Bragging Rights

[Dagger Dias]

Bragging Rights had such a great concept in its Smackdown VS Raw theme and unfortunately it has not been successful. I think the problem is that it came a few years too late. If it had been created during the years of brand exclusive PPVs then it could have been huge. Back then the brand extension still mattered too. It would have been a potential #5 show at the time.

So my questions are these:

1. Do you think Bragging Rights would have been a more successful PPV theme during the years of brand exclusive PPV events? Why or why not?

2. What match ups would you have liked to see if the Bragging Rights PPV had been around earlier?

I think it could have been huge because any dual branded show during the brand exclusive PPV timeframe automatically felt more special. Matchups like Cena from Raw VS Batista from Smackdown would have been amazing to see there. Think of all the great champion VS champion matches we could have seen!

Let's see what the rest of you think about this. Discuss!

 

[Hardcore Heathen]

1. Yes of Course it would have been great back then when there were enough Stars to put Between the Brands. I would Drop the 5 v 5 thing as Survivor Series always does that.
2. I would like a WWE V WHC Non Title Match and have a bigger Focus on the IC/US Titles. With that WWE Uprising Name they had i woulda liked them to do that.

 

[mrhexum]

I do think Bragging Rights would've faired better had it happend during the time of the initial brand split... but, I also think it would have eventually gotten stale and ran its course too. I think with pay-per-views like that and any other but the "Big 4" should maybe be done bi-annually.

 

[Mac Attack]

Bragging Rights had such a great concept in its Smackdown VS Raw theme and unfortunately it has not been successful. I think the problem is that it came a few years too late. If it had been created during the years of brand exclusive PPVs then it could have been huge. Back then the brand extension still mattered too. It would have been a potential #5 show at the time.

So my questions are these:

1. Do you think Bragging Rights would have been a more successful PPV theme during the years of brand exclusive PPV events? Why or why not?

2. What match ups would you have liked to see if the Bragging Rights PPV had been around earlier?


Let's see what the rest of you think about this. Discuss!

I disagree with you that it would have been better years back at the brand exclusinve time period. I think that to have it been really better during that time period it would have to be considered a top PPV which I think it would be hard to do. Also it would be strange trying to incorporate ECW into it
because in theory they should have some right to have appeared at the PPV.

Now for the fun part by saying what they should have done.

My Personal Way of Making Bragging Rights Good.

No title matches (in a way). I would have the WWE Champion face off against the World Heavyweight Champion instead. See who is the better champion. Also, I would have an IC VS US Championship to see who is better in non title match. This would be one of the many various matches that must be Smackdown VS Raw matches. I think these matches have a very good possibility have having a large draw if properly pushed and pursued.

Make this the new Survivor Series. They can scrap Survivor Series. It may be a classic PPV but honestly it's lost its touch. If they were to scrap Survivor Series and put some real work into this PPV I think it has the possibility to be a PPV that lasts for years to come as long as they don't change it up as much. Instead of having Survivor Series incorporate the elimination tag matches as Smackdown VS Raw. This has great potential and I would also make madatory two elimination tag matches. All these matches accumulate points for your respective brand.

Next I would have a divas over the top challenge with the divas of both brands(equal number on both sides) face off and the winning brad receiving a point. This would be a great way to allow the divas to get even more air time on T.V and it would allow for them to get showcased. Also it incorporates the divas in a way that shows that the divas wil not be defending the title. I think this is more interesting and more better looking than a normal singles divas match.

GM Picked Wrestler Match. Explanation the general manager of the respective brands decides to pick a superstar who will represent the brand against the other general magers superstar They would have two picked superstars for two matches in order to have an odd number of matches. I think this would allow for some "dream" matchups to occur and it would allow for true competition to occur. I think it would be a great way too have interesting match-ups and give stars and interesting break from wrestling their respective brand wrestlers.

A better prize. So here is my proposal for a new prize. Have the GM of the winning brand award a brand MVP at the end of the night to the brand who has the most points and that person not only gets true bragging rights over everyone else on their brand but also allow them to select one person from the other brand and send them to the winning brand. I think this would be a good shake-up and be something people look forward to.

Sample Card:

Raw WWE Champion Miz Vs Smackdown WHC Champion Edge in a non title match

Daniel Bryan Raw US Champ VS Kofi Kingston IC Smackdown Champ

Divas Over the Top Challenge
Smackdown Divas (Laycool, Beth Pheonix, Kelly Kelly, Rosa Mendes) Vs Raw Divas (Alicia Fox, Bellas, Natalya, Maryse,)

Elimination Tag Match Team Smackdown (Kane, McIntyre, Barett) Vs Team Raw (Sheamus, Morrison, Punk)

Elimination Tag Match Team Smackdown (Mysterio, Christian, Alberto Del Rio) Vs Team Raw ( Evan Bourne, Dolph Ziggler,Dibiasi)

GM Pick Match
Raw Pick- John Cena VS Smackdown Pick Undertaker

GM Pick Match 2
Raw Pick Randy Orton VS Smackdown Pick Cody Rhodes

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think the biggest problem with Bragging Rights was the lack of a genuine prize. That, and its atrocious name that was the result of their being no real prize for the winner. I would say that even in the era of brand exclusive PPV's this show would not have been very successful because of this very reason. At best, it could be a good concept for an all star Raw or Smackdown.

