What do you think of WWE adding unannounced matches to PPV events?

[Martin Gabriel]

I mean, it's not exactly new, but it's seemed more prominent in recent months, especially with squashes. Come to think of it, am I wrong in saying it's been worse lately or have they definitely been booking more unannounced matches than before?

If I'm right, I guess it's a good idea to cool down crowds without sacrificing fan reactions to matches they actually want a lively audience right. Plus it does give you additional piss breaks if you're uninterested in seeing Ryback squash more local jobbers. Maybe it's irrational, but my problem with it is that it feels like it devalues the show. Ideally, a pay-per-view should be awesome from top-to-bottom. It just hurts my impression when I have to say, "Oh yeah, it was great besides the two squash matches and bad comedy segment."

 

[Diet Soda]

When you're seeing the same matches on Smackdown the week before, then yeah, it totally pisses on the pay per view.

 

[Martin Gabriel]

That's a good point. Even if it's just filler, I want to see matches I don't get on television. Fuck, I have a solution: BOOK MORE TITLE MATCHES! Both the US Championship and the tag titles weren't on the line last night. Hell, NXT Championship matches would be interesting to see on pay-per-view. Or would it be the FCW Championship? How exactly is FCW and its titles integrating into NXT? I guess we'll find out Wednesday.

Not that I ever pay except for WrestleMania and Survivor Series though.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I don'T mind it that much when it's a match like the four way tag match from last night ppv. It give the talent that are on the lower card a ppv spot and yopu can get a really good match out of it. But having a match like Hunico vs Sin Cara that they already did on raw or Ryback squashing 2 jobbers, then i really don'T see the points of it. These spots could have been use to give more time to some of the other matches on the PPV or even some backstage segments to help sell the current matches.

 

[legendkiller1979]

I think it's funny. I'm sure the WWE feels like they are doing the fans a great big favor by giving them something for nothing and the people that don't want them are ungrateful.
I'm sure if the E took a poll, the fans would say "keep your free match, I just saw that match."

 

[badgermilk816]

I just wish they would announce more meaningful matches at least 2 weeks before the actual PPV so we could get a decent build. I'm all for adding bonus matches the day of... but I hate when there are only 4-5 actual matches announced and they just throw in some filler.

To me.. Most PPV's should look like this.

1. WWE Title Match
2. WHC Match
3. IC Title Match
4. US Title Match
5. Tag Team Title Match
6. Raw Feud/Grudge Match (Match involving Big stars that aren't going for title)
7. SD Feud/ Grudge Match (same as raw)
8. Divas Title
9. (If there's time... Sqaush or a match showcasing new talent)
10. Pre Show match.

Of course Rumble, Mania, Summer Slam and Sur Series should have their own usual formats. And Maybe MITB would have to follow a little different format. But I say they scrap Night of Champions and give us all 6 titles for at least those remaining 7 PPV's. Seriously.. 6 title feuds, 2 other matches involving big times stars and a bonus match.. they should have 9 quality matches for each PPV. I'm sick of seeing bogus, meaningless matches like that tuxedo match we saw last night.

 

[tgrfan]

it makes no sense really.i see no problem with it.but at the end of the day it typically ends up being some match that we have seen many times.just like the squash matches with ryback those are so pointless to have on a ppv.same with hhh announcement they could have done that last week on raw.then before the show ended announce that brocks camp would address the challenge to give fans something to look forward to this week.

 

[MillionDollarMan]

It's awful. I was at last night's PPV since the tickets were so cheap and the fans didn't care because the matches were with people that didn't have a storyline and were mostly minor characters. It felt like a Thursday Internet Superstars match. WWE has enough television programming time to develop stories and create matches before the PPV. Not to do so is just plain laziness.

 

[Foshinzo]

It's just lazy booking, to me.

They don't have a good story for the tag match, so let's just drop it with the bare minimum context. In a day where wrestling is so over-saturated, people expect a story and there's no reason not to invest TV time.

Also, it underutilizes your talent roster not to actually use them on TV and get the bare minimum out of them with one PPV match. It's not like people don't want to see the Prime Time Players; they're not great or anything, but people will buy tag matches. Try and give them a gimmick or at least an angle on television and don't just drop the Abraham Washington thing on us like we're supposed to know exactly what's going on.

WWE doesn't tell stories anymore. That's what this thing is about.

