I had an idea but I know it's one that'll almost never come to fruition because it's one that takes place over time.
During the summer months, pro wrestling in general goes through kind of a lull period that generally doesn't really pick up until about SummerSlam. A little idea I had floating about would start after the Extreme Rules ppv. It starts out with a tournament involving 12, maybe 14 wrestlers on the roster. The tourney matches are treated like something important, good build with a video presentation or something along those lines of the wrestlers competing in the matches, etc. There'd be one, maybe two tourney matches a week taking place on Raw & SD!. The number could be altered to depending upon how long it is until it's almost time for SummerSlam. At various points in the tournament, such as maybe in the quarter & semi-finals, the wrestlers compete all compete in some form of gimmick match. Maybe one of the match stips could be "picked" by the fans via voting. The two finalists would ultimately meet at SummerSlam to compete in a something along the lines of a 2 out of 3 falls match with the 1st match being maybe a submission match, the 2nd fall being a steel cage match and the 3rd fall being a street fight. The winner of the tournament is given an opportunity to challenge for any championship on the roster. As a result, current champions won't be competing in the tournament. If during the course of the tournament a champion loses, then he can't just find himself placed in the tourney. If he's unable to regain his title, he's just shit out of luck.
There'd be some main eventers in the tourney probably, like Orton & Sheamus & Big Show, and a good number of mid-card guys. The tournament could also be a means of building up some of the mid-card guys in which they'd be competing in real matches and be portrayed in a serious tone. That's not to say there aren't flaws in some people's eyes. For instance, people would ask why not just make it for either the WWE or World Championship. Well, people bitch about how the mid-card titles are used at times, sometimes with legitimate reason, so it could be a means of jacking up prestige for the mid-card titles. It'd be a simple matter of having the winner explain his choice, if he chooses to go after a mid-card title. The winner could give an impassioned promo about how WHEN he ultimately becomes a World Champion, he doesn't want it to come off like a fluke or as the result of some technicality, which is often how MITB is portrayed. The winner simply has to say that he intends to prove he has what it takes to be WWE or World Champion by being the greatest IC or US champ in history, meaning he'll have a strong run with the title. That particular scenario works with a face rather than a heel, but heels will almost always certainly pick the top titles. Having the winner able to go after the main event or mid-card titles can stir up speculation and interest as to what he'll go after.
It wouldn't be like MITB in which he can simply cash in his match at any point in time. The winner has to inform the champ of ultimately when he's going to have his match, so that WWE can heavily hype the match and put a lot of emphasis on it.
I admit that MITB is an influence on my little idea. As a result, it'll almost surely never take place. If it did then, personally, I think MITB would need to be retired for a while. Having three instances where a wrestler can "cash in" a guaranteed championship opportunity is simply too much. It dilutes the whole aspect of it. There'd also have to be a lot of planning put into it and a commitment. You couldn't just "lose interest" in it right smack in the middle of things without looking like a joke. As a result, as I said, I doubt it'd ever happen.
I honestly would like to see a tournament used in WWE on a yearly basis, but only if it's a tournament that's treated seriously and feels like it's significant.[/QUOTE]
i've always loved the idea of tournaments in wrestling. i mean, when done correctly. Mania 4 might be a good example of a tournament done not-quite-as-well-as-hoped-for type of tournament because i never for a second thought that half the guys in it could or would ever win the World Title. but there have been different King of the Ring tournaments that i was surprised to see who won and seriously thought could have been won by any number of guys in it.
that said, having two MITB ladder matches for guaranteed title shots and an ongoing tournament for a future title shot might be a little much. so how about this modification on your idea (which i love by the way!)?
MITB ladder match happens once a year and only one match. that match happens at Mania and has a time limit policy of when the winner can cash-in for Summerslam. this way, it gets some guys on the Mania card that otherwise might not have a spot and can start off the ppv with some excitement every year. i like the idea of shortening the whole year cash-in also cuz it puts more urgency on the briefcase.
your tournament happens just as you said with the final match happening at Summerslam. this way, there are only two guys with guaranteed title shots and they're not overlapping each other. by the time the finals match takes place, MITB will already be cashed-in.
just a thought to add onto Jack's idea. other ones i like would be bringing back other old ideas, such as the tournament listed above, or War Games. i always thought there were some missed opportunities by the WWE in not doing a War Games match or at least a tag team Elimination Chamber match with, just for example, The Shield this year.
