By Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist

One complaint that many wrestling fans have this time of year is the lack of focus given to what was formerly one of the big four pay per-views, the Survivor Series. Ironically, fans want it to be as much a gimmick PPV as most of the others currently airing each month on the WWE Network (all tag-team elimination format!). Then again, it is easier to shoe-horn feuding wrestlers into a multi-person tag match than it is to put them in Hell in a Cell or a TLC match.

Depending on the year, Survivor Series has sometimes featured entire cards of tag team elimination matches, and has sometimes forgone them altogether. Of the eight matches last year, only two were of the elimination tag variety. The same went for the 2012 version.

With the WWE Network era of PPVs upon us, perhaps a return to the glory days of the Survivor Series is coming. Set at a time of year when it seems WWE’s creative efforts are in the midst of a fall break, the Survivor Series hasn’t been much of a marquee show in a while, at least since The Rock made his return to team with John Cena in 2011.

We’ve already seen the value of PPVs decrease since the launch of the Network. It has become such that the WWE World Title was placed around the waist of Brock Lesnar, who may go three months and three PPVs without defending it. That would’ve been unheard of when so much of WWE’s revenue came from PPV.

WWE may find it easier to prolong feuds by utilizing the traditional Survivor Series tag match format. It prevents them from having to give away one-on-one matches between big stars, possibly being able to save them for a future PPV (or even an episode of Raw). There could be concern from WWE of having all the matches feel the same and would want to break up the card with singles matches or secondary title matches.

I’m okay with that, but these kinds of elimination tag matches can really help the undercard and mid-card by providing an avenue for more than one wrestler to shine. For a company lacking in that undercard foundation, the elimination tag format could be a boon for WWE if used correctly, giving some wrestlers a launching pad into the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania season, and beyond.

Other Thoughts: Last week’s premiere of Lucha Underground was a nice contrast to what is currently being offered by WWE and TNA. I look forward to how the promotion progresses, both as a television property and as a wrestling company. I dedicated my full-page column in this week’s Torch newsletter to recapping the debut episode... Unfortunately, I don’t think the lawsuit brought forth by former WWE wrestler Billy Jack Haynes will amount to much. I think there are some valid points made in the lawsuit, but I don’t know how they can prove WWE was knowingly covering up research and facts about head trauma and other injuries. It will be interesting to see what other names, if any, are added as plaintiffs... Bobby Roode won the TNA Heavyweight Title last Wednesday on Impact, defeating Bobby Lashley. I’m guessing that’s news to most who are reading this. TNA hasn’t been relevant for so long, you have to wonder, even if they get a TV deal for 2015, what kind of damage being out of the wrestling news cycle for so long will do to a re-launch... Monday’s Raw was a mixed bag for me, with most of the in-ring action propping up the show (except for some of the finishes), as well as the main event angle. My main complaint was Vince McMahon randomly putting The Authority’s job at risk at Survivor Series. It reeked of a last-minute, desperation move at a time when the WWE Network is being offered for free in November. There was no build-up behind the announcement and no one bothered to even give a cogent reason as to why Vince would make this decision, much less appear on the show... Speaking of the Network, subscriber numbers released last Thursday were again disappointing. WWE has tried giving away free weeks, and are now giving away an entire month. After this, there are few bullets left in the chamber that WWE can use to get people to buy in to the Network.

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