Who do you consider a "World Champion"?

[Tom Guycott]

Originally Posted by Iginfest The World Heavyweight Title barely gets considered a World Championship other than in name right now. In a year or two it'll probably get scrapped or get its name changed and it'll officially be a midcard title.

Originally Posted by Guru Dave That would be disgusting. The belt represents royalty. It has been contested for thrice in main event matches at Wrestlemania.

I think one of the reasons why it doesn't seem to get the respect it deserves is because of the "I don't give a fuck" name attached to it that just kinda stuck. Once they dropped the WCW off the front of World Heavyweight Title after heavily modifying the idea of making one of the shows a WCW show, it doesn't sound as prestegious. Also, with the on-again/off-again nature of brand exclusivity, it seems kind of odd to see both champions on a single show unless it's some sort of supershow, PPV, or special occasion (like RAW 1000 or Tribute To The Troops). And, add the fact about broken lineage (Booker T is a 5x, not doing it, WCW Champion, but held that specific belt six times) and starting the title history over from when HHH was awarded the belt doesn't exactly champion the cause of giving it more prestige.

This is one of those occasions where a name means something. They let it go unnamed so long, it would be weird to correct it now unless they came up with something super catchy.