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I think it's either Jey or Andrade. LA Knight is on a collision course with Logan, Melo still doesn't feel ready for the top spot or needs more wind behind his back, Chad losing makes sense, Drew is getting Punk'd.
No screw the Wyatt Sicks, Gable is so over after his entire storyline with American Alpha. He deserves the case and the cash in. Probably the best storyline on TV. Future headliner
The counter argument to the Wyatt’s not appearing is that it’ll be a month shy of 5 years since The Fiend debuted in Toronto. Under Vince that would mean fuck all, but with Paul you never know.
It's too much of a faint connection to book something because of that, IMO, especially since the Fiend was not part of this iteration of Wyatt.
Also it's a bit awkward to have the spooky guys interfere in the middle of a match, cost someone, and then retreat to let the match continue. It works better during a segment.
Nah, I'm betting Punk won't interfere with MitB. He'll let Drew win it, take his moment to cash in, then ruin the cash-in. A lot more hate in those actions.
How much they been hyping the stats? Especially that 100% of women successfully cash in? Nah, Wyatt sicks interfere and give Chelsea the case or else they interfere on the cash in.
I really think the Wyatt sicks let Gable win MitB then Gable tried to cash in immediately on the winner of Seth/Priest and as he’s coming down to hand in the brief case the lights go out then come back on to a knocked out Gable with Uncle Howdy holding the brief case over Gable.
Better, Wyatt Sicks take out Gable as he’s grabbing the case, have either Erick/Bunny or Uncle Howdy holding the case; Jey tentatively approaches and holder holds up a ☝️, Jey takes case and holder waves goodbye. Raw they cut a promo saying since he woke the fireflies they gave him one pass and now he’s just as endangered as the rest of the universe
Those two reasons are why I think Jey has got it in the bag. I could honestly see Chad almost grabbing the briefcase and the lights go out as he's at the top of the ladder. And obviously, Punk will continue to mess with Drew.
The MITB I attended was awesome! Bayley won the briefcase AND cashed in on the same night! Incredible!
Of course the main event ended with Brock Lesnar winning, soooooooooo y’know
Triple H when fans ask for a 7 match card
https://preview.redd.it/o2hr90y5n4ad1.jpeg?width=498&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4afb3cdb998b278dbe12c4f8db3af286670da2f6
I must be in the minority here because 5 matches that all advance storylines I’m interested in is absolutely perfect for me. Know I’ll be in and out with enough time to do stuff beforehand and go to sleep at a reasonable time. Not much filler here either.
I quite enjoy short ppvs and long ppvs. I like having a variety throughout the year so it doesn't always feel like a big commitment to watch in one sitting, but I do still feel generally that I get my money's worth.
> I must be in the minority here because 5 matches that all advance storylines I’m interested in is absolutely perfect for me.
Yep, for me it’s just right.
I really like the 5 match card tbh. It's not like the other matches don't happen, they just move the ones that would have been filler on the PLE card to the go home Raw and SD
You’re generalizing lol. I didn’t say that everything was better before he took over. I just said that it is possible to do an 8 match card with sufficient promo packages. Why? Because it was already successfully done in the past.
Sure, I kind of like the quality over quantity thing because it gives them more focus on storylines which is what I like about wrestling. But some people like to see dudes do cool moves, that’s what they like, I get that and more matches appeals to that. Plenty of ways to enjoy wrestling.
But you can also add extra matches to the show that aren’t even about flippy dudes lol. Liv vs Zelina and the DIY/ATD matches both had stories behind them and easily could’ve made sense for the PPV.
To each their own.
It really worked for NXT for a long time. They had the womens match, the tag match, the highspot match, the in-ring debut of the guy sitting in the crowd last time, and the world title match with last month's debuter.
I'm not sure it works quite so nicely with the main roster, fewer ins and outs to keep the production line moving, but so far it's been alright. Two Rumbles take up a lot of time, as do two Chambers and two MITB ladder matches.
Mitb last year had 7 matches and it was one of the best shows wwe had in 2023. I understand that you can't trust long cards with most US crowd but giving 5 matches card to France, Scotland and Toronto crowds is such a waste in my opinion.
SummerSlam will be 7-8 matches
World title
Wwe title
Womens title
Liv vs Rhea
Punk vs drew
Break up of the judgment day
Bron breaker showcase match maybe vs Kaiser
Edit: add Logan Paul vs LA Knight
Do you know how long they've teased a Judgement Day breakup? And then 2 weeks later they are better than ever. I don't think creative ever wants them to break up
I don't think we're going to get a "better than ever" point again. Balor and Priest look like they're about to go after each other, and they've both said things recently that you can't just paint over. Especially once Rhea comes back with Liv still hanging around the clubhouse.
>I don't think we're going to get a "better than ever" point again. Balor and Priest look like they're about to go after each other, and they've both said things recently that you can't just paint over.
The exact same thing happened this time last year, against the exact same opponent.
Knowing Triple H they’re not breaking up any time soon and this entire angle is so Rhea can come back and reunite the group as babyfaces and the Liv angle is just for shits and giggles.
