WWE Vacating the WWE Title Is Just a PR Move for a New Pay-Per-View

The reasoning behind Daniel Bryan winning the WWE title at Night of Champions and then being stripped of it on Monday was all for the benefit of public relations and marketing.

Very few things in WWE happen on accident. Most decisions have a purpose and explanation behind them.

WWE was hoping to intrigue fans, potentially some new ones who aren't regular buyers of the pay-per-views, into buying Night of Champions to see the redemption for the new top baby face in Bryan.

After weeks of Bryan getting beat up, it was crucial for WWE to send those fans to bed happy for ordering the event. This is why the stripping of the title was held off courtesy of a fast referee count until the next night.

If fans witness Bryan being stripped of the title within the three hours of the show they paid big bucks for, it could make it tough to draw them in again.

By the time Raw rolls around the next day and the title is vacated, fans don't feel wasted for their experience of ordering Sunday's event. They fell happy they ordered because they experienced the win and witness the reasoning behind why Bryan is being stripped. If they disagree, it puts them that much more on the Bryan bandwagon.

The story of cable companies issuing refunds to those who felt ripped off because Bryan got stripped of the title is ridiculous. It's a story. A drama series. Twists and turns. If you set the precedent of issuing refunds because of this, what's next? WWE has a match on a PPV and then it has the same match the next night on Raw—"Give me a refund!" That's where this will go.

The booking decision was smart by WWE. If you're asking for a refund, stop watching.

The stripping of the title also serves as a PR purpose for the new event known as Battleground, a brand new PPV event to be held in early October.

The event now holds the tagline of a vacated title to be decided by either the corporate bully in Randy Orton or the crowd babyface in Bryan.

It's a simple booking decision that benefits the marketing of the event and adds more weeks of booking to the story. It makes this rematch matter. It doesn't seem like you're getting a repeat of the same exact match when the title is listed as vacant and the match potentially has some gimmick or stipulation to it.

There are reports that an Iron Man match is being considered for Battleground with Orton vs. Bryan for the vacated title. A match that must go one hour and the man who gets the most decisions in the time frame wins.

This can be explained for a few reasons. It has a marathon theme to it, which would be fitting of someone capturing a vacated title. Again, it's all about how it sounds for PR and marketing purposes.

This would also be at the second of three pay-per-views in a seven-week span. An hour-long match would take up a third of the event, which would help WWE out booking-wise. Not enough progression is going to happen in enough of the other storylines to fill out a normal pay-per-view card, but an Iron Man match would occupy an unusual amount of time.

Like I said, few things are accidents without some sort reasoning behind them. Except of course Bryan's insane rise to the top with a “Yes” chant. That's as organic as it comes.

 

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