So, after looking at the current roster of active BTB's, it's pretty interesting to see how much the section changes because of one thing or one successful BTB. Here's what I have as some trends.
The Indy BTB - HEW was one of the first of it's kind, without having that many huge WWE superstars. It continued when someone (no clue who) came out with Pro Wrestling PRIDE, and that's probably where the trend in booking began. We had BKB, Gards, Lennie, and a bunch of others try a BTB with ROH/Japanese/Jr. Heavyweight guys in it. We still see this influence, as guys like Bryan Danielson, The Briscoes, and Austin Aries are featured more and more in BTB's.
The Partnered BTB - Hands down, the most successful partner BTB was SWA. There have been tons of other bookers that tried to emulate their success, but I can't even remember one that lasted that long, except for WWE vs ECW. I never really was a fan of this, because things can get so messed up if someone is late just once.
The BTB with Ric Flair as GM - yeah.
The 2009 BTB - I'm pretty sure that Michael1 was the first to have a BTB like this. It seemed like the BTB was pretty good, and it caught the eye of the section's top guys. So as always, people started doing the same. There are still a couple of those BTB's around, and I think they've done pretty OK.
WWE/TNA BTB - There was/is The Commencement and XBA's Raw. Those were the two most successful. Most of the bookers have already tried one, and they've had decent success. It's the simplest idea, but it could work the best.
Future Trends - What to watch for
Past BTB's - Any BTB that falls before the present is in this category. I'm surprised that not many people have done what XBA has done with Raw, setting it in the past, and making what you want happen.
Story BTB - Something that features the growth of a promotion. I've tried to do this with my BTB, but I forget it most of the time.
Extreme BTB - Anything that's like hardcore and is controversial should start something.
The Indy BTB - HEW was one of the first of it's kind, without having that many huge WWE superstars. It continued when someone (no clue who) came out with Pro Wrestling PRIDE, and that's probably where the trend in booking began. We had BKB, Gards, Lennie, and a bunch of others try a BTB with ROH/Japanese/Jr. Heavyweight guys in it. We still see this influence, as guys like Bryan Danielson, The Briscoes, and Austin Aries are featured more and more in BTB's.
The Partnered BTB - Hands down, the most successful partner BTB was SWA. There have been tons of other bookers that tried to emulate their success, but I can't even remember one that lasted that long, except for WWE vs ECW. I never really was a fan of this, because things can get so messed up if someone is late just once.
The BTB with Ric Flair as GM - yeah.
The 2009 BTB - I'm pretty sure that Michael1 was the first to have a BTB like this. It seemed like the BTB was pretty good, and it caught the eye of the section's top guys. So as always, people started doing the same. There are still a couple of those BTB's around, and I think they've done pretty OK.
WWE/TNA BTB - There was/is The Commencement and XBA's Raw. Those were the two most successful. Most of the bookers have already tried one, and they've had decent success. It's the simplest idea, but it could work the best.
Future Trends - What to watch for
Past BTB's - Any BTB that falls before the present is in this category. I'm surprised that not many people have done what XBA has done with Raw, setting it in the past, and making what you want happen.
Story BTB - Something that features the growth of a promotion. I've tried to do this with my BTB, but I forget it most of the time.
Extreme BTB - Anything that's like hardcore and is controversial should start something.
and then next is the Trios Tournament.