Would squash matches worked with today's fans?

[Psykohurricane55]

I just watch braun strowman have another squash match on raw this week and it reminded me of the good old days when I started watching wrestling and this was the norm. So it got me wondering, what if wwe would put more squash matches on tv, would fans except them in this era of wrestling.

When I started watching WWF as it was called at the time, squash matches we're use to make the superstars look like they could not be beat, even jobber superstars like koko b. Ware would look like a millions bucks when they fougt in squash match so that when I would get a match with another superstar, you would think that he had a chance of winning because you saw him win on tv the week before.

Now a day when you see acts like the ascension, the dudley or even jack swagger, your first thought is that whoever they're opponent are, they are going to lose. But if they would wrestle a couple of squash matches before getting a huge match, you would think that maybe they have a chance of winning.

in the end, I really would like to see more squash matches on tv but I don't think that the fans would except it.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I love a good squash match. Van Vader, Demolition, LOD and Goldberg had some of the nastiest looking squash matches around. La Parka got amazingly squashed by Goldberg in one of the most loudly cheered squash matches ever. Vader once broke a no names back with his powerbomb. Demolition and LOD seemed to relish the idea of beating the piss out of wrestlers that looked barely removed from High School.

A show with a couple of squash matches won't bother me any. In fact, it'll make it a little more enjoyable.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I absolutely hate squash matches. Who wants to see a match where a Strowman beat a 150-pound guy who we've never seen in under two minutes? I don't understand the appeal. They're not making any show more enjoyable, and they're always really boring.

 

[OYDK]

Like em or not, squash matches work as long as the guy being showcased is impressive enough, even in modern days. Ryback was proof of that. I don't mind them personally, they're a good way to build a talent until he/she gets a legitimate feud.

 

[Azane]

Squash matches make me go to the bathroom, or change the channel.

I didn't like them as much in the past, but at least the jobbers were people I knew, and I established longevity to prestige, Brooklyn Brawler, Mike Sharpe, and the other established jobbers felt way better than the noname chin guy.

Modern Squash jobs from no names just lead to the guy failing the first time he has to wrestle anyone established. Kozlov is the most modern example I can remember.

I just think fans in general are smarter to the business today, for the no name jobs to have any effect

 

[nwocongo]

I don't mind the squash matches, they can be effective if they actually lead to something instead of building someone up to have them immediately lose credibility in their first "real" match. I'm not crazy about seeing the no name guys on Raw and Smackdown, those guys would show up on Raw/nitro on occasion but they were usually seen on the Saturday morning shows as I recall.

Like Azane said there used to be established jobbers Like Brooklyn Brawler, Barry Horowitz, Paul Roma and in WCW they had tons, The Armstrongs, Cobra, Lash Laroux, Bobby Walker, Billy Kidman etc. Now the only guys that fit that category (Social Outcasts, Golden Truth, Breezango) are just used for stupid comic relief segments and rarely used in actual squash matches.

 

[stingray11214]

Squash matches are a good way to create a monster heel. They have done that with the likes of Ken Patera, Killer Khan, Kamala, even Sgt. Slaughter and The Great Hossein Arab aka Iron Sheik had squash matches versus the likes of Pete Doherty, Jose Estrada and Mohammed Saad. They work, just as long as you have a direction for them. Once you kill off the streak, the mystique is gone. Strowman is a brawler, and nothing else. You are NEVER going to get a great match out of him. However, you can build him up to be something like George "The Animal" Steele if you properly book. With WWE Creative, that is a BIG IF.

 

[Darkshadow1234]

Me personally I like squash matches. Squash or jobber matches are there to showcase any new talent before they are fed to legitimate wwe wrestler.
Too bad hardly any wrestling fan knows that these days. Which is sad.
Not every match is gonna be 5 star match.
I miss squash matches

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As has been mentioned, squash matches can be a good way to introduce wrestlers to fans, to give them some idea of what they bring to the ring and, of course, as a means of showcasing monsters. Having a couple of squash matches doesn't bother me as it's still effective. After all, fans were oohing and ahhing when Strowman was out there this weak slaughtering his latest victim. It also helps that we're actually seeing Strowman move during his matches now, the guy's pretty damn fast, and all of his moves have impact.

