More Championships: Better Cards and/or Merchandising

The most common thought about championships in wrestling is that there are too many. Because there are too many, they lack meaning. It takes away from people just beating each other up over personal issues like:

• NWA Hollywood Wrestling's Roddy Piper versus the Guererros in the 1970's
• WWF's George Steele versus Randy Savage in the 1980's
• WCW's Chris Benoit versus Kevin Sullivan in the 1990's
• WWE's Mick Foley versus Randy Orton in the 2000's
• ROH's Kevin Owens versus SCUM in the 2010's
• WWE's Rusev versus Bobby Lashley 2020

With 2020's first prominent personal issue being a cucking angle, I think we might want to step away from personal issues. Were the feuds listed above the best of each decade? No (I cannot actually judge Piper's [which did involve trophies and bets...research].), and I know that. Because most feuds need a championship to create the personal issues or further emphasize how important it is for the challenger (in most cases) to dethrone a champion. The latter being the basis for ECW's Raven character.

Raven made it a point to ruin Tommy Dreamer's life for alleged past indiscretions. ECW's fans knew that whoever the summer camp bully was, it was not the Dreamer they knew. To make matters worse for Dreamer was that Raven had become the heavyweight champion, so Raven reigned the Land of Extreme as a tyrant and it fell upon Dreamer to come up with a way to save the promotion. Raven's most heinous actions were at the expense of Dreamer's best friend, The Sandman. He stole his wife and child in order to make it nearly impossible for him to win his title back. The belt elevated one feud and was the center of the drama for the other.

You can argue that the championship's sole purpose is to instruct the fans which feud is suppose to be the headliner. That was definitely the case in the organizations that did not belong to the NWA, but in the NWA, every territory needed their own sets of belts. The fans needed to know who the best were when they went to the smoke-filled venues, and the promoters needed something to kick off the feuds.

It also promoted the wrestlers who had the belts on the national stage. A title reign just looks great on a resume.

As roster sizes grow, more championships give wrestlers more to do. Bookers cannot come up with a personal issue for every pairing. If somebody has a championship, they motivate wrestlers to become challengers. This is a play on the original premise of professional wrestling. Two would fight just to get the winner's purse. There is no reason to take it personally, until someone takes shortcuts to secure it.

The Wrestling Compadres Slamcast started to lose my interest after Wrestle Kingdom 13. Two of the current three host (only one of which was a founder) complained about eight of the nine bouts being for championships. They thought it was poor creative. They also failed to do the research to understand what the Kenny Omega entrance was, so it was not like they had a clue about how personal some of the issues were. Eventually, the cracks in the pod eventually made it Jake Lloyd's WWE-schilling opportunity as the year went on. Should someone remind Jake that Peter Rosenberg already does that?

If you want to say WWE has too many championships, you should be focusing on the lousy creative. People forget about championships because writers are told to do the same. With five belts of meaning (WWE/Universal, IC/USA, Womens', Tag Team, Women's Tag Team...sorry 24/7), should we not have at least one title defended each week? If not a title defense, than a number one contendership match for a secondary championship? This will let people remember them and it allows you to save your primary titles solely for pay-per-views.

And when you have two rosters (sometimes three), what makes more sense about who should be on the card? The one vying for the biggest prizes or those trying to resolve a wife-swap angle?

If bringing back honor into wrestling is too novel an idea, then what about the merchandising? With a little market research, you can figure out the toy replica production numbers and you have more products to sell. Do I ever visit WWE? No. Do I visit WWE Shop? Well, I only have so much content to write when the customers are not about.

If you do not want to have more titles, then why not introduce a new belt design after each WrestleMania? If the new look gets a backlash, your sells for overpriced replicas of the old belts will increase. It makes more sense than Superstar Highlighter sets.

You may say that all my ideas only apply to major promotions, and you are right for the most. If there are indie promotors out there who can mass produce belts, how the hell are you still indie? This does make me reminisce about my early days in the indies when there were NWA affiliates, but that is now studio wrestling's acronym. But for the aspiring indie promotors, the more belt designs out there, the easier it is to pass them off as your own instead of "wasn't that the" remarks from the marks. It is definitely more affordable than Dave Millican.

I guess I have just discovered the fault to my idea. Vince McMahon is not out to help the fans or the indies. What he produces is solely to get his name out there.

This has been an exercise for an audience of 900 when the wrestling world is an audience of one. It is great to know that my blog is doing better than wrestling is. If you want to increase my influence send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com and ask for a treatment of my pro-wrestling zombie comedy, "Main Event of the Dead". I would love suggestions on how to get this product out of development hell to development purgatory.

