Let me start with saying that this list is not a gripe about WWE not having variety.В The mega sports entertainment machine has so many great matches they use.В Some great matches even get their own Pay-Per-View like Hell in a Cell and Elimination Chamber.В So honestly McMahon dynasty, this list is comprised not with criticism, but a loving request for some old school carnage to be reborn with a touch of sports entertainment majesty.
There are after all endless varieties of matches and so many good ones that won’t get the attention they deserve.В But alas this is my list on 5 spectacles I think could be re-imagined for the future of WWE, as well as the psychology and scenarios to inspire these matches into resurrection.
Number Five: 3 Tier Cage
Yes some people think it is too expensive and others thought the match to be an atrocity, but in my youth I loved the over the top concept… And with audiences around the world becoming so jaded by short attention spans, can we truly ignore the need for some occasional over the top?
The biggest con to this creation was involving David Arquette… That was the atrocity here, not the idea of a custom cage sitting on top of the normal cage, sitting on top of a hell in a cell.
For the carnage this mountain of steel inspires, it is a spectacle to see and leaves the imagination with endless anarchy.
So take just a moment to ignore the cost since WWE owns the metal already to build the bottom tiers, and the third cage would be a drop in the bucket for Vinny.
Now take a moment to think about Bray Wyatt as the reigning and defending champ.В Ambrose, Rollins, Cena, Reigns, and Orton all want to dethrone the Eater of Worlds.В So the disciple of Abigail dreams up a new WWE specific 3 Tier Cage match.
SURE Hell in a Cell 6 man Armageddon was fun, but this give them more room to play.
First story HIAC with a ladder requiring they scramble to ascend to heaven.В The Cell alone would create great moments where someone or even two gets taken out of the picture like Reigns spearing Rollins through the cage.
Then in the second cage the remaining four battle in a cage filled with weapons and use them to dismantle each other and break open the door for the final ascent.
Cena hits the AA on Orton off the side of the cage in AWESOME like fashion through a special crash ramp.
The final 3 scatter up the second cage to the third and final cage.
This is where WWE can really reinvent.В The third cage was too small and lacked purpose before.В Allowing WWE to use this blank slate to add psychology or spectacle.В If it was me I would make the last and final cage only inches smaller than the first and taller so it reached the belt hanging literally from the rafters.
Cena, Wyatt, and Ambrose would enter the cage separately and then scramble to climb the inner wall itself as the only way to reach the golden reward above that would demand X-Division climbing to retrieve. В But that’s just one of a thousands scenarios they could go with.
Either way the image of Bray Wyatt rocking in his chair three tiers up is a great way to sell this insane cage match.
Number Four: Ultimate Submission Match
WWE has done them before but I can’t remember the last time we saw a 15 or 30 min Iron Man match where submissions was the only way to gain a point.
I mean this is the nXt generation and that means multi-dimentional talent with all the ability and experience to make an unforgettable match.
Personally Kevin Owens and Sami Zayne would blow this match out of the water.В Or how about Cesaro vs Daniel Bryan in this counter for counter submission spectacle.В Bryan has so many submissions topped off with his Yes Lock, and Cesaro has the spinning sleeper with tricks up his sleeve.
So take this match, get almost anyone from nXt or the nXt Alumni and I promise you wrestling gold!
Number Three: Gauntlet Match
Feed Me More!В Yes there are a bunch of guys who have been in… And often suffered in a Gauntlet Match.В But Ryback is built for this match, feed him two solid workers, or three mid-carders, or heck 4 jobbers!
Point is the Gauntlet match hasn’t been used in a while and in my opinion, this is a great time for it. В Normally the Gauntlet is punishment, and that is exactly how I would book it.
Authority, acting GM… Really I don’t care who, but someone should try to slow down the Human Wrecking Ball by setting him up with consecutive opponents.
I am not saying make this Rybacks gimmick, but for a month have him become the target of discipline.В Week one he gets two opponents and gets over.
Week two you send three and he struggles but comes out clean.
Week 3 he gets four and after beating two he nears a wall. Double teaming after getting two out just seems to be too much, then circumstance leads to his stacked Shell-shock and fans erupt.
PPV time and gets a five man Gauntlet and… Well you get the point.В Right at the end of his handicap match campaign Ryback said “feed me 3″ and ever since I have been dying to see him stack three cruisers at the same time.В Regardless I love and miss gauntlet matches, and with Rybacks new push it’d be the right time to see someone thrive in that environment.
Number Two: Scaffold Match
Ok only need two words for this one; Rollins, Ambrose.
You see it already don’t you. These guys consistently bring tremendous performance to the ring.В Their Hell in the Cell will make countdowns, and their Lumberjack was the best I have ever seen.
These guys tell incredible stories the breath life in to the matches the get thrown in.
And really if thry weren’t being groomed as WWEs future, they’d be Hollywoods Action Movie future.В They are Charismatic, know how to tease the spots and gimmicks, and go all out on stunts.В They would collide well before they reached the scaffold.В Probably do a Titantron spot together, get stretchered, fight out of tge stretcher and then start the match.
Also the scaffold should be two or three together to allow better spots and on scaffold action.
Also if I was booking I would have Ambrose chase Rollins up the scaffold and stall on following.
Then in Lunatic fashion pull out table after table putting three or four tables in the ring. Then he can double stack the table or two double stacks together prepping the finish.В Then he follows Rollins up for death defying action.В And lets face it, getting thrown through a double stack of tables is safer and more satisfying than a sloppy risky super bump.
Number One: War Games
You are all asking for it so don’t act surprised.В Sure it would cost money but it hasn’t been seen in almost two decades!В That alone means money, and while WWE continues to hate on stables killing them off in record time, we (the fans) love them!
No single wrestler has made me as excited as The Shield, nWo, or Horseman.В People find it easier to relate to a group because it allows us to fit in.В Sure NFL has stars but it is the Franchise that bonds us.
But this isn’t a pro Faction sermon.В Let us just acknowledge that the one thing we love more than a Faction or Stable is when two or more collide.
EVOLUTION vs The Shield, 4 Horsemen vs nWo, it is multiple favorite stars in a war for a shared goal.В So don’t tell me WWE can’t find a way to pull this off!В If mismanaged WCW could do it annually, that means WWE most certainly can.
For those of you who don’t know, the match is Survivor Series in two rings and two cages.
The WCW rules could get a little convoluted but this countdown is about reinventing.В Simplify the rules to Elimination Chamber level.
Five of even six guys per team, one guy for each team starts, every two or three minutes another man enters.В The sheer speculation of who will enter when is enthralling, how long will my team get handicapped is entrancing, and who will stand victorious is an adventure we all remember.
At the very least WWE could take Elimination Chamber and have one match for the WWE Championship, and the second one as a six man elimination tag team match in the chamber.В If you can do this on 2k15 why havent we seen teams in the chamber?В Sure two rings two cages is cooler, but at least the team element of suspense would be there.
On a final note, if WWE reinvented the War Games, it means two rings for the whole PPV giving an ominous constant reminder of what’s to come.В Not to mention the spots we would see this nXt Generation go for trying to steal the show even before the cages lowered.В Oh sweet War Games, how I miss thee!
