Build for dream matches

[farlance]

I read online when Stone Cold was discussing having a match with Hulk Hogan that for it to happen it would have to be a good storyline and build up etc. My question, and I want opinions on this, is does there have to be a story with it and big build up? When the UFC matches fighters up for PPV, they say that the fans want to see it, or its a good match up so their gonna fight. They build it up with vingettes and commercials and get big PPV buys. Would anybody mind if WWE or TNA did that?

TNA especially likes to hire veterans for attention and ratings, why not limit these guys to big PPV matches a few times a year, and have them face TNA original guys in dream matches. Wouldn't it benefit them to do that so they dont push these old guys down our throats every week but we still get to see them? It would make the fans want to buy PPVs more if we didnt see them on tv as much. Id buy a PPV if TNA said, hey were gonna have Foley fight Abyss for no particular reason this month, or say, were gonna have AJ vs RVD.

WWE probably would have had Sting a long time ago if they signed him to a 3 PPV contract for the year and said, were gonna set up dream matches with Rock, Taker, and HBK for example and just advertise it. Have them cut some promos on each other for buildup. They would bank so much money don't you think?

 

[Benjaminfan27]

That's a terrible idea IMO. You need the build up. With UFC, we aren't really interested in the rivalry. We wanna see one guy kick another guys ass. Plain and simple. But with WWE and TNA, you need the buildup. It's because the matches are stories in themselves. They have the beginning,the middle,and the ending. A UFC match could end in 5 seconds with one punch. A WWE match could last for 5 seconds but that only tells a story that one guy was so strong and he destroyed someone. WWE is ALL about the buildup, all about the story. UFC is all about the fight.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

With wrestling, you need the storyline and the build up. It's essential since everybody knows that the story, the matches and even the violence is choreographed. In UFC, you don't need a story, you don't really need a build up. Hell, none of the fighters have to have even the slightest shred of charisma. To be honest, those are really the reasons why I'm not really an MMA fan. I like a story, I like two interesting and unique characters that tell a tale with their interviews and their match. They're two different worlds. What works in one probably won't work in the other.

 

[Bud78]

I do agree that in general wrestling matches need build up. But in all honesty if you are talking about Hogan and Austin how much build up do you really need. I think that there needs to be some build for dream matches but I don't think it has to be the same build you have for to mainstay's on the roster. Austin Hogan, I don't want that to have six weeks of build. I think Hulk comes out is throwing out poses, Austin comes out gives him the middle finger and let's get it on. In all honesty what did the build for Hulk Hogan the Rock at Wrestlemania X8 do. Now I will agree this is a special case because it was Hogan's return to WM but they built for weeks Hogan into a mega-heel who tried to murder the Rock only to get to the big event and to me it seemed the fans could have given two shits about the build for the match. This is still professional wrestling and the match is still the thing that should matter the most. Maybe that's a problem right now, they get so concerned with building a spectacular storyline around the match that the actual match gets lost in the shuffle. Just a thought.

 

[farlance]

I think that buildup is somewhat important with promos and stuff to hype the match, but if there is a chance to create a dream match, and there was a small window of oppertunity I would be willing to sacrifice the storyline to make it happen. If The Rock had a week of free time from his movie schedule and could have a dream match with Cena or HBK at a random lower end PPV I would buy it no matter what and it would be a big selling PPV. If Sting didnt want a long term contract and wanted paid by appearance and could show up and wrestle Undertaker, WWE would be foolish not to take his terms.

 

[OutsiderDX]

What if the WWE announced at WM 25.. that at WM 26 it would be Austin vs Hogan. I dont think any organization has announced a match 1 year in advance. The time itself would be the proper build up. They dont even need to hate each other.

Maybe every few months, the two could make a comment which gets under the other skin (like in the major sports). The WWE could have the old CountDown clock for Austin vs Hogan.

The build up would be epically long. That is a year of every fan asking them about it.... at autograph sessions, at dinner, at the gym.

By the time the match comes around, i think everyone will be on edge to see it.

 

[bulldog76]

I do agree that in general wrestling matches need build up. But in all honesty if you are talking about Hogan and Austin how much build up do you really need. I think that there needs to be some build for dream matches but I don't think it has to be the same build you have for to mainstay's on the roster. Austin Hogan, I don't want that to have six weeks of build. I think Hulk comes out is throwing out poses, Austin comes out gives him the middle finger and let's get it on. In all honesty what did the build for Hulk Hogan the Rock at Wrestlemania X8 do. Now I will agree this is a special case because it was Hogan's return to WM but they built for weeks Hogan into a mega-heel who tried to murder the Rock only to get to the big event and to me it seemed the fans could have given two shits about the build for the match. This is still professional wrestling and the match is still the thing that should matter the most. Maybe that's a problem right now, they get so concerned with building a spectacular storyline around the match that the actual match gets lost in the shuffle. Just a thought.