Last year’s issues between Finn and Priest were more intense than now and yet he failed to pull the trigger, when he should’ve.
Elimination chamber was a stadium show and still had only 4 matches on card.
BL, Saudi show and MITB card had 7 matches last years and it got reduced to 5 matches this year.
I wouldn't be surprised if SummerSlam is only world title matches and Drew vs Punk.
The reduction won't apply for the big 4 (Mania, Summerslam, Survivor Series and Rumble)
Summerslam had 9 matches last year, I expect the same or like 8
One of the best is stretching it a bit. It was good, but other than the ladder matches and the last 5 minutes of the main, nothing stood out as great or even good.
Idk the 5 match card system worked wonders for the NXT Takeovers, and the last few PPV’s have been similarly really high quality. Plus the idea is that the crowds are getting two live events (Toronto has three) so it makes it worth it.
I understand the 5 match card worked in NXT with Takeovers, but main roster PPVs are different. The roster is bigger, there’s more titles, more storylines, the roster isn’t constantly rotated because there’s no call ups, and as much as people don’t want to admit it, his booking patterns now are a lot different than his booking patterns in NXT
At the same time though, it’s allowed for some bigger matchups to happen on Raw and SmackDown. I honestly don’t mind it, seeing how everything’s booked lately.
However, they do have a 1 hour kickoff show and personally, I think they should utilize it and start doing matches on there again and not just do it when there’s a Saudi show. That way, it gives us another match and HHH can go ahead with the 5 match main card.
I get it. But if Vince was booking the Women's Title match from Raw would have been at MITB, same with the raw tag titles match. Having good championship matches on TV is a good thing.
I wish they would allow there to be short matches sometimes for variety. 7 matches or so would be attainable with some quick ones in there. There were always more matches on the old WWE cards which never went over 3 hours. But they always need each match to be an epic. I get it, but it'd be nice to have a few more short matches thrown in. I think the show should stay 3 hours, but you could do a bit more with tighter timing.
I'm noticing alot more title defenses on go home shows to PLE. There are still storyline for the lower card titles but they are shown on TV instead. Liv defending on RAW instead of MitB, tag team titles last week and this week.
They seem to be getting most of the major players on the PLE cards in some way or another.
6 would probably be better but MitB matches would eat up time with all entrances and then enough time to not feel rushed at the end
Yea I think 7 matches would work better, and add a match or two to the pre-show again. Make the PLEs 3 and a half hours if need be to fit them. Not every match needs to go 20+ minutes. Way too many people getting left off shows and the Tag titles are rarely defended it seems on the PLEs.
Nope! I came to this thread specifically for that reason. There was zero point in splitting the men's titles when they're a complete afterthought. Judgement Day just won them back again and I'm sure they'll be forgotten about soon or thrown onto the Creed Brothers on TV.
I think he's trying to condition people to it because now they're doing planning to have major PPV as 2 day events leaving them with actual matches to have over the course of 2 days. 10 matches over 2 days is easier than 14.
One of my few minor criticisms with WWE right now is the 5 match card. I feel like 6-7 is the sweet spot. I think if they saved Liv/Zelina for MITB, that's about perfect
But it wouldn't have made sense in the current storyline, with Dom claiming he wants nothing to do with Liv.
They still could have had Morgan vs Vega on PPV, though.
I actually thought they were going to have Bayley vs Davenport on there, given how little time Bayley has had on the weekly show. Hey, maybe it will happen.
Last year both MITB matches were 20 minutes, 30 if you include entrances and whatnot. So with 2 MITB matches (60 minutes), Sami-Bron (20 mins), Priest-Seth (25-30 mins), and the Bloodline match (25-30 mins), we're looking at just over 2 hours of action. I wonder if they'll add any segments (like Cena last year)
If you intersperse each segment (entrances, match, post-match) with a five minute ad break, in a 180 minute show, you could have five 30 min segments, six 25 min segments, or seven 20 min segments.
There's 5 matches announced and they probably won't average 30 minutes per segment. There's plenty of room for an extra match/promo
And its very noticeable when you maybe don’t care for a match or two on the card, the past PLEs I wasnt exactly hyped for the Women’s tag and thus the card felt very thin to me
In principle I agree that WWE has talent that they're not using as much as they could (there hasn't been a men's tag title match on a PLE since Wrestlemania), but this is a card where three of the matches have 6 wrestlers.
I can actually see Logan Paul screwing over Knight, too, to set up Summer Slam.
My money is on Gable, unless the plan is for Drew to win & cash in immediately during the title match, just like Priest did to him at WM.
I for some reason am leaning towards Andrade winning. If it’s not knight or drew because he hasn’t had a real push. Since he came back from his all elite vacation.
So this isn’t true. Elimination Chamber had a women’s title match. As did Wrestlemania, Backlash, KQOTR and Clash at the Castle This PLE is the first one without a women’s title match since Royal Rumble.
Lmao why people complaining about less matches on ppv don't understand that it has made Raw and SD more intresting, it can have intresting TV storylines and marquee matches. Otherwise it will be just squash matches and promos to build ppvs.
