A PPV That Works - Unfogiven Makes Its Mark
In the world of pro wrestling, anytime you introduce anything new, from a new character to a new type of match, you run a risk. Sunday night in Cleveland at the latest WWE PPV - Unforgiven, the company rolled out its newest invention - the "Championship Scramble" matches. Basically it was a five-man match that would go 20 minutes, and the last wrestler to get a pin would win.
One would think that it could be complete chaos, but in the end, this was one idea that I actually liked, and I thought worked. It wasn't like the invention of the steel cage or anything like that, but it was more like a Royal Rumble title match with wrestlers coming in every few minutes till you had all five guys going at it.
They did a "scramble" for each belt, the ECW, WWE and World Heavyweight titles, and in the end, moved two belts - the ECW and World Heavyweight. Matt Hardy won the ECW in the opening match, which showed right away that the scramble would work, and in a surprise, Chris Jericho scored a last second pin to win the Heavyweight title.
They only had six matches on the card, the three scramble matches, a Divas title match, tag title match and grudge match with Shawn Michaels and Jericho. The decision to bring Jericho back later on came as Randy Orton backstage knocked out title holder C.M. Punk, setting up a feud when Orton is cleared to return. It made it so RAW had to find another wrestler to compete in the scramble - enter Y2J.
It also was a night where the company moved ahead and created a number of feuds for the coming months, some of which should be very good:
Y2J vs Batista for the World Heavyweight Title
C.M. Punk vs Randy Orton (when he comes back)
Big Show vs Undertaker
Matt Hardy vs anyone on the ECW roster, as now Hardy has the belt
Jeff Hardy vs Triple H
Of course the fear is the overuse of the scramble, but I think they be wise and use it as they use the elimination chamber, once to twice a year at most. Give the company credit for trying some new things in this PPV, and things that I thought in the end will make for some interesting feuds moving forward.
The gutsy call of the night was to go with Jericho as the new champ, but I have been giving him major props for his character for weeks, and now that he has the belt, I think he'll make a great champ, and it sets up a solid feud with Batista for the belt that should bring out the best in both wrestlers.
Labels: 2008 unforgiven, batista, chris jericho, jeff hardy, the big show, triple h, undertaker
