The PPV Discussion Thread

[RavenBish]

That was truly awful aside from the Styles/Cena match.

 

[Libertine]

Yeh not great. Way too long, crowd died. Pissed all over the new title too (tis wank though).

 

[Captain Scumbag]

The crowd was inevitably going to flag and become a bit cranky and douche-baggy. It was a 13-match show that went on for five fucking hours. That's just too long. A 5-hour show full of great matches would try the patience of most people, and Summerslam wasn't full of great matches. It had one (Cena Vs Styles), and the rest was stuff that either belonged on TV or a second-rate PPV.

Vince et al. have got to move past this 'more content equals better value' bollocks. It's a business management theory that's about half a century out of date, and one that has never worked particularly well in entertainment. More importantly, it's just not what the fans want. They could have charged the same price for tickets, chopped 90-120 minutes off the running length (saving a small fortune on live production costs in the process) and the fans would have gone home happier.

 

[Christian Slater]

The crowd was inevitably going to flag and become a bit cranky and douche-baggy. It was a 13-match show that went on for five fucking hours. That's just too long. A 5-hour show full of great matches would try the patience of most people, and Summerslam wasn't full of great matches. It had one (Cena Vs Styles), and the rest was stuff that either belonged on TV or a second-rate PPV.

Vince et al. have got to move past this 'more content equals better value' bollocks. It's a business management theory that's about half a century out of date, and one that has never worked particularly well in entertainment. More importantly, it's just not what the fans want. They could have charged the same price for tickets, chopped 90-120 minutes off the running length (saving a small fortune on live production costs in the process) and the fans would have gone home happier.

Added to this, a good portion of that crowd will have attended NXT the night before.

If they're going that long they need angles like the Reigns and Rusev spot and swerves to hold the fans' attention. I felt felt bad for Ambrose, Ziggler, Rollins and Balor.

 

[Bluebird_Dai]

So, apparently Lesnar and Y2J got into a heated discussion which nearly ended up in a brawl!

Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar reportedly got into a scuffle backstage after Brock's match at SummerSlam last night. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Jericho wasn't told about the plans for the finish for Lesnar vs. Orton, and he thought Lesnar went off-script with his elbows. This lead to sparks flying backstage at the Barclays Center after the cameras stopped rolling.

Meltzer reports that after seeing Orton cut open by Lesnar's elbow, Jericho went to the gorilla position to find out what happened. Jericho asked WWE producer Michael Hayes if that was planned, and Hayes wouldn't respond. This lead to Jericho getting pissed off, and Brock Lesnar overhearing Jericho saying it was "bullsh*t."

Lesnar, thinking Jericho was trashing his match, told Jericho to "shut up" and mind his own business, and may have called him a "p*ssy." This lead to Jericho approaching Lesnar and having words, although one version of the story says they were shouting at each other the whole time.

This is when Lesnar reportedly pushed Jericho away from him with his fingers, which prompted Jericho to come back and press his forehead into Lesnar's. The two then grabbed onto each other and scuffled into the wall, where Lesnar told Jericho to either punch him or kiss him. It reportedly took both Triple H and Vince McMahon jumping in to break them up. Jericho then reportedly heard it straight from Vince that the Lesnar-Orton finish was a work. Orton himself then talked to Jericho and told him he knew the elbows were coming, designed to cut him open the hard way.

According to Meltzer, Triple H feels that Lesnar started the fight, and that Jericho was standing up for himself.

Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Orton by TKO at Sunday's SummerSlam in Brooklyn, NY after hitting Orton in the forehead with two stiff elbows and cutting him open. Orton received ten staples in his head to close the wound after the show.

 

[Oaf]

I'll probably do a detailed review after I've rewatched it all on the network, but Takeover and Summerslam were a whole lot of fun. Well, right up until about 10 minutes into the Lesnar/Orton match, that is...

But yeah. As one thing I want to note... wow, Styles and Cena. I'm pretty sure that's the best match I've ever seen live.

 

[Luke]

Backlast tonight then, not even sure I can be bothered to watch it tomorrow after work.

Styles/Ambrose - Hope Styles wins, not sure he will though.

Divas - Not fussed who wins, think Bella will.

Tag Tournament - Uso's will cheat to win I think

Orton/Wyatt - Not sure which way this will go, maybe Wyatt wins with help from a returning Harper or something.

Miz/Ziggler - Miz to retain title one way or another

Is that it?! Surely must be another match or two to be added.

 

[Oaf]

To be honest, the understated cards are often the ones that surprise us and turn out to be really good shows. Hopefully that's what Backlash will be tonight.

If it all ends with Styles as the champion though, I'm going to consider it a success I think. I don't mind Ambrose, but Styles is screaming out for that belt to be around his waist right now.

 

[Christian Slater]

I thought Backlash really delivered. Time was given to every match and good storytelling was prevalent in all of them, laying seeds for feuds to continue and new ones to begin. I particularly enjoyed Ziggler vs Miz and the Crews vs Corbin undercard match.

