|
Kinda hate this topic, it's one of those that comes around all the time, a topic that we all agree on for the most part. That's not a knock at you, you're new here and you're just trying to start conversation.
Inevitably somebody will say "the titles are just props now", a ridiculous statement given that they have always been props. Though admittedly, they've been more valuable props in the past.
Rather than us all nodding along in agreement, perhaps the discussion should be "How Do You Make The Titles More Valuable?"
Wrestling is all about creating a "moment"; see Sting's debut last night, Bryan finally winning the title at Mania, The Streak coming to an end, etc. When was the last time somebody had a "moment" when they won the IC or US title?
Rusev's win should have been pretty big, but sort of got sidelined by getting involved with the Authority. I'm gonna go ahead and guess that Rusev's reign will be one of the better ones in the last few years. Why? Because Rusev is currently undefeated in terms of pinfalls and submissions, therefore WWE can't go the usual route of having Rusev lose non-title matches to set up his next challenger. Winning either midcard belt has been somewhat of albatross in recent years; you suddenly forget how to win and your perception plummets.
I'd like to see Rusev remain strong, and while it's massively gimmicked (and has been done before) I'd like him to change the US Title to be something like the Russian Heavyweight Championship. Have him turn away challenger after challenger until somebody finally beats him for the belt, in the process handing him his first loss and "saving" the US belt. THAT is a moment. Do it a Mania and it's a "WrestleMania Moment" for somebody. Throwing the Russian Heavyweight Championship in the trash the next night on Raw keeps the momentum up.
Yes the belt isn't the sole focus of the feud, but it doesn't need to be; the belt gets the rub from being involved, as long as it has some focus.
Another way to add a bit of shine to the midcard titles is to combine them. Not necessarily forever, just have one guy want to prove his superiority by holding both belts at the same time. This works even better while there is no top title on the scene.
One idea I had when Ambrose was US Champion was a sort of "Cold War" between the two midcard champs. I'd have put the IC Title on Reigns and had them competing to be the better champion; beating the same guys, trying to one up each other in terms of how dominant they are, never actually coming to blows with one another but there being an obvious undercurrent of "Who's the best?" between them, until you eventually have them put both titles on the line.
Obviously you can't do that the same way now that there's no Shield, but the idea could be tweaked.
One thing I think they could do is play "Hot Potato" with one of the belts. This might work best with the Tag Titles, where nobody can keep them for any length of time. Instead of having mammoth reigns where nothing happens (see Ambrose's US reign) or relatively short reigns where you go through the motions (see Sheamus' US reign), you have a number of short title reigns.
Some will criticise the "hot-shotting" of the belts to be devaluing the titles or burying the champion(s) but I think it'd make the division look stronger, or at least more competitive. What has this recent Tag Title run done for Gold & StarDust? They lost repeatedly in non-title matches and have now dropped the belts to Miz & Mizdow - the latest hot property.
At the very least you'd put some shine on the division by creating a dynamic where anybody can walk away with the titles on any show. It's gotta be better than knowing that the newly crowned Tag champs will almost definitely lose their first non-title match to set up their next contenders, who they'll beat at the PPV.
|