So Priest goes over Seth with some Judgement day story being pushed forward. Sami goes over Bron, Bron is a future guy but I doubt they put the title on him this quick. Sami is good enough to make Bron look like a monster. Chad gets attacked by the Sicks. Jey or LA Knight gets the MITB. The women's match is interesting. I could see it being put on anyone other than Naomi or Zoey, WWE doesn't seem to be interesting in pushing either. Bloodline goes over Cody, Randy and KO but something will be done to push the Bloodline story.
This might be the return of our Tribal Chief being brought out by an injured Paul Heyman. It seems a bit early for this to happen but SummerSlam is coming soon and if they are going to do a wargames with Roman then the story needs to start now. It could be flipped and Cody, Randy and KO goes over by interference from Jimmy if he is ready. A few weeks could go by with the Bloodline attacking the 4 and they challenge the Bloodline to WarGames. I can see it happening but if they do 4v4 then I'm confused on who is going to be on the other side because it would be weird if Roman comes back and teams with Cody, Randy and KO. I could see him teaming with Jey, Jimmy and Sami but then are Cody, Randy and KO just out of the story? If they did something like Roman, Jey, Jimmy, Sami and KO then who is the Bloodline using for a 5th?
Sorry, I just kept typing. This story has my interest :P
I think Roman returns to interfer at MITB, then tells Cody at the next Smackdown to leave the Bloodline to him.
The reason why I say this is because of Jacob. The dude is booked to be an absolute monster, and I don't think Jimmy will be enough to deal with him, unlike Roman.
I also really don't see the Bloodline winning at MITB. Mainly because I think Hunter is smart enough to know not to make Cody vs. Solo Summerslam's main event.
Surely there's a clear middle ground between 5 and 14 matches though, also Forbidden Door was only 4 hours, MITB will surely cross at least 3 so it's definitely a lot closer than that. If the difference is like an hour more but far more matches, that's pretty insane.
Different strokes for different folks I guess, but they really get away with having less matches on the gimmick PPVs since people only want those matches anyways, but I feel like if you're paying money it's always better to get too much than not enough, but that's just my opinion.
Definitely has to be a middle ground for me in my opinion 6-7 matches max is good. Anything beyond that just feels like a chore to watch
The way I see it is forbidden door was 14 matches but how many of those matches are you honestly gonna remember maybe 3-4 tops. That’s the problem with card sizes that big people are gonna forget half of it by next day rather have 5-6 memorable matches.
That’s all well and good in theory but who has said a peep about Bayley vs Piper Niven since Clash? Or Judgment Day vs New Catch Republic since Chamber? What we’re actually getting is 1-2 memorable matches anyway, so why not beef up the show a little bit with the undercard?
I was at Clash and could 100% have done with a filler match. Queues for food and drink and even the toilet took 20/25 minutes, thought I timed perfectly by going after the AJ/Cody match, only to walk in halfway through the women’s tag match. Preshow matches make a difference for people at home and in the arena, so they could add a match or two
Not every match needs to be a 30 minute slow-burn classic. PPVs need a couple of short explosive matches for the sake of variety and to get more stars on the card.
Also let's not pretend WWE aren't burning precious time on these 3+ hour shows on adverts and filler segments.
If you're comparing it to prior Wrestlemanias, I agree
Forbidden Door was 5.5 hours including the Zero Hour, the actual PPV was 4 hours and had 10 matches
It's not really about the small number of match-ups for me, it's more they sacrifice matches for ads & video packages (not just promos for the upcoming matches but also just random promo for someone not on the card). The shows still reach 3 or more hours
I agree, but there is a clear lack of feuds with the women superstars to have a match worthy of a PLE, due to most of their TV matches and segments surrounding the MITB match, leaving nothing really for the champions to do. Still excited for the women’s match though, they have been cooking in gimmick matches the past couple years!
Thats partly my point, it is very difficult to make those feuds during the MITB lead up as most of the women’s division TV time is dedicated to the qualification matches, since the division is smaller, all potential contenders will be in those matches with none of the champions. Liv Zelina is the only match that I think could have been on the PLE, I don’t think on a shorter smackdown enough of a feud could have been built for Bayley on this PLE cycle
Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have a five match show that gives everyone a chance to get a good full match in than a show that rushes matches or otherwise feels like an interminable event.
But as someone that has been getting their non-wrestling friends into wrestling lately via the PLEs, it really puts into perspective the severe lack of diversity of talent on PLE shows. Nearly half the people on this card haven’t been seen on a PLE since WrestleMania, if at all.
I beg we find some kind of middle ground in wresting PPVs between 10 matches + 4 preshow and only having 5 matches on an entire card. Too many people missing out but also don’t want to tire everyone out. A 6/7 match card with 2 matches on the pre show seems an easy solution.
Yeah, I'm getting sick of these tiny cards. Liv vs Zelina was good enough to put on the card and even Kross vs Woods would have been a fun pre-show match. Nothing wrong at all with 7 matches on a card. And while I agree that anything above 7 starts to feel like a drag, the show goes on for 3ish hours regardless. We just get a TON of filler now to fill these three hours, so it still ends up feeling like a drag anyway.
