10 Times WWE Gambled On A New Gimmick Match

8. Championship Scramble

Kennel From Hell
WWE.com

A convoluted match, the permutations of which spewed up scenarios that were very weird and quite distracting - The Brian Kendrick: Interim World Heavyweight Champion was a collection of words that did not belong together - the Championship Scramble was an interesting house show test pilot that somehow made it to pay-per-view (Unforgiven 2008) without the badly needed second draft.

Two wrestlers started a 20 minute-long Fatal Five-Way match, with the remaining three participants entering in five minute intervals. Pinfalls or submissions could be scored at any point, with the wrestler securing the latest fall declared Interim Champion...unofficially.

The core idea was sound. Thrilling, even; a sort of action-heavy, workrate Royal Rumble, the psychology was off in ill thought-out execution. The fall-heavy layout felt contrived, the countdown lacked the surprise intrigue, and there was no real impetus for the first two participants to do much of anything. It was a gauntlet with no eliminations.

It could be revived, as an actual Scramble, in which all participants start at once - and the modern style lends itself wonderfully to a white-hot finish - but Vince has definitely forgotten about it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!