What If They Alternated The Titles?

[Jack-Hammer]

I know the title of the thread is confusing, there just wasn't enough room for me to properly explain in the title space.

I'm not saying WWE should do this or that it's even a good idea, it's just one of those random thoughts that popped into my head out of nowhere and I figured I'd get other opinions on it. I was thinking about WWE alternating different titles into the main event spot at different times of the year as a means of potentially putting more emphasis on the title picture as a whole. From the first Raw of the year to WrestleMania, the main event would always be centered around the WWE Championship; from the post WrestleMania Raw through SummerSlam, the most emphasis could be placed on the Intercontinental Championship while the United States Championship held the main event position for the rest of the year. As part of this rotation, the title that's in the main event slot is only defended during ppvs, and possibly the occasional WWE Network special, while the other titles are defended at least once a month on television. This wouldn't just be Raw or SmackDown, but also Superstars and Main Event.

WWE would have to be committed to making the title defenses come off as being worth seeing. The way to do that would be to devote time to strongly building the title pictures, making it necessary to be more selective in who gets the title runs as part of keeping a solid line of continuity on things.

Basically, instead of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship getting the most attention year round, the idea would be to spread it about by bringing the other title scenes up to a more even level year round even though different ones would be THE title for 3 to 4 months out of the year.

I don't know that it'd work or that it'd even be a good idea, as I alluded to. It's just a somewhat different idea I had; not saying that different always equals quality, as we all know that it doesn't, but different can open up discussions and different perspectives that could lead to something both different and good.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I like it but I think it works better on a smaller scale. Here's my counter idea:

Sort of like TNA's Destination X decision or whatever they called where you wanted to be the X Division Title holder right before that PPV so you could have the option of the shot at the title, how about a once a year opportunity where if you hold the IC Title for a particular PPV (one of the lesser PPVs) that IC Title match would be guaranteed the main event slot. That way the IC Title would hold more importance prior to the PPV and getting to be the challenger for the IC Title would mean more.

So overall I guess I'm just parroting your idea but calling for it to matter just once a year or maybe once a year for the IC Title and once a year for the US Title. If nothing else if it gives WWE another opportunity to give the title to Lesnar and let him sit at home for a couple months straight with something else to focus on.

 

[GameOver]

Or a better idea, every title has some focus every month, they have more then enough time to do it and EVERY title should be defended atleast once a fortnight.

the WWE Title should always be the main focus, thats the title "everyone" is aiming for 1-2 matches per card that are about chasing it.

The IC/US Title which should be merged should be second focus thats the title the up and coming main eventers and possible world champs are fighting over 1-2 matches per card about chasing them and or migrating to the world title

The Tag title/Womens Titles and incedental fueds make up the rest of the program.

Simple. can easily fit that all into 2-3hrs they use to do it, no reason they can't still do it.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I don't think it would work to be honest, the World Heavyweight Title should ALWAYS be the belt getting the most focus as it's the premier title in the company, held by the biggest stars.

However, with the amount of TV time WWE have to play with, it's a joke that there isn't more focus put on the US Title and the Intercontinental Title. I'm currently rewatching the 2000 content on the network, and there are title defences, or matches relating to the titles on pretty much every Raw and Smackdown. EVERY title has a constant storyline, even the Hardcore and European belts. Some episodes of Raw have featured a European, and Intercontinental AND a WWE Title match on the same show! The last episode I watched had Benoit and Jericho for the IC title as the main event, with Jericho (the champion) being screwed by HHH (no1 contender for the WWE Title) so Benoit got the win and the title. Interlinking the IC Title storyline with the WWE Title storyline immediately makes the IC champion look a bigger deal and the title seem more impressive and prestigious.

They've shown it can be done, and with Raw being longer than it used to be, and the roster being strong, there is NO excuse why EVERY title couldn't have a meaningful storyline. Plus, with titles being defended more on TV, there could be title changes which would encourage more viewers and get the higher ratings WWE crave.

They're just fucking lazy these days, it's pathetic.

 

[ISkye]

Can someone fill me in if there has ever been a time in WWE where a title belt was actually billed equal to or seemed equal to the World Heavyweight Title? To me that last John Cena U.S title run was more entertaining than anything on the entire show. The whole open challenge thing and the constant defenses even against random people was really awesome.

At Wrestle Kingdom 8 Shinsuke Nakamura lost in the main event to Hiroshi Tanahashi. This match was for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and was billed over the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match. A lot of people have said it felt like the true World title. At a point the NXT Womens title felt more important than the others as well.

