I have this complaint about WWE programming as well and I often cite it as an example of how stale the modern wrestling TV format is. TNA is certainly guilty of it as well.
Back in the day, when we got a Saturday Night's Main Event, and the main event was a tag team match involving main event stars, it was a HUGE deal. Hogan & The Warrior teaming up against Perfect & Genius? Back then, I would have paid for it. Hogan & Sid Vs. Undertaker & Ric Flair? Hell, Hogan wrestling on Free TV at any point was a special attraction.
Then fast forward to the Monday Night Wars where both WWF & WCW were constantly trying to one up each other. Well one method of trying to have a killer main event was doing what they would have done for a special show like SNME or Clash of Champions back in the day: Combine main eventers to make a tag team main event. For a while, it worked, and it was exciting.
Unfortunately, now, it has become a cliche. To me, it is one of the reasons that SNME didn't work when they tried to bring it back a few years ago. In the 80s, SNME gave you something you didn't see on any of the other shows. In the modern age, it is no different from the standard Raw, so why stay home on a Saturday Night to watch it? You really think I'd want to sit in my home on a Saturday to watch Hogan & Warrior tag with each other if they handled them the way it is done today? Hell, by that point, I would have already seen them tagging 50 times and the appeal is gone.
And I would love to keep score of how many times they simple take a PPV match and make a tag match out of it to "Hype the Match" (though in my mind, it just gives away their in ring interactions when I should be chomping at the bits to see them lock horns for the first time at the PPV). Look at Raw this week. You had three of those cases. Got a Money in the Bank Ladder Match involving the lower/midcard-ish guys? OK well then lets take two faces & two heels and make a tag match out of it. We have Punk & Bryan facing each other at the PPV and AJ is going to play a role, so let's make a tag match that involves her (and I swear to God they've done this at least three times with this storyline). And oh, we have another MITB match with four guys, so lets take the faces & have them face the heels...despite the fact that the two faces feuded for months at the start of the year and should be unable to co-exist.
What was once an interesting way to grab our attention & present us with an exciting main event for a TV show has become cliche and honestly, kind of lazy.
Back in the day, when we got a Saturday Night's Main Event, and the main event was a tag team match involving main event stars, it was a HUGE deal. Hogan & The Warrior teaming up against Perfect & Genius? Back then, I would have paid for it. Hogan & Sid Vs. Undertaker & Ric Flair? Hell, Hogan wrestling on Free TV at any point was a special attraction.
Then fast forward to the Monday Night Wars where both WWF & WCW were constantly trying to one up each other. Well one method of trying to have a killer main event was doing what they would have done for a special show like SNME or Clash of Champions back in the day: Combine main eventers to make a tag team main event. For a while, it worked, and it was exciting.
Unfortunately, now, it has become a cliche. To me, it is one of the reasons that SNME didn't work when they tried to bring it back a few years ago. In the 80s, SNME gave you something you didn't see on any of the other shows. In the modern age, it is no different from the standard Raw, so why stay home on a Saturday Night to watch it? You really think I'd want to sit in my home on a Saturday to watch Hogan & Warrior tag with each other if they handled them the way it is done today? Hell, by that point, I would have already seen them tagging 50 times and the appeal is gone.
And I would love to keep score of how many times they simple take a PPV match and make a tag match out of it to "Hype the Match" (though in my mind, it just gives away their in ring interactions when I should be chomping at the bits to see them lock horns for the first time at the PPV). Look at Raw this week. You had three of those cases. Got a Money in the Bank Ladder Match involving the lower/midcard-ish guys? OK well then lets take two faces & two heels and make a tag match out of it. We have Punk & Bryan facing each other at the PPV and AJ is going to play a role, so let's make a tag match that involves her (and I swear to God they've done this at least three times with this storyline). And oh, we have another MITB match with four guys, so lets take the faces & have them face the heels...despite the fact that the two faces feuded for months at the start of the year and should be unable to co-exist.
What was once an interesting way to grab our attention & present us with an exciting main event for a TV show has become cliche and honestly, kind of lazy.