 

[Oaf]

Yeah it was decent enough. I loved the focus that each match got... the IC title match, for example, felt more important than any IC title match I can remember in recent years, even though it was just yet another Miz vs Ziggler match really.

Glad about that ending, though. I like Ambrose and didn't mind him being the champion, but AJ Styles is the man on Smackdown right now so it makes sense to focus the show around him.

AJ Styles and Kevin Owens as the champions in WWE right now... and all is right with the world.

 

[Stevencc]

Strong PPV, I really enjoyed it.

No real weak points aside from Mojo Rawley but that's just down to my plain hatred of the man.

The world title match was fantastic. IC title match was very good too.

 

[Christian Slater]

Did anyone notice Ziggler and Miz taking the piss out of Punk at the start of their match? Miz runs at Ziggler, receives a double-leg takedown, is pummelled and then put into a rear-naked choke.

 

[RavenBish]

Strong PPV.

Quite enjoyed the women's match - they limited it to there only being 2 in the ring at any one time and kept the tempo high - some impressive spots too (aside from them breaking up pins and submissions ffs). Alexa Bliss is an angel

Usos v Hype Bros - not *bad* - Nasty Usos are certainly better than USE-OOOHHHHs. Mojo Rawley was surprisingly solid.

Miz v Ziggler - meh. Very funny opening exchange though with the Punk rib.

Bray Wyatt v Orton/Kane - ffs, just retire Kane mate.

Slater/Rhyno v Usos - Solid enough. Fair play to Slater for doing a great job with what he had and earning this push

AJ Styles v Ambrose - Styles is simply the best in the world right now. I reckon he'd get a good match out of me - carried Ambrose to a good main event - thank fuck Smackdown finally has a good champion. Back to the mid-card you go Dean.

 

[Luke]

Well I'm surprised there has been no comments after a PPV until now.

It was an okay show on the whole in my view, nothing great but seen worse.

Divas match best for me and it made me realise how good Charlotte actually is.

 

[Stevencc]

I'll catch up with it tomorrow evening I think.

I'm going through all of the old PPVs currently and my quest seems to stall every time I have to sit through a fucking 40 minute, 20 man tag team Survivor Series match!

Charlotte really is great isn't she? Not surprising I suppose...given the genes!

 

[Oaf]

After that PPV I feel very... whelmed. It wasn't great but it was by no means bad, either. I agree that the womens match was probably the highlight as well. Great match.

 

[Luke]

I'll catch up with it tomorrow evening I think.

I'm going through all of the old PPVs currently and my quest seems to stall every time I have to sit through a fucking 40 minute, 20 man tag team Survivor Series match!

Charlotte really is great isn't she? Not surprising I suppose...given the genes!

I've never slagged Charlotte off or anything and always thought she was solid but her perfomance at COC made me realise she is fantastic in the ring, once you watch the triple threat I'm sure you will agree she puts in a good shift.

After that PPV I feel very... whelmed. It wasn't great but it was by no means bad, either. I agree that the womens match was probably the highlight as well. Great match.

Read around the internet after my original message and nobody seemed to agree with me on the womens match being the best so glad I'm not alone. A lot are saying Sheamus/Cesaro was a good match but I must admit I skipped that match as I had 6aside footy last night and didn't have time to watch the whole thing so decided to cut that and skipped most parts of Roman/Rusev.

 

[Stevencc]

Caught up now and it was another strong PPV.

You are right Luke, Charlotte was in her element again in the Women's title match. Pretty much the whole card was strong actually, the only match I wasn't really feeling was the cruiserweight match.

 

[Oaf]

Thought No Mercy was very good last night. But first, let's address the obvious fucking blunder of...

WHY WAS THE WWE TITLE MATCH ON FIRST?!

No, WWE. This is the opposite of how it should be. Fucking hell. I get what they're going for on Smackdown. They're trying to really drag up the importance of non-WWE title matches, as if to say that the rest of the card is nearly as important as the title fight. I appreciate that. But still, in my view, the WWE title fight should always go on last. The story/match behind the IC title fight last night made it important, not its place on the card.

With that said...

Great PPV overall, I thought. The triple threat was outstanding and Ziggler/Miz was superb as well. Possibly the best match in the entire career of The Miz (the only thing I can think of that's close was his TLC match with Jerry Lawler, which was randomly fucking brilliant) and Zigglers first great match in quite a while.

But besides those two, the rest of the card was decent as well. Nothing amazing, but nothing awful either. I read that Harper returned to the ring in a live event on Wednesday, so his return was obvious, but the Orton/Wyatt match was still ok even if I saw that ending coming. Still, no way it should have closed the show over the triple threat, or even the IC title match...

 

[GodsGift]

Was the main event not on first cos' of the presidential debate?

