WNS Wednesday Column: Jeff Crosby's Top 5 Gimmick Matches That Need to Return!

WNS Wednesday Column

By Jeff Crosby

TOP 5 Gimmick Matches That Need to Return!

I have received literally DOZENS (okay like 4) messages of people asking me where is my WNS Wednesday Column at! Well, I was very sick. I have been in and out of the hospital, but do not fret. I am back and so is the yet-to-be-award-winning WNS Wednesday Column.

Speaking of returns that will (obviously) be the theme of this week’s Column. Now I could easily do Pro Wrestling’s greatest comebacks of all time. Spoiler Alert: It would be John Cena – Royal Rumble 2008.

I decided to focus on comebacks that haven’t happened yet. I could do superstars that need to come back to the WWE (Hardyz), but instead I decided to think outside the box and do MATCHES that need to come back to WWE. Honestly, some of these matches have never even been in the WWE, so the chances of them returning are slim to none…. But Nonetheless, let’s get this list started!

5. Casket Match

Honestly, this match was dangerously close to being an honorable mention. Luckily, I love this match. Great gimmick matches are more than often associated with a great superstar. This one is associated with the Undertaker. The double edge sword is that this match probably will not return because the Undertaker is almost out the door. He works a few times a year, and I couldn’t see WWE making a casket match one of the few matches that the Undertaker takes part in. Our hope lies pretty much solely in the Wyatt’s. Yeah; they really don’t bury people. (Insert Triple H joke here) I am sure that they could find some variation to the match or the characters to make this match make sense. Also, this is one of the few gimmick matches that can be great in a PG Era. Here’s to hoping that we see another Casket Match in our lifetimes!

4. Punjabi Prison Match

The downfall of this match was that they built the match around the Great Khali. The funny part is that the Great Khali couldn’t even be in the first Punjabi Prison match due to a wellness policy violation. I think that the concept was pretty cool. Thy could change out the bamboo with something else (chain maybe?)  and give the match to someone with a bright future in the WWE, like Rusev. This match never really got a fair chance. Also, I am sure that the majority of WWE fans do not remember this match. This gives the WWE a unique opportunity to give us something new. Even if we do remember the match it did only happen twice.

3. Championship Scramble Match

Speaking of happening twice… This match is confusing to say the least, but it proved to be entertaining regardless. Also, the drama this match provides has the potential to tell a story in itself. The Interim champion rule lets us think that people who we never thought could hold the WWE (or Universal) Title may actually win it. I am sure that we all remember when The Brian Kendrick pinned Jeff Hardy to become the interim champion. This is also a gimmick match that gives us the chance to see wrestlers actually wrestle! Out of any match on this list I would say that this match has the most potential to return.

2. WarGames

Surprise! This is not number one on my list. The only reasons that this is not number one is because we do have a somewhat evolved form of this match in the elimination chamber. WWE has had the opportunities to be creative in this match and add more of a WarGames feel, but they haven’t yet taken advantage of these opportunities.  I remember one PPV that the Shield faced off against the Wyatt family. It just so happened to be at the ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2014! This would have been the perfect time to do a three on three Elimination Chamber match, but for some reason they just didn’t do it. This has been done in the WWE video games for years! I doubt we will ever see an actual War Games match in the WWE. For one, it is a WCW creation. Secondly, it takes a lot of space (2 rings plus a cage.) WWE is aware that fans are crying out for it. They know we would love it, but it just doesn’t seem in the cards.

Honorable Mention Time:

First Blood, Battle Bowl, Empty Arena Match, Parking Lot Brawl, Buried Alive, World War 3

NUMBER 1: IRON MAN MATCH

I believe that this era of the WWE has the most potential for great iron man matches. I believe that WWE could also spice it up. We could see variations of the match such as tag team or even triple threat. Dolph Ziggler practically begged for an Iron Match against Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania, but instead they threw the recently-recovered-from-neck-surgery Daniel Bryan in a ladder match(?). Yeah it was a good match, but Ziggler and Bryan could have stolen the show. I do realize that not a lot of casual fans today would have the patience for an iron man match, but it could still be done. One idea is that the WWE could start the iron man match on a pre-show and have the second half start off the actualy PPV. Could you imagine AJ Styles, Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, or Ziggler in these matches. I also think that Kevin Owens could blow some minds with an iron man match. Another great platform to reintroduce this match would be NXT. I know that Sasha Banks and Bayley had a 30 min iron man match, but I am talking about the hour iron man match. I know that Zayn and Samoa Joe went 45 minutes on night. The hardcore fans are begging for wrestling, and the WWE is doing a lot to let us have it. I believe it should all be cultivated into an iron man match. This would give us moments that we would remember forever. I still remember watching Michales and Bret Hart. I remember watching Angle and Lesnar on Smackdown!

Well, what matches do you wish the WWE would bring back?