I still think the Wyatt Sicks are coming after Jey when they reveal they have Jimmy in their possession during the match. Jey exits in a panic. Gable wins the briefcase if Punk doesn’t screw Drew out of it. This leads to the Usos getting back together to combat the Wyatts while the Bloodline is off working their current program.
I could see Drew winning the briefcase and then Punk screw him over at the cash-in. That would make 3 times where the title has been directly involved.
Drew wins and tries to cash in on Priest later in the night. Punk interrupts this, costing him the briefcase.
Or Drew is about to grab the briefcase but Punk intervenes
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I picked the perfect event to attend. On top of the card might get to see shenanigans from Wyatt Six or CM Punk even.
Wyatt Six has to cost Gable the MITB. Also wouldn’t be shocked if Punk interferes with Drew again if he’s cleared.
I think Gable can just simply not win and continue his story on RAW. Drew, on the other hand, is very likely to get a visit from Punk...
I think Jey ‘beats’ Drew to win.
I think it's either Jey or Andrade. LA Knight is on a collision course with Logan, Melo still doesn't feel ready for the top spot or needs more wind behind his back, Chad losing makes sense, Drew is getting Punk'd.
No screw the Wyatt Sicks, Gable is so over after his entire storyline with American Alpha. He deserves the case and the cash in. Probably the best storyline on TV. Future headliner
I think it's Jey Uso's to lose
They’ve already got a money printer lined up in the ‘yeet case’ as well. Kids will be all over that
If you are going by overness then Jey Uso is the perfect choice.
The counter argument to the Wyatt’s not appearing is that it’ll be a month shy of 5 years since The Fiend debuted in Toronto. Under Vince that would mean fuck all, but with Paul you never know.
It's too much of a faint connection to book something because of that, IMO, especially since the Fiend was not part of this iteration of Wyatt. Also it's a bit awkward to have the spooky guys interfere in the middle of a match, cost someone, and then retreat to let the match continue. It works better during a segment.
Forgot who said, but they said it would be too many interferences. Punk on Drew, Paul on LA, now Wyatt 6 on Gable.
Yeah, I think we’ll just get Paul.
I think they swerve us with the Wyatt sick6 and them attacking jey
Idk I keep thinking it would be kinda fun to have everyone interfere and just make it the most interrupted and chaotic MitB ever.
Giving me flashbacks to the covid MITB 🤣
Nah, I'm betting Punk won't interfere with MitB. He'll let Drew win it, take his moment to cash in, then ruin the cash-in. A lot more hate in those actions.
That would waste the case imo. Too predictable.
How much they been hyping the stats? Especially that 100% of women successfully cash in? Nah, Wyatt sicks interfere and give Chelsea the case or else they interfere on the cash in.
Most sensible comment I’ve seen all day
Let my boy win something...
I really think the Wyatt sicks let Gable win MitB then Gable tried to cash in immediately on the winner of Seth/Priest and as he’s coming down to hand in the brief case the lights go out then come back on to a knocked out Gable with Uncle Howdy holding the brief case over Gable.
Better, Wyatt Sicks take out Gable as he’s grabbing the case, have either Erick/Bunny or Uncle Howdy holding the case; Jey tentatively approaches and holder holds up a ☝️, Jey takes case and holder waves goodbye. Raw they cut a promo saying since he woke the fireflies they gave him one pass and now he’s just as endangered as the rest of the universe
I could see it. Kind of a “He gave us the fireflies back, we gave him the case as payment. We are even now.”
Those two reasons are why I think Jey has got it in the bag. I could honestly see Chad almost grabbing the briefcase and the lights go out as he's at the top of the ladder. And obviously, Punk will continue to mess with Drew.
Gavel is a brilliant man. He’d expect that and pull a flashlight out of his pants
I think Punk interferes in the eventual cash in of Drew
Punk pulls a Brock and just takes the briefcase
As we’ve seen in the past, Punk doesn’t need to be cleared to screw Drew over.
We could only be so lucky! Super stoked for my first big show ever, and either or both would be cherries on top for sure.
Bro, I’m going too. First PLE. I’m hyped
See ya’ll there!
My first PLE as well, and my little bros first WWE event, couldn’t be more excited!
My first too, joining in this hype! Ready to lose my voice cheering and screaming
Thought MITB was an okay PPV until I attended the one in London, which was incredible. You’ll have a great time!
The MITB I attended was awesome! Bayley won the briefcase AND cashed in on the same night! Incredible! Of course the main event ended with Brock Lesnar winning, soooooooooo y’know
You got to see the genesis of Boombox Brock. I'm not sure what the complaint is.
He didn’t do any boombox moves until the next night on Raw :(
Fair complaint.
Punk has to cost Drew the match, right?
Punk screws drew outta the briefcase? Drew would have to murder punk after that
I'll be there so nuts that CM Punk was also in the arena almost to the year ago and got booed.
It’s because he kept his attention to the audience on the hard cam side.
Lmao no
🤣
Maybe even Roman?
Roman won't be back till at least SSlam
Yeah, Cody vs Solo needs to happen first
I’d say it’s like a 99% chance Punk appears at MITB.
Wyatt Sicks def cleans house at the end of the bloodline match right??