However if you add a prize to this event this PPV had a great chance to become a major PPV. I proposed an idea sometime back. It involved the team that lost the match getting the first seven spots in the Royal Rumble match in the order in which they were eliminated. For example the guy that got eliminated first would get the number one spot in the Rumble and so on.

The winning team would get the last 7 spots in the Royal Rumble in a similar manner. The guy that was the last man standing for his team would get the last spot in the Rumble. If there was more than one guy from the winning team not to be eliminated then they would fight in an elimination match on the next night to determine who would get the last spot in the Rumble.

This method had a two fold purpose. Firstly, it would mean much more just to get into a team. If you won a qualifying match for Bragging Rights, that would mean you are in the Rumble. Secondly can you imagine the rub a guy would get if he won the Royal Rumble from the number one position? The announcers could hype it as a huge deal as just four months ago the guy was the weakest link in a losing team and now he has won the Rumble. It would truly make for an inspirational story.

 

[Mr. HD]

I personally don't like Bragging Rights because I feel like they do it all wrong. They start building it up 3 weeks before the actual ppv and the RAW/SmackDown feud always seemed rushed. There was never any emotion or any passion or anything. Not to mention 7 on 7 is a bit much. I would've made the entire ppv RAW vs SmackDown. Start up some feuds around Summerslam and have them lead right into Bragging Rights.

The only time they only got this RAW vs SmackDown concept right is obviously back in 2005 when Eric Bischoff's RAW feuded with Teddy Long's SmackDown ultimately leading up the match at Survivor Series. They had the star power, the emotion, not to mention the hatred not only between Bischoff and Long but between the members of Team SmackDown and Team RAW respectively. Who could ever forget that street fight they had. That put this feud over the top IMO. I would've liked to see Team RAW win, but

Just look at the Bragging Rights Poster:

Imagine the feud they could've made with these 10 Superstars had they done it the way they did it in 2005. Man, I get amped just thinkin about it.

 

[berlinbrawler]

I don't know if it would ever have been a successful concept. People simply don't buy that Smackdown and RAW are competing with each other. In the very first year or two of the brand split it might have garnered some attention, but I don't think the fans ever really believed or cared about this perceived competition.

For 11 months of the year you have wrestlers jumping brands all the time and making guest appearances on each others' shows and no one minds. But then, for 3 weeks of the year, the wrestlers of each show suddenly stand united in hating the guys on the other brand. Huh? And their biggest dream is to bring home that silly trophy for their brand so they can parade it around for one week and then forget it ever existed.

Sorry, but that concept simply is too weak to fool or engage anyone.
To give it any credibility at all, they would need some additional incentive, like that the winners of the winning team would earn the right to appear freely on both shows for x-amount of time. Eh, on second thought that would only confuse the viewers, especially since they freely appear on each others' brands already. I don't know what kind of incentive would help, if any.

Bragging Rights must go.

 

[King Patrick Star]

First thing is first, I think the Bragging Rights PPV should have always taken place a month after the Draft. It would only make sense for the Brand vs. Brand PPV to take place after the Draft. So with that in mind, some matches I would have loved to have seen are:

2002 (6 – on – 6 Elimination Tag Team match)
Team Raw – Undertaker, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, X-Pac, Kane, and Rob Van Dam
Vs.
Team Smackdown – The Rock, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Billy and Chuck

2004 (4 – on – 4 Elimination Tag Team match)
Team Raw – Shelton Benjamin, Rhyno, Tajiri, and Edge
Vs.
Team Smackdown – Rene Dupree, Mark Jindrak, Triple H, and Rob Van Dam

2005 (5 – on – 5 Elimination Tag Team match)
Team Raw – John Cena, Kurt Angle, Carlito, Big Show, and Rob Van Dam
Vs.
Team Smackdown – Chris Benoit, Randy Orton, Muhammad Hassan, Christian and Batista

2006 (Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team match)
Team Raw – John Cena and Shelton Benjamin
Vs.
Team Smackdown – Rey Mysterio and Bobby Lashley
Vs.
Team ECW – Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle

2007 (4 – on – 3 – on – 2 Triple Threat Elimination Handicap match)
Team Raw – King Booker, Bobby Lashley, Snitsky, and Mr. Kennedy
Vs.
Team Smackdown – The Great Khali, Chris Masters, and John Cena
Vs.
Team ECW – The Boogeyman and Chris Benoit

2008 (4 – on – 4 Elimination Tag Team match with Matt Hardy as the Special Guest Referee)
Team Raw – Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Batista, and Kane
Vs.
Team Smackdown – Jeff Hardy, Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, and Triple H

2009 (5 – on – 5 Elimination Tag Team match)
Team Raw – MVP, Big Show, Matt Hardy, Triple H, and The Miz
Vs.
Team Smackdown / ECW (due to the Talent Exchange) – CM Punk, Kane, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Vladimir Kozlov

2010 (3 – on – 3 Elimination Tag Team match)
Team Raw – John Morrison, R-Truth, Edge
Vs.
Team Smackdown – Big Show, Kofi Kingston, and Christian

2011 (3 – on – 3 Elimination Tag Team match, winner gets John Cena on their Brand)
Team Raw – Rey Mysterio, Big Show, and Alberto Del Rio
Vs.
Team Smackdown – Randy Orton, Mark Henry, and Sin Cara

I would have also loved to have seen:
Evolution vs. JBL's Cabinet
Legacy vs. La Familia (the Rated R Entourage)
Nexus vs. the Corre.