 

[Jatkuva]

The unadvertised matches last night didn't bother me. We knew Ryback would have a match. The tag-team match was nice, and honestly if it was advertised how many more people would have bought it because of that match. With the reports coming out that WWE would be more focused on ratings then buys, I'm actually interested on seeing how this is followed up on raw. And it really didn't cut into any of the other matches time they were solid or weren't getting any better then they were. (Ziggler vs. Sheamus being the exception could have gone a little longer since the crowd was so into it.) Overall those two unadvertised matches were nice filler.

As for Sin Cara vs. Hunico, it should have been Sin Cara vs. Slater. I lose more and more interest in Hunico and Camacho everytime i see them, they're a bodyguard(camacho?) or team. If Hunico would have gotten a non-clean victory over Cara on raw i might of actually been interested a least bit.

 

[HBsam31]

Like another poster said, just add more title matches to the PPV. i would rather see more of the belts defended than seeing a match I just saw on Raw or Smackdown. I bet the WWE thinks they are doing us a big favor by adding these matches, but the time would be served so much better if some of the other belts were defended instead.

 

[Swiggs]

I don't mind it if its a good match, booking a squash match AFTER a WWE title match is just utterly ridiculous it pisses on the PPV and pisses on the other matches.

Keep PPV's to the big match keep your squashes on TV!

 

[crippler]

That's a good point. Even if it's just filler, I want to see matches I don't get on television. Fuck, I have a solution: BOOK MORE TITLE MATCHES! Both the US Championship and the tag titles weren't on the line last night. Hell, NXT Championship matches would be interesting to see on pay-per-view. Or would it be the FCW Championship? How exactly is FCW and its titles integrating into NXT? I guess we'll find out Wednesday.

Not that I ever pay except for WrestleMania and Survivor Series though.

I agree with a title on NXT why not just use NXT for the US championship after all the title is rarely defended and has lost its meaning since Ziggler lost it

 

[TheHorndogSays]

It doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother most of the people who have responded so far. The squash matches last night SERVED A PURPOSE. It doesn't bother me when impromptu matches are done to start a storyline or progress a current storyline/superstar. Last night it continued the development of Ryback (not a fan of his personally but I am glad they are trying to establish new stars) and it established new number one contenders to the tag title and showed them with a new manager. When it does bother me is when they go "ok we have 5 extra minutes. Ok justin gabriel and heath slater, you two go out there and have a quick match" with no meaning to it.

Not every match has to be announced. Had they announced "Ryback will be in action and we will have a fatal 4-way to determine new number one contenders" I'm pretty sure no one at home would have been "wow Ryback is being advertised, I wasn't going to buy No Way Out but now I will" Plus sometimes the surprise can be a good thing, keeps intrigue. Look at Over the Limit when Christian won an impromptu battle royale and won the IC title.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

It's obviously a horrible idea. It's not hard to advertise or promote 7-8 matches throughout a month building to a pay-per-view. Not doing so is just lazy writing, and devalues the pay-per-view by making it feel like less of a big deal. For example the Fatal-4-way Tag-Team Match could have easily been announced weeks in advance of No Way Out, and then you could have tag team matches throughout the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view featuring different teams that will be in the Fatal-4-Way. There's no reason not do that, you might as well have some semblance of build-up to the PPV match. They're just lazy and basically never have a clear direction for anything besides the main event scene (sometimes not even that), and just throw random crap together.

Just as a general rule, you should be able to have a video package telling the backstory of every match at a pay-per-view. You don't have to make a video package for every match, but it's just something I'm using to make a point that every PPV match needs a story or build-up leading for it. That's called giving the fans their money's worth.

 

[fowlermovies]

If there were a sense of surprise to them, then I'd be all for them. However, most of them have been Brodus Clay or Ryback squash matches, that's all. If they had relevance and meant something to a storyline then it could add suspense to what you'll get to see for paying the money. Alas, all you receive is more squash than a farmer's market in early fall.

 

[H16HP01N7]

I just wish they would announce more meaningful matches at least 2 weeks before the actual PPV so we could get a decent build. I'm all for adding bonus matches the day of... but I hate when there are only 4-5 actual matches announced and they just throw in some filler.

To me.. Most PPV's should look like this.

1. WWE Title Match
2. WHC Match
3. IC Title Match
4. US Title Match
5. Tag Team Title Match
6. Raw Feud/Grudge Match (Match involving Big stars that aren't going for title)
7. SD Feud/ Grudge Match (same as raw)
8. Divas Title
9. (If there's time... Sqaush or a match showcasing new talent)
10. Pre Show match.