Pinterest Tajae Keith

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The End of NXT Viewership: Rebooking Survivor Series 2019.

Those who say NXT is the only reason to subscribe to the WWE Network are now right. WWE has wisely removed the replay of NXT Takeover from being on the Hulu feed. I say wisely because, before AEW, that was how I watched those shows.

Why would I fund a company that many feel is responsible for three deaths due to their lack of concussion care and whom will gladly take blood money from Saudi Arabia if I could watch their best shows for free (well, at least $2 cheaper alongside "The Handsmaid's Tale"?

For someone who finds New York to be where quality goes to die, watching a Takeover on a Sunday was awesome. If WWE was going to counter program against themselves, what kind of contrarian would I be if I did not ignore Vince McMahon trying to fuel Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns's egos?

As Wrestletalk stated in their review for NXT Takeover Wargames 3, the refreshing thing about a NXT's Women's first (like the Wargames's match this year) is that it just feels like what women's wrestling should be, just wrestling. So, watching Takeover instead of Summer Slam means I did not have to deal with the bullshit that is the Women's Evolution of Stephanie McMahons.

NXT offered a lot for those fed up with the tired vision of Vince McMahon. It is a pity that fans like me should not have time for it.

How much wrestling do you expect me to watch in one night? When you have competition, and a side in the competition, I am not going to change the channel during a commercial break. If you work a relatively uneventful job like me, you need stuff to read. After reading DC Black's "Harleen: Number 1", and considering how the ultimate fictional empath can become a murderous malcontent, you best believe the NXT spoilers might be a better read for someone with codependency issues.

When you look at my other wrestling viewership, there is no time for replays anyhow. "NWA Powerrr" results are deemed not as newsworthy as those of the competitors, so I am free to watch (or binge) it at my own leisure (typically on Monday between 7 pm CST and 9 pm CST). Tuesdays are when the extra hour NXT lacks comes on YouTube. Do I need to mention these are free (sorry Impact, ROH, WOW and World of Sport on Stadium)?

The NJPW library at my finger tips, and I got plenty of catching up to do there. I am only going to devote 999 a month to one service. HBO Max getting AEW would be an ideal return to chord cutting.

Is there a way for NXT to win me back? Yes. Right now, it is all about match ups. Sorry Hunter, I get around to indie shows, so I have seen Dominik Dijakovic and Keith Lee in its purest form in person. Give me Chris Hero over Kassius Ohno any day. That reminds me of more things in my DVD collection that I need to get caught up on. As long as I am with a girl who still cannot keep the members of The Elite straight, I have enough classic pre-NXT material to last a lifetime.

AEW is currently the fresher product and they still have lacked bouts I would skip. Once we get there...if we get there...I may start watching Xfinity 939 on Wednesday. WWE's only other way to get my attention is to give the minority owner of Hulu a break and put the Takeovers back on the service or for them to sign away AEW talent. At least we would have a war. On the subject of warfare.

Rebooking Survivor Series 2019

Another year of the concept of brand supremacy and willful ignorance of storylines has passed. Aside from champion versus champion (versus champion) bouts, it comes across as the dumbest pay-per-view of the year.

That half of the card did not sound that bad. You have to appreciate them avoiding a Lesnar versus Fiend match, but that again placed the Women's matches as a not quite equal affair. But when you need 30 persons for your main events, you know that the writers' efforts over the past three months were for not (When you try to rebook it, effort was hard to find.). It just seemed like a waste of time. They should have advertised, no red light during the Bray Wyatt bout, and maybe they would have gained my attention.

Something AEW has been doing to gain my attention is referring to classic wrestling concepts like "Bash at the Beach", successfully using Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross, and ECW defining moments. It is definitely the right week for a nostalgia bug (you best be watching "Watchmen" on HBO). Which makes me think back to my favorite Survivor Series, Survivor Series 1990.

Please look pass the Gobbledy Gooker. We all want to remember the best of "Mean" Gene Okerlund anyhow. My favorite thing about the card was the Winner Take All Survivor Series match. It was just as awesome seeing Tito Santana in a main event as it was seeing The Undertaker debut. Plus, Bret Hart and Ted DiBiase battle to be sole survivor for a spot in the finale also makes this the most memorable edition of this pay-per-view.

Imagine the stars that could be made by trying this experiment over again. Yes, they would probably be glossed over like Dolph Ziggler's win five years ago, but the opportunity is there. By loading up sides with top draws, no one new gets over.

