Random

[Adam54]

Well, it was silly in that I know it would never happen, but serious in that I can't really think of a lot of reasons why it wouldn't work. In WWE though, the contract is good for one year and I'd imagine a similar timetable would apply to the other major sports if adapted.

I'm by no means suggesting that...say...eight tennis players get in a wrestling ring and have a ladder match to grab a briefcase, mind you. That would be silly. But what if eight of the top tennis players in the world were to have a mini tournament in which the winner got the Money in the Bank briefcase? Let's say Andy Murray wins it.

Then, fast forward to months later. There's been intense speculation of "Will he cash it in at the French Open? The Australian Open? WHEN WILL HE CASH IT IN?!" Andy even started to walk out of the tunnel during the Spanish Open but the other players got off the court before he could cash it in. But then...finally...FINALLY...Wimbledon. Nadal and Federer just had a grueling, exhausting, four hour long five set epic. Nadal won and is about to get handed the trophy by THE QUEEN HERSELF, when all of a sudden...what's that...

GOOD GAWD THAT'S ANDY MURRAY'S MUSIC!

He sprints out of the tunnel, hands the briefcase to the official and BAM! New match starts right then and there.

This works! Better for the individual sports than the team ones, but this works!

[Adam54]

Something arguably similar to your Money in the Bank scenario happens in Rocky. Rocky didn't exactly earn his shot. He showed that he could go toe-to-toe, but he didn't do it by working his way up the rankings. Instead, the actual top contender got hurt and was unable to compete, so the champ decided (or, rather, was encouraged strongly by his management) to give some no-name hometown boy a shot. It's a pretty unlikely scenario. It works, but it works for the same reason it works for the WWE: it's a scripted event intended to help push along a larger narrative. Could you imagine the uproar if the Rocky scenario were to play out in real life--especially if Rocky had actually won that first fight? There'd probably be a ton of legal suits. The top contender who'd been unable to compete would be understandably upset and likely litigious, as would be the person ranked right behind him. (Look at the Ali/Wepner fight that's supposed to have inspired Stallone to write Rocky. Wepner was a huge underdog, but he had the New Jersey belt and the National Americas belt going in, along with eight straight wins, and the promoter put up more than a million dollars to get Ali to compete. It was way less unbalanced than the Rocky scenario.)

One last thing: it would also potentially undermine the actual championship series, and sports organizations and commercial goods sellers rely on those games for huge revenue. If there's even the slightest suspicion that the Money in the Bank victor's potential championship challenge could hurt the real championship series's revenue, it's unlikely the organization would give it the go-ahead.

Having the mini-tournament I suggested in the tennis example would avoid the fundamental Rocky scenario. Sure, the #8 seed could win that mini-tournament, but that's still the 8th best player/team in the sport.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Again, don't playoffs already sort of do that? Isn't that the whole purpose of elimination play?

I guess it's an imperfect system when one considers the level of play where professional teams and athletes are concerned, but it still seems sort of goofy to put an organization through a lengthy elimination and then have the organization's overall champ have to play some wildcard after all that. It undermines the championship.

[Adam54]

How would it undermine the revenue in the playoffs? Game 7's ratings would've doubled last night if they knew another team was just waiting in the wings to cash in their Money in the Bank briefcase. Both teams would've had to change their strategies, reconsider how much rest to give their players during the night, etc.

Plus in the tennis example, can you imagine how far that'd help grow the audience? They'd tune in to every tournament all year long just to see "Is this the one? Is this where Murray is going to cash in? Or is it this one?! I HAVE TO WATCH TO FIND OUT!"

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I doubt very seriously that ratings or revenue would have doubled if it were made clear that the championship game wasn't *really* the championship game and that the victor's victory was potentially only conditional. Besides, once more, a team/athlete's gonna be bushed as shit after a tournament, and it would take someone with a Kanye-sized ego to think s/he could jump straight into another series of games against an opponent s/he hasn't trained for. (Luckily, I suppose, there's no shortage of ego in sports. Kanye-sized, though? Maybe not. That dude's got ego for miles and miles.)

