So, the unification match...

[Theo Dious]

...was announced in a time period when either TPWW was down or my home internet was down or possibly both, as there was some overlap... as I am very much on record as having opposed first the end of the brand split and then the unification of the titles, I didn't have a chance to vent about it here, though I'm sure many of you felt the disturbance in the Force that ensued when my rage exploded upon hearing the news.

That being said, I'm not going to bitch about it; it is a thing that is happening and even though I disagree with the idea, I'm not wasting my time complaining about the fact of it. I do however have some things to say on it.

1. They had DAMN WELL better be planning to elevate the fuck out of the IC title in the wake of this. There seems hope for this as Big E was apparently the guy they wanted to push as a highly visible black man, and he has been putting the belt over hardcore during his commentary stints. BTW, I had heard that he had insane mic skills in NXT but never got to experience them until he sat down on Raw a few weeks ago... GOD DAMN, NIGGA IS GOLDEN. But yeah, they had better be ready to fill the void with that belt.

2. Now that it will be clear who the Royal Rumble winner is going to be challenging, this year's Rumble had better be seriously fucking badass, and Daniel Bryan had better be winning it to face an Authority-backed heel.

3. Second unification match for these titles, and second time it happens at the December PPV. I wonder what that's about.

4. I'm so glad Jim Ross isn't doing commentary this time around; I really don't wanna spend the match listening to a litany of great former champions. I know we'll get some of that anyway, but at least it won't be in Ross's "I know something you don't know" smug-ass wrestling historian voice.

5. With only one top champion, I hope that they'll refrain from having top title matches on some of the lesser PPVs. Replacing the WHC match with Del Rio vs Swagger due to Ziggler's concussion was interesting to watch even if it was only done due to necessity. Have the champion compete in a tag match at Extreme Rules or something next year.

6. In keeping with this, I hope they'll find something to do with the Elimination Chamber match instead of just putting the champion in the match. In the absence of some spectacular booking, the winner would be too predictable.

7. In keeping with THAT, this would be a great year to have Cena challenge the Streak, if the Undertaker is going to appear at XXX. After the past 3 years, shuffling Cena out of the main event picture would be a good thing.

8. Since they are doing the unification match whether I like it or not.I just hope the titles don't end up split apart again 12 months from now. Do it or don't. Dickwads.

9. I still think this is a bad idea by the way. They just closed a huge door to elevating guys on the cusp of the main event. I still insist that without a secondary world title, Punk and Bryan would be back in ROH today.

[Cool King]

1. They had DAMN WELL better be planning to elevate the fuck out of the IC title in the wake of this. There seems hope for this as Big E was apparently the guy they wanted to push as a highly visible black man, and he has been putting the belt over hardcore during his commentary stints. BTW, I had heard that he had insane mic skills in NXT but never got to experience them until he sat down on Raw a few weeks ago... GOD DAMN, NIGGA IS GOLDEN. But yeah, they had better be ready to fill the void with that belt.

I'm still "meh" on Big E. I said this in another thread, but I'm finding him to be quite boring. The two times he's been at the announce table on Raw these past two weeks, he's just been really boring to me. I also found his skills to be "meh" when he was part of the Hell in a Cell kickoff panel and he was talking to Dean Ambrose.

As for him putting the belt over, pretty much every face does that with the title they're holding. They just throw out a bunch of names that have held the belt and say how much they respect them. If a heel does it, he just says how much better a champion he is than them.

I do agree however on elevating the Intercontinental Championship. It's very much needed.

2. Now that it will be clear who the Royal Rumble winner is going to be challenging, this year's Rumble had better be seriously fucking badass, and Daniel Bryan had better be winning it to face an Authority-backed heel.

I agree on the Royal Rumble needing to be absolutely fantastic next year. Again, I said this in a previous thread but I really hope the winner isn't predictable. To me, the last unpredictable winner was Undertaker back in 2007. Back then, it could have been either him of Michaels that won, it was pretty tight.

3. Second unification match for these titles, and second time it happens at the December PPV. I wonder what that's about.

I think maybe it's due to it being at the end of the year. Maybe the writers want a new title for a new year? I dunno.

4. I'm so glad Jim Ross isn't doing commentary this time around; I really don't wanna spend the match listening to a litany of great former champions. I know we'll get some of that anyway, but at least it won't be in Ross's "I know something you don't know" smug-ass wrestling historian voice.

To be honest with you, I'd rather hear JR's "wrestling historian voice" than Michael Cole's "WWE App! WWE App! TwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitter!", along with his complaining to JBL that his references aren't "current". But I will say that he has calmed down with that recently, but still, it happens, just not as much.

