More Disrespected Title - IC or Tag?

[IC25]

The news has hit and been quoted on these boards a few times already. With Jeff Hardy in the MITB match at Wrestlemania, the Intercontinental Title will not be defended for the 6th consecutive Wrestlemania. Think of that in context of the six years prior:

Wrestlemania 18 - Rob Van Dam over William Regal for the title
Wrestlemania 17 - Chris Jericho over William Regal to retain
Wrestlemania 2K - Jericho vs Angle vs Benoit, IC / Euro Titles
Wrestlemania 15 - Road Dogg over Shamrock, Venis, Golddust
Wrestlemania 14 - The Rock over Shamrock, DQ
Wrestlemania 13 - Rocky Maivia over The Sultan

Ok, now let's look at the 6 years since:

Wrestlemania 24 - No Title Defense (Jeff Hardy, champ, MITB)
Wrestlemania 23 - No Title Defense (Jeff Hardy, champ, MITB)
Wrestlemania 22 - No Title Defense (Shelton Benjamin, champ, MITB)
Wrestlemania 21 - No Title Defense (Shelton Benjamin, champ, MITB)
Wrestlemania 20 - No Title Defense (Randy Orton, champ, handicap match)
Wrestlemania 19 - Title Inactive

That's just Wrestlemania. Then take into account the title's relative obscurity overall for the last couple years.

NOW - the Tag Team Titles. I am talking about the RAW World Titles:

In 2005, the titles were held by 5 different teams: Conway & Grenier, Tajiri & Regal, Hurricane & Rosey, Cade & Murdoch, Show & Kane. 3 of those 5 teams were actualy, legit tag teams with only Show & Kane and Tajiri & Regal being "thrown together.

In 2006, the titles were held by 3 teams. The Spirit Squad, Flair & Piper, and Rated RKO. This is where things went south. The Spirit Squad was a 5 man team, not an actual tag team. Flair and Piper were a Cyber Sunday novelty. Rated RKO were given the belts to establish their feud with DX and their alliance as top heels. I call 2006 "The Death of the Tag Division."

In 2007, we are back to 5 different teams (one with 2 reigns) as Shawn Michaels and John Cena, The Hardyz, Cade & Murdoch (x2), Kendrick and London, and now Rhodes & Holly held the belts. The number of title reigns? Few and far between. Pay Per View bookings? Limited at best. Storyline buildup? HA!

So I ask you, loyal posters, over the last 3-5 years, which championship has been disrespected MORE? The Intercontinental Championship or the World Tag Team Championship?

[Uncle Sam]

Well, they've both been deeply disrespected, let's get that out of the way first. I think everyone will agree with that. But I will go out on a limb and say it's the tag titles which have been disrespected more. Some may claim otherwise, but being used as a vehicle for people bigger than the actual division - Rated RKO, Cena/HBK - then being dropped back into obscurity is no way to respect the titles, it just makes the legitimate competitors, i.e. not the main event drop-in variety, look weak and thus the tag division as a whole, not to mention the teams suck.

The mid-card of the WWE is actually, in my opinion, one of it's strong points. Jeff Hardy may be a spot monkey, and he may even refuse to acknowledge the fact that he's intercontinental champion, but he gets airtime and isn't some obscure wrestler. The same goes for guys like Shelton Benjamin, and Chris Benoit and MVP is you care to apply it to SmackDown's US title. The biggest thing that disrespects the title is that it isn't even taken into consideration when he faces the world champion - something completely alien to the world of Warrior/Hogan.

[IrishEnglishman24]

gotta agree with sam. the tag titles haven't been about feuds between legit tag teams for a long time and i think having random superstars compete together for either the purpose of a feud (michaels/cena), losing a poll (show/kane even though they weren't bad as a team), or as a means to justify dx teaming (RKO).
add that to the method used to remove main-event champions usually involves some sort of in-fighting or run in and you castrate the new champions of any shred of achievement.

IC - ok, it's been thrown about a lot in recent years and not defended at WM which is a shame because i remember all of those being strong matches, but it's still a title given to respected names and talented up-and-comers such as morrison and the milan miracle. i'd love to see it defended at mania, maybe by having hardy drop it to flair or have flair win it at wm.

but i think tag is more disrespected, purely because it's abused so much with non-legit tag teams and dropped cheaply. women's is still the most disrespected...but it's bn dead for a while

[klunderbunker]

Has to be the tag team titles. While the IC used to be an important title and more exciting to follow than the world title, the tag titles are a damn joke now. If I remember correctly, it's been how many weeks since we've even heard about the tag belts on Raw? At least with the IC title it's being used as a somewhat of a stepping stone, as the past few champions, John morrison, Umaga and Jeff Hardy, have all gained a lot of momentum with their respective runs with the title. When the IC title was dropped in i think 2002, it was missed as there was nothing for low-to-mid card wrestlers to go for and it just didn't work. If the tag titles were dropped, would anyone really miss them?