I don't think it would be impossible to maybe have the U.S title or Intercontinental main event Raw/Smackdown or even a PPV. If it feels right then it should happen, but I feel like making it a regular or set thing would lose "value" at a point. I really kind of wish they would try something new to get more people invested into the 'Lesser" titles.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I'm liking the current focus on the I.C Title. It's my most anticipated title match at Extreme Rules. The World Title match should be good as well judging by their good tussle at the last PPV.

Now....

The U.S Title has fallen to uninteresting as hell. John Cena's Open Challenge work with the title has been forgotten and IMO the title is at its lowest of lows that it's ever been.

I agree that over exposure of title defences make the title less important to viewers at times. They could make weekly shows like RAW all about the Intercontinental Championship. With background talks of the World Title.

SMACKDOWN can be all about the tag team championship and U.S Titles, often swapping main event pictures. (With a more interesting U.S Champion). Bring back the popular US Open Challenge.

Swap months where a PPV will be all about the Intercontinental Championship, with the rest of the card filled with various contenders matches.

Next PPV have the World Title as focus, maybe even VS the I.C Champion.

Then the next PPV focus on the U.S Title and Tag Team Championships.

Use two PPVs to display all the titles, like Summerslam
and Wrestlemania. Less can be more in some cases.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Nah, alternating isn't the way - there's a better one and one I've posted before...

The IC champ is the #1 contender right? Well in the past they were... so at Night of Champions each year, the IC champ faces the World Champion, guaranteed - title for title.

Either way, the outcome of that match means the IC is vacated, as the World champ wins it or the IC wins the World...

Tourney is then held over next month (King Of The Ring) for the new IC champion...who then has to try to defend it for the rest of the year till NOC... imagine if someone holds it the whole time bar the last two RAWS before NOC for example? MITB could come into play for the IC, with people cashing in on the IC champ right near NOC to guarantee their chance at that "dual champ" honor.

And every year, you'd be guaranteed a new and exciting IC title picture, as those who start off in it, would be different to those who start the following years...

Use the Cena challenge for the US if you must, then both titles have an exciting format that actually influences WWE over the course of the year.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

My knee jerk reaction is that it pigeon holes creative and removes a degree of flexibility in storylines. Every year they have to be ready to do a certain thing with a certain title instead of telling an organic story. From what I understand, TNA's Destination X title exchange eventually petered out for this reason.

What I'd like to see is a less formal version of what you're suggesting. Let other titles main event. Let whatever the hottest and best match is close the show. What happened to days when Bulldog and Bret could close out SummerSlam for the IC title or when is the last time a title other than the world title was defended in the main event of Raw or a PPV? The last time I can recall is when DX faced Jerishow for the tag titles in the main event of a year end PPV.

Last year Cena's US title open challenges were a pretty hot angle. I don't recall any of those closing a TV show or a PPV. It would add a sense of "this matters" to any feud when its given the main event slot.

There have certainly been times where other divisions title matches have been hotter than the world title's. I'd much rather see Raw or Smackdown end with a rip roaring IC title match or Women's title match than see another six man tag to further a few feuds.

Another thing I wouldn't mind seeing is one of either the IC or US titles being established as the title held by the number one contender. Hard to choose which one, but that would be a good move. The title could be feuded over by other main event talent in waiting or used to get a new guy going.

 

[ShinChan]

What I would want is InterContinental Championship being No.2 to WWE World Heavyweight Championship. and US title being No.3.

At the end of Battleground PPV, whoever is the InterContinental Champion, gets a title shot at Summerslam. He relinquishes the IC Title after Battleground.

Then WWE could have a tournament to decide the new InterContinental Champion. The tournament finals could happen at Summerslam.

In this way, Importance of IC title increases rapidly as it gives a sure chance to get a title shot.

 

[theblasterkid]

Nah, alternating isn't the way - there's a better one and one I've posted before...

The IC champ is the #1 contender right? Well in the past they were... so at Night of Champions each year, the IC champ faces the World Champion, guaranteed - title for title.

Either way, the outcome of that match means the IC is vacated, as the World champ wins it or the IC wins the World...

Tourney is then held over next month (King Of The Ring) for the new IC champion...who then has to try to defend it for the rest of the year till NOC... imagine if someone holds it the whole time bar the last two RAWS before NOC for example? MITB could come into play for the IC, with people cashing in on the IC champ right near NOC to guarantee their chance at that "dual champ" honor.