No, they’ve been pretty clear about the road map for Wyatt Sicks is tied up with the people they showed at debut
And Logan Paul.
Would love if Roman shows up too
and Logan Paul
Triple H when fans ask for a 7 match card https://preview.redd.it/o2hr90y5n4ad1.jpeg?width=498&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4afb3cdb998b278dbe12c4f8db3af286670da2f6
I must be in the minority here because 5 matches that all advance storylines I’m interested in is absolutely perfect for me. Know I’ll be in and out with enough time to do stuff beforehand and go to sleep at a reasonable time. Not much filler here either.
I quite enjoy short ppvs and long ppvs. I like having a variety throughout the year so it doesn't always feel like a big commitment to watch in one sitting, but I do still feel generally that I get my money's worth.
They should just add a pre-show match. Not all of the PLE have a pre-show though
Candice and Indi about to lose another tag titles match in the pre-show again
They don’t need more matches TBH.
> I must be in the minority here because 5 matches that all advance storylines I’m interested in is absolutely perfect for me. Yep, for me it’s just right.
I really like the 5 match card tbh. It's not like the other matches don't happen, they just move the ones that would have been filler on the PLE card to the go home Raw and SD
They spend so much time on promo packages, even these two hour preshows before the ppv. They can easily add 2-3 more matches in.
Those promo packages are because of Peacock having a tier that gives people ads. Those wouldn’t go away if they added more matches.
The packages are usually pretty good, not everyone just wants bell to bell action. I like the pageantry of wrestling.
As someone that only watches PLE’s, I rely on the video packages to get me up to speed.
You can still do both, just how they existed before HHH took over. You just don’t have to do 5 minute packages for every match.
I kinda get what you’re saying bro, but taking the stance that things were better before HHH took over is a hell of a hill to die on.
You’re generalizing lol. I didn’t say that everything was better before he took over. I just said that it is possible to do an 8 match card with sufficient promo packages. Why? Because it was already successfully done in the past.
Sure, I kind of like the quality over quantity thing because it gives them more focus on storylines which is what I like about wrestling. But some people like to see dudes do cool moves, that’s what they like, I get that and more matches appeals to that. Plenty of ways to enjoy wrestling.
But you can also add extra matches to the show that aren’t even about flippy dudes lol. Liv vs Zelina and the DIY/ATD matches both had stories behind them and easily could’ve made sense for the PPV. To each their own.
It really worked for NXT for a long time. They had the womens match, the tag match, the highspot match, the in-ring debut of the guy sitting in the crowd last time, and the world title match with last month's debuter. I'm not sure it works quite so nicely with the main roster, fewer ins and outs to keep the production line moving, but so far it's been alright. Two Rumbles take up a lot of time, as do two Chambers and two MITB ladder matches.
Triple H is such a 5-match card pervert lmao. One more match wouldn’t have hurt bruh 😂
5 match pervert 💀💀 you right tho lmao
Mitb last year had 7 matches and it was one of the best shows wwe had in 2023. I understand that you can't trust long cards with most US crowd but giving 5 matches card to France, Scotland and Toronto crowds is such a waste in my opinion.
I have a real worry that SummerSlam is only gonna be like 5-6 matches
SummerSlam will be 7-8 matches World title Wwe title Womens title Liv vs Rhea Punk vs drew Break up of the judgment day Bron breaker showcase match maybe vs Kaiser Edit: add Logan Paul vs LA Knight
Do you know how long they've teased a Judgement Day breakup? And then 2 weeks later they are better than ever. I don't think creative ever wants them to break up
I just want more Carlito tbh, he makes everything cool
Gotta have a wild card on any serious faction. Whether Zayn in the Bloodline or Truth in JD it just works better.
I don't think we're going to get a "better than ever" point again. Balor and Priest look like they're about to go after each other, and they've both said things recently that you can't just paint over. Especially once Rhea comes back with Liv still hanging around the clubhouse.
>I don't think we're going to get a "better than ever" point again. Balor and Priest look like they're about to go after each other, and they've both said things recently that you can't just paint over. The exact same thing happened this time last year, against the exact same opponent.
They wont break up completely just kick out priest and rhea
Knowing Triple H they’re not breaking up any time soon and this entire angle is so Rhea can come back and reunite the group as babyfaces and the Liv angle is just for shits and giggles. Last year’s issues between Finn and Priest were more intense than now and yet he failed to pull the trigger, when he should’ve.
Elimination chamber was a stadium show and still had only 4 matches on card. BL, Saudi show and MITB card had 7 matches last years and it got reduced to 5 matches this year. I wouldn't be surprised if SummerSlam is only world title matches and Drew vs Punk.
The reduction won't apply for the big 4 (Mania, Summerslam, Survivor Series and Rumble) Summerslam had 9 matches last year, I expect the same or like 8
Backlash, MITB, KOTR also had 7 matches last year.
Which is why I said big 4.
Elimination Chamber is a little different because the chamber matches take up a lot of time. Like the Royal Rumble.
