The Best Champions of 2004

[Mr. Nerfect]

2004 is long gone, so I decided to make this thread where we show our appreciation for the WWE's championships, because God knows they don't.

I'll list the champions/nominees this year, and you simply post who you think was the best for each "division". Hear we go:

World Heavyweight Championship
Triple H
Chris Benoit
Randy Orton
Vacant (I'm counting this as a nominee, because this spawned main event storylines, and was a strong finish to the year for the WWE)

WWE Championship
Brock Lesnar
Eddie Guerrero
John Bradshaw Layfield

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton
Edge
Chris Jericho
Shelton Benjamin

WWE United States Championship
The Big Show
John Cena
Booker T
Carlito Caribbean Cool

World Tag Team Championship
Evolution (Batista & Ric Flair)
Rob Van Dam & Booker T
Chris Benoit & Edge
La Resistance (Rob Conway & Sylvain Grenier)
Eugene & William Regal

WWE Tag Team Championship
The Basham Brothers (Doug Basham and Danny Basham)
Scotty 2 Hotty & Rikishi
Charlie Haas & Rico
The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley)
Paul London & Billy Kidman
Rene Dupree & Kenzo Suzuki
Rob Van Dam & Rey Mysterio

WWE Women's Championship
Molly Holly
Victoria
Trish Stratus
Lita

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Rey Mysterio
Chavo Guerrero
Jacqueline
Chavo Classic
Spike Dudley
Funaki

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit
Eddie Guerrero (I'm counting the "Sub-Royal Rumble" on SD! the night after the RR)

More Prestigious Championship
World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship or WWE United States Championship
World Tag Team Championship or WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Women's Championship or WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Royal Rumble or World Championship

Least Prestigious Championship
World Heavyweight Championship
WWE Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE United States Championship
World Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Women's Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Royal Rumble

[Gouda]

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Benoit (It was something different and I was just marking out through his whole reign. Shame it was playing second fiddle to HHH)

WWE Championship
Eddie Guerrero (Same as Bentoit. I absolutley loved Eddie as champ and what they were doing to him..... until.... JBL)

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton (No contest here)

WWE United States Championship
John Cena (I really hate face Cena but he's been better than the other guys)

World Tag Team Championship
Eugene & William Regal (A team who just wasn't thrown together and isn't La Resistance)

WWE Tag Team Championship
Paul London & Billy Kidman (I loved them as champs. It was new. I thought it opened up possibilities for the cruisers....... then they broke them up and pushed them back down the card)

WWE Women's Championship
Trish Stratus (Heel Trish = :y: )

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero (When he had Chavo Classic it was great. He was getting some of the most heat on the card)

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit (I don't even remember the other one)

More Prestigious Championship
World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship: World Championship (No Contest)
WWE Intercontinental Championship or WWE United States Championship: Intercontinental (Randy Orton's reign did a lot to help restore this belt)
World Tag Team Championship or WWE Tag Team Championship: WWE Tag (Yeah... I guess...)
WWE Women's Championship or WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Women's (Earlier in the year I would have said Cruiser but ever since Chavo Classic and Jaqueline.... yeah...)
Royal Rumble or World Championship: World Champion (Uhhhh... considering the people in the Rumble are fighting for a shot at a World Championship... :wtf: )

Least Prestigious Championship
World Tag Team Championship (Yup. Basically... "Let's put 'em on La Res until we throw together another team who'll take it for about a week!")

[Savio]

World Heavyweight Championship
Vacant (I'm counting this as a nominee, because this spawned main event storylines, and was a strong finish to the year for the WWE)

WWE Championship
Brock Lesnar


WWE Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho


WWE United States Championship
Booker T


World Tag Team Championship
Eugene & William Regal

WWE Tag Team Championship
The Basham Brothers (Doug Basham and Danny Basham)

WWE Women's Championship
Molly Holly

Cruiserweight Championship
Spike Dudley

[Dorkchop]

RAW HEAVYWEIGHT:
Chris benoit

SMACKDOWN HEAVYWIGHT:
Eddie Guerrero

INTERCONTINENTAL:
Shelton Benjamin
Randy Orton

US:
John Cena

WOMEN:
Molly Holly

CRUSERWEIGHT:
Ooooooooh Chavo

TAG:
Who cares? WWE has pretty much burried both sets for too long.

