WWE PPV Calendar For 2014

[Jack-Hammer]

The WZ main page has a listing & dates for WWE's pay-per-view events for 2014:

Royal Rumble - January 26th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Elimination Chamber - February 23rd in Minneapolis, Minnesota
WrestleMania XXX - April 6th in New Orleans, Louisiana
Extreme Rules - May 4th
Payback - June 1st
Money in the Bank - June 29th
Battleground - July 20th
SummerSlam - August 17th
Night of Champions - September 21st
Hell in a Cell - October 26th
Survivor Series - November 23rd
Tables, Ladders & Chairs - December 14th

With the story going about that WWE "likely" intends to unify the IC & US titles at Elimination Chamber, it raises the question of what's going to take place for Money in the Bank. The most logical answer is that there'll still be two MITB matches on the card with one being for a briefcase for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the other one being for a shot at whichever mid-card title is still in play, if they're unified that is. Another possibility is having a tag team MITB match with the winning team getting a briefcase for a guaranteed tag title match. Considering that the tag team picture is, allegedly, going to be a huge focal point in 2014, it's a viable option.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Seems logical that they'll just have one match. Probably for the chance at the main belt. If you have more than one MITB match, the rest for lesser titles, then the WWE title shot doesn't feel all that special. Which is how I hope they'll present it now there's only one world title.

 

[dave-cee]

Still quite a few months till MITB and it wouldn't be the first time we've seen a PPV change, but if they keep it for this year then there should only be one mitb match imo. make it an 8 man so it can last the length of two.

 

[MCMG]

It's a subtle change but this should be things better. The PPV's post Summerslam were pretty ordinary and I'm glad they moved Battleground. I know it's become a cliché but they really could have King of the Ring instead of Battleground in July. Just something different for the Summer months. Night of Champions with 4 titles (apparently) could be great fun. There must have been 9 or 10 when they first used the PPV.

I hope they don't plan on ditching Money in the Bank or only have one ladder match. A ladder match for a mid-card belt or indeed the tag-team titles would work just fine.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Royal Rumble - January 26th
Elimination Chamber - February 23rd
Wrestlemania XXX - April 6th
Extreme Rules - May 4th
Payback - June 1st
Money in the Bank - June 29th
Battleground - July 20th
Summerslam - August 17th
Night of Champions - September 21st
Hell in a Cell - October 26th
Survivor Series - November 23rd
Tables, Ladders & Chairs - December 14th

This is a PPV calendar that I mostly agree with. I cannot fathom why they would bring back Battleground though. Extreme Rules should be done away with, it's useless. Not as bad as Battleground was, but still quite useless. Payback would make more sense as the Wrestlemania rematch show brand. It balances out to being one show per month, which is a very good thing. There's no point in having two shows in June but at least they are spaced out some. I'd predict that most fans who run into the issue of having to pick between a couple of the shows go for Money In the Bank while ignoring Battleground and possibly Payback as well.

Money In the Bank I agree with Jack-Hammer on it still being two briefcases with one of them going to the world title and the other going to the midcard title they don't retire. Night of Champions is going to suck when only 4 title tiers remain though. Unless they begin having the Money In the Bank winners defend their briefcases there (assuming they have yet to cash in) then we are in for a lot of non-title filler that no one will care about. Hell In A Cell as the ONLY October PPV is great. The only major changes I would make are Payback goes to the spot after Wrestlemania upon removing Extreme Rules completely with Over the Limit returning to feature I Quit, Last Man Standing, Submission, and Iron Man matches in the spot Payback was in.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Payback - June 1st
Money in the Bank - June 29th
Battleground - July 20th

Three PPVs in 49 days is terrible. That averages to 1 PPV every 16 days. I guess it's great for WWE Network subscribers, but not very good for the stories. In fact, does WWE really need this many PPVs if they are going to have guaranteed subscribers anyway? I'm guessing that once they have their steady number of subscribers, some PPVs will be phased out for some other type of content.