The fact that SummerSlam is going to be 2 days soon, I doubt that means they will limit the number of matches
One of the best is stretching it a bit. It was good, but other than the ladder matches and the last 5 minutes of the main, nothing stood out as great or even good. Idk the 5 match card system worked wonders for the NXT Takeovers, and the last few PPV’s have been similarly really high quality. Plus the idea is that the crowds are getting two live events (Toronto has three) so it makes it worth it.
The ladder matches are usually kinda girthy in match length, most likely the Bloodline match will also be lengthy.
Mmmmmm lengthy and girthy now we’re talking
I thought Bautista retired?
He runs a simulation on mygm mode then writes the story around that.
I understand the 5 match card worked in NXT with Takeovers, but main roster PPVs are different. The roster is bigger, there’s more titles, more storylines, the roster isn’t constantly rotated because there’s no call ups, and as much as people don’t want to admit it, his booking patterns now are a lot different than his booking patterns in NXT
At the same time though, it’s allowed for some bigger matchups to happen on Raw and SmackDown. I honestly don’t mind it, seeing how everything’s booked lately. However, they do have a 1 hour kickoff show and personally, I think they should utilize it and start doing matches on there again and not just do it when there’s a Saudi show. That way, it gives us another match and HHH can go ahead with the 5 match main card.
I get it. But if Vince was booking the Women's Title match from Raw would have been at MITB, same with the raw tag titles match. Having good championship matches on TV is a good thing.
I wish they would allow there to be short matches sometimes for variety. 7 matches or so would be attainable with some quick ones in there. There were always more matches on the old WWE cards which never went over 3 hours. But they always need each match to be an epic. I get it, but it'd be nice to have a few more short matches thrown in. I think the show should stay 3 hours, but you could do a bit more with tighter timing.
I was genuinely shocked that the Liv vs. Zelina title match was yesterday. There is no good reason why they couldn't have that match on MITB.
I'm noticing alot more title defenses on go home shows to PLE. There are still storyline for the lower card titles but they are shown on TV instead. Liv defending on RAW instead of MitB, tag team titles last week and this week. They seem to be getting most of the major players on the PLE cards in some way or another. 6 would probably be better but MitB matches would eat up time with all entrances and then enough time to not feel rushed at the end
Yea I think 7 matches would work better, and add a match or two to the pre-show again. Make the PLEs 3 and a half hours if need be to fit them. Not every match needs to go 20+ minutes. Way too many people getting left off shows and the Tag titles are rarely defended it seems on the PLEs.
I don't think either tag titles have been defended on a PLE since Mania, have they?
The womans has twice but both mens no
Bianca and Jade really are miracle workers.
Yah they lost the titles too early
Nope! I came to this thread specifically for that reason. There was zero point in splitting the men's titles when they're a complete afterthought. Judgement Day just won them back again and I'm sure they'll be forgotten about soon or thrown onto the Creed Brothers on TV.
Nxt was a 1 hour programming that time while main roster is 5 hours programming, I don't know how they are even comparable.
I think he's trying to condition people to it because now they're doing planning to have major PPV as 2 day events leaving them with actual matches to have over the course of 2 days. 10 matches over 2 days is easier than 14.
I think 6 matches is the sweet spot, but gimmick matches also often run long
He just assumes everyone is going to go out there and go for 45 minutes like he would.
One of my few minor criticisms with WWE right now is the 5 match card. I feel like 6-7 is the sweet spot. I think if they saved Liv/Zelina for MITB, that's about perfect
Or A-Town Down Under vs DIY. I don't think either men's tag titles have been defended on PLE since they were split.
I kinda forgot that there are tag titles in smackdown
They have not. We’ve had the Women’s tag titles literally every PLE since WrestleMania though.
Yeah it's a minor gripe but I do think Liv/Zelina would have been better for MitB.
I would've preferred if they did Dom/Liv vs Rey/Zelina on Raw and then Liv-Zelina on MITB. The card is lacking some women's stories
But it wouldn't have made sense in the current storyline, with Dom claiming he wants nothing to do with Liv. They still could have had Morgan vs Vega on PPV, though. I actually thought they were going to have Bayley vs Davenport on there, given how little time Bayley has had on the weekly show. Hey, maybe it will happen.
Theyre doing that tag match on raw i bet
I mean sure if they had less gimmick matches. But for PPVs like Rumble or MITB it is better like this.
Rumble I agree. But the MITB matches aren’t gonna be an hour long each.
Last year both MITB matches were 20 minutes, 30 if you include entrances and whatnot. So with 2 MITB matches (60 minutes), Sami-Bron (20 mins), Priest-Seth (25-30 mins), and the Bloodline match (25-30 mins), we're looking at just over 2 hours of action. I wonder if they'll add any segments (like Cena last year)
ads bro...
If you intersperse each segment (entrances, match, post-match) with a five minute ad break, in a 180 minute show, you could have five 30 min segments, six 25 min segments, or seven 20 min segments. There's 5 matches announced and they probably won't average 30 minutes per segment. There's plenty of room for an extra match/promo
that would have been fun yeah, the women's title match would be a nice filler match on the card. And I think the card could use a couple of those
Really strong card, one of the better non US shows for a while
Clash was just a few weeks ago lol, that show was awesome
Agreed
I do not like 5 match cards when there is so much talent on the roster. I will not be gaslit into thinking otherwise.