Still, if the champ were to lose, would it really be a loss worthy of a championship stripping? Would the organization even honor it? I maintain that it would be exhibition-worthy at best. Exhibitions aren't exactly cash cows. The fans don't take them all that seriously, the teams/athletes don't take them all that seriously, and they rarely (if ever) get counted toward the season's win-loss-tie total. I can't really see a champ going at 100% for a game that almost certainly wouldn't have any real reason to count.

[Adam54]

How often does the Money in the Bank winner end up winning the championship?

I just looked into this. 14 of 16 have been successful.

[Adam54]

15 of 17, counting what happened last night.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

That's pretty unrealistic--even for an athletic form of entertainment based on a portrayal of a combat sport

[Adam54]

Not the way they book it. It generally makes sense.

[Adam54]

Which is exactly how I'll book things after I expand the Money in the Bank briefcase to all major sports!

Vote Skoglund 2020.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

If it makes sense for the champion to lose fifteen out of seventeen matches against what's essentially a wildcard, regardless of how it's booked, it doesn't seem like being champion is worth much. Maybe that's why you feel it could work outside of professional wrestling.

Maybe your love of professional wrestling has warped the way you view competition and athletic accomplishment. Probably not. But maybe.

Maybe that's also why you see intelligence in Trump where I do not. Maybe he comes across to you like a wrestler cutting a promo, and maybe you can respect that the way you can respect a solid performer in the professional wrestling world. Probably not, but maybe.

[Adam54]

When the fresh, rested challenger can run in and demand a match against an exhausted champion after or even, in at least one case, during his own match, of course it makes sense. Would it really devalue the championship to lose it to an opponent who rightfully won that contract and wisely picked the right spot to execute it? I don't think so, but I guess I can see where one might.

As for that Trump analogy, I honestly find that fascinating and am going to take some time to think about it and get back to you. My instinct is you're probably onto something there but I want to think about it and be sure. Does one have to be intelligent to cut a good wrestling promo? Can someone who isn't intelligent cut an effective promo? I'll think on it. Off the top of my head, I believe Brock Lesnar to be both dumb as a brick and horrible at promos, where as CM Punk seems like a smart guy and can cut great promos. But does A cause B?

It's a very interesting question. This might be one for the Pro Wrestling Thread.

[neglet]

Why the fuck is this not in the wrestling thread? Or at least splattered with WARNING: MORE UNINTELLIGIBLE CRAP NON-WRESTLING FANS NEED NOT BOTHER WITH.

[Adam54]

Because it was about all sports! Not just wrestling!

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

It was always about wrestling, Adam54. You just couldn't see the forest for Duggan's 2x4s.

[Adam54]

I'm just mildly insulted that Negs thinks we only talk about unintelligible crap in the wrestling thread. I'm pretty sure at least three of the five deepest conversations you and I have ever had are over there.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

(I made a last-second switch to that last sentence from "You just couldn't see the Trumpest for the DiBs." I made the switch to keep you from having to hit your head. It occurs to me that all the head-hitting you've done may be responsible, in part, for your belief that the Money in the Bank concept could work and/or be embraced in unscripted sports.)

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I'm pretty sure at least three of the five deepest conversations you and I have ever had are over there.

Now I *know* you've been headbutting that wall too much. I'm not sure if that means I should scale back the punning or if that means you should scale back the headbutting. I know what Fake Strider would say, of course.

[Adam54]

Damn it Goiter, why've you always gotta go and break kayfabe like that?

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Did I? Shoot.

[Adam54]

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I was hoping you'd like that one, but I guess I missed the mark.

[Jubbers]

Why the fuck is this not in the wrestling thread? Or at least splattered with WARNING: MORE UNINTELLIGIBLE CRAP NON-WRESTLING FANS NEED NOT BOTHER WITH.

What she said.

[Adam54]

I was hoping you'd like that one, but I guess I missed the mark.

I do occasionally bang my head into the wall while laughing. We just don't have a smilie for that.

[Adam54]

Also: I see what you did there.