Are dark matches really necessary?

[Radical]

I understand the reason behind dark matches, I really do.

Basically, you want the crowd to always 'go home happy', so if the televised show ended with the heels on top then you want to have a dark match where the babyfaces win and the crowd can 'be happy' with the result and leave, I guess, with positive feelings.

But, at what cost? I mean, does an entire MATCH need to happen for the crowd to go home happy?

Let's just say that the 'evil Wyatts' end Raw standing on top of the fallen babyfaces. The crowd is booing and kiddies are upset. Let's say Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose is laying on the mat. Just have the Wyatts go over slowly and try to attack them one more time, but waiting a little too long to attack, so naturally, it gives the babyfaces enough time to 'wake up' and hit a signature move and boom, just like that... crowd should be happy!

INSTEAD of having an actual match where maybe the 8 or 9 thousand in the crowd actually see it but the wrestlers could get injured and it doesn't really need to happen.

I'm okay with dark matches if they are with up-and-coming wrestlers who have yet to really be on TV. Like when Dean Ambrose was first getting ready to be on TV, I heard he was doing a bunch of dark matches. And that's fine. He was working on his skills, timing, and character before much more people saw him. And, if he got injured, they could push back his debut.

But, I really don't like hearing about these dark matches after an ALREADY super long show like Raw which includes probably two Superstars matches, three hours of Raw AND THEN a dark match after that? It's too much! And it can all be solved by having a quick NON-match comeback by the babyface to send most home happy.

What do you think about dark matches? Are they really necessary?

AND, is WWE really so stubborn that they just keep pushing their talent further and further despite all these injuries and never change anything to potentially reduce the potential for injury due to being over worked?

 

[Gallops77]

They use the "Dark Match Main Event" as a way to sell more tickets to the show. Typically they announce the match ahead of time, and then it just somehow transpires after the show goes off the air.

I once went to a taping of Smackdown where the dark match main event was Jeff Hardy vs CM Punk in a steel cage. Punk made the challenge, they put the cage up, and Hardy stalled by hyping their TLC Match that was coming up. The match lasted a couple of minutes and that was it. They don't usually do full matches, just a quick little something to get the face over and on top at the end of the night. Sometimes the matches don't even happen anyway.

It is what it is. Do they NEED to do it? No. But I guess until someone important gets hurt, they'll keep doing it.

 

[dsotm5150]

It's just a way to give the in arena fans a little something extra for their money, its not always a match, sometimes it's just guys breaking character and having fun goofing off.

 

[Prince Vee]

At this juncture, I would say no to it. I'm thinking not only about the Dark Matches which closes the show but also the ones which commence the shows. Like dark matches before Raw, Superstars and before Smack down, Mainevent even which is preceded by the dark matches. They could have a short promo and a match between the developmental stars from NXT or with the enhancement talents but the Dark matches doesn't seem to necessary. With WWE been plagiarised by the injury concerns I reckon the workload should be minimised, else the WWE superstars are going to get more fragile than ever.

 

[Burritocover]

The dark matches are usually advertised to help move a few extra tickets by giving you a match you can't see elsewhere and as mentioned above they are usually short with not much happening. I think using the logic that they shouldn't do them because people can get hurt you could extend it to house shows as well. No ones seeing them besides the live crowd and they don't really matter and guys can get hurt. It's just what the business is; there's always a chance to get hurt. That doesn't mean you don't do matches that aren't necessary for storylines. Working smarter in the long term is going to do way more to prevent injuries than getting rid of dark matches.

The pre show ones I know are used for production purposes. Why they can't just get guys in earlier in the day and do a little messing around I don't know but I've seen them adjusting lighting and sound and things like that during the opening dark matches. They used to use them for tryouts for local guys too but that's changed since the performance center and nxt started.

 

[MERPER]

Yes, they are. Especially with the awfulness RAW has been putting forward for months now.

If you buy a ticket to a show with no Cena, no Lesnar appearance, no Undertaker, no Shane... maybe no Reigns for a few weeks there... maybe HHH only does a backstage segment like last week, etc etc... you'd be pretty angry.

Now, on top of that, imagine the "main event" is just a glorified promo with very little physicality...

So, dark matches are needed so people can get their money's worth.

Furthermore, these injuries can happen at any time. You can't not do a match because an injury might occur. An injury could occur during any match during the televised portion of RAW. Are you not going to do those matches, either?

If you aren't going to do dark matches anymore, what's the point of house shows? Just limit everything to television only.

