With the success of last year’s Cruiserweight Classic and the buzz surrounding this year’s women-only Mae Young Classic, WWE has a winning formula on their hands. Tournaments are a great way to introduce new storylines and new wrestlers without having to rely on PPVs or weekly TV. Hosting them on the Network allows the company to cut right to the consumer. We love tournaments and wish WWE would do more of them.
With that in mind, here are few tournaments that WWE should do in the next few years. A few of these are borrowed from this Reddit thread.
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[tps_title]Tag Teams[/tps_title]
NXT has the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic already. But I am thinking here of taking the best tag teams, not in WWE *cough* Young Bucks *cough* and bringing them together.
[tps_title]Tag Teams[/tps_title]
To differentiate it from the Dusty Rhodes Classic, the tag teams should be firmly established. Like the Young Bucks and the Super Smash Brothers.
[tps_title]Hardcore Wrestling [/tps_title]
By far the least likely to happen. WWE has a zero-blood policy and is serious about keeping a TV-PG rating. However, there’s a way to do a no-rules “hardcore” style that requires no blood and relies heavily on comedy. The DDT Heavymetalweight Title does this to great comedic effect.
[tps_title]Hardcore Wrestling [/tps_title]
WWE used comedy at the height of wrestling, no reason why they can’t do it again with another Hardcore title and tournament.
[tps_title]Submission[/tps_title]
This is how you take advantage of the popularity of MMA. Bring in the best mat technicians. This will be for the most hardcore of wrestling fans, but it would be something unique! Submission specialists like Samoa Joe and Jack Gallagher are already on the roster. Zack Sabre Jr, Marty Scrull, and Minoru Suzuki are other masters of the tap-out you could bring in.
[tps_title]Submission[/tps_title]
WWE even had a whole PPV that featured submission and “I Quit” matches.
[tps_title]Last Chance[/tps_title]
A storyline during last year’s Cruiserweight Classic was the return of Brian Kendrick and his “Last” shot at redemption. There are dozens of older wrestlers who never had a shot at WWE or had their previous cut short and have tried hard to get back. A “Last Chance” tournament featuring the best indie vets would be a great way for WWE to acknowledge the talent outside of WWE and give a few guys (or girls) one more show.
[tps_title]Last Chance[/tps_title]
Wrestling fans have great memories. Look at the reception Kendrick received after being eliminated. We could honor a lot of great wrestlers this way. Christopher Daniels, Colt Cabana, Frankie Kazarian, James Storm, Homicide, and Low Ki and other indie vets would be great for this tournament
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0X-DiVjTas
[tps_title] Country Specific [/tps_title]
The UK Championship was a success earlier this year and has spawned a few specials and title matches on Network PPVs. WWE is always looking to increase its internationals brand. A tournament featuring country-specific talent is a proven success. Japan and Mexico-based tournaments are obvious. But WWE is looking to make inroads into China and India, two countries where wrestling is relatively new. WWE is gathering up talent at the Performance Center from both countries already.
[tps_title] Country Specific [/tps_title]
WWE is already cultivating talent from China and India. Why not give the new wrestlers a chance to shine in front of a home audience!
[tps_title]What do you want to see?[/tps_title]
There are a lot of ideas out there. What kind of tournament do you want to see? Share your thoughts in the comments.