What happened to the 1# contender matches?

[radec]

There not even doing this anymore. The world heavyweight gets one each couple of months but the WWE championship hasent had 1 over a year. Now all they do is literally give the matches to anyone they want. If the fued demands it then so be it, their not even trying to make the 1#contendership something to chase for. Now John cena will decide who will be his contender, I mean what the hell!

It kinda irritates me that tittle matches are getting tossed around just cause they can. At least make the effort to make them look like people fought for the right to fight the champion...

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

#1 Contender matches are a waste of time...boring and predictable. They are just cutting to the chase and giving the match to the guy who makes the most sense, and I'm perfectly fine with that.

 

[Degenerate88]

Hopefully if we ever get back to 1 main Heavyweight Championship, they'll bring these back, as they'll have much more meaning. I don't find them a waste of time (as others seem to). I loved them back in the day. They brought something to a feud, hell they brought a feud, which isn't seen often these days. I'd like to see them more mainline again, it'd be a breath of fresh air.

 

[H33LTurn]

Predictability can be a factor, like someone else already pointed out. Another theory is it leaves someone within the world title picture, but without a world title match. Every time someone loses a #1 contender's match, they come off looking like a great failure. Close but no cigar. To spin that into some sort of redemption angle for that superstar appears to be too much for creative to handle at this point. I have, recently, found myself asking that same answer too. Although often times it was blatantly obvious who was going to win, #1 contender matches are a staple of American professional wrestling and have been defining moment's in the careers of certain stars.

 

[theBusiness]

There not even doing this anymore. The world heavyweight gets one each couple of months but the WWE championship hasent had 1 over a year. Now all they do is literally give the matches to anyone they want. If the fued demands it then so be it, their not even trying to make the 1#contendership something to chase for. Now John cena will decide who will be his contender, I mean what the hell!

It kinda irritates me that tittle matches are getting tossed around just cause they can. At least make the effort to make them look like people fought for the right to fight the champion...

Cena-Punk's MOTY candidate on Raw in February was a No.1 Contender match? That was 5 months ago. And didn't Daniel Bryan win one to start off his feud with Punk last May? Regardless, they shouldn't be overdone. It would stupid IMO to have one to set up every single championship match/feud. Once in a while is fine.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Have you been watching WWE programming at all this year? They've had a ton of #1 contender matches over the course of this year. If anything, I'm glad to see that they've cut back on them because they were having them far too often.

They've had #1contender matches for the tag titles, several for the IC & World Championships. In all honesty, Cena vs. Punk on Raw this past February was, for all intents & purposes, a #1 contender match with Cena putting his spot against The Rock at WM up against Punk.

Now if you would have said that #1 contender matches don't have that special feel about them anymore, I'd have agreed with you. I'd love to see a #1 contender match hyped & built on Raw & SD! for a couple of weeks, or longer if it was to take place at a ppv. Maybe do a few video packages on the wrestlers involved, maybe do a couple of candid promos in which they talk about how important the upcoming match is to them, etc. It won't take much to make these sort of matches feel like big deals again.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I have to say - whilst I want DB to beat Cena I felt a bit confused seeing DB being announced as No#1 contender last night. It makes the whole MITB match seem redundant - especially as DB was a contender in the match for Raw MITB briefcase.

It is not like they have not had time to plan this a bit better... disappointing booking again.

 

[Stagger Lee]

How is it disappointing booking? If anything, it is smart booking, and provided a way AROUND the need for a traditional #1 contender's match by just letting Cena pick anyone he wanted. The other option would have been to have all of the people from the MitB match (other than Orton) compete in some sort of battle royale, in which the end result would have been the same, with Bryan winning.

To back up for a moment, let's say they actually had a #1 contender's match for Cena's belt. Who would even be in that match? Going into Sunday, the person with the most momentum was Bryan. He had wins over Orton and Sheamus. The other option would be Punk, but he is already involved in the Heyman storyline. Would you want to have Bryan vs. Punk, where Bryan beats Punk and makes him look weaker before his feud with Brock Lesnar? How is this smart booking? And if you think Bryan losing the MitB match should knock him out of contention for the belt, who are you left with to challenge Cena?

