8 WWE Secrets You Can Spot Early (If You Really Pay Attention)
2. Stand Tall In The Go-Home, Lose The Big Match
WWE has veered away from this on occasion in recent years but still has a tendency to revert to type more often than not. The company has a real problem with 50/50 booking, a desperate obsession with ‘keeping everyone strong’ despite the inherent contradictory nature of that idea. If everyone is strong, nobody is strong.
The most classic example of this desperation has been the go-home shows before pay-per-view events. Put plainly, whoever gets the upper hand in the final episode of RAW or SmackDown before a big show, they are probably going to lose the big match. WWE is obsessed with the concept of ‘momentum’, or at least the concept of momentum being contradicted on big stages.
It is also frequently used for championship challenges that will prove unsuccessful, as the company tries to make a challenger more relevant by having them stand tall in the go-home show. Of course, WWE could remedy this by, you know, booking stronger challengers, but that is another matter entirely.
The rule has softened in recent years but remains a solid way to predict how matches are going to go. If you get the upper hand on the go-home show, chances are you going to be staring at the brightest lights on pay-per-view.