Match Time Limits

[Viola Moonlight]

For those that pay attention to the ring announcers, it seems as if every TNA match has a time limit added to it. Essentially, it is a way for management to subtley allow for the viewers to understand roughly how long the match will take place under. It also allows for creative to make more match endings and scenario's, mixing up how things are booked... this is the case with the Kurt Angle/AJ Styles match we saw on Impact.

For the discussion purposes of this thread... are these time limits decent enough for TNA to continue to be enforced or do you believe that these do nothing but hurt the product?

 

[thisisatest]

I like the idea of time limits on matches, it gives matches more of an old-school feel. I remember when I was young watching Ric Flair go up against someone...Hawk, Barry Windham, Dusty Rhodes, Ron Garvin....and thinking 'wow he's only got 20 minutes or 30 minutes to beat this guy'. It made for a more exciting match especially when the commentator starts in with 'only xx seconds to go'. For what it's worth I wish both TNA and WWE would insitute time limits on their interviews and pre-match monologues.

 

[byrnside]

The WWE should probably re-adopt the time limit. I know a lot of us IWC'ers complain that there's not enough creative endings to matches, and this could be a fresh way to not only end a match, not only be a creative ending that leaves us wanting more, but also a way to build credibility to any feud. Specifically any of the mid card title matches. Think about the Miz especially. He's in a match against say Kofi Kingston or Evan Bourne, and suddenly the bell rings and the match is over. It's a great way for the champion to keep the title, AND not have the challenger lose any steam or credibility. Neither guy loses, and chances are you saw a good match with a creative ending that can push the feud further.

 

[BladeRunner]

A lot of people complain about how short wrestling matches are these days. But if you tell them the time limit beforehand it makes them happier, because then they know that hey, that match had 10 or 20 minutes to run. Besides, they can only fit so many matches in various time slots. I also think it's more realistic. There's time limits in boxing and many other hand to hand combat sports.

 

[johnbragg]

Time limits add a dimension that creative can use.

How do you present, say, the Colons or Cryme Time as a legitimate Tag Team title threat when JTG is not in Big Show's league and Shad couldn't carry Jericho's jock?
You build it up over time.
Cryme Time challenges Jerishow. Jerishow starts to laugh it off, then throws them a bone--a ten minute challenge. If Cryme Time can last ten minutes with Jerishow, they've got their title shot next week or next PPV or whatver. Show gets the pin at say 9:45. Cryme Time frankly looks better than they did going in--they almost achieved their goal.

A few weeks go by, CT gets a win or two over improvised tag teams--say, Finlay & R-Truth and Escobar & McIntyre. (Those four would lose nothing by getting pinned in a tag team match--they aren't tag team wrestlers, so who cares?) They challenge Jerishow again, and Jerishow plays it off that they will get dismantled this time to teach CT a lesson. This time, CT goes the distance and earns the shot. They lose the match (TV main event or PPV midcard) in a respectable fashion.

That does more to build a tag-team as a threat than confrontation promo--TV match--PPV loss.

 

[Tenebrous]

Let's see if that sticks around. I don't know if this will become a permanent fixture or was it done for every match at the 3 hour impact so the Angle/Style matching ending didn't come out of left field. It does have an old school feel to it and adds character to matches.

 

[LCShazardous]

i kinda like the time limits it gives pro wrestling a bit of a MMA flavor to it's matches. and when the timer runs out i think it should not end in a draw but go to a decision like in MMA have. it would give the announcers something more important to do. and it would help give the biased heel commentator more heat and the unbiased face commentator more star power. if it's a draw scoring amongst the 2 commentators have the ref have the final decision the unbiased middle man. whats ur thoughts?

 

[X]

Threads like this really give away the youth of some of our posters, or atleast their amateur knowledge of wrestling. Time limit draws and match time limits have been around for decades, do you know how many great matches went to time limit draws back in the NWA? Many. They certainly have their place in wrestling; they allow a feud to be furthered without either man having to lose and look weak. It's a simple and effective way to elongate a feud, no different from a DQ finish or count-out.

There's no problem with match time limits, especially now-a-days when the WWE or TNA only breaks them out maybe once a year.