 

[teddygreen17]

But...To me #1 Contender Matches are important in this aspect...it blows up the importance of the championship they're going for. Where is the jockeying for position? I think WWE needs more actual competition. Its already fake enough...we need more tournaments, need more #1 contender matches, etc. This will bring back much needed importance to the titles.

I love Mark Henry, but tell me how 1 promo = WWE Championship match...that is insane.

 

[HillBillyJim]

I have to say - whilst I want DB to beat Cena I felt a bit confused seeing DB being announced as No#1 contender last night. It makes the whole MITB match seem redundant - especially as DB was a contender in the match for Raw MITB briefcase.

It is not like they have not had time to plan this a bit better... disappointing booking again.

I don't think it was disappointing booking. weve known this match was on the radar for a long time. the creative just had to find a way to pull the trigger on it.

 

[HillBillyJim]

There not even doing this anymore. The world heavyweight gets one each couple of months but the WWE championship hasent had 1 over a year. Now all they do is literally give the matches to anyone they want. If the fued demands it then so be it, their not even trying to make the 1#contendership something to chase for. Now John cena will decide who will be his contender, I mean what the hell!

It kinda irritates me that tittle matches are getting tossed around just cause they can. At least make the effort to make them look like people fought for the right to fight the champion...

exactly. some of the greatest matches ive seen [cenavs punk, taker vs kane, ect] have been #1 contender matches. I wish they would come back .

 

[The Butcher]

Man, some of you guys can't see the forest for the trees. The new Raw General Manager, Brad Maddox, gave John Cena the option to choose his opponent rather than set up a match to determine that individual. It was that simple. Stop over-thinking it and enjoy the show.

I love Mark Henry, but tell me how 1 promo = WWE Championship match...that is insane.

In a backstage segment following his promo, Mark Henry challenged John Cena, and later Cena accepted. Not at all insane. Shoot fighter Chael Sonnen has arguably talked himself into two world title fights, and that was in legit competition. WWE is not legit competition. It is a TV show. Suspend disbelief.

 

[MCMG]

I think there needs to be a mix. No 1 contender matches are usually a good idea. I like the principal of there being a ranking system and a superstar as to earn there spot.

Alternatively, segments like Mark Henry's and Cena picking his opponent are good for variety. Can you imagine if rather than the retirement angle they had Mark Henry in a number one contender match. It would have been a travesty and it is good that they vary it up rather than the traditional one-on-on matches.

Something I could see more of is tournaments to decide number one contenders rather than just a random pairing. Tournaments can see a series of good matches and make ordinary matches meaningful.

 

[deadtaker]

It depends on the situation. Having a #1 contenders match for a person going up against Cena builds up a person like Daniel Bryan. Its an issue of believability of him winning. Nobody believes Bryan will win, and he won't, but a Champion picking his opponent just looks bad.

Having a 4 man mini tournament with Bryan winning looks better. Have a guy on a hot streak and strong coming up against Cena looks better. DB also could use the push in the singles department after being in Tag matches for almost a year until a month ago.

 

[R.K.O]

The way Bryan got the title shot made perfect sense and created a great moment with the whole crowd of over 18,000 people chanting yes, I have no problems with it.

Also, only recently the Usos won a #1 contenders match to face The Shield. If you're talking about the WWE championship picture the only case I agree with you was Ryback, he didn't really deserve the shot after losing to Mark Henry the day before. Lastly, "The WWE championship hasent had 1 over a year" I think you're forgetting that the Royal Rumble match where Cena won to get the chance to face The Rock was essentially a #1 contenders match.

 

[YESwhatYESwhatYES]

They haven't gone anywhere.

Last big one I remember was the fatal 4 way on a Smackdown between Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Kane and Rey Mysterio that began the entire Sheamus vs Alberto Del Rio (long and arduous) feud for the World Heavyweight Championship that ended up spanning over 3 PPVs or so.

It's good that they change it up, a number 1 contender match ever month would be extremely dull.