If they continue the 12-PPV calendar, I'd prefer it if they went with:

• January: Royal Rumble (No change, one of the most successful PPVs.)
• February: Night of Champions (This is a no-brainer. Best spot for NoC is before Mania. What better time to celebrate past legend champs? You can even announce HoF inductions here.)
• March: WrestleMania (Move it back to late March where it used to be. It's just a 1 week move, but it makes all the difference. The RTWM has become way too long and drawn out, feuds have actually become stale.)
• April: Backlash (Promote past Backlash events on the Network and bring back the show with some top matches. Extreme Rules hasn't had an all extreme line-up in years anyway.)
• May: Elimination Chamber (The winner gets a title shot at SummerSlam)
• June: Bash at the Beach (It's the 20th anniversary of the PPV. Hogan main-evented all of them, so bring him back for some storyline. It would be cool to see.)
• July: SummerSlam (Move it to Late July. Instead of having it at the tail-end of the summer, have it in the middle.)
• August: Payback (Mostly rematches from SS, but you can built it around the idea of revived feuds with anyone getting payback.)
• September: Survivor Series (Merge it with the Lethal Lottery/Battle Bowl concept. A couple of Survivor Series matches, but all the survivors face off in a battle royal with the winner getting a shot at Starrcade.)
• October: Halloween Havoc (Great PPV to see on Halloween weekend.)
• November: Starrcade (Bring it back! If it's marketed as another huge show with a big venue and huge Starrcade weekend, WWE Network subscribers will feel like they're getting two Manias a year. They'll know it's a big deal once WWE lets them watch all the past Starrcades)
• December: Armageddon/New Year's Revolution (Either last week of the year, or first week of the next one.)

Now, like I said, I can see WWE reducing the PPV numbers, so if they do, you can say goodbye to Bash, Havoc, NoC and Armageddon, but the others are pretty solid.

 

[HBsam31]

I agree with Dagger. Eliminate Extreme Rules, and have Payback as the Mania rematch show. One ppv a month is plenty. It is even the perfect title for it. As far as MITB goes I think there should be just one match, and it should be for the WWE World Heavyweight title. It will make the match seem ultra important again. I would not be opposed of a tag team MITB match though, and would be happy if indeed it was a focal point of 2014.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I just hope New Jersey gets one of these PPVs. NJ is an insanely hot crowd for wrestling, second only to Chicago, and we should get a PPV every year like they do. NJ has never had a Survivor Series, so I'd love to see the event finally come to the IZOD Center.

 

[Mr.Fortuna]

A Tag Team Money In The Bank Ladder Match would be fine by me. I think using The MITB brand can do wonders for the tag team division. I'm really looking forward to 2014 in terms of tag team wrestling so I am all for this. I hope Survivor Series in 2014 will once again regain its prestigue from the past with all tag team elimination matches.

Another note I feel they should totally do way with all gimmick match pay per view themed events. I feel it dillutes the importance of these matches. I do not like the idea that October is a month where a Hell In A Cell Match has to take place, the same goes for Elimination Chamber and TLC.

 

[salopstick]

There is no reason they couldn't have a couple of elimination matches and a battle royal to earn a spot in mitb

 

[workhorse]

One PPV a month is fine, but with WrestleMania being 6/7 weeks after Elimination Chamber, and having the Royal Rumble 5/6 weeks after TLC, it means we're still seeing Pay-Per-Views 3 weeks apart for a lot of the latter part of the year, so I'd like to see either the schedule change, or have 1 PPV removed. I think PPV's can work being 3 weeks apart, but they need to be placed at the right times, so that feuds don't seem rushed. This is how I'd like to see it:

Royal Rumble
January 26th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Obviously no need to ever change this. Just as long as the Rumble Match is the closing match - no matter who is involved in the WWE WHC Match.

No Way Out
February 23rd in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Do away with the name but keep the concept, kinda. I'm actually a fan of the Elimination Chamber matches at this time of year, as they're a way to fuel or build feuds towards WrestleMania, as well as the fact that they're great matches to watch. But I wouldn't keep the Pay-Per-View confined to just Elimination Chamber Matches. I know they can't do two different Cage Matches a night, but I think Steel Cage Matches could be the feature of the event every few years - or have all 4/5 titles defended inside Elimination Chambers.

WrestleMania XXX
April 6th in New Orleans, Louisiana
Nothing needs to be said.