Can you build an entire show around them? Hell no, not in this day and age, and that's not a bad thing. Look, when it comes to the wrestling content of most wrestling TV shows 25 years or so ago compared to today, there's just no competing with today and fans aren't going to spend the time these days to watch a wrestling program, even if it's just an hour, comprised of squash matches.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Squash matches are enjoyable, but overpresenting them on TV really does not help them and makes me want to change the channel. However one squash match here and there isn't bad.

However, if we are to talk about what a squash match accomplishes, the answer is nothing.
The deal of the squash match is to put over a dominant force, by having him defeating some local wrestlers and that's supposed to make him look dominant.

The problem here is, there's no competition like the WWE competition and it really doesn't matter if this guy can squash a nobody wrestler from a small wrestling company. What matters is what he can do against the WWE wrestlers. Even a kid can think with that logic. Anyone from the roster would squash a local competitor, not only let's say, Braun Strowman.

So to sum up, a couple of squash matches is ok, but don't overdo it by having them every week. I would feel more hatred for the heel if the WWE were to make me sympathize with the competitor that's getting crushed. You know, show some tapes of him, interview him, give us a reason to care about him, build him up as a good innoncent lad. That's what would put squash matches to a whole new level.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

Yeah I think they would if they kept them 2 to a show!

 

[kadroan]

I don't mind squash matches. They're believable. Atleast they're jobber talents Strowman facing rather than the Heath Slater's, Zack Ryder's.

 

[AnthonyM4]

If wwe would go back to all squash matches, you know how fast the ratings would tank? Why would anyone want 3 hours worth of squash matches? They can never go back to that. In fact if they were smart they would cut this crap out with Braun Strowman before football season starts! Last raw did below 3 million. It will be like that most weeks during football season, but that's another thread.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

If wwe would go back to all squash matches, you know how fast the ratings would tank? Why would anyone want 3 hours worth of squash matches? They can never go back to that. In fact if they were smart they would cut this crap out with Braun Strowman before football season starts! Last raw did below 3 million. It will be like that most weeks during football season, but that's another thread.

to answers your question, the ratings wouldn'T tank that much because like it or not, hardcore wrestling fans will watch anything WWE give them and let face it, if they stayed to watch the crap they did on raw this week like the super boring wedding segment with rusev and the 2 scooby doo promos then they will continue to watch anything even if the show is all squash matches since alot of them watch NXT on a regular basis and that'S pretty much what the show is.

Personally, i would like to see more squash match mostly because it does help the superstars look better in the ring, that'S why i love watching NXT right now because most shows are comprise of mostly squash matches. Just look what it did for Braun Strowman in just 3 weeks. The guy look like a monster and a superstar which he never did when he was with the wyatts. it was one of the rare segment on the show that fans inside the arena actually reacted to.

I'm not saying to go back to all squash matches on raw like the use to do it in the beginning of the show but give me the choose between a squash matches were you could advance a storyline without hurting any of the other superstars on the show or a badly written promo segment that last way to long and will turn peoples away from watching the show, i would take the squash match at less you get something out of it and you can still advance a story afterward without boring the fans or the tv viewers.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I liked the old school squash matches, Perfect for building a new wrestler without hurting the current roster. Their easy to watch and a nice change in pace from the same formula matches they usually have on Raw. Also a great way to build excitment for matches having the wrestlers involved look unbeatable defeating squash wrestlers before their PPV match rather than those same wrestlers wrestling each other like 4 weeks in a row on TV before the PPV.

 

[nwocongo]

As has been mentioned, squash matches can be a good way to introduce wrestlers to fans, to give them some idea of what they bring to the ring and, of course, as a means of showcasing monsters. Having a couple of squash matches doesn't bother me as it's still effective. After all, fans were oohing and ahhing when Strowman was out there this weak slaughtering his latest victim. It also helps that we're actually seeing Strowman move during his matches now, the guy's pretty damn fast, and all of his moves have impact.

I agree, Strowman has shown a good bit of growth and improvement since his debut last year. He has shown more athleticism than people were giving him credit for when he broke and was greener than goose shit. I suspected working the house shows with Big Show and Kane would help break him in and he pretty much confirmed that on Stone Cold's podcast that came out yesterday. He was also very complimentary and gracious towards his Former Wyatt family cohorts, especially Harper and Wyatt.