Of course Rumble, Mania, Summer Slam and Sur Series should have their own usual formats. And Maybe MITB would have to follow a little different format. But I say they scrap Night of Champions and give us all 6 titles for at least those remaining 7 PPV's. Seriously.. 6 title feuds, 2 other matches involving big times stars and a bonus match.. they should have 9 quality matches for each PPV. I'm sick of seeing bogus, meaningless matches like that tuxedo match we saw last night.

OMG, I fully agree, I've been saying this for months... Get John Cena out of the Main Event picture if he's not holding the WWE/WH Championship, and put the WWE title back where it belongs... I can understand if they make matches like the Royal Rumble match take priority over the main titles, but Big Show/Lesnar/Laryngitus vs Cena as the 'Main Event' sucks.
Also they NEED to to get the titles ALL back on the PPV's... I can understand if, like @ No Way Out with the Tag Titles, the Champion(s) is out with injury
, kayfabe or not, but if a title isn't defended regularly it loses all meaning... When was the last time we saw the Tag Titles defended at a PPV, and how can Santino be counted as the US Champ if We've never seen him defend it at a PPV (I may be wrong about that, but I can't remember the defence if it has happened). Stop wasting title matches on the TV shows, unless it means something, and get the ALL on the PPVS... The Night of Champions format should be the default format for all of the PPVs.

 

[Martin Gabriel]

Great point Sexcellence of Sexecution. Creative really needs to set higher standards for itself of when a pay-per-view's card should be fully announced. There doesn't even have to be an enormous, complex storyline revolving around less important matches like that fatal-four-way tag match. Just say a few weeks in advanced, "Hey, these fucks gonna go at it, you hear?" Then any interaction those teams have over the next few weeks is instantly granted more significance and can be alluded to on commentary throughout the pay-per-view match. It's REALLY not that hard.

 

[Ross421]

I think unannounced matches are a cool idea to add some drama to the PPV and beyond. Like the 4-way Tag Team match, it launched a story with A.W. and the Primetime Players vs Primo and Epico. But when they're just squash matches like Ryback and Sin Cara it's just pointless. That time could have been given to the WWE Championship match, which hasn't main evented a PPV since TLC, which is a joke. It just seems lazy on WWE's part not developing the stories of the main rivalries and stealing their time with matches that EVERYBODY knows how its going to end. I feel bad for Ziggler & Sheamus, and Punk-Bryan-Kane, because they put on great matches, that could have been amazing given more time.

 

[Dagger Dias]

It depends on what the match is. I don't mind if they throw in a Ryback squash match onto the card, it's not really something huge that needs advertising, while at the same time still serving a purpose. What does annoy me is when extra title matches get added. These are matches that need to be heavily advertised because fans enjoy seeing the possibility of a new champion, it might help the show get more purchases.

Say you have a PPV event coming up and by the day before only 4 matches have been announced. A World Championship match, a WWE Championship match, a Divas Championship match, and a random filler that no one cares about. I have one night to decide if I still want to order this show, and it looks pretty boring on paper. Then WWE ends up throwing in four more matches. A United States Championship match, a Ryback squash match, a Tag Team Championship match, and perhaps a Brodus match. Why didn't WWE promote any of these? Granted none are anything amazing, but it would have made the show look far more interesting on paper.

The whole point of a PPV event is for WWE to make money. If they want people to purchase it, they need to advertise it. Throwing in matches at the last minute is not very lucrative. The more matches you advertise ahead of time, within reason, the more interesting the show will look to us fans who are questioning whether or not to buy it. It depends on what the match is that gets added unannounced, but in general it annoys me because it comes off as WWE being lazy about promoting the event when they could be making more money off of it.

 

[kizarny]

yeah I'd agree with sex and say its just being lazy. surely you can have less piper/lauper/HEATH segments to advertise a god damn tag feud, especially if your going to have like a manager twist or something.

since most seem to agree, I'll purpose this, what is your opinion of unannounced "mystery" opponents? I believe it's a challenge of the mystery opponent being a big enough name to make it a pleasant suprise, but not too big that his appearance should be advertised. It gives PPV's that "anything can happen" feel which is a draw, but you could potential miss out on that returning star's drawing power, so its an interesting predicament. of course like sexellence said you would still need to build it up in an angle, even if it's only one opponent, to get the full effect(affect?).

 

[WWE2003]

I don't like watching the same matches I see on TV. However, I also don't like unannounced matches at all. But, they should begin fueds for these superstars in these unannounced matches if they're going to keep that up.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Throwing matches onto a PPV but then having a hyped match on the pre-show is slightly flawed, no?

Personally I don't care considering even WWE's top matches are basically thrown together anyway.