[GODSON]

Let me be an odd ball and nominee Petey Williams as the strongest champ this year. The guy beat everybody including AJ Styles.

[SuperSlim]

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Benoit- man there was just somethin about that moment that made time freeze and that title realyl mean something.


WWE Championship
Eddie Guerrero- check Benoit

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton - Orton wore that belt like it was sewn on to him. He and that title was one. Orton made that title awesome until Edge took it. SHelton is doin good, cept for that HHH loss but Orton did it best.


WWE United States Championship
John Cena- CCC couldn't really defend it and Cena was the only real defender of the belt cept for Show.


World Tag Team Championship
Evolution (Batista & Ric Flair) - they were just that good

WWE Tag Team Championship
Charlie Haas & Rico - that was the oddest team but they were the best tag team in SD!


WWE Women's Championship
Victoria - have to give it to my girl here. she is the best diva on Raw


WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero - who could defend it like Chavo. man Chavo as champ was awesome.



Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit - that was like a dream come true

More Prestigious Championship
World Heavyweight Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Women's Championship or WWE Cruiserweight Championship - toss up
Royal Rumble

Least Prestigious Championship
WWE Championship
WWE United States Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
[/QUOTE]

[Loose Cannon]

How

[Mr. Nerfect]

When I compare the Royal Rumble and the World Championship (WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship), and I mean in you were given a shot in the WWE, and they said you con only win one in your career, which one would you choose?

[Loose Cannon]

How

LOL, When did I type this?

anyway, Orton and Benoit were the best champs for the IC and World Titles respectively

[MVP]

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Benoit


WWE Championship
Eddie Guerrero


WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton

WWE United States Championship
John Cena


World Tag Team Championship
La Resistance (Rob Conway & Sylvain Grenier)


WWE Tag Team Championship
Paul London & Billy Kidman


WWE Women's Championship
Trish Stratus


WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit

More Prestigious Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship

Least Prestigious Championship
World Tag Team titles

[McLegend]

World Heavyweight Championship
Benoit


WWE Championship
JBL


WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton


WWE United States Championship
John Cena


World Tag Team Championship
La Resistance (Rob Conway & Sylvain Grenier)


WWE Tag Team Championship
Paul London & Billy Kidman


WWE Women's Championship
Trish Stratus


WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit

More Prestigious Championship
World HeavyWeight( only because Raw is looked at has the more important show

Least Prestigious Championship
World Tag Team titles

[Mr. Nerfect]

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Benoit
What other champion made us feel good this year? Eddie Guerrero, Paul London, Billy Kidman, Rey Mysterio, Funaki, Scotty 2 Hotty, Rikishi, Rob Van Dam, Charlie Haas, Rico, Shelton Benjamin and that's about it. It looks like a long list, but when only two of them were World Champions, you really have to begin to wonder.

It's a shame Benoit's reign was overshadowed, because seeing him win the Rumble was exciting, even for a non-Benoit fan. Seeing him make Triple H tap in the main event of WrestleMania (where the fans were strictly behind Benoit), and it felt good to see Shawn Michaels tap to the Sharpshooter at Backlash. It's a shame Benoit's reign went downhill from there, and Benoit vs. Kane could have really been one of the best feuds in WWE is done right.

WWE Championship
Eddie Guerrero
As much as I want to say JBL, Eddie did give me a warm feeling when he won the title. It was expected for me, as soon as Eddie won the shot, but it didn't change the feeling when Eddie won.

