After yesterdays debacle and people complaining about the HIAC gimmick being ruined, I’ve been thinking about a new gimmick. When has there even been a new cage gimmick? Was the Elimination Chamber the last one? I dont count the god awful Ambrose Asylum or whatever that match was called.
I think its time for a new structure. I’m kind of tired of the HIAC, even if yesterday didnt happen. They made it bigger, they changed the color. I think its time to retire it now.
I know people hated it, but I always loved the Triple Cage from WCW. I cant remember if it had an actual name, or was just called the Triple Cage. I loved the height of it. I loved having to climb to the top. It was a great looking structure.
What does everyone think? Is it time for something new? Even if you dont, have you ever had an idea for some type of new structure?
I prefer HIAC to traditional cage matches just because I hate the escape win condition. As for last new cage Punjabi Prison maybe not sure if that is newer to than the elimination chamber. I always like the war games match concept as well with 2 rings in a giant cage. In general though like all gimmick matches they should be rare having multiples each year diminishes the importance.
Honking about new structures I think some kind of multi cage structure where you have simultaneous matches in cages on the outside where the winners get to enter an inner cage or set of cages. Which sounds cool to me but at the same time seems like it would be hard to follow/film.
Why bother with a new gimmick when they’ll just run that into the ground too? End the HIAC PPV, don’t have any HIAC matches for a few years, then bring it back for a feud where it actually makes sense.
Before you even get to the match booking the HIAC has been ruined due to overuse. Gimmick based PPVs are an awful idea and it’s so typical of WWE to take something good then rely on it so much it becomes bad. They don’t understand the concept of keeping things special/unique and “less is more”. This is clear in every facet of the company.
On that note; i’m looking forward to AEW’s first cage match and seeing what sort of cage, match rules etc they go with.
I think certain gimmick PPVs work: Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank.
Essentially if the gimmick sets up a storyline it is ok.
But most don’t because it adds stipulations to matches that may not need them. I mean you start a feud and oh next PPV is TLC guess we are having a let’s see chairs match (dumbest of the stipulations).
HITC worked for a long time as it was the rivalry that called for the match - not the calendar.
Rumble as an annual event makes sense. And while I hate the way it is executed I feel MITB works too (I’d prefer if it acted as a guaranteed Championship match at Summer Slam, like Rumble does for Mania). But HITC, TLC, Elimination Chamber, Extreme Rules, etc are just dumb ideas. Giant gimmick stuff again should be saved when called for.
Yes, i wasn’t considering the Rumble to be a ‘gimmick’ PPV. There’s a means to an end with the rumble matches, it’s the main purpose of the PPV and you don’t have to force a fued into a rumble match just because it’s the PPV coming up. Similarly, but not quite the same, with MITB (i’d prefer this was gone though).
With HIAC, TLC etc it’s just gimmick matches for the sake of gimmick matches.
