I first watched TNA by accident when I saw it on Bravo, which was showing the night Booker T debuted (can't remember what event that was - he was Sting's mystery tag partner).
I tuned in every time I happened to catch it, but the first angle that caught my eye was the World X Cup. I'd never watched any wrestling that wasn't WWE, so the global mix of styles and the insane moves really drew me in and made me pay attention (it was the Immortal storyline that drew me out again, so to speak.)
The point is, could an international tournament make an interesting angle in the WWE?
First off, I don't think the WWE has enough truly high-flying talent to make it an X-Division/cruiserweight style showcase. But the concept of teams representing their country? That could work.
In my example, I would have Team USA, Team Mexico, Team Asia, and Team Europe.
Team USA:
Jack Swagger - I love watching this guy wrestle, and I think his look and "All-American American" gimmick is perfect for a heroic, patriotic face. Spearheading Team USA could launch that character.
Evan Bourne - The team's spot monkey. Gets the crowd going, further establishes the team as a face team, and doesn't have to wrestle long solo matches right after his injury.
Zack Ryder - He used to be insanely over, but he's becoming increasingly lost in the shuffle. Representing his country in the tournament gives him screen time, a purpose, and some momentum again.
Team Mexico -
Rey Mysterio - Established team leader, a vet who's over with the crowd and a good representative of the lucha libre style.
Sin Cara - See Evan Bourne (minus the injury part). People are clamouring for a Cara/Mysterio feud - the two interacting in a student/teacher role establishes their chemistry and familiarity before that feud happens.
Alberto Del Rio - This could be a big opportunity for Del Rio. I would have him cajoled into joining by Mysterio and reluctantly helping out, before slowly turning face and getting more passionate about the team and the cause.
Team Asia -
The Great Khali - Proves it's a multi-national and multi-size tournament. Also his size means the team has a chance at winning.
Yoshi Tatsu - The high-flyer who needs something to do besides jobbing to Tensai. Could provide good comedy moments with Khali.
Jinder Mahal - Determined to win to prove his worth but is exasperated by the comedy antics of Khali and Tatsu. Could pick up some pinfalls over big names from other teams to help his credibility.
Team Europe -
Wade Barrett - The man is gold, and his involvement in anything makes it better. The tag team matches in the tournament means he won't have to carry full matches so soon after his injury.
Drew McIntyre - I don't rate the guy at the moment, but he does have potential to be a somebody in the WWE. This tournament provides screen time and decent opponents for him.
Santino Marella - He works best as an underdog (personally I think that's one of the reasons his title reign has bombed). He's the little guy trying to hang with the big kids in the team; any wins he picks up will get a big reaction from the crowd.
I would have a few weeks of singles matches and tag matches with a point system to determine the standings of each group. Eventually the top two teams go head to head at a PPV in a tag match and a singles match between the team captains. In my example:
Team USA and Team Mexico advance to the PPV, with all team members going in as faces (even Del Rio). Sin Cara goes to tag Del Rio in when he gets off the apron and leaves him to be pinned. Mysterio comes down to protest and is destroyed by Del Rio, who says he has played everyone all along and only wants to win the Cup for himself and not his country.
He replaces Mysterio in the finals of the tournament vs Jack Swagger - winner take all. Swagger wins in an underdog way and Team USA wins - happy ending.
The concept has so much mileage: my example used few main eventers and yet it would provide interesting matches between underused talents. It would also lead to fresh feuds for Del Rio, Santino for his title (against someone who pinned him during the tournament), hell you could even have some Canadians rain on Swagger's parade because they weren't invited into the tournament. Imagine a face, patriotic Swagger program with Chris Jericho
So, do you think the concept would work? What did you think of my program? How would you book it?
I tuned in every time I happened to catch it, but the first angle that caught my eye was the World X Cup. I'd never watched any wrestling that wasn't WWE, so the global mix of styles and the insane moves really drew me in and made me pay attention (it was the Immortal storyline that drew me out again, so to speak.)
The point is, could an international tournament make an interesting angle in the WWE?
First off, I don't think the WWE has enough truly high-flying talent to make it an X-Division/cruiserweight style showcase. But the concept of teams representing their country? That could work.
In my example, I would have Team USA, Team Mexico, Team Asia, and Team Europe.
Team USA:
Jack Swagger - I love watching this guy wrestle, and I think his look and "All-American American" gimmick is perfect for a heroic, patriotic face. Spearheading Team USA could launch that character.
Evan Bourne - The team's spot monkey. Gets the crowd going, further establishes the team as a face team, and doesn't have to wrestle long solo matches right after his injury.
Zack Ryder - He used to be insanely over, but he's becoming increasingly lost in the shuffle. Representing his country in the tournament gives him screen time, a purpose, and some momentum again.
Team Mexico -
Rey Mysterio - Established team leader, a vet who's over with the crowd and a good representative of the lucha libre style.
Sin Cara - See Evan Bourne (minus the injury part). People are clamouring for a Cara/Mysterio feud - the two interacting in a student/teacher role establishes their chemistry and familiarity before that feud happens.
Alberto Del Rio - This could be a big opportunity for Del Rio. I would have him cajoled into joining by Mysterio and reluctantly helping out, before slowly turning face and getting more passionate about the team and the cause.
Team Asia -
The Great Khali - Proves it's a multi-national and multi-size tournament. Also his size means the team has a chance at winning.
Yoshi Tatsu - The high-flyer who needs something to do besides jobbing to Tensai. Could provide good comedy moments with Khali.
Jinder Mahal - Determined to win to prove his worth but is exasperated by the comedy antics of Khali and Tatsu. Could pick up some pinfalls over big names from other teams to help his credibility.
Team Europe -
Wade Barrett - The man is gold, and his involvement in anything makes it better. The tag team matches in the tournament means he won't have to carry full matches so soon after his injury.
Drew McIntyre - I don't rate the guy at the moment, but he does have potential to be a somebody in the WWE. This tournament provides screen time and decent opponents for him.
Santino Marella - He works best as an underdog (personally I think that's one of the reasons his title reign has bombed). He's the little guy trying to hang with the big kids in the team; any wins he picks up will get a big reaction from the crowd.
I would have a few weeks of singles matches and tag matches with a point system to determine the standings of each group. Eventually the top two teams go head to head at a PPV in a tag match and a singles match between the team captains. In my example:
Team USA and Team Mexico advance to the PPV, with all team members going in as faces (even Del Rio). Sin Cara goes to tag Del Rio in when he gets off the apron and leaves him to be pinned. Mysterio comes down to protest and is destroyed by Del Rio, who says he has played everyone all along and only wants to win the Cup for himself and not his country.
He replaces Mysterio in the finals of the tournament vs Jack Swagger - winner take all. Swagger wins in an underdog way and Team USA wins - happy ending.
The concept has so much mileage: my example used few main eventers and yet it would provide interesting matches between underused talents. It would also lead to fresh feuds for Del Rio, Santino for his title (against someone who pinned him during the tournament), hell you could even have some Canadians rain on Swagger's parade because they weren't invited into the tournament. Imagine a face, patriotic Swagger program with Chris Jericho
So, do you think the concept would work? What did you think of my program? How would you book it?