And every year, you'd be guaranteed a new and exciting IC title picture, as those who start off in it, would be different to those who start the following years...

Use the Cena challenge for the US if you must, then both titles have an exciting format that actually influences WWE over the course of the year.

I thought of this very same thing. It would make a PPV like NOC mean something than just all the titles being defended in one night, in which in it's current state, makes NOC pretty much pointless since most PPVs have all the titles being defended on them.

Here's my idea: The first Raw after Summerslam, have the US Champion face the IC Champion for #1 Contendership. The winner will face the WWEWHC at NOC. As you said, the midcard title should be vacated after NOC.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I dislike this idea. The World Heavyweight Championship should ALWAYS receive the most attention. Within kayfabe it is the top prize. It should be defended at every single PPV and occasionally on Raw/Smackdown. Now, one thing they could do would be alternate whether the Intercontinental or US Championship is also up for grabs at a PPV. Make there be 6 shows where both midcard titles are up for grabs, then 3 where the Intercontinental is but the US is not, and 3 others where the US is but the Intercontinental is not. This would freshen up things a little and give more attention to the midcard titles while making shows like Night of Champions, Money In The Bank, and the original Big 4 still remain the more "important" shows.

Another option is to have one or two shows a year where the WWE Women's Champion main events instead of the men. The division keeps improving and they deserve it. The only other time the World Heavyweight Championship should EVER not close the show is if you have a dream match on the card. Something that without question deserves to go on last. 9 times out of 10, this won't be the case. The primary goal of any wrestler is to become a World Champion, so to preserve that part of kayfabe it is crucial for the main prize to remain just that, the top prize. Main eventing PPV's is a big part of that.

 

[lil steroid meat]

I only kinda skimmed through OP. So I think I kinda get what you're saying. I don't understand what benefits they get from making the WWE WHC Title and it's 50 years of heritage look second rate, even if only for a few months of the year.

I would think it would be interesting if they did like the UFC does and let certain titles main event certain PPVs and let the World Heavyweight Champion rest for a few weeks at a time.

It would be really cool if the WWE WHC was only defended at the big 4 PPVs of the Royal Rumble, WM, SS, and SSeries. That simoultaneously increases the prestige of the title all while making the IC and US titles that much more important because they have to carry the rest of the PPVs. And you could let World Title feuds build and simmer for much longer.

 

[theblasterkid]

I only kinda skimmed through OP. So I think I kinda get what you're saying. I don't understand what benefits they get from making the WWE WHC Title and it's 50 years of heritage look second rate, even if only for a few months of the year.

I would think it would be interesting if they did like the UFC does and let certain titles main event certain PPVs and let the World Heavyweight Champion rest for a few weeks at a time.

It would be really cool if the WWE WHC was only defended at the big 4 PPVs of the Royal Rumble, WM, SS, and SSeries. That simoultaneously increases the prestige of the title all while making the IC and US titles that much more important because they have to carry the rest of the PPVs. And you could let World Title feuds build and simmer for much longer.

I dislike the op's idea as well. I do favor this one though. You have the WWEWHC Title being defended on the 'Big Four' PPVs. The other eight can be split into between the US and IC Titles (four a piece) on the B-PPVs. It's not really a bad idea, although, I'm more in favor of the two midcard titles being unified and bringing the cruiserweight championship back.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Nah, alternating isn't the way - there's a better one and one I've posted before...

The IC champ is the #1 contender right? Well in the past they were... so at Night of Champions each year, the IC champ faces the World Champion, guaranteed - title for title.

Either way, the outcome of that match means the IC is vacated, as the World champ wins it or the IC wins the World...

Tourney is then held over next month (King Of The Ring) for the new IC champion...who then has to try to defend it for the rest of the year till NOC... imagine if someone holds it the whole time bar the last two RAWS before NOC for example? MITB could come into play for the IC, with people cashing in on the IC champ right near NOC to guarantee their chance at that "dual champ" honor.

And every year, you'd be guaranteed a new and exciting IC title picture, as those who start off in it, would be different to those who start the following years...

Use the Cena challenge for the US if you must, then both titles have an exciting format that actually influences WWE over the course of the year.

That's actually pretty awesome. I'd love to see that happen. Go ahead and scrap my reply now. The above idea makes mine look bad.

 

[kadroan]

I know the title of the thread is confusing, there just wasn't enough room for me to properly explain in the title space.