7. In keeping with THAT, this would be a great year to have Cena challenge the Streak, if the Undertaker is going to appear at XXX. After the past 3 years, shuffling Cena out of the main event picture would be a good thing.

I get the feeling that Cena will be Undertaker's last WrestleMania opponent and maybe last opponent ever, if it's not Kane. I read some rumours recently saying that Undertaker might not retire until WrestleMania 32, as it'll be in his home state of Texas, so maybe we'll have to wait until then for Cena/Taker at WrestleMania.

But if Kane is Undertaker's last opponent, then maybe we'll see Cena/Taker at WrestleMania 31 instead.

[Theo Dious]

I'm still "meh" on Big E. I said this in another thread, but I'm finding him to be quite boring. The two times he's been at the announce table on Raw these past two weeks, he's just been really boring to me. I also found his skills to be "meh" when he was part of the Hell in a Cell kickoff panel and he was talking to Dean Ambrose.

Just something about listening to him really appeals to me. Maybe I'm stikk in shock that the enormous muscled-up guy can actually string sentences together. He's not that impressive in the ring though after the "wow look at him throw someone around" vibe wears off. Yeah he's big and strong and he jumps around like a madman, but it gets old after a while, especially once the predictable Ryback, Mark Henry and Big Show, and 1 vs 3 matches against the Shield and Wyatts are over.

Also he sounds exactly like this one guy I work with.

To be honest with you, I'd rather hear JR's "wrestling historian voice" than Michael Cole's "WWE App! WWE App! TwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitter!", along with his complaining to JBL that his references aren't "current". But I will say that he has calmed down with that recently, but still, it happens, just not as much.

Meh, they'd have JR pimping the apps and everything too, at least Cole has some notion of what he's talking about. And honestly I've been sick of JR since about Wrestlemania 20.

[#1-norm-fan]

Having one champion to rule them all is best for business and such. Two main event champions was unnecessary during the roster split. Now with no roster split, it was just retarded. Hopefully the IC Title does become the "brink of the main event" belt that the WHC was used as and the US Title actually gets SOME use. The roster is big enough to warrant a main event title, an upper-midcard title and a lower-midcard title.

[#1-norm-fan]

Also, if Cena challenges the streak, it's gonna be the main event. No way Cena gets shuffled out of the main event picture.

[Theo Dious]

Two main event champions was unnecessary during the roster split.

Right because being locked onto one show with no top title to go after would have been fan-damn-tastic TV. :roll:

[#1-norm-fan]

You mean locked onto one show like the entire roster was before the split? It's almost as if there's a flying contraption of some sort that allows a person to be at Raw on Monday and Smackdown on Tuesday.

[Theo Dious]

You mean locked onto one show like the entire roster was before the split? It's almost as if there's a flying contraption of some sort that allows a person to be at Raw on Monday and Smackdown on Tuesday.

At the time the WHC was re-introduced, there was no brand-jumping. It was actually like that for a few years. They had brand-specific PPVs if you recall. Not having a recognized world title for each show would have been a huge mistake. They tried it for a while with the "Undisputed champion appears on both shows" concept and it didn't work. You can argue the ins and outs of the split all you like, but once Raw and Smackdown had exclusive rosters, they needed seperate World titles that they could at least present as equal.

[#1-norm-fan]

Of course there wasn't brand-jumping once the WHC was introduced. There was no need for it. Before that, the one champion could switch between Raw and Smackdown and everyone in the company was gunning for one title. The way it should have been all along. Whether there's a split roster or not, having two main championships instantly waters down the act of being either one. Just like having two champions in any sport, scripted or not. Especially when guys are losing the title and then just switching brands and winning the other one. It's retarded. Even more so without separate brands.

You want brand exclusive titles, make the US and IC Titles brand specific to signify being at the top of your brand while the one main title represents being at the top of the company. There you go.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I liked the idea of two World Champions during the brand split, but without it two champions is unnecessary. Personally, I'm for the brand split, and I would actually be for it returning stronger than ever. The WWE actually has a very good roster and some great up-and-comers in NXT. I think there could even be a bit of nostalgia to the brand split, which admittedly wasn't that long ago, but was enforced less and less as the years went on. I mean, remember John Cena vs. Edge vs. Big Show? What was that all about? Perhaps disagreement over who the face of the WWE is leads to The Authority taking over one show and exiled and upset Superstars siding with some other authority figure on the blue brand? You can have The Shield tearing it up on one show and The Wyatt Family on another. John Cena and Randy Orton can be on opposite shows while CM Punk and Daniel Bryan can be as well. If Sting, Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles do indeed sign with the WWE, then that adds even more potential star power to things. There are also plenty of women coming through NXT that can pad out female divisions on both brands. Superstars can become another RAW show while Main Event can feature SmackDown talent.

