Bragging Rights Returning In 2012

[ezuvgu]

This is an awful idea for WWE. There is no real brand split anymore. Every wrestler has switched back and forth constantly and both brands are on Raw every week and PPV every month.

This concept only works in the WWE of 2003 or 2004 when most PPVs were brand-exclusive and half the roster didn't switch brands every year. Back then, there was a real brand split and fans could talk about Lesnar VS HHH or Cena VS Orton as dream matches that were unlikely to happen. Yes, the WWE did some damage to the brand split by moving Benoit to Raw and by moving RVD, Booker T, and a bunch of midcarders around in the Draft Lottery, but still most wrestlers were associated with one brand or the other.

I remember looking up the results of the 2009 Bragging Rights match before the 2nd one in 2010. I don't remember the exact numbers, but around half of each team switched brands in the following year. These days, WWE gives Dolph Ziggler the IC Title for most of a year on Smackdown and then gives him a sorta main event push. The following year, they move him to Raw, give him the US Title and do the same thing all over again. WWE has Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio feud for 6 months on Smackdown and then sets up the same feud on Raw the following year when Mysterio needs to be written off of TV due to a legit injury. With a thin roster and awful PPV buyrates, it wouldn't make sense for WWE to go back to a real brand split, so they should just end it.

 

[Why Always Me]

I hope not - I hate the brand split and it seems like it is being watered down now (hopefully will be abolished in the future completely).

I hope that the TBC PPV is King Of The Ring, I stated in another thread that if the tounament came back the winner could maybe get a Summerslam title shot and how I think it would help someone like Rhodes or Barrett.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I for one will be glad to see Bragging Rights return. It has the potential to flop worse than before now that the Brand Extension is basically dead, but I liked the concept and think it should return. They can still have the two midcard champions face each other. The two world champions could each face guys from the other brand, for exmple CM Punk from Raw defending the WWE Championship against Christian from Smackdown. Then of course the tag team elimination match. While it may flop again, it is still much better than Capitol Punishment. Bringing THAT show back would be a huge mistake because it was really bad. The fake Obama promos were among WWE's worst. I just hope they put more effort into Bragging Rights this time around. It has a lot of potential that has yet to be lived up to.

 

[Colamania]

I like the idea of Bragging Rights in principle, however, I think the main event and the general setup both need tweaking slightly. Not much though, and I have good news for those poor souls in WWE Creative - you've already used the perfect setup, 11 years ago, all you need to do is go watch an old PPV...

Of course, I'm referring to the one off spectacular that was InVasion. In mid-2001, the entire Invasion angle was officially kick-started at this event, and the entire night (not just one match) was WWE VS The Alliance. Throughout the night, the commentators kept us updated on what the score was (they included the match from Sunday Night Heat) and of course, by the time we got to the main event (The Inaugural Brawl - awful name) it was a tie, I believe it was 5-5. Therefore the winners on the night would be the winners of the 5 on 5 tag team match. The following aspects are what worked so well on that night, and what would work again for Bragging Rights:

EVERY Match Is Raw VS SmackDown: If your entire event is based around a gimmick of one brand going up against another, having matches in which two competitors from each brand fight one another is, well, just plain stupid. Keep the gimmick and the event makes more sense.

Keep Score: This is the most obvious point. Make sure there's an odd number of matches on the card so that by the time you hit the gigantic tag match main event, the scores are miraculously tied, and it turns out the winner of the tag match wins the whole night. Hell, WWE have been making some awesome-looking sets for their Pay Per View events lately, why not design a set with a huge bloody scoreboard on it and you can keep the total running up there? It would look pretty good and reinforce the gimmick throughout the night.

NO Championships: I cannot stress this one enough. Make the night about the trophy, not the belts. At InVasion, only one championship was on the line, and that's the Hardcore title, which was mainly up for grabs just because of the 24/7 rule (it was basically impossible to have the HC champ in a non-title match) - now you don't have the Hardcore belt, there's no need for any championships to be up for grabs. Hell, at InVasion, Stone Cold was the WWE Champ and captained the WWE team, while Booker T, the WCW Champ, lead the Alliance. It's not rocket science. Have the WWE Champion captain Team Raw, the World Champion captain team SmackDown, and bring some serious prestige to the main event.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

The June PPV is the one PPV of the year where almost nothing important or intriguing happens, slap on a quite entertaining PPV there and BAM problem solved.

This is the best choice they could gone with, with Fatal 4 and Vengeance as the other choices there is no comparison. Bragging rights always managed to at least give us one surprise (e.g Bryan vs Ziggler, 2010 Tag team elimination match). Nonetheless the tag match was good in 2010 (not so much in 2009), and the opening U.s champ vs IC title champ on both events where fun to watch, and the main events were mixed bags (Liked Orton vs Cena, Orton vs Barrett was one of the worst main events I had ever seen). The potential here is maximized by the fact that it is now away from Survivor Series and can stand on it's own with a distinctive or signature match (7-on-7) that doesn't coincide with the SS elimination match tradition.

Don't mind this move at all, I'm willing to give Bragging Rights a bigger chance than I would another Capital Punishment.

 

[¡Roján!]

Bragging Rights always had the potential to be huge and, I'm glad it's coming back. It just needs to be booked well, and that's it. We're not talking rocket science, we're talking two weeks before the PPV, Teddy Long asking his Smackdown entourage to invade RAW. They do so, and boom, brand rivalry. It makes it actually mean something. Not to mention, the 7v7 matches are always fun to watch.

Another gripe, is that it should all be SDvsRAW. I'm taking United States Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion, WWE Champion vs. WHC Champion, etc... maybe with the winner of the matches getting a PPV of their choice in which they don't have to defend their title. Apart from that, advertise matches as being once in a lifetime matches that you never thought would happen (I'm looking at you CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan) and, if that mean getting rid of the Supershow shtick, so be it. Hell, get the GM's involved, make it a big deal. It could have the drawing power that Money in the Bank had if done well.

To sum up, I think it's a good filler PPV for that June time (bar any shoots). And, a much better PPV concept than Capitol Punishment or anything of that ilk.

 

[The Eighties]

The concept for this is great but as long as the supershow exists and the brand split is mostly ignored it's pretty fruitless as the selling point should be seeing wrestler's face off who never cross paths other than at this event.

In many ways instead of making it a PPV a Bragging Rights match at Survivor Series would be the way I'd like to see the concept used, like in years gone by.

 

[DcSensai]

maybe they take the war games match and use that to make the new bragging rights match.

 

[XXJJ]

The concept for this great but the supershows hurt this ppv.

For this to work they need to stop with the supershows. The supershows have hurt the raw midcard. ANd makes the smackdown wrestlers look weak. Daniel Byran vs Big Show has been a big part of the main event scene on Smackdown. Having them wrestle in the first hour of Raw last week makes them look 2nd tier.

If they balance the rosters a little more and turn it into more of a rivalry between the two brands it would be great.