Bragging Rights is a professional wrestling event produced annually by WWE, a Connecticut–based promotion, and broadcast live and available through pay-per-view (PPV). The event was established in 2009, replacing Cyber Sunday in the late October slot of WWE's pay-per-view calendar.
The concept of the show was based around a series of interpromotional matches for "bragging rights" between wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands with a Bragging Rights trophy awarded as a prize. Among the matches, a 14-man tag team match is held between the two brands.[1] In 2009, the show that won the most matches out of the series won the trophy.[1] However in 2010, the winning brand was simply determined by the 14-man tag team match. The Smackdown brand won the trophy both times the event was held.[2]
Since its origin, the event has been held only in indoor arenas in the United States. Championship bouts are scheduled on every card, with the lower-tier titles featured on the undercard and the top-tier featured on the main card. Non-interpromotional matches for the card are restricted by the Brand Extension, where WWE assigns its performers to either the Raw or SmackDown, causing these matches to only be set up between wrestlers on the same show.[3]
In 2011, Bragging Rights was replaced by a returning WWE Vengeance as the October scheduled event.[4][5].
It is however set to return in 2012 replacing Capitol Punishment in the June slot.[6]
Contents |
| Event | Date | City | Venue | Winning brand | Main event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bragging Rights (2009) | October 25, 2009 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Mellon Arena | SmackDown[1] | Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena in a 60 minute anything goes Iron Man match for the WWE Championship[7] |
| Bragging Rights (2010) | October 24, 2010 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Target Center | SmackDown[2] | Randy Orton (c) vs. Wade Barrett for the WWE Championship[8] |
| Bragging Rights (2012) | June 17, 2012 [9] | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
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