I agree that Daniel Bryan is the best pick to win the Royal Rumble and challenge The Face of WWE. And I think John Cena being backed in that is a fairly safe bet, since he should be in the main event of WrestleMania XXX. Fuck, they might even allow Daniel Bryan to force John Cena to tap-out, which would be a tremendous moment. The Authority can take their rage out on both Bryan and Cena, forcing Cena into "punishment situations" where he has to face the music for dropping the WWE World Title off to Bryan. Might garner him some sympathy if he stands behind Bryan. The only way Cena should retain is if he turns heel, which would be absolutely epic (but would signify an entire change of direction for the company).

I agree with the IC Title and US Title needing to be more prominently featured, and I can feel the WWE understands that too. I'm not for The Shield split just yet, but I have a feeling we'll see Dean Ambrose defend the US Title against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XXX, and that does feel like a pretty special match. They can probably switch that title between those guys for a few months at the following PPVs and keep people interested. If it's an elimination match (I don't know why it would be since the WWE rarely does Triple Threats like that), I'd like to see Ambrose cheat Reigns out and then Reigns cost Ambrose the title to Rollins. Then they can do a crazy Ladder Match at Extreme Rules. If it's one fall to the finish, then I'd have Ambrose retain after a belt shot on Rollins or something. Seth would be pissed off at Dean, Reigns wouldn't have been pinned -- both guys chase Ambrose even more doggedly.

Big E. Langston is still winning me over. I'm with Cool King on this one. I wish the guy well and all that (I prefer him over Ryback), but I'm just not sold on him being "the guy" yet. I guess that's why he's only IC Champion. In the brand split era, he'd probably be ECW Champion right now. There are a few interesting routes they can go with him. I'd like for him to continue his program with Sandow after defeating him, with Sandow promising to outsmart and defeat Langston, in a sort of Wile E. Coyote/Unbreakable Samuel L. Jackson thing. Sandow actually seems a better fit for the title, and I'd rather see him defending it at WrestleMania against someone like Chris Jericho or Rob Van Dam (who is undefeated at WrestleMania). It'd be a place for Sandow to lose, and it might not seem like it's putting anyone over, but the guy who beats Jericho or RVD is going to look good. Or Sandow could win it back in some sort of Hardcore Match at Extreme Rules and look like a killer.

I said in another thread I'd like for Curtis Axel to join The Real Americans and help them to the Tag Team Titles and then Zeb Colter and crew to help Axel win the IC Title again leading to a six-man at WrestleMania. That seems really unlikely, but I could get on board with that. Big E. Langston has his partnership with Mark Henry, and they could join forces with a scorned babyface Ryback. Hulk Hogan could appear in their corner to counteract Zeb's actions and lay him out with a right, and then the faces can win and they can all pose as Real American plays. That would be a fun way to kick off Mania to say the least.

[Theo Dious]

With regards to bringing the Intercontinental title into greater prominence, I demand that there be an IC Money In The Bank match next time. That would give the title a prestige booster since it would be filling a place formerly occupied by a world title, and would make a good storyline to keep it in the spotlight.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That would not suck. To be honest, I could see them keeping the two Money in the Bank Ladder Matches at the July PPV concept and having one be for the WWE World Title and another for the IC or US Championship.

I was thinking earlier about who could possibly win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match next year, since it's really become their "King of the Ring" thing to make a rising star now. With there only being one World Title there is no longer that need for balance between old and new as well as face and heel dynamics.

My heart went to Antonio Cesaro, but I did some thinking and realized that each member of The Shield is probably closer to pulling down the briefcase than him. Depending on how the first half of their 2014 goes, Wade Barrett and Damien Sandow will probably enter into the discussion, as well as Cody Rhodes, Big E. Langston and even Kofi Kingston as potential babyface winners to launch them to that next level.

[mike adamle]

I think at WrestleMania there should be one big MITB ladder match for the Undisputed title briefcase. and at Money In The Bank there should be two smaller ladder matches for the IC and US Title briefcases.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That would be quite awesome. Would it be overkill to consider doing one for the Tag Team Titles and one for the Divas Title as well? Maybe you do one for the IC/US Title (winner's choice), one for the Tag Team Titles and another for the Divas Title?