This is probably why it failed in 1990. Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior stood tall in the end. If there was evidence to prove Vince McMahon is out of touch, Survivor Series still seem to end like this, when the bout is the closer that is. It is the definition of insanity. Especially when there are no stakes like Survivor Series have had since the second brand split.

Returning to 1990 would add those stakes. 2019's edition will be tougher for me to book since I cannot tell you with great confidence who were top feuds that did not involve the titles, but I can still make it make sense.

But, the card could have make all the sense in the world if NXT beats AEW by a hundred thousand viewers this week. Would this blog be an exercise in futility? If you read my blogs that involve wrestling and suggests my career, probably. Then again, do you want impressionable old me to open DC Black's "Joker No. 1"?

Thinking like a comic book villain, perhaps that should be my threat until someone helps me out with promoting the production of "Main Event of the Dead" my pro-wresting zombie comedy. Email me at russthebus07@gmail.com to request a treatment of this B-movie.

Pre-Show: Survivor Series (4-on-4)

Natalya, Sarah Logan, The Iiconics versus Carmella, Dana Brooke, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans

Match 1: Survivor Series (6-on-6):

New Day, Heavy Machinery, The B-Team versus

The Revival, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura

Close it out with Kingston eliminating Nakamura.

Match 2: Survivor Series (5-on-5):

Roman Reigns, Shorty G, Mustafa Ali, Braun Strowman, The Miz versus

King Corbin, Cesaro, The Forgotten Sons

There are a lot of injuries to SmackDown's heels. I know there is a lack of depth in NXT's heel tag team, but that can be resolved by turning a beloved team heel. The Forgotten Sons are not going to get anywhere while Undisputed Era holds the tag belts, so give them some shine and let them end up getting triple disqualified. Even better, let them and Corbin be the survivors.

Match 3: No Holds Barred for WWE Championship:

Brock Lesnar defends against Rey Mysterio

Put the belt on Rey and send Lesnar back to SmackDown. That is what Fox wants.

Match 4: Survivor Series (6-on-6):

The Viking Raiders, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, Street Profits versus

The OC, Fin Balor, Authors of Pain

AOP and The Viking Raiders brawls to a double DQ. The Club picks up the pieces, but have AJ Styles get pinned by Montez Ford.

Match 5: Survivor Series (5-on-5):

Seth Rollins, Ricochet, Rusev, Aleister Black, Humberto Carillo versus

Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Buddy Murphy, Andrade

You need at least one Shield member in the main event and you need to protect Black, so those two will go over. Wish I could have had an uneven side in the grand finale.

Match 6: Triangle Tag Team Match for WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

Kabuki Warriors versus Boss and Hug Connection versus Becky Lynch and Charlotte

Dual-branded show gives you a chance for all your top talent in. Only one takes the fall. Can stay the course to the TLC bout between the Raw teams.

Match 7: WWE Univeral Championship: Bray Wyatt defends against Daniel Bryan

Match 8: Survivor Series for Brand Supremacy (5-on-5)

Gallows and Anderson, Fin Balor, Seth Rollins, Aleister Black versus

King Corbin, The Forgotten Sons, Kofi Kingston

Corbin bickers with Kingston resulting in him being eliminated. The Forgotten Sons ditch Kingston. Kingston pins both Gallows and Anderson. Kingston is about to hit Trouble in Paradise on Balor, misses, and receives Black Mass. Rollins follows up with a Curb Stomp. Balor scores the fall.

Gallows and Anderson go to pick the bones of Kingston. Black intervenes...

Either Rollins turns on Black and joins the OC or Black and Rollins runs them off and stand tall. Black still gets over huge.

www.instagram.com/shinsukenakamura/

Wagging the Wednesday Night Wars and the Real Heavyweight Championship

War! What Is It Good For? Ratings?

I am a wrestling fan, so this will turn into a wrestling blog, but I have an observation outside of the business. Is Donald Trump shuffling troops and abandoning the Kurds away to distract from the impeachment inquiry? He is going to get impeached, but if we are suppose to further invest our hopes and prayers towards our troops who are getting stationed in Saudi Arabia to attack Iran, Americans will have more patriotic things to worry about. And should we not respect the president for his "victory" over ISIS?

My subheading was the first title that I came up with for the blog. In it was two question. After the last paragraph, it turns out that that war just results in more questions. Why my original title suggest ratings is not about Wednesday Night Wars, it was that people will tune in for war. This at least tells us that Trump is an expert in reality TV. He will get people to pay attention to what he wants us to, even if that puts thousands at risk.