[NYSandman]

I did not vote in your poll because BOTH titles are spat on nowadays equally. There's no more hoopla about the Tag/IC, and it seems WWE just focuses on the big titles.

TT
Hart Foundation
Bulldogs
Demolition
Powers of Pain
Rockers

IC
Rick Rude
Honky Tonk Man
Warrior
Randy Savage
Ricky Steamboat

Just to name a few. Can't think right now.

But, the above names should illustrate just who held these titles and what they meant.

Not defending these titles at WM is a slap in the face to the industry. I mean, shit, it's a four hour show! You can fit and IC and Tag match in!

Agree 100%, but cannot judge which is worse. BOTH are, to coin a phrase, dissed.

[Slim Pickns]

Up until your original post I would have said tag title in a heartbeat. Your Wrestlemania stats, however, pointed out how badly the IC Title has been booked in recent years. After thinking about it, I still have to say the tag titles. Mainly because I actually hate the way they are booked. I don't mean it upsets me a bit, I mean I actually feel angry and I want to hit things (but I never do).

Growing up tag team wrestling was my favorite. The WWF had amazing and interesting teams with endless possibilites for matches. The Hart Foundation could go up against the Rockers in the opening match of a PPV with Demolition defending the tag belts against the Brain Busters toward the end of the card. They could do 10 man (5 Tag Team) Survivor Series matches that people actually cared about. There would even be World Tag Team Title matches that were just as hyped as the WWF World Title match. Today, the Titles are lucky to be "showcased" in a dark match.

Remember when former World Tag Team Champions used to split up and be a big deal? When Rick Martel turned on Tito Santana at Wrestlemania, it was huge because they held the tag team titles together. Now, teams are thrown together and given the belts just for the fact that they will eventually break up.

The main problem is no one cares about any of the tag teams. You will never hear any sane person say "when I think of great tag teams I think of The Hart, Foundation, The British Bulldogs, and Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes." The Rockers (who weren't even technically tag champs) split up, and it was one of the biggest stories of that year for WWF. Now, how many of you would really care if Cade and Murdoch broke up? Not many, because the WWE hasn't invested in tag team wrestling which devalues the belts in the process.

[Yuffie_Kisaragi]

The sad thing is theres all the potential there for a great tag division again....

Cade and Murdoch could easily become the next APA or Dudley boys. ive the team something more than just been a pair of angry rednecks. The Dudleys had tables maybe give Cade and Murdoch a signature weapon/dirty attack to use. (Murdoch placing a trashcan over someones head and Cade hitting an elbow drop on it maybe?)

Cody Rhodes and D.H Smith: Screw Bob Holly...turn Cody and Smith heels, team them together and have them as a tag team version of Randy orton. Brash, arrogant and disrespectful.

London and Kendrick: Stop jobbing these two, stop limiting what they do in the ring and the WWE could have the 2nd coming of the Hardy Boyz.

Paul Burchill and Katie Lea: Push these as a tag team imo. Have Paul do all the work before finally tagging in Katie at the end to get the pinfall to humiliate their opponents. Pauls big enough and tough enough to make this work without making their opponents look weak. Plus itll be something new and intresting...a Brother/Sister tag team instead of another short 2month long tag pairing between two monster heels.


Thats not even mentioning teams like Deuce and Domino, jesse and Festus and the Highlanders...2 of which should stay as jobbers and the other (jesse and festus) will get a big boring after a few months. Add a few jobber teams and random pairings and youve got a good tag division. Also they should build actual feuds between the teams and have them defend the titles in table matchs, ladder matchs and TLC matchs.

[Y 2 Jake]

Well the tag titles have hardley ever been pushed properly. The tag division was stacked in the 80's, but there were only 3 or 4 teams that had a chance of getting the title. There were plenty of teams, but non were pushed very hard. You had the Harts, Bulldogs, Demolotition and maybe another team that waere heavily involved in the division. The rest made up numbers.

In the early and late 90's againg you had about three teams dominating.

Early 90's Gunns, Donnas & Godwins. Hardly a golden agae.

Late 90's E 7 C, Dudleyz & Hardyz. people remember the good matches, and they're right. Byt the division was shit. The divison was bulked up by other teams. Which got a look in on occasion, but were never as important as those three. And by the end of the 90's-early 00's you were sick of those feuds.

The IC title isn't disrespected ever. It's been held by some terrible wrestlers. And the reason it doesn't get on a Mania event is because it just isn't important. The IC division of today isn't the one that Owen Hart, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and so on competed in.

[HBK