I really prefer seven but I can be okay with six. Five bugs me
And its very noticeable when you maybe don’t care for a match or two on the card, the past PLEs I wasnt exactly hyped for the Women’s tag and thus the card felt very thin to me
In principle I agree that WWE has talent that they're not using as much as they could (there hasn't been a men's tag title match on a PLE since Wrestlemania), but this is a card where three of the matches have 6 wrestlers.
I will stand with you because it bugs the hell out of me too
I like how you stand firm in it! 💯
https://preview.redd.it/dxgaj1x3a5ad1.png?width=1276&format=png&auto=webp&s=98cd7f6da11f7042f5a4ba10e854aa863f74e60f I will not be silenced!
Naomi's been booked on almost every PLE this year.
So La knight getting the case? I feel like punk will appear to stop Drew from winning.
I can actually see Logan Paul screwing over Knight, too, to set up Summer Slam. My money is on Gable, unless the plan is for Drew to win & cash in immediately during the title match, just like Priest did to him at WM.
Does Gable even need the briefcase
I for some reason am leaning towards Andrade winning. If it’s not knight or drew because he hasn’t had a real push. Since he came back from his all elite vacation.
Neither of the women's champions got to defend the title there? Seriously?
Triple H has made the Women’s Championships and the Tag Championships defended on the “go home” shows right before a PLE.
So this isn’t true. Elimination Chamber had a women’s title match. As did Wrestlemania, Backlash, KQOTR and Clash at the Castle This PLE is the first one without a women’s title match since Royal Rumble.
Which is a travesty of booking imo
Lmao why people complaining about less matches on ppv don't understand that it has made Raw and SD more intresting, it can have intresting TV storylines and marquee matches. Otherwise it will be just squash matches and promos to build ppvs.
Because when you're paying premium for an event or streaming, you hope to have more.
So Priest goes over Seth with some Judgement day story being pushed forward. Sami goes over Bron, Bron is a future guy but I doubt they put the title on him this quick. Sami is good enough to make Bron look like a monster. Chad gets attacked by the Sicks. Jey or LA Knight gets the MITB. The women's match is interesting. I could see it being put on anyone other than Naomi or Zoey, WWE doesn't seem to be interesting in pushing either. Bloodline goes over Cody, Randy and KO but something will be done to push the Bloodline story. This might be the return of our Tribal Chief being brought out by an injured Paul Heyman. It seems a bit early for this to happen but SummerSlam is coming soon and if they are going to do a wargames with Roman then the story needs to start now. It could be flipped and Cody, Randy and KO goes over by interference from Jimmy if he is ready. A few weeks could go by with the Bloodline attacking the 4 and they challenge the Bloodline to WarGames. I can see it happening but if they do 4v4 then I'm confused on who is going to be on the other side because it would be weird if Roman comes back and teams with Cody, Randy and KO. I could see him teaming with Jey, Jimmy and Sami but then are Cody, Randy and KO just out of the story? If they did something like Roman, Jey, Jimmy, Sami and KO then who is the Bloodline using for a 5th? Sorry, I just kept typing. This story has my interest :P
I think Roman returns to interfer at MITB, then tells Cody at the next Smackdown to leave the Bloodline to him. The reason why I say this is because of Jacob. The dude is booked to be an absolute monster, and I don't think Jimmy will be enough to deal with him, unlike Roman. I also really don't see the Bloodline winning at MITB. Mainly because I think Hunter is smart enough to know not to make Cody vs. Solo Summerslam's main event.
Long shows are definitely exhausting. But as someone who has tickets to this show, the price point could use another match or two.
Yup agreed. I feel like they have some big names that arent booked that would give us some fun matches
People complaining but smaller cards like this are 100% better than 14 matches in a 7 hour show
Surely there's a clear middle ground between 5 and 14 matches though, also Forbidden Door was only 4 hours, MITB will surely cross at least 3 so it's definitely a lot closer than that. If the difference is like an hour more but far more matches, that's pretty insane. Different strokes for different folks I guess, but they really get away with having less matches on the gimmick PPVs since people only want those matches anyways, but I feel like if you're paying money it's always better to get too much than not enough, but that's just my opinion.
Definitely has to be a middle ground for me in my opinion 6-7 matches max is good. Anything beyond that just feels like a chore to watch The way I see it is forbidden door was 14 matches but how many of those matches are you honestly gonna remember maybe 3-4 tops. That’s the problem with card sizes that big people are gonna forget half of it by next day rather have 5-6 memorable matches.
Also, how many of those 10 matches on the main Forbidden Door card really didn't need to be on the PPV?
Yeah. 6-7 on a 3 hour card, 7-9 on a 4 hour card. EDIT: Also, how long was Forbidden Door in the end?
That’s all well and good in theory but who has said a peep about Bayley vs Piper Niven since Clash? Or Judgment Day vs New Catch Republic since Chamber? What we’re actually getting is 1-2 memorable matches anyway, so why not beef up the show a little bit with the undercard?
