MVP may have a personal problem with Jack Swagger, but what if Swagger is higher on the ladder than he is? We could still see a great match with whoever Swagger is facing, but what if MVP were to be doing guest commentary and get involved? Could Swagger lose his place on the ladder if he were to give in and fight MVP?
Let’s look at a simplified version of this concept. Let’s say that you have five men on the ladder for the WWE Championship, and they are ranked accordingly:
Champion: Randy Orton
Contenders:
- John Cena (for winning the opportunity)
- Triple H (for losing the contender’s match)
- Mark Henry (four weeks undefeated)
- Jack Swagger (two weeks undefeated)
- MVP (two weeks undefeated but with a double countout)
Waiting in the wings, you have the rest of the WWE roster.
Mark Henry should be fighting Triple H for the number one contendership, but Triple H has declined the opportunity to solidify his spot as next in line to the title because of his grudge with Legacy. Mark Henry, Jack Swagger, and MVP move up. Theoretically, Mark Henry should be facing Jack Swagger, a match with a good setup due to them debuting on the same night yet choosing different career paths. However, Swagger has a problem with MVP. Would he give up his spot on the ladder to fight MVP? I’d book no. Swagger has his eye on the prize. Should Swagger eventually become Champion, or even number one contender, that also puts something on the line aside from pride in a future match with MVP.
Chris Jericho and the Big Show are both top name talents, but neither is in the running for a singles title because of their status at the top of the tag team division.
Kofi Kingston would be dealing with the Mid-Card talent in a ladder for the United States Title.
This proposal also eliminates something that I’m growing a bit tired of. The Diva roster is small, so we have the potential for some great long time feuds. The closest thing we saw to that in recent history was Micky James stalking Trish Stratus and eventually defeating her for the Women’s title. However, instead of building the tension to an eventual match, this past Monday on Raw, we got the usual blow off of a fatal four way match.
As a fan, I feel like creative is telling me “Well, we like to see the girls roll around so here’s throwing together another match.”
Mickie James and Gail Kim are more than just eye candy, they are potentially two of the best female wrestlers in the western world.
Did the Undertaker win a Fatal Four Way for the right to face Hulk Hogan for his first WWF Championship? I think not. That was a feud built out of over a year of tension. Who was this dead man? Who could possibly take him down?
But it’s not just the Divas. Didn’t John Cena just earn his Number One Contendership the same way? John Cena, like his wrestling or not, has the capacity to make a believable promo and sell Pay Per Views. Why wouldn’t you give your top star a few months to do that rather than two weeks?
Now that my gripe is out, and my concept is established, stay tuned for next week’s article when I look at reformatting the Pay Per View system to benefit and maximize Wrestling’s booking potential.
However if Vince McMahon or Dixie Carter are serious about reform, they’ll email me at chrismariscal@gmail.com and you’ll get to see my strategy in action. Of course, you’re always more than welcome to email me too with your comments, questions, and suggestions.