I was one of those doubters who said the WWE Championship wouldn't look good on Eddie Guerrero, but on that SmackDown! when he took the title and put it around his waist just to see what it looked like, I immediately thought "Wow, the title does suit him.". Guerrero made a believer out of me, and I hope to see him become World Champion again.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton
How great would it have been if Orton had held the WWE Intercontinental Championship past Vengeance (where he lost it to Edge), and won the World Heavyweight Championship from Benoit while still in possession of the WWE Intercontinental Championship. I could have easily seen Orton gladly handing the World Heavyweight Title to Triple H on the RAW afterwards, just as long as he got to keep his IC Title. It would have done wonders for Orton's character, and the IC Title.

Benjamin is currently doing some good with the IC Title, but it seems to me like they're trying to turn him into a face Orton. I think they should have him drop the title soon, so he doesn't become dependant on it. Benjamin as a multi-time IC Champ is much more appealing than a one-long reign to me, and I hope Maven dethrones Benjamin and takes the belt, and revives that competition that used to be present for the Intercontinental Championship.

WWE United States Championship
Carlito Caribbean Cool
He didn't hold the belt for long, but when he did hold it, I was much more interested in it. He got a good match out of Cena, did some good stuff with Mysterio, but then it ended in a flash, because of that silly arm injury. I personally think the WWE should have kept the title on Carlito, and have him just sit on the title, and if he needed to defend it (when the 30 days was nearly up), he'd just get Jesus to defend it for him.

I hope they give Carlito another run with the title, because he could do wonders with/for it. He's got a legitimate claim to the title, as well.

World Tag Team Championship
Evolution (Batista & Ric Flair)
It seemed that when Flair & Batista were World Tag Champs, the titles seemed like fighting for. I hope we get another team to take the belts and make them look like they are credible.

I liked the promo Regal did after winning the titles, about how they will restore credibility to the belts, but I think they should move them to Christian & Tomko after a heated tag team match at New Year's Revolution. I'm thinking something like 35 minutes long, because it's been a while since we've seen an exciting encounter for these belts.

WWE Tag Team Championship
Paul London & Billy Kidman
The feel good tag team of the year. They were just starting to get pops when they broke them up. I don't see why they just didn't have London cleanly defeat Suzuki & Dupree when they had their match on SD! for the tag titles, and if they didn't want to do that, I don't see why they didn't just have London get DQ'd or counted out.

I would have loved London to return with Billy Kidman as a badass heel cruiser-team using the Shooting Star Press to injure their opponents, but I guess those dreams are shattered now.

Just a bit of trivia, I think all the title changes have taken place on SmackDown! this year. I might be wrong about the earlier changes, but it's still disgraceful that there hasn't been one of the many changes on PPV. Come to think of it, I think Rico and Haas might have lost the titles at a PPV.

WWE Women's Championship
Trish Stratus
One of the best champs of the year. She made me care about the title, and if there were women in the WWE that could wrestle, I'm sure the division would be hotter now than ever.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Funaki
This may be the unpopular choice for the best Cruiserweight Champion (narrowly in front of Jacqueline and Chavo Classic), but when Funaki actually won the match, even though it was predictable, I marked out. My brother actually wanted to see the PPV just to see Funaki get the title shot. It's a shame a lot of Funaki's support has gone with his years of jobbing, but give him some mic time, and let him repeat the match quality he had with Akio on SmackDown!, and the Cruiserweight Title will mean something in no time.

I also predicted the Funaki win, right after Survivor Series (as did a lot of people, I think), and I could smell a one-month reign before the jobbing of the title to Ultimo Dragon. I hope he does return and takes the title (and Funaki & Akio's services as a tag team), but it will be interesting to see how the WWE handles the title if Ultimo doesn't come back.

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit
For me, this is the second best moment of 2004, and I'm not even that much of a Benoit fan. Seeing him eliminate Big Show got me anticipating, and when that bell closed the match, even though it was predictable, gave me a warm feeling in my heard

More Prestigious Championship
World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship
World Heavyweight Championship. I'd much rather see this title contested live than the WWE Championship. Send Orton, Michaels and Jericho to SD!, then we'll talk.

WWE Intercontinental Championship or WWE United States Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship. I loved Orton's reign, and I think Benjamin and Maven can bring the competition part of the mid-card title into the fray. That remains to be soon, though.