 

[Captain Scumbag]

^ Probably, but it’s still dumb as fuck because No Mercy, like every other ‘PPV’ nowadays, is essentially an on-demand programme available through the network. WWE didn’t need to pop a rating. It didn’t have to secure 250,000 buys. The would-be audience had already paid via their subscription fees. And if some fans were more interested in seeing Trump vs. Clinton, they were going to prioritise the debate regardless of the No Mercy running order.

That said, I don’t think there would have been too many objections if Miz vs. Ziggler had closed the show instead. That was the best match. It had the highest stakes. It had the most developed story. Based on the crowd reactions, it’s the match the fans cared most about it. But no. Why give top billing to one of the better WWE feuds of 2016 when you can give it to one of the worst?

This is why I hardly ever watch anymore.

 

[Christian Slater]

It was bittersweet for me. I enjoyed the novelty and thought it had a fresh crowd that were really into it. Although, despite being interested in a couple of other feuds my investment in the show noticeably dipped afterwards. It was like have desert before your main course.

 

[Stevencc]

Miz/Ziggler was excellent. The World title match was good, the rest of the card was average to poor.

Let down.

 

[Stevencc]

There is a rumour going around that Charlotte requested to be allowed to do a moonsault from the top of the cell and Vince refused.

I can't imagine that it is true but I'm choosing to believe it because I love Charlotte.

 

[Captain Scumbag]

They should just do away with HIAC. Like “I Quit”, it was popularised during a time when performers were allowed to take much greater risks. Modern day restrictions, though sensible, make it virtually impossible to work a HIAC match that doesn’t seem tame compared to what was done 15-20 years ago. So why bother? Why set your performers up to fail?

So, I can totally buy Charlotte wanting to take some ridiculous ovaries-destroying bump off the top of the cell. HIAC isn’t about good wrestling. The selling point is brutal violence and people falling off high structures. If you don’t have a “holy shit” moment in there, people feel cheated. And there’s more onus on the gals to do something memorable because it’s their first HIAC match and WWE are selling it as a historic occasion.

 

[Stevencc]

I agree, to an extent.

I really don't see the point of a whole PPV dedicated to a gimmick match that, 99.9% of the time, they can't use to anything like its full potential.

I'd like it to still be a rarely used option for big matches and feuds, though. The Taker/Shane match shows they can still deliver the "holy shit" moments every now and then.

 

[Christian Slater]

The Lesnar vs Undertaker match was what HiaC should be about. They can still do it right, they just use it as a gimmick to make a match seem interesting, rather than a match to settle an already interesting feud. The brand split is the time to do away with the likes of Extreme Rules, HiaC and TLC and just make them special stipulations when needed.

 

[Oaf]

Yeah, I'm all for keeping the HIAC as a match because it can actually be decent still plus it adds a lot to a feud... however, I've always thought that the HIAC PPV is a dreadful idea. HIAC used to be reserved just for the most intense feuds... now they're pissed away on random title matches. The only HIAC's I can think of of note in the last decade or so are Lesnar/Taker, Shane/Taker, Triple H Taker, Rollins Ambrose and Orton/Cena... those last two actually took place at the HIAC PPV, but they felt like feuds that warranted them. The rest are all just a blur to me.

 

[Oaf]

At Battleground, WWE pissed me off. They took a pretty big event, in a match to decide which brand the WWE title would be going to... and it was totally overshadowed by the fact that they were, finally, doing the SHIELD TRIPLE THREAT! Which, as far as all factors considered are concerned, was by far the biggest thing going on that night... it was a match YEARS in the making, pretty much the biggest match possible in modern WWE times.

Yet, when it came to it... all the talk was about "which brand is the title going to?!". Which is so fucked up.

Then we go to last night... a HUGE moment, for sure. Two Women, locked inside of a Hell in a Cell. Wow. Brilliant stuff. But a fucking minuscule step next to the giant leap that was the fact that a womens match main evented a PPV. That is HUGE. But I don't even remember it getting a throwaway comment or anything! The entire show should have had WEEKS of build up based on the fact that, for the first time ever, two women would main event a PPV. But it got nothing, and that confuses the fuck out of me. It was treated like a big deal when Banks and Bayley main evented a takeover... this was so much bigger but given no fanfare what so ever. Yes, they got sparkley entrances, but fucking hell.

Besides that, thoughts on last night:

Great PPV, all in all. Some forgettable stuff, but Kendrick/Perkins was great (I actually feel as if that's the best story being told on Raw right now) and the HIAC matches ranged from perfectly acceptable to superb. Reigns/Rusev was the weakest and a bit disappointing... not because of the match in of itself, the match was fine... it was just a reminder of how far the standard of HIAC has generally fallen since the inception of the HIAC PPV. Banks/Charlotte, beyond the points raised above and what I felt was a pretty shit ending (stubborn ass table wouldn't break!) was great. but I felt as if Owens vs Rollins was the match of the night.

 

[Libertine]

Yeh you're right. Reckon Vince maybe worried it might drop the numbers if advertised as the main event, sadly. The match started great but the 2 botched table spots left the ending completely weird and flat which was a shame. Total silence, not even boos.

Cruiserweight was really good too.