Why Has The WWE Lost That Feel? 4

Themed PPVs. A lot of fans criticize them. They have won for the Elimination Chamber match, extreme rules-related matches, Hell in a Cell, Tables, Ladders & Chairs, and more. They really started pushing this rebranding last year. Hints of it started prior, but things really took an obvious turn in 2009.

I think it is a problem too. If it works in drawing viewers, fine. In my opinion, it is one of the reasons the WWE just does not feel as great as it used to be. You need to rely on gimmick events to draw viewers? I would rather interesting storylines, feuds, and characters, not to mention really bringing it in matches, draw me in. The last pay-per-view I ordered was Elimination Chamber. I enjoyed it overall, but the EC matches themselves just did not grab me. I saw the first ever Elimination Chamber. I have seen highlights of certain other Elimination Chamber matches, if not seen the full match. I just do not feel like they are pushing the hardcore aspect enough. I do not want anyone to die or get injured seriously, but a simple weapon being brought into play to knock out Orton and used on Cena does not need to be overvalued. It was not that great. MVP vs. Miz was more hardcore, violent, extreme, or whatever word you want to use, for me than either of the EC matches. They seemed so systematic. One guy eliminated someone and got eliminated after. Boom. The entire event did feature some good feud development, like Batista taking the title from Cena. I did not think Cena really went through that much hell to win the match before he lost to Batista, but whatever. Point is, the theme did not end up being that interesting in the end. It was still the usual stuff that interested me. For me, the WWE may just be wasting their time, and even pushing themselves into a rigid system through these type of events.

What is with these names? How much thought did they put into this stuff? Elimination Chamber? Hell in a Cell? When I first heard about Breaking Point, I was looking forward to every match being some kind of submissions match. Nope. Needless to say, not every match at Elimination Chamber was contested in EC matches. The names just lack any creativity in a lot of cases. Dry. Boring. Feels just like how I have been viewing the WWE for a while. Some themed names I do not mind. King of the Ring. Not every match at that event revolved around the tournament. Still, it was a good name for a PPV. Moreover, with the way the WWE does things now, it might have been called WWE Tournament.

Beyond names and the events themselves sometimes not living up to the hype, I also do not really like the idea of certain matches being overused. Hell in a Cell. TLC. Matches like these really do have history to them. I think they really should be left for special occasions, not just because DX had never won a TLC and wanted tag titles. Challenging someone to a Hell in a Cell match used to be something exciting to me. I remember when Mick Foley faced Triple H in one. Mick Foley, after what he went through in this match against Undertaker, wanting to face Triple H in the same match just hyped me. Now it will just seem forced and routine. Everyone will know it is coming. Hearing Randy Orton try to sound like he was a master of Hell in a Cell, even though he had only been in one and lost to Taker without as much of a story as Mick Foley endured, just sounded stupid when he was building his match against Cena. Not every main feud around that time of year should have to be inside a Hell in a Cell. When something is overused like this, it may actually lose meaning, not gain it. Instead of a select few stepping in to some of these matches, everyone and their grandma is.

There are some themed events that I like. Royal Rumble, King of the Ring, Survivor Series. Those are from an age long ago, if still around. More recently, I like One Night Stand/Extreme Rules. I think the PG concept is going to make it stupid, but the event idea was good. Moreover, it at least started out with an interesting name. I also liked Cyber Sunday/Taboo Tuesday. Giving the fans the power to choose? I think that is a great concept. I hope they would bring that back. Once again, I did not mind the names it went through. Survivor Series had tradition to it. They can probably make a tradition out of these newer events, but the old man in me does not want to see this event go. The name may sound generic too, much like King of the Ring, but I guess I could stomach it because it was around for so long and not every PPV had a name that simply imitated a gimmick. That is what things are now turning into. Almost.

At least some pieces of tradition are still being kept. Wrestlemania is still here. So is the Royal Rumble. If the WWE really wants to push out the old and bring in the new, we will see how it goes. No more J.R., heh?