World Tag Team Championship or WWE Tag Team Championship
World Tag Team Championship. There is a lack of tag teams in the WWE, but if I had a choice over which title I could hold, it would probably be these in a flash.

WWE Women's Championship or WWE Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Championship. I would have said Women's, but I cannot deny the work of Rey Mysterio, Chavo Guerrero, Billy Kidman, Paul London and Funaki.

Royal Rumble or World Championship
Royal Rumble. The World Championship seems too easy to get a grip on for young guys these days. If Jericho and Benoit got another reign, and if Edge and Batista get some time to work a feud, I really think the World Championship coud become a title for those in their primes, again.

Least Prestigious Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
This may be an unpopular pick, but when you have, what, one or two title changes on PPV, yet have a whole lot on SD! you lower the value of the titles dramatically.

[Gouda]

When I compare the Royal Rumble and the World Championship (WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship), and I mean in you were given a shot in the WWE, and they said you con only win one in your career, which one would you choose?

Well... I'd want to be in the Wrestlemania main event..... However... if I win the title and KEEP it until Wrestlemania I'd be there AND be champ! Booyah! :naughty:

[Savio]

Nah Eddies Royal Rumble was great the best match on smackdown so far.

[Mister Sinister]

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Benoit


WWE Championship
John Bradshaw Leyfield (I wanted to say Eddie, however JBL, while he hasn't been a great champion, has been a good champion, Guerrero would of gotten it, if it wasn't for JBL Buildup in there fued, that killed Eddie :( )


WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton

WWE United States Championship
John Cena


World Tag Team Championship
Rob Van Dam & Booker T


WWE Tag Team Championship
Paul London & Billy Kidman


WWE Women's Championship
Victoria


WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit

More Prestigious Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship

Least Prestigious Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Title (Sadly)

[James Steele]

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Benoit


WWE Championship
Eddie Guerrero


WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton


WWE United States Championship
John Cena


World Tag Team Championship
La Resistance

WWE Tag Team Championship
Kidman & London

WWE Women's Championship
Trish Stratus


WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit

More Prestigious Championship
World Heavyweight

Least Prestigious Championship
World Tag Team

[CYCLOPTERSAURUS]

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Benoit

WWE Championship
Eddie Guerrero

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton

WWE United States Championship
Carlito Caribbean Cool

World Tag Team Championship
La Resistance (Rob Conway & Sylvain Grenier)

WWE Tag Team Championship
Paul London & Billy Kidman


WWE Women's Championship
Trish Stratus


WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit

More Prestigious Championship
World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship: WWE
WWE Intercontinental Championship or WWE United States Championship: US
World Tag Team Championship or WWE Tag Team Championship: WWE
WWE Women's Championship or WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Cruiser
Royal Rumble or World Championship: RR

Least Prestigious Championship
World Tag Team Championship

[LK]

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Benoit - Don't know about you guys but one of the moments of the year was at the end of WM with Eddie and Benoit standing there both champions. It was just that feeling of both of them being the champions of the world after all their past problems. Benoit had come so close before but was always just a bit off but at WM HHH tapping to the crossface was the best.

WWE Championship
Eddie Guerrero - I had nearly given up on Benoit winning the title. Out of all the Radicals I thought that Benoit was the one that might win the world title. I never even contemplated the idea of Eddie winning it. But he did and was a great champ.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Randy Orton

WWE United States Championship
John Cena

World Tag Team Championship
La Resistance (Rob Conway & Sylvain Grenier)

WWE Tag Team Championship
Paul London & Billy Kidman


WWE Women's Championship
Trish Stratus


WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero

Royal Rumble
Chris Benoit

More Prestigious Championship
World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship: WWE
WWE Intercontinental Championship or WWE United States Championship: US
World Tag Team Championship or WWE Tag Team Championship: WWE
WWE Women's Championship or WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Cruiser
Royal Rumble or World Championship: RR

Least Prestigious Championship
Either of the tag divisions