You might be amazed. Look at SummerSlam 2008. Whether you like either guy or neither guy, Cena vs. Batista should have sold better. But WWE announced it and focused on Edge/Taker Hell in the Cell. This could have been left for a different PPV that wasn't as strong or been built better. It is not necessarily the build but that you are advertising what is taking place and why it is such a big deal and that you "need" to buy this PPV.

We all know what HBK and Taker are capable of. Was there really any need for the last 4-5 weeks? Would we have cared if HBK came out and shook Taker's hand and told him "may the best man win?" It's making sure the fans understand the magnitude and that it is going to happen. If you announce it and then don't really pay attention to it, then it doesn't seem that important.

 

[Total Impact]

wrestling needs build up with storylines, instead of saying yeah these two guys will beat each other, look at them train and get ready, it doesn't work for wrestling. You need a story a reason for the fans to care. I mean if the WWE said Hogan and Austin would wrestle at WrestleMania and did no storyline, and just had them wrestle on that day, the match would be a big let down as the fans would not have an emotional investment in the match. That is what makes the WWE & wrestling different form UFC, WWE is a TV show, UFC is a sport.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Build up and back story are THE BIGGEST KEY to making a great match. Think about Hogan/Andre from WM 3 - Watch ing that match outside the context of the awesome build up and quite frankly it sux, possibly Hogan's worst WM match just from a physical standpoint. Add the match, particularly the high spots like the body slam and the near pin by Andre early to the build up and you have one of the great moments in Wrestling History.

Sabvage/Steamboat had a terrific physical match that year but ppl tuned in to see that match due to the hype, particularly the brutal time keepers bell assault by Savage.

Flair/Michaels was 2008's Match of The Yeat. Physically it was a good, not great match, and probably wasn't as good physically as the New Yrs Eve match between Flair & Triple H as far as the Career Threatening Story went. But the interviews, the build up, was really intense and the match benefited from that.

Austin's World Title win over Michaels had tremendous build up and hype, not too mention Mike Tyson. That physical match was good but in all honesty it wasn't as good as Michaels did vs Brett Hart or Austin did vs Hart or The Rock. Yet it's probably Austin's most famous WM moment in part due to the hype.

It's the story and the hype that interest ppl to tune in. Without the backstory of their prior fued and the Elizabeth angle, Hogan/Savage never would have been as big as it was at WM 5, especially since we already saw them a hundred times in 1986. The "She Was Mine Before She Was Yours" segments clearly ratcheted up interest in Savage/Flair before WM 8, even though that was a good physical match. Michaels Iron Man Match w/ Hart benefited from the history between them. W/out the fued, the story, a plain ABC vs DEF match isn't very exciting.

To this day one of the greatest matches I ever saw was Van Hammer vs Hart on Monday Nitro. Trememdous match, maybe Hart's best in WCW. However viewers tuned out in droves during this 45 minute encounter because these guys had no story, no history, no rivalry, so no one cared. If you watched you saw a great match, but chances are you turned on Raw that nite because you didn't care if Hart won against a guy you really didn't know. That doesn't take away from the quality of the in ring performance, but it clearly illustrates that build up and story are what drives interest in matches.

 

[Bud78]

Fair enough, but are you really comparing Cena vs. Batista to Hogan vs. The Rock, sorry Cena and Batista just don't sell PPV's like Hogan or the Rock or Austin or hell even Diamond Dallas Page, kids don't buy pay-per-views.

 

[shafe_41]

Fair enough, but are you really comparing Cena vs. Batista to Hogan vs. The Rock, sorry Cena and Batista just don't sell PPV's like Hogan or the Rock or Austin or hell even Diamond Dallas Page, kids don't buy pay-per-views.

Agreed. I'd rather watch DDP vs. Kanyon for the TV Title than Cena vs. Batista. Cena vs. Batista was the exact reason why I DID NOT order SS this past year. Nobody wants to see the stiffest worker since Bill Clinton (yeah that's a boner joke) wrestle Cena who doesn't entertain anyone in the ring younger than 14. Ok maybe not quite that extreme... but if Cena walked off the earth tomorrow, I wouldn't miss him. Same with Batista. But if Hogan or The Rock walked off the earth in their prime... I'd def. send Spock's ass to go find them.