World Champions
 

Remember when like there were only a handful of former World Champions running around? Yeah I just realizes how long the list of former World Champions there are currently active at WWE...

John Cena
Randy Orton
Ric Flair
Shawn Michaels
Triple H
Batista
Chris Benoit
Edge
Kane
King Booker
Rey Mysterio
Undertaker
Bobby Lashley
Mr. McMahon
Rob Van Dam

I mean, if you worked it right, you could have an entire PPV of just former World Champions.

Yeah, I know, it's pretty disgusting. I'm too lazy to do it myself, but someone should take a date when WWE was at its most successful, take the number of World Champions under contract, divide them by the number of people who were on the active roster, and work out a percentage of World Champions. Then compare this statistic to today.

I know this is a very old-hat line, but...

It just doesn't mean anything anymore. :y:

But honestly, looking back at things, is there a single person on that list you would not have made a World Champion? In retrospect, Randy Orton and maybe even John Cena (although it may just be me) should not have won a World Title just yet. At the time, though, whilst it wasn't absolutely called for, I wouldn't have called either a blatantly stupid move (although I did disaree with Cena initially winning the WWE Championship).

So yeah, that's why I suggested the percentage thing. Maybe the increase of World Champions just has to do with how many deserving people are on the roster.

Easily...
Randy Orton
Booker T
Rey Mysterio
Bobby Lashley
Mr. McMahon

Debatable...
John Cena
Batista
Kane

Just because your good and over doesn't mean you deserve the strap. That's what use to make it special, it wasn't just who has held it, but also the list of worthy guys who never got it made it that much more elusive and incredible.

Sabu, Sandman and Tommy Dreamer were all ECW World Champions in the old ECW, and Sabu is a former NWA World Champion too.

Oh shit, I forgot about Bobby Lashley. Add him to my list. Personally, I think Booker T was fine as World Champion. I don't think you can technically hold his World Champion status, as he first earned the status in WCW.

Rey Mysterio is another guy I remembered I would not have put the World Title on when he won it. I was pulling for a Kurt Angle victory. I don't think Rey was an unworthy Champion, though. He was just booked badly.

Mr. McMahon is debatable. I don't mind his original WWE Title reign, as it wasn't meant to be taken too seriously. I guess that's a detraction from the belt, but it was a nice surprise that played into storylines. His ECW World Championship reign? Fuck that, I'm with you there. Vince isn't really a full-time wrestler, so I think you can overlook him, though.

I guess it should be kept in mind that Ric Flair, Booker T, Chris Benoit, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Sabu originally earned World Champion status in other companies, with only the first three ever solidifying it in the WWE.

I only counted people who the WWE crowned with a World Title.

And while we're at it, I don't think RVD should have ever been WWE World Champion, but that's just me.

What I'm getting from this argument is, many champions is bad, right? But in WWE having one champion have a long reign is also bad. I'm confused.

<font color=white>Nothing at all wrong with a long reigning champion.</font>

JBL, NASH, MICHAELS...long reigning champions = Good! :y:

John Cena being pushed down our throats as Superman = Bad! :n:

:y:

Yeah, it all depends on who are holding the belts. I was fine with Paul London & Brian Kendrick's long reign with the WWE Tag Team Championship, Gregory Helms' reign with the WWE Cruiserweight Championship and currently Chris Benoit's reign with the WWE United States Championship. Those guys make good Champions. John Cena shouldn't have won the WWE Title for a second time, let alone gotten this long a run with it.

They should have ended his first run with Chris Jericho, to be honest. But they have Cena continue to steamroll through him. Then it should have been Kurt Angle, but alas.

Switching the title semi-frequently isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. You don't need to always swap between new guys, too. That gets confusing, and often very boring. Occasionally a few swaps back and forth between established main event guys (i.e. former World Champions) like Triple H and The Rock in 2000. Cena and HBK are two guys who could logically trade the belt in a series at present.