I'm not saying WWE should do this or that it's even a good idea, it's just one of those random thoughts that popped into my head out of nowhere and I figured I'd get other opinions on it. I was thinking about WWE alternating different titles into the main event spot at different times of the year as a means of potentially putting more emphasis on the title picture as a whole. From the first Raw of the year to WrestleMania, the main event would always be centered around the WWE Championship; from the post WrestleMania Raw through SummerSlam, the most emphasis could be placed on the Intercontinental Championship while the United States Championship held the main event position for the rest of the year. As part of this rotation, the title that's in the main event slot is only defended during ppvs, and possibly the occasional WWE Network special, while the other titles are defended at least once a month on television. This wouldn't just be Raw or SmackDown, but also Superstars and Main Event.

WWE would have to be committed to making the title defenses come off as being worth seeing. The way to do that would be to devote time to strongly building the title pictures, making it necessary to be more selective in who gets the title runs as part of keeping a solid line of continuity on things.

Basically, instead of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship getting the most attention year round, the idea would be to spread it about by bringing the other title scenes up to a more even level year round even though different ones would be THE title for 3 to 4 months out of the year.

I don't know that it'd work or that it'd even be a good idea, as I alluded to. It's just a somewhat different idea I had; not saying that different always equals quality, as we all know that it doesn't, but different can open up discussions and different perspectives that could lead to something both different and good.

I don't think a particular time period needs a focus on a championship. I believe there should be more of a consistent focus on every championships. I like how after WM, they made the WWE WHC, Tag Team and IC seem important but they've been on cruise control with the Women's and United States (until recently). Multiple superstars should be always vying for one of the championships.

 

[King Patrick Star]

The idea of alternating Championship Titles in the Main Event sounds good on paper, and has actually worked in other sports like MMA and Boxing. The difference is, in MMA and Boxing, the Championship Titles are based on weight class. In the WWE, you have a World Heavyweight Championship, an Intercontinental Championship (which, by definition, means World, right??), and a United States Championship. Looking at these 3 specific Championship Titles, the hierarchy of importance is clearly defined. With that being said, this could still work. Here’s how I would lay it out. Keep in mind, every Championship Title will still be defended at every pay per view, and the only real difference is which Championship goes on last to Main Event and end the show.

Royal Rumble – Royal Rumble match
Fastlane – Women’s Championship Title match
WrestleMania – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Title match
Payback – Intercontinental Championship Title match
Extreme Rules – United States Championship Title match
Money In The Bank – WWE World Tag Team Championship Title match
Battleground – Women’s Championship Title match
SummerSlam – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Title match
Night Of Champions – Intercontinental Championship Title match
Hell In A Cell – United States Championship Title match
Survivor Series – Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match
TLC: Table Ladders and Chairs – WWE World Tag Team Championship Title match

I kept the Royal Rumble match and the Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match as their respective Main Events. I think this could actually work, and being that the other Championship Titles are still defended on every pay per view, it doesn’t take away anything from the other Championship Titles. I get the whole argument of “the top prize should always be the focus in the Main Event”, but when the WWE World Heavyweight Champion is Roman Reigns, the Intercontinental Champion is the Miz, the United States Champion is Kalisto, the WWE World Tag Team Champions are the New Day, and the Women’s Champion is Charlotte, I think Roman Reigns could use a break from getting booed at the end of every show.

 

[GameOver]

Can someone fill me in if there has ever been a time in WWE where a title belt was actually billed equal to or seemed equal to the World Heavyweight Title? To me that last John Cena U.S title run was more entertaining than anything on the entire show. The whole open challenge thing and the constant defenses even against random people was really awesome.

At Wrestle Kingdom 8 Shinsuke Nakamura lost in the main event to Hiroshi Tanahashi. This match was for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and was billed over the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match. A lot of people have said it felt like the true World title. At a point the NXT Womens title felt more important than the others as well.

I don't think it would be impossible to maybe have the U.S title or Intercontinental main event Raw/Smackdown or even a PPV. If it feels right then it should happen, but I feel like making it a regular or set thing would lose "value" at a point. I really kind of wish they would try something new to get more people invested into the 'Lesser" titles.

May have already been said but the IC title match between Bret Hart and The British Bulldog was the main event of SummerSlam 1991 at Wembley Stadium and it could be argued at various points in time the IC title was atleast on equal standing as the WWE/WWF world title as the holder was for the longest time the next big thing and the probable next one in line for a world title run