The DQ finish: What role should it play? (2024)

Last three live events I went to were in 2009 (Undertaker beat Punk via DQ), 2010 (Orton beat Sheamus via DQ) and 2011 (Cena beat Del Rio via DQ). I don't regret having gone to another show just to see Cena beat Orton via DQ. The last live broadcast I went to was SNME '06 when Cena beat Edge via DQ.

I left all those events with a really sour taste in my mouth. I really hated it. Seeing the main event randomly end after a low blow is such an anticlimactic way to end the show. And then I see the good guy not give a sh*t he just lost the title match, he then hits his finisher and goes around the ring clapping hands.

Now, is this really a good use for the DQ ending? A DQ in the middle of the card is fine if it advances a story, but main eventing every house show with a DQ ending is absurd, and I don't understand how WWE hasn't suffered backlash for it yet.

It also irked me when RVD beat Dean via DQ at the Kick-Off show in August. It's literally a one-match show and they decide to end it in a DQ. Not cool. They followed it up by giving RVD a shot against Del Rio at NoC, but then that ALSO ended in a DQ.

Does anyone else get as pissed off as I have by a DQ finish? I think it devalues the main event and it eventually gets to the point that you *KNOW* the DQ is coming so why bother caring for pin attempts and submissions? Who cares that Cena has Del Rio in the STF, it's not like it means anything? These DQ endings completely disrupt the wrestling psychology.

Do you think WWE should keep using them? WWE has a house show coming soon. It's main evented by John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title. I'll let you guess how it's going to end.

DQ finishes get on my nerves in PPV main events. I mean, it's the main event - the show stopper - the big finale. Give the fans a match! However good a match is, it will always be overshadowed by a DQ finish.

Cena vs Bryan at Summerslam was one of the matches of the year - it ended clean.
Undertaker vs Punk was one of the other matches of the year - it ended clean.

The whole Bryan vs Orton feud was completely spoilt by the shoddy finishes at these Z rate PPVs like Battleground. Battleground was basically the same as a house show, it meant absolutely nothing.

Looking at the match on Smackdown this week, Orton vs Big E. It was a good match and Orton used the thumb in the eye to hit the RKO for a 1-2-3. This is a very heel move, it gets Orton more heat and improves his standing as a heel. I'd rather the heel use some kind of dirty tactic and get a win than think "oh crap I'm going to get beat, best hit him with a chair and take the loss and retain".

DQ endings do frustrate me, but I guess there is a time and place for them. But not ALL the time, in a number of different matches ON THE SAME CARD?! Midcard titles get devalued by these type of finishes. At least now Big E is a fighting champion and he's putting his guys to bed to get a win. Does anybody care about the US at the moment because whenever Ambrose defends, we know that Rollins and Reigns will get involved for a DQ win? It's predictable an it's annoying.

CultOfPersonality said:

Cena vs Bryan at Summerslam was one of the matches of the year - it ended clean.

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This sort of relates to a thought I've been kicking around in my head. Bryan and Cena put on one helluva a performance and within moments Money in the Bank ruins an amazing match. I know audiences get giddy over the thought of cashing in and spot monkey fans love the multi man match but it is such a pathetic and non-creative way to crown a champion. In a number of cases the brief case has been a curse. Guys like Swagger, Ziggler and Sandow were not ready. I am not a fan of MitB in the least.

rbv13 said:

I’ve always been one not to care about outcomes of matches. I am more about the journey than the destination.

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I wholeheartedly agree that the journey is more important than the destination, but when you 100% know the destination is bullsh*t, the journey is ruined.

If I go to see Cena/Orton in a month, I'm not upset the match is going to end in a DQ. I'm upset because while I'm watching the match, each hold and pin attempt has been ruined for me. I know what's happening. Orton is low blowing him or hitting the ref at some point. I don't care that Orton just hit Cena with an RKO and went for the pin. I know Cena is kicking out. It ruins the ring psychology to know the house shows are all ending in DQs.

rbv13 said:

This sort of relates to a thought I've been kicking around in my head. Bryan and Cena put on one helluva a performance and within moments Money in the Bank ruins an amazing match. I know audiences get giddy over the thought of cashing in and spot monkey fans love the multi man match but it is such a pathetic and non-creative way to crown a champion. In a number of cases the brief case has been a curse. Guys like Swagger, Ziggler and Sandow were not ready. I am not a fan of MitB in the least.

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Another issue of WWE Creative not living up to its name. The Money in the Bank could potentially be cashed in hundreds of ways.
• Cash in right before a scheduled match instead of afterwards.
• Cash in right before a scheduled match and make it a triple threat.
• Cash in DURING a match and make it a triple threat.
• Cash in during a ladder match and climb the ladder to get it.
• Cash in on a vacant title and be crowned champion by default.
• Cash in backstage and make it a brawl that goes into the ring.
• Cash in at a house show.
• Keep the briefcase as insurance while you hold the World title.

The only ones we've seen right now are
#1 Cash in at a later date (RVD, Cena)
#2 Cash in after a match (Edge, Punk, Ziggler)
#3 Cash in after a beatdown (Punk, Swagger, Sandow)
#4 Cash in after a match AND a beatdown! (Edge, Kane, Miz, Swagger, Orton, Del Rio)

In fact, the most creative one was probably Damien Sandow, because he's the only one who actually perpetrated the beatdown himself before cashing in. Kane technically did it too, but it was after Swagger had beaten Rey down.

The main thing that will irk about this dq finish is the fact that most likely, neither Heyman nor Brock will villify Seth's attempted cash-in And him curb stomping Brock in his attempt to do so.

Instead we'll probably only get Cena's frustration at the situation.

As for the actual finish. It sucked, and was only done to 'protect' both guys. Given that Brock was the one being manhandled, it was done in a way that made it seem he was saved by Seth's interference. Doesn't that make him look somewhat vulnerable now?

Posts like these are why you're 700 posts in and still have sh*tty rep.

laodaron said:

Ugh, start a new thread.

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1) Why are you annoyed I'm posting in an old thread? There's zero benefit in starting a new one for the same discussion.

laodaron said:

Also, it isn't protecting cena and lesnar.

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2) Yeah it f*cking protects Cena. He didn't take a loss, was actually booked like a winner but didn't get to leave with the title. That's as protected as you can get without actually winning the title outright.

laodaron said:

Its setting up a longer feud.

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3) It does set up a future match, but that's NOT what a PPV main event should be about. This should be the culmination of a story, not the f*cking mid-point. There are plenty of ways of setting up a match without ruining the significance of this match. If Cena had won, Brock gets a rematch. If Brock wins, Cena gets a rematch. Plain and simple. The DQ was completely unnecessary, except, I repeat, to protect Cena.

laodaron said:

You kids don't understand a thing about pro wrestling.

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4) Yeah, because we all know the mature adults are the ones who go on internet forums and start calling people they disagree with "kids".

I don't think this is a problem and if it is, the only solution would be to move Hell In A Cell. You need to have a huge feud going in, and let's be real Cena v Lesnar is going to be huge in a cell. Maybe they'll throw Ambrose/Rollins in it too. But you never know with the WWE. Either way I think it was the right choice.

HiaC: Lesnar v Cena
SS: Traditional tag match
TLC: Rollins v Ambrose and Lesnar v Big Show
RR: Royal Rumble Headlines
WM: Lesnar v Bryan/Reigns/Ambrose