U.S title > I.C. title

[emceelokey]

I was watching Smackdown and MVP made his debut with the U.S championship belt and I just started to think that the way the U.S. title has been used has been better than the way the I.C. belt has.

I think the way they have used the u.S. title has made the title not seem like a secondary title. It doesn't seem like that "launching pad" title and it has it's own prestige. To me it doesn't seem like it's just given out to whoever they want to push. It seems more like the people actually work up tp that belt and strive for the U.S. belt opposed to the way the I.C. belt has been used. To me the I.C. belt always seems to be an after thought in a match. It's like whoever wins this match, and oh yeah, the I.C. belt was up in this match and he gets that too for winning.

It may just be the fact that the I.C. belt is on Raw and it's pretty much impossible to break into the main event card there. they brought in Khali and had Lashley take up three segments on Raw! They could have totally used thse segments to really push someone toward the main event status but I guess Cena, HBK, HHH, Flair... have made money for them before and they'll continue try to milk that for as long as possible.

One of the things that I really liked about the U.S. title was that JBL won it after being the Heavy Weight champ. It gave the U.S. champ more respect to see a former world champ "take a step down" and actually give the belt a push. Also another former world champion, Benoit and his extended run with the belt made that belt even more of a prestigeous belt over the I.C. title.

[Cracker5000]

I totally agree since the SD writers are giving the title to those who deserved it and are not trading it around. The U.S title is featured every week on SD unlike Raw where they have some greenhorn hogging the belt. Santino who?

[Slyfox696]

While people complain about long title reigns, one cannot deny that extended runs with a title help to give a title more prestige. Because it makes it very clear that the champion is one of the best, and whoever beats them, must be damn good.

Originally Posted by Cracker5000

I totally agree since the SD writers are giving the title to those who deserved it and are not trading it around. The U.S title is featured every week on SD unlike Raw where they have some greenhorn hogging the belt. Santino who?

I think it's Santino Mozzarella.

[justinsayne]

I agree he US title is a far superior title to the IC title, but then SD! has always known how to use their title belts more to their advantage, giving Benoit the title so so long was good for the US belt because it added pestige to it making it seem like an important title, the IC title just seems like an empty prop, nobody really cares about it anymore, they should have MR. Mozzerella defending his title every week, or at leat doing something on the show, if not then they should just give the belt tyo someone that can make it worth while to have again, like oh I don't know Carlito maybe

[Esteban Ochocinco]

The US title has been the more prestigous of the two since they brought both of the belts back from their respective hiatus's. The IC title use to symbolize a guy was bouncing up to main event level, yet no one on raw has broke that barricade down. Multiple title swapping between Jeff Hardy and Johnny Nitro have drug that title into meaningless status, and then putting it on Umaga and hotshotting it to Santino Mozzarella have buried it.

The feud between MVP and Benoit alone has been better then anything the IC title has provided the last 4 years.

[Moon Knight]

Originally Posted by The Shockmaster

The US title has been the more prestigous of the two since they brought both of the belts back from their respective hiatus's. The IC title use to symbolize a guy was bouncing up to main event level, yet no one on raw has broke that barricade down. Multiple title swapping between Jeff Hardy and Johnny Nitro have drug that title into meaningless status, and then putting it on Umaga and hotshotting it to Santino Mozzarella have buried it.

The feud between MVP and Benoit alone has been better then anything the IC title has provided the last 4 years.

What? If anything that MVP/Benoit fued has left me sleeping before MVP even opens his big mouth! The Hardy/Nitro fued was pretty good as those 2 single handedly rebuilt that IC title into something wtachable again, did you miss their ladder match in november on raw? That was a match of the year canidate and one of the best matches they have done in 4 years! I haven't seen the crowd so into a match since the attitude era and was flat out awesome. But the IC title got trashed when umaga got it and never defended it and them Santino Morella, who is a hell of a wrestler, watch him OVW..BRILLIANT..Just wasted here. The IC title went from above the WWE title to below the european title in a short peroid of time. (That bad)


The US title is just as lame and sad. I have yet to see a match worth watching and MVP is starting to grow thin on me, it's the lack of talent behind it that harms it. The US title is only about 2 inches better then the IC right now and 1 inch from deserving to be tossed in the trashed.

[A.J.]

For me both these belts are worth nothing anymore. Honestly the last time these belt were used to bring a mid-card wrestler to the main event level and establish that wrestler as future star was when randy Orton was holding the Intercontinental championship and John Cena holding the United States championship.

Since then these belts have been tossed around and none of the young guys who have held these belts gone to the main event scene except Lashley if you want to count that. Hell you can say Kennedy but the man never held the belt long enough before they took it off him for Benoit.

These belts mean nothing and they hold no valve like they used to as they dont do what they used to it which is help established a young star and eventually that young gun will become a main event player.

[emceelokey]

I don't see the U.S. title as that "launch pad" title anymore though. It's has it's own prestige now. It really seems like the 2nd best person on the SD roster is holding that belt. The IC belt does just seem like a prop and holds no meaning right now. I definitely don't think Morella is the 2nd best person on RAW and I don't know why people aren't fighting their asses off for a shot at the IC belt. The US belt at least has someone fighting to hold it and wanting to hold it. This is how I'm going to explain my view on each belt. WHen the UFC does the Ultimate Fighter finales for each season they fight for the contract. Whoever wins also ends up getting something extra as well such as a car or watch or whatever. To em the U.S. belt is that contract. This is what they're out there for. This is why they go out and fight. The I.C. belt is like that watch they also win. It's like, I finally won that contract... oh and I get a watch too. Cool.

[Cracker5000]

They don't build any hype for the IC belt. WWE just randomly puts title matches together just like the Masters vs Mozerella match recently. You can hear the crowd reactions to when they mention the IC title, they don't give a shit.
The IC title used to have a proud legacy of great superstars holding on to this championship (with the exceptions of some) such as Stone Cold, The Rock, HHH, Angle, Y2J, Flair but now it's given out like candy to a guy from the audience.

[mentalsynapse]

I personaly think its a mixture of the belt not being respected and the lack of talent they have. Samckdown! arguably has the better talent at the moment, mid card wise, with Kennedy, MVP, Matt Hardy (even though he is on both shows), Benoit, Kane, Finlay... and the list goes on. These are the people that make that show watchable and the US Title respected. Any of these guys could have the title and we would be riveted to watch them compete for it.

Raw doesn't have such a diverse mid card talent anymore. Carlito could hold the belt, but who would fued with him? Hardy is a good wrestler but he couldn't talk his way out of a paper bag. Flair is just too old to hold the title, Morella is not established enough to hold it, Masters has been buried to much to be a credible champion, the same goes with Nitro.

I don't see any of the top tier wrestlers taking a step down to hold the title like Orton of HBK, and even if they did that would bury it again.
I think that the solution is that they should try and swap some of the mid tier wrestlers about between the three brands. Put CM Punk and Burke on Raw, Masters to ECW, and Finlay to Raw aswell to help give the title credibility.

As emceelokey pointed out, Raw is to busy promotiong their top tier fueds to bother with the IC Title at the moment and I think thats because their mid card aren't good enough entertainers, (note i said entertainers, not wrestlers. Many of them are aweseome wrestlers and i can watch them all day, but when they grab a mic I automatically want to go to sleep e.g Shelton Benjamin) so they are put aside, which leads to the IC title not being utilised as it used to be.