Now I further appreciate my preference to being a cord cutter. It keeps me away from most live broadcasts. And I know Hulu will not inspire me to change the channel when Fox News/Fox Nation try to sell their message on the NFL or Smackdown.

Then again, how am I going to watch All Elite Wrestling? If you are not watching live, how are you helping AEW's side? Maybe Comcast will make it easier once they get back to me about our dispute over DM's (or lack of DM's) about why I still have a shitty modem, why they did not follow up with me as promised, and why I must repeat information the I provided in the DM's to @comcastcares multiple times?

The FCC promised me they would. Too bad we must return to phone calls to do so. My next day off is Columbus Day, so wish me luck in returning their call.

If we cannot work something out, knowing my luck, the feds will read my anti-Trump and anti-Trump supporters blogs and tell Comcast they did their best. Best not to piss off Google then. If my assistant is ease dropping, GITMO may be in my future.

You would think I ought to be more afraid of my girlfriend's Alexa, but she uses it primarily for Christian radio, so it would need to navigate the orders to get me in trouble. The most extreme thing I ever asked it was, "Alexa. Play Ministry." There is a chance that might confuse it as well.

It surprised me that I would have anything to blog about this week. I have been busy enough with my downtime trying to preserve my seventh anime-related website that I have not drafted another NFL fantasy team, forgot to draft a replacement tight end for one of them, or read any comic books. My Saturday shift might be dedicated to binging "Peaky Blinders". Which reminds me, my better half and I best start "Fleabag" tonight.

With nine anime reviews sitting in my drafts a long with eight other blogs to be released, I was fearing that I would lose track of wrestling blogs to move over to my site dedicated to the nuances of "No Holds Barred" and THE REAL heavyweight championship of wrestling. Then I realized that my back-and-forth structure for "Rip 'em System" posts was going to be a blog short. If only there was a title change that demanded debate to determine who the Real Heavyweight Champion was?

2019's Disgruntled Wrestling Fan's Real Heavyweight Championship Title History

The 85th Real World Heavyweight Champion:

IWGP's Kenny Omega (January 1 to January 4)

(To see how we got there, check out "A Wrestling Weekend Past and All the Corrections").

Pretender(s): NWA's Nick Aldis; ROH's Jay Lethal/Matt Taven

Since Matt Taven was claiming to be the Real ROH World Heavyweight Champion, it would not be fair to Flair (1991 throwback) to discount him as being in contention.

The 86th Real World Heavyweight Champion:

WWE World Heavyweight Champion: The New Daniel Bryan (January 4 to April  7; 4th reign)

Pretender(s): IWGP's Kazuchika Okada; ROH's Matt Taven

Okada was the first IWGP champion to hold the Real Championship, but because Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jay White failed to defend the championship after Kenny Omega lost it, conventional wisdom dictates that a true champion is one who can defend their title.

The 87th Real World Heavyweight Champion:

WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Kofi Kingston (April 7 to October 4)

He has never got to wrestle the style of matches that the five prior champions have, but he has been able to stay with the same company for eleven years and be the best performer at times during it. He may be too good to ever allow to face the likes of Okada or Omega

The Current (Oct 11) and 88th Real World Champion:

AEW's Chris Jericho (October 4 to at least October 16 [Darby Allin's challenge], 2nd reign)

Pretender(s): WWE's Brock Lesnar, NXT's Adam Cole, ROH's Rush

I know this comes across as an AEW mark's opinion, but the Ring of Honor's roster is not what it was when any of the former Real Champions who represented the title had to contend with. With AEW taking most of the Being the Elite cast, the gaijin element in NJPW went with it (At least in terms of those who identify as North American. Chase Owens is an honorary Tongan). Brock Lesnar's WWE Championship victory has only added to the disgruntled's need for another championship option. The Universal Championship ruining Bray Wyatt's Fiend does not make that an option.

Chris Jericho had to defeat Kenny Omega to be in contention for the title. Pac's one pinfall loss and a victory over Omega shows how stacked the AEW roster is. The challenger that all eyes are focused on, Cody, is a former Real World Champ. And speaking of eyes, not since World Championship Wrestling did another World Championship have so many looking at it. 

The AEW World Heavyweight Championship cannot help but be the top title despite such little history behind it. It could be argued since the WWWF title was in primarily contested in the country's most influential city, it was reasonable to say it was the only other important American version of the world heavyweight championship. When Chris Jericho is the first champion, all seems right with the wrestling business. The Invasion was over by that point.

Eva saying, "This is my hand. There are many others like it but this one is mine." (at Champaign, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4i3h3zpvMv/?igshid=1f0yfk718dnf6