I'm curious how long they will keep feeding him local flunkies before they stick him in a feud with say, Titus O'Neil or another big man so he can really showcase his strength. These matches could be serving as a way too build his credibility on tv while still hiding some of his weaknesses while he gets more experience under his belt before giving him a push.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Squash matches never work to get a guy over, not in the long run. Once the squash matches end, the wrestler almost invariably shows a lack of wrestling knowledge in their first few real feuds. Just for some recent examples: Ryback, Brodus Clay, Rusev. Braun Strowman will be no different. Out of the examples I mentioned, Rusev bounced back the quickest, but his first feud after the squashes ended, against Big E, was absolute crap.

 

[Greg4WWE]

I love the squash matches and the interviews from their rival during the match on the little box above the ring on tv. I actually miss how wrestling was back then. Raw is basically a Pay Per View with the exception of MAYBE wrestlemania where they decorate it a bit.

I still remember one time Mr. Perfect was wrestling a jobber, Jobber actually was winning most of the match and Perfect came back and caught him with the perfect plex and won. After the match he was boasting "it was the perfect match" haha

Good ol days.

 

[nwocongo]

I love the squash matches and the interviews from their rival during the match on the little box above the ring on tv. I actually miss how wrestling was back then. Raw is basically a Pay Per View with the exception of MAYBE wrestlemania where they decorate it a bit.

This is one of the main things about wwe today that bugs me. They have guys who are slated to face off at a PPV and they are in the ring together 4 or 5 times before the PPV. Current example, Enzo and Jericho have already been involved in 2 matches, if you see them lock up 5 times in the build to the PPV, what is special about the match at the end of the month? This one is a little different since its a tag team match but this has been done time and time again in the last few years.
The old style of PPV builds was to have the guys cut promos on each other after beating someone else but don't have them touch in the ring so when people are watching the PPV it feels important or special, this is where the importance of jobbers comes in. I guess it's just another evolution of the business with the Network basically phasing out the PPV concept and the Smarks that demand 5 star matches with holy shit spots on a constant basis.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

The best thing about squash matches is getting over how devastating the person's moves are. Nowadays guys always kick out of people's finishers so it's hard to take them serious. But with squash matches they don't so it builds credibility to the finisher.

Like now Strowman's reverse chokeslam looks legit because of how it is used to "local competitors". Where as if you threw him in there with a regular superstar chances are they would have them kick out of it atleast once, because that's what they do nowadays which would already water down the finisher before he even got to use it in a major feud.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I think squash matches are great, they help to build the wrestlers and storylines. Also I think the biggest benefit of squash matches are not having to have wrestlers wrestle each other so often. Id rather see cena and Orton each have a squash match on tv and one big ppv match then see them wrestle each week on tv then a few months later they hype up cena/Orton 87 as can't miss on ppv/the network.

 

[thekooljt]

Just to piggyback, a squash match today would work, but for the right people at the right time. Someone mentioned Ryback whose a perfect example of how one can build his/her persona through squash matches. We are seeing that now with Stroman and with Nia Jax. One of the problems I've had and continue to have with squash matches are the end games for most wrestlers. Ryback for example had a good and steady build going into his title matches with CM Punk only for him to lose most if not all those matches. So why build his (Ryback's) push around squash matches if he's eventually going to get squashed (which is exactly what happened)?

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Just to piggyback, a squash match today would work, but for the right people at the right time. Someone mentioned Ryback whose a perfect example of how one can build his/her persona through squash matches. We are seeing that now with Stroman and with Nia Jax. One of the problems I've had and continue to have with squash matches are the end games for most wrestlers. Ryback for example had a good and steady build going into his title matches with CM Punk only for him to lose most if not all those matches. So why build his (Ryback's) push around squash matches if he's eventually going to get squashed (which is exactly what happened)?

i think that as far as ryback was concern, the plan wasn'T really to put him again CM Punk right away. initially the plan seem to be that they would slowly build him up to becoming a main event talent but then Cena got hurt before the hell in a cell ppv and Vince panic and decided to fast foward ryback's push and put him in the title match against punk even if he didn'T have any idea's on what to do after ryback's first lost.

But to your point your right in a way, what good are squash matches if your not getting anywhere after. To quote HHH, squash matches are their mostly to give a chance for talent to show their personality. It's great to have 5 stars matches with all type of great wrestling moves but in the end, fans won't remember the performers because all they did is wrestles.

Some time it will work and sometime it won't. Perfect exemple of that is the ascension which we're brought on the main roster, got the squash match push for a while, showed no personality what so ever and then became jobbers themselves.