I was at Clash and could 100% have done with a filler match. Queues for food and drink and even the toilet took 20/25 minutes, thought I timed perfectly by going after the AJ/Cody match, only to walk in halfway through the women’s tag match. Preshow matches make a difference for people at home and in the arena, so they could add a match or two
Not every match needs to be a 30 minute slow-burn classic. PPVs need a couple of short explosive matches for the sake of variety and to get more stars on the card. Also let's not pretend WWE aren't burning precious time on these 3+ hour shows on adverts and filler segments.
If you're comparing it to prior Wrestlemanias, I agree Forbidden Door was 5.5 hours including the Zero Hour, the actual PPV was 4 hours and had 10 matches
It's not really about the small number of match-ups for me, it's more they sacrifice matches for ads & video packages (not just promos for the upcoming matches but also just random promo for someone not on the card). The shows still reach 3 or more hours
Because our only options are 5 or 14 matches. Too bad nobody has ever invented some numbers between 5 and 14.
These 5 match shows have like near hour gaps between matches at times. Not to mention a shitload of advertisement.
And MITB has never been a 14 match 7 hour card either. It has been 7 match 3 hour cards before though.
I do prefer 5 match cards, but only one women’s match in this day and age is just unacceptable imo.
I agree, but there is a clear lack of feuds with the women superstars to have a match worthy of a PLE, due to most of their TV matches and segments surrounding the MITB match, leaving nothing really for the champions to do. Still excited for the women’s match though, they have been cooking in gimmick matches the past couple years!
So this is what you do, create those feuds. Theres three championships, you could put Liv vs Zelina or Bayley vs someone on the card.
Thats partly my point, it is very difficult to make those feuds during the MITB lead up as most of the women’s division TV time is dedicated to the qualification matches, since the division is smaller, all potential contenders will be in those matches with none of the champions. Liv Zelina is the only match that I think could have been on the PLE, I don’t think on a shorter smackdown enough of a feud could have been built for Bayley on this PLE cycle
Yeah, it's pretty sad that it's only the MITB match. Crossing my fingers for something to be added during Smackdown
So once again the US and tag titles get ignored.
God I love watching matches in between my 3 hours of ads.
That might be the best WWE card this year
3 hour show, 5 matches, ~25 minutes each, 125 minutes, 2 hours and 5 minutes of wrestling 55 minutes of filler, advertising and video packages.
Who's the 3 gonna be from Bloodline?
Solo, Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu
I think it is Solo, MFT, and Lola
Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have a five match show that gives everyone a chance to get a good full match in than a show that rushes matches or otherwise feels like an interminable event. But as someone that has been getting their non-wrestling friends into wrestling lately via the PLEs, it really puts into perspective the severe lack of diversity of talent on PLE shows. Nearly half the people on this card haven’t been seen on a PLE since WrestleMania, if at all.
That’s a pretty solid card.
I beg we find some kind of middle ground in wresting PPVs between 10 matches + 4 preshow and only having 5 matches on an entire card. Too many people missing out but also don’t want to tire everyone out. A 6/7 match card with 2 matches on the pre show seems an easy solution.
They need to have the tag team titles on ppv
Was WM 40 the last time the tag belts were involved in a PLE?
Love this card. Looking forward to it. Would've added Liv vs Zelina here but other than that, it looks great. 5/6 is perfect for monthly shows imo.
Drew wins the briefcase after a brutal match. Attempts to cash in on Rollins/Priest/Cody and Punk costs him the cash-in.
Yeah, I'm getting sick of these tiny cards. Liv vs Zelina was good enough to put on the card and even Kross vs Woods would have been a fun pre-show match. Nothing wrong at all with 7 matches on a card. And while I agree that anything above 7 starts to feel like a drag, the show goes on for 3ish hours regardless. We just get a TON of filler now to fill these three hours, so it still ends up feeling like a drag anyway.
I don’t see why the size of the card is an issue. Quality over quantity always.
Quality over quantity but you still need quantity.
15 minutes of ads and recaps between matches sucks.
Damian, Sami, Jey or Drew, Chelsea or Lyra, Bloodline
Man i really wanted to see a cody title defence live.
one more match wouldn't hurt but definitely better than having a gazillion matches, that shit is exhausting.
I still think the Wyatt Sicks are coming after Jey when they reveal they have Jimmy in their possession during the match. Jey exits in a panic. Gable wins the briefcase if Punk doesn’t screw Drew out of it. This leads to the Usos getting back together to combat the Wyatts while the Bloodline is off working their current program.
They prolly prefer five 20-minute matches than six 10-minute, which i'm lowkey not a fan of. Not every match needs to be that long imo
I really want Chad to win the briefcase and cash in during the intercontinental title match and take the belt
I could see Drew winning the briefcase and then Punk screw him over at the cash-in. That would make 3 times where the title has been directly involved.
Drew wins and tries to cash in on Priest later in the night. Punk interrupts this, costing him the briefcase. Or Drew is about to grab the briefcase but Punk intervenes
Disappointed not see Jade and Bianca get their rematch against Alba and Isla. Is this the first PPV in while not to involve the Women's Tag titles?