Option C Is A Good Thing

[Alex]

I wanted to make this thread a while ago but never got round to it but anyhow.


So ever since Option C was put into place two years ago it allowed the X-Divison champion to challenge the World Heavyweight Champion for a match at Destination X. A lot of people have said it's a bad thing and I see where they're coming from however there are positives.

It Puts Focus Back On The X-Divison

Like it or not the X-Division has faltered for a while. And this was before Hogan came in. Austin Aries was carrying the division pretty much by himself from 2011 to 2012 because there were so few worthwhile challengers (there were like three)

Since the inclusion of Option C there has been some improvement. Chris Sabin was doing a good job as champion during his two reigns when he came back from injury. And the Austin Aries/Suicide thing was interesting. Now at the moment you have Samoa Joe as champion who may be having a feud with Low Ki and/or Sanada which could be interesting.

It also gets people invested in it to see who may challenge the World Champion.

Let's be honest when Sanada had the title people were wondering if he would challenge for the World Title and it became a debate on here, likewise when Aries won it back people were wondering what he'd do. the X-Title was on the line in a multi man match people were wondering if Aries was going to retain or not. That's investment and something that's good for a division.

People have bought up legitimate gripes to Option C.

It Makes The X-Title A Glorified MITB Cash In

Money In The Bank allows the owner to cash in wherever/whenever for a World Title shot. Cashing in the X-Title allows someone to do this at Destination X. 'MITB gets away with it because it's not a title it's a contract'

While I see the point when people bring this up I'll throw this at you. The World Title is the top prize in any promotion. It is what every wrestler wants to achieve. Yes some won't be able to win much less sniff the main event but if a wrestler says he doesn't want to win the World Title he's either lying or not committed. Yes being a brilliant midcard wrestler can be good but Option C allows the small guy a chance to try his hand at the main event. And let's be honest everybody likes an underdog story.

People Will Only Become Interested During Destination X Season

Another legitimate point. However isn't interest during a certain part of the year better than no interest year round. In WWE many people have complained about the Intercontinental and US titles being pretty much worthless and I have to agree. I honestly have a hard time trying to name the last five champions from either of those belts because the reigns were generally dull. Even if you don't pay attention the X-Division regularly you'll pay attention to see who may cash in on the World Champion and that's surely something to remember.

Have I missed anything out on the pros or cons of Option C. Do you agree or disagree??

 

[Барбоса]

Option C, much like MITB, is an incredibly cheap way of garnering interest in an up and comer/next World Champion and while MITB can cheapen the WWE title, Option C can cheapen not just the TNA World Title but also the X Division title.

You want to put focus back on the X-Division? Then put the focus on the X-Division itself and not make it a subsidiary of the World Title, where we get a champion dropping the title without being beaten every year and making the new champion seem less legitimate because of it. For that month or two of spotlight leading up to Destination X, we get ten months of the entire division being largely in the shade so why should we care who is X Division champion right now if Destination X is a year away?

You want to have people invested in a World title contender? Then book them in an interesting way. Don't wrench someone from the upper card and throw them back into the X Division just so they can use Option C. Build them up as the challenger in their own right, not as the beneficiary of a stipulation that they had the good fortune to have fall into their lap at the right time of year.

Simplistic booking that does not provide only real intrigue.

Now, it is not impossible to book such a long term situation and TNA is making some strides by attempting to bolster the X Division by incorporating some bigger talent and some storyline but for my money, TNA (nor WWE for that matter) are anywhere near creative enough to keep such long term booking interesting enough that it is not just completely swept away come Destination X season and the inevitable cashing in of Option C.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I think Барбоса kinda nailed it.

I'll give TNA this much — it's interesting as a concept, but it has real world penalties and drawbacks, much of which he already listed. Above all, this doesn't actually put a focus on the X Divison. It puts a focus on the X Division for about a month, sometimes less, right around Destination X, when the announce team and the TNA product itself begin dropping hints about Option C.

Now, TNA did remedy this recently by instituting another change to Option C, which was to say that it no longer could only be cashed in at Destination X, rather at any time during the year, which again adds intrigue, but again has penalties and drawbacks that I don't think the company are taking seriously. If the purpose of the title is to always springboard your way to the WHC, fine, I get that, but you have to understand that all this does is cheapen the actual XDC, which will always be discarded in favor of a WHC shot, and then re-won via tournament, every single time.

There just has to be a better, less convoluted way of accomplishing this. Maybe I'm too old school and not with the times, but I've just never understood why 1+1=2 booking isn't used more often. I'd rather something go right and be simple than go wrong and be complicated simply because you as a company don't want your fans guessing what may happen next. Predictability has somehow become a negative, when in reality, it's actually a good thing. There are certain points throughout the year where the face is clearly going to win, and it doesn't make the moment any less grand when they do. I get that you want to keep people guessing sometimes, and the occasional swerve is great, but generally speaking, wrestling booking is not advanced chemistry, and shouldn't be treated as such. It's this reason I'm not all that in favor of Option C, even with the adjusted stipulation that it can now be used at any point in the year.

