Re-Brand

Branding is everything in the marketplace. It's why people ask for Kleenex instead of facial tissue and Coke instead of cola. WWE, at times, seems to only care about the Wrestlemania brand, but still expect people to care about the other eleven months of the year. This is where I come in and offer my unsolicited consultation. Today we tackle Survivor Series.

One of the original Big 4 Pay-per-view extravaganzas, the first Survivor Series was held in 1987. Originally conceived as a showcase of tag team wrestling, the first four events were held on Thanksgiving Day. I can only imagine the looks someone in my household would have received if that someone suggested buying a WWE event instead of watching the perfectly free Cowboys game.

Survivor Series was based on a simple premise: teams of five (sometimes only four) strive to survive. While there were times they were just filling up the ring with warm bodies, I still dig the idea of a ten man elimination match that does not involve battle royal rules.

I know traditional Survivor Series matches have fallen out of favor. Every year, we read rumors of Vince flip flopping on how important the match is to the pay-per-view. I think that's a shame. You have a very good opportunity to directly influence stories that affect the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. I truly believe that if you give them a goal, such as "usurp the authority" or my go to example of Team Bischoff receiving favors for their victory, you can build interest in not just this result but what it means going forward.

Re-branding

This extends beyond the pay-per-view itself. With Vince embracing a month to month ordering cycle, why not give people a reason to splurge on the month of November?

We start immediately after Night of Champions. Have a lottery that decides 4-8 team captains. Each captain gets the week to recruit a team that consists of an IC contender, a US contender, and a Tag Team. Play up the picks over all the shows and the website. Give us breaking news: Finn Balor commits to Team Never Give Up.

Announce that the winning team receives guaranteed title shots in their respective divisions as well as one favor to be cashed in at any time during the next year.

Prior to the PPV, different combinations of matches are held to earn points. A singles match earns 1-3 points, depending on the finish; tag matches double the points. Utilize Raw, Main Event, SmackDown, and even enliven the house show circuit. Make it analogous to the NFL. Raw is the coveted match up of the week, but you still want to put in a good showing on the other shows and when the cameras are off. At the beginning of the night, have a coin toss and the winning team captain determines the layout for the matches for the evening.

He can choose his workhouse (a Ziggler of D Bry) to compete in a singles match early in the show and team up with a partner later to better the chances of ending the night with double digit points. Make November must-see TV. Give us a chance to scrutinize the team's decision like this were an actual competition. "Why is Ziggler not part of the six man? You're just going to feed him to Cesaro like that?" Make me want to throw something at the TV in a good way.

At the end of the four weeks, the two teams that score the most points move on to the PPV and the chance to compete for title shots and favors.

This is when future stories come into play. Favors could be used to even the odds at The Rumble; not just a favorable number but make it where Cena, Sheamus, or Orton are not allowed to enter. A teammate may stockpile favors from his teammates in exchange for his services. There's always the classic "I was promised something in exchange for helping the other team win" angle. Have the team cash in their favors all at once in order to obtain executive matchmaking power for a month. The possibilities for fun and interesting stories is right there and it begins with the announcement "Survivor Series is in four weeks."

Would you be more likely to get into Survivor Series if you had a team to root for and knew something big was on the horizon?