 

[Navi]

I've been to about 5 house shows in the last two years and never seen a dark match yet. They advertise who's going to be there, and barring injury that's the matches we see. No one ever comes out and says this next match will be a dark match.

The only dark matches I've seen are the two before Roadblock. That's because the show was advertised originally to start at 7:30, but because it became a network special they threw in two between 7:30 and 8:00.

But I agree they aren't needed, especially when you are using wrestlers that have already wrestled that evening. Give these guys a bit of a break sometimes.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Navi, a dark match is simply a match not taped for the, so by definition a house show is an event of dark matches.

It really depends on the show, I guess. I've been to shows with no post-show dark matches, I've been to shows with aborted post-show dark matches, and I've been to shows with lengthy post-show dark matches. The odd thing is that they are sporadic - it would make sense if WWE either did away with them completely or had them after every Raw, as long as they were consistent.

One particular dark match that sticks in my mind though took place in Miami at the Raw after Wrestlemania in 2012. I've already said on here loads that, having been to both, the Miami Raw in 2012 had a far better crowd than the New Jersey crowd a year later, despite the plaudits that one received. It was also the night Brock Lesnar returned. But one man stole the crowd: despite losing the World Heavyweight Championship the night before in just 18 seconds (well, actually, because of it) Daniel Bryan was the most over guy in Miami - and he wasn't even on the show!! Throughout the night, yes chants; when Alberto del Rio returned from injury, the crowd began the Si! chant; when Cena cut his promo at the end which led to Brock's return, the crowd chanted yes so much that Cena even name checked Bryan to a huge pop. Yet Bryan was not on Raw.

Then, once the euphoria of Brock's dominant return began to subside, we got a dark match (which is actually quite rare on the post-WM Raw) and it was a big one: a six-man tag between Shemus, Randy Orton & Big Show and Kane, Cody Rhodes and our boy Daniel Bryan. The crowd - for a dark match, remember - was electric. Despite being on the heel team, every time Bryan was in the ring he was cheered. Every time Kane or Rhodes tagged in, they were booed horrendously until Bryan returned. The faces won, obviously, but I truly believe that was the night which made WWE sit up and realise that they had a bona fide star on their hands with Daniel Bryan. So for that reason, I can't dismiss the use of dark matches.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Seems like you are meaning the after tv matches and I say no. To me, that shows a bit of the issue with wwe towards its fans - they treat certain fans better than others and this is just an example. You bought tickets to Raw or Smackdown - you are getting a tv taping instead of a house show so you are already getting a better show than most house shows.Then you get another match? Is someone like Taker or Shane McMahon going to show up at a house show in some smaller center? Pretty unlikely. So if you live in a larger center, you end up getting a better show than if you live in a smaller center. To me, that is garbage.

 

[Dysturbed]

I'm thinking not only about the Dark Matches which closes the show but also the ones which commence the shows.

In regards to the dark matches that happen before Raw, Smackdown, and PPVs...Depending on who is involved in the matches (meaning yet to debut on the main roster stars as opposed to local stars making a one night appearance or people already part of the main roster), those kinds of dark matches provide a great opportunity for them to perform in front of the same kinds of (WWE) crowds that they hope to be in front of full time, moreso than they'd get when having matches at a house show, on NXT, and wherever they performed before being with the company.

The pressure of having a match in front of the larger WWE crowds, having most of the roster and all of the big shots backstage potentially glancing at or attentively watching the match, plus the whole vibe in the arena before the most watched shows are being taped or aired is probably a great learning experience, and the best chance to truly show some important people what they've truly got.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

A lot of people are focused on the "send the crowd home happy" thing and to an extent that matters but there is a far more practical reason. It gives more guys experience of working later in the card.

Say your TV main event is Ambrose v Ziggler, but you're positioning Cesaro for a title match (some hope eh) then you give Cesaro that last match against someone like Bray or even Orton and have him go close or "upset" them. It gives them a chance to see how Cesaro handles that spot without it being televised, see how the crowd reacts to the win (if it trends on Social Media for example) and yeah, would likely send a good portion of the fans home happy.

If they see anything they don't like, they can tell Cesaro, "sorry kid, you're not ready yet" but without damaging him on TV, maybe try him against Rusev the following week in that spot and it might click.

Pre-Show dark matches are traditionally there to blood new talent, but they're also there to heat the crowd so that when the red light goes on they're pumped. Post show IS a bonus and about filling that venue, but that's where guys can really "see if they can hold a crowd in the building" and WWE can see if it's worth putting them in that spot on TV.