We Should Have Received a Free Title Change

[ztwhite]

After watching both Summerslam and Smackdown last week, I wondered why Vince didn't give us a free title change.

It was no secret to the IWC that Jeff Hardy was walking away, but should Vince have at least made us wonder if Jeff was staying by having him retain at Summerslam, then giving us a less obvious gimmick with the whole "loser leaves WWE" match on Smackdown ?

I believe it would have been a great opportunity to let the heavyweight strap change hands on free tv for wrestling fans who won't shell out $40 bucks for PPV's or can't afford to shell out $40. Plus, how often do we get heavyweight title changes on free tv ?

I just think the creative team really missed the boat with this one, even though I enjoyed both Punk/Hardy matches despite knowing what was going to happen.

 

[Lee]

Not really, you had the Undertaker returning at the end of SummerSlam, would it have worked if it was Jeff retaining? No. Would it have worked if he'd have returned at the end of SmackDown!? No. Hence the reason for the title change happening at SummerSlam.

 

[angry_panda]

I can see what you are saying, and I love it when the big titles changes hands on free TV (even though I tune into most PPV's anyway). But if Hardy had retained at Summerslam why would he have Kayfabe accepted the looser leaves match.

I kind of saw it as a..."you want your rematch tonight? Sure but only if I add a stipulation" kind of setup.

They could have had the match anyway, but after all the recent matches they have had, (if Hardy hadn’t been off and every man and his dog weren’t out injured) summerslam would most likely have seen Hardy retain and it be an end an end to their fued (unless they were planning on doing a HHH/Orten thing here). So it made more sense in my head this way, and I kind of like it when wrestling at least tries to make a little bit of sense

 

[angry_panda]

Not really, you had the Undertaker returning at the end of SummerSlam, would it have worked if it was Jeff retaining? No. Would it have worked if he'd have returned at the end of SmackDown!? No. Hence the reason for the title change happening at SummerSlam.

Hardy could have retained at SummerSlam, and then punk wins the match on Smackdown with Taker returning when Punk beat down Hardy at the top of the ramp and stands over him, same deal as at Summerslam. It wouldn’t have been as cool as his SS return, but you would have had a title change on free TV, and I do love it when that happens. I guess I'm more that happy with how it played out though, so...

 

[The Todd]

I believe it would have been a great opportunity to let the heavyweight strap change hands on free tv for wrestling fans who won't shell out $40 bucks for PPV's or can't afford to shell out $40.

Why would they want to please the people who don't pa for the PPV's? The whole point of Smackdown and Raw is to generate buy rates for the PPV's. If you want to see title changes you buy the PPV. Also, Smackdown is pre-taped. Why do a major title change where many people find out about the ending before it happens and spoils it for others?

Plus, how often do we get heavyweight title changes on free tv ?

We had one towards the end of last year, Jericho beating Batista. That was so unexpected it worked. If you do one every year it gets less so. One every three of four years is enough.

 

[The BRock Samson]

Hardy could have retained at SummerSlam, and then punk wins the match on Smackdown with Taker returning when Punk beat down Hardy at the top of the ramp and stands over him, same deal as at Summerslam. It wouldn’t have been as cool as his SS return, but you would have had a title change on free TV, and I do love it when that happens. I guess I'm more that happy with how it played out though, so...

Lee is right. It wouldv'e made more sense to have give Punk the title and then have Undertaker return instead of Hardy retaining since it gives us a reason to be excited about the Punk/Taker feud. Right after Summerslam, I heard about how fans couldn't wait to see this feud happen and how great this feud would be. I'm glad that it played out the way it did because it built up the Punk/Taker feud.

 

[dvayne]

I think they screwed it up when they gave Jeff the belt back in the first place. He should have made the Summerslam match as Punk's title vs Jeff's career match. It would have been more surprising as to whether Jeff was going to stay or not. Maybe even have Jeff win and on Smackdown have him celebrate winning the title and Punk would come down injuring him indefinently (Batista's last title run WWE likes to rehash ideas) and Jeff would have to retire causing a tournament for the vacant title leading up to the Breaking Point match between Undertaker vs Punk

On a side note we may get to see a free title change on Smackdown thanks to Rey Mysterio not knowing how to turn in paperwork when he takes drugs

 

[The BRock Samson]

On a side note we may get to see a free title change on Smackdown thanks to Rey Mysterio not knowing how to turn in paperwork when he takes drugs

I agree with this since Dolph was supposed to at Summerslam but that never happened. Now, Dolph's getting the belt sooner than planned, which is what he needed for his push.

 

[Wrath]

If he lost his title on SD then people would say why the titles didn't change in TLC match. There is no way to make everyone happy for me losing his title in a TLC match was better for Punk it made Punk look more credible than ever but in a steel cage match winning title by escaping would not make him look that credible.

 

[Slyfox696]

I saw The Todd answer this thread the best. Why please you cheapskates who don't pay for shows? The WWE makes a LOT of money from its PPVs, and Summerslam is the second biggest show of the year. You WANT people to buy the PPV...if you give away a title change for free, then it cheapens the meaning of the PPVs.

No, unlike WCW, Vince McMahon wants people to pay to see the exciting moments. Title changes on free TV only happen when it will bolster the PPV buys.

 

[Drew Holiday]

The title change happening at Summerslam was the best thing to do for a number of reasons:

1.It gave the viewers and people in attendance one great last momentunk winning the belt.

2.It gave Punk a major win on a major ppv.

3.It helped set up what will be a 5 star match, Punk vs Undertaker.

 

[JBK2008]

No to the free title change and it wouldn't have made sense it Hardy had retained even if he was going or staying. Punk needed to win so Undertaker could swoop in and take the top spot with Jeff on the outs. The weekly shows are used to build up for the PPVs and there was no reason to do it on free tv.