10 OTHER Gimmick Matches WWE Needs To Revisit
Bamboo and bloodshed.
As of Monday's edition of WWE RAW, the card for Extreme Rules is taking shape - and a more fitting name for the June 4 pay-per-view would be 'WWE Slight Variation On Traditional Rules'.
Braun Strowman's injury has forced a reshuffle, but the company seems to have been struck by the same bout of amnesia with which Finn Bálor has been afflicted. The hardcore nature of the event, as promised by the very name of it, is set for representation by, well, next to nothing. WWE has resisted the temptation to hotshot plans for the WrestleMania 34 main event; instead, Roman Reigns will square off against Bálor, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, and Bray Wyatt in a protective Fatal 5-Way match - as if 205 Live hasn't already presented twelve this year - to determine the number one contender to Brock Lesnar's Universal Title.
The ghost of Vince Russo haunts the Women's division as Alex Bliss defends her RAW Women's Championship against Bayley in a Kendo Stick On A Pole match. The Miz will defend his Intercontinental Title against in a match that will see Ambrose lose if he is disqualified, effectively guaranteeing no violence on a show entitled Extreme Rules. It's a good job WWE referees are as poorly positioned as Papa Shango circa 1992.
WWE will doubtlessly reveal further stipulations as the weeks roll by - and there are several in the archives worth dusting off...
10. Championship Scramble
The Championship Scramble match was the brainchild of vaunted wrestling mind Pat Patterson - but for whatever reason, it's considered the red-headed stepkid to his Royal Rumble golden boy.
The match isn't as good as the January Classic, obviously - but then again, what is? The structures are fairly similar in that action and suspense is guaranteed throughout the duration. But, unlike the Rumble, which naturally sags when the jobbers permeate the middle stretch, the Scramble match never lulled. At its best - and evidence is unfortunately fleeting - the match was all-action, fusing the best elements of the furious multi-man genre with inherent suspense and the most major of stakes.
It's not clear why WWE has failed to revisit it in recent years. The Interim Champion stuff - i.e., whomever scored the last fall was awarded the gold on a temporary basis - wasn't confusing so much as it was unnecessary. Perhaps explaining it away caused headaches, which is odd. Michael Cole, with his endless exposition, does little else.
Drawing a line under the convoluted nature of it all with a more direct approach to marketing, and perhaps the match itself (couldn't everyone just start in the ring at the same time?) would be enough to revive a promising and under-utilised (if flawed) sub-genre.