Backlash or Payback
April 27th
I'm with the popular opinion that Extreme Rules has run it's course, and that Backlash/Payback makes more sense as the follow up to WrestleMania. Because it's likely we'll see feuds that a being carried over from WrestleMania, I think it should be moved forward a week. 3 weeks after 'Mania is enough when you're mainly just tweaking current feuds.

Over the Limit
May 25th
With Payback gone I'd love to see Over the Limit return. The first two instalments of this PPV (2010/2011) featured 'I Quit' matches as the main event matches. I think it would be great to see that return, as I can't recall an I Quit match happening in 2013, and I think it's a match that produces unique and never before seen finishing sequences. This also gets moved forward a week, to realign it after having moved Payback/Backlash.

The Great American Bash
June 22nd
Battleground needs to go. I think Money in the Bank should be moved as the lead-up PPV for Summerslam, and I'd love to see the return of the Great American Bash. I don't really have any great reason for it to return, I just love the name and the event as a whole. I'm not American, but I'm assuming it's held around this time to coincide with the 4th of July, so they could make it a big holiday type event - maybe come up with a new gimmick match? 6-Pack Challenge or something similar, call it a Great American Bash match? I don't know, I just want to see this PPV return!

Money in the Bank or King of The Ring
July 20th
I feel as if the Money in the Bank concept should return to WrestleMania, or even better yet, move to Summerslam, but thinking about the fact that they may add an Intercontinental Championship/Tag Team Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match means I'm more inclined to keep it as a PPV. However, King of the Ring is a fantastic concept that I think would work perfectly leading into Summerslam. The first two matches of the night could be the Semi Finals of the tournament, with the main event match being the Final. The rest of the Pay-Per-View would feature normal matches and feuds, but the attraction would be the culmination of the King of the Ring tournament, and having the winner earn a WWE WHC Match at Summerslam.

Summerslam
August 24th
I think Summerslam is now a bit of an afterthought for WWE. 2012 was an great card top-to-bottom, which culminated in a massive buyrate - which of course was helped by Brock Lesnar, but the rest of the card was still great. 2013 wan't too bad, but it just didn't feel as if it had that big PPV feel. I don't know maybe it was just me. Regardless, I think it should be moved back one week, to give it a five week build up. Of course, if King of the Ring was implemented, the WWE WHC Match would feature the King of the Ring winner. This is were I'd love to see the big feud after WrestleMania culminate in a Hell in a Cell or 3 Stages of Hell Match (a proper one). As mentioned above, I'd love to see the Money in the Bank Ladder Match feature here.

No Mercy
September 21st
This is similar to the way in which WrestleMania leads into Backlash. This PPV has no gimmick so it's basically open for any match types. It's likely that Summerslam feuds would carry over - so not confining them to any type of gimmick means a new dimension could be added. For example, the KotR winner vs WHC match would most likely be a straight up singles match, the likely rematch at No Mercy could be a Last Man Standing or Ambulance Match, for example. I loved the WWE's PPV lineup between 05-08, so that's why I like the No Mercy name.

Unforgiven
October 19th
I have hated Hell in a Cell PPV since its inception and I will be a gladder man when it's finally dumped. Hell in a Cell matches need to involve wrestlers who have built a feud so big that a Cell Match is the only way to settle it. It shouldn't just be another gimmick match for the WHC. Again, the Unforgiven PPV name is one that I used to like, and I think they can still get away with using a Hell in a Cell Match at the PPV, but I'd prefer to see a War Games gimmick be used here. I also brought it forward a week - this kind of PPV doesn't need a 5 week build.

Survivor Series
November 23rd
If Summerslam has become an afterthought to the WWE, don't even get me started on Survivor Series. A once great concept, now underused and basically just another PPV. The Elimination Matches should be the feature. I cannot believe that with the Authority Storyline, they didn't come up with something more creative this year. Traditional Elimination Tag Team Matches, Elimination Fatal-4-Ways, and any other matches of that type should be showcased here, in my opinion. Survivor Series could be one of the best PPV's of the year if used correctly.

TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
December 14th
This is the only non 'Big-4' PPV I don't think needs to change. The time of the year, the gimmick, it all works fine. I just hope they don't do what they did this year and have only one match with any sort of TLC stipulation. Other than that, this one is fine.​