 

[whoopin' ass]

It has the potential to be interesting but we need to see someone say "no, why would I want to trade this title for that?" which I don't see happening. It turns the X title into a bit of a joke, a stepping stone to the World title. I think the idea would have been better if they used it on say the TV title and you could challenge for either the X or World title.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

There's nothing wrong with one title being a stepping stone to another. The WWE's Intercontinental title was exactly that for more than a decade in priming main event/World Championship performers, who eventually moved on from it and into the World title scene. The difference is that the IC title didn't have to be forfeited for the right to challenge for the World title, and the X Division title could conceivably do the same thing (minus Option C), but has greater difficulty in accomplishing this because of the perceived nature of what the X Division title actually represents, which most would agree, is a more Cruiser Weight style performer.

 

[STAR PLATINUM $9.99]

I have always thought plan c was a good thing. it also lead to one of TNA best moments, with Aries wining the world title. It makes the X division title feel more special, especially with Samoa Joe holding it now. they didn't have to copy anyone, they just took the money in the bank concept and put it to a title belt, witch would not be a bad thing if wwe did that with the intercontinental belt. they could also have the united states belt being that after you win it, you could challenge for a intercontinental match and move up the card.

 

[Alex]

Option C, much like MITB, is an incredibly cheap way of garnering interest in an up and comer/next World Champion and while MITB can cheapen the WWE title, Option C can cheapen not just the TNA World Title but also the X Division title.

You want to put focus back on the X-Division? Then put the focus on the X-Division itself and not make it a subsidiary of the World Title, where we get a champion dropping the title without being beaten every year and making the new champion seem less legitimate because of it. For that month or two of spotlight leading up to Destination X, we get ten months of the entire division being largely in the shade so why should we care who is X Division champion right now if Destination X is a year away?

You want to have people invested in a World title contender? Then book them in an interesting way. Don't wrench someone from the upper card and throw them back into the X Division just so they can use Option C. Build them up as the challenger in their own right, not as the beneficiary of a stipulation that they had the good fortune to have fall into their lap at the right time of year.

Simplistic booking that does not provide only real intrigue.

Now, it is not impossible to book such a long term situation and TNA is making some strides by attempting to bolster the X Division by incorporating some bigger talent and some storyline but for my money, TNA (nor WWE for that matter) are anywhere near creative enough to keep such long term booking interesting enough that it is not just completely swept away come Destination X season and the inevitable cashing in of Option C.

I see where you're coming from and the likelihood of TNA running with the idea and doing it well are probably slim but I'll say this. When the idea of Option C first came about Austin Aries was on fire he was the man in the X-Division so much so that he was having feuds with other guys because he had kicked everyone's ass in the X-Division. It showed that the X-Division could produce top wrestlers who could make headway somewhere else.

As to the cashing in of the X-Title cheapening itself and the World Title I wouldn't say so. When Austin Aries cashed in the first time and won it showed that the X-Division could produce guys that could transfer to the main event (as did Samoa Joe and AJ Styles before him) it just simply takes out the gap between transferring from one division to the other, cut out the middle man so to speak.

When it comes to the cheapening of the World Title cashing in the X-Title means the World Champion knows who he's facing at Destination X. This isn't Edge randomly cashing in after a brutal multi man World Title fight, this is RVD telling you when and where you're fighting every single time it's going to be cashed in.

Now can TNA do what they did with Austin Aries in 2011/12 and make a great transfer from the X-Division to main event scene. Yes they can. Will they is another different matter and a different thread.

 

[Барбоса]

Now can TNA do what they did with Austin Aries in 2011/12 and make a great transfer from the X-Division to main event scene. Yes they can. Will they is another different matter and a different thread.

What I would say about Aries is that while the using of Option C for him was good and made for a good title change, part of me thinks that it was completely unnecessary. Aries was already hot so all that should really have happened is that he gets booked into a feud with Roode rather than need some mechanism to allow him to get there. Option C did not make Aries. If anything, Aries made Option C and it has been living off his heat ever since.

Also the way the X Division has been treated for the last 4-5 years, it was not producing the star capable of making that giant leap to the World title. While his return was somewhat well received, Sabin certainly was not ready to challenge, let alone take the title from, arguably the best heel in America at the time. That alone cheapened the TNA World title as Sabin had to lose it back to Bully Ray quickly.

And when it came around to the Option C moment this last time around, they had failed to build anyone up to challenge the champion so they just threw Aries back into that role.

As I said, TNA does seem to be trying to bolster the X Division (although in the process it is somewhat defeating the original purpose by using existing stars) but as of right now, Option C has been an overall negative.

 

[Anti-IWC-Marks]

I can see somewhat of what a few on here are talking about.. That it might "cheapen" the titles a bit.

However, I think what is far more important is the true reason for Option C. This isn't just a "money in the bank" briefcase in disguise. There have been so many great X Division guys who just couldn't seriously break through the glass ceiling created for them. This Option C allows for once a year to have an X division guy get a shot. Much like the NCAA Basketball tournament, once a year you have 16 seeds facing 1 seeds, setting up a David and Goliath match.

I think Option C is important, as it gives a legitimate excuse for putting X Division guys in title matches. Then, they can be considered for further main event matches based on performance and ratings.

 

[ABMorales787]

The idea worked once. Because it was spontaneous and Austin Aries was the hottest thing in TNA not named James Storm back then. They caught lightning in the hand. Then crapped on it. Shocking, I know. Now Option C has become a total chore which is clear by Sabin's very obvious filler run and Aries winning the title 2 weeks before with no momentum just to lose to the World Champion.

Option C should've been a one time deal.