the end of 1997. The WWE set it up in 3 days. Talk about panicking & rushing this match!!! I'm almost sure that this bout was set down for either July or August, but the WWE have panicked because they fear a super low buyrate for Judgment Day. But it won't really impact the buyrate all that much because there just isn't enough time for word of the match to get out anyway. Gee, this is going to be another ordinary bout. It could go either way, but I think Vince is liking where this Mr.America thing is heading & might give the 'Real American' the victory. Winner: Mr.America














As can be seen from my Backlash review a couple of weeks ago, I was not as critical of that pay-per-view as some. That was both before & after the event. Before the card took place, I thought that there was a chance that practically all of the bouts could be at least entertaining. I cannot say the same for Judgment Day. There could be as many as 5 stinkers on this card, and that alone is scary. They have not helped themselves here, as they have left 4 of their better talents in Goldberg, Benoit, Mysterio & Hardy off the card. If ever the WWE need to pull a rabbit out of the hat, this is it. And no, Ultimo Dragon won't do!!! Like I said earlier, they do have a knack of coming through with the goods on ppv, so let's hope so this month for everyone's sake!!!


I hope you all enjoyed what can basically be called a Pay-Per-View special in my column today. I sort of feel that ppv's, in general, are extremely important to the WWE's success, but are often overlooked. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me with opinions about this, as I would be extremely interested to know whether you agree with me or not. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Next Wednesday in The Wrestling Menu, I will have my usual 'PPV Review' and post-ppv 'Raw Review'. Also, I might talk about a certain something that I feel is practically obvious right now, yet I may be very much in the minority with my thinking. Look out for the column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is Davey Boy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.


















*NEW GALLERY* Must See! Lots of Rare and Hot Photos of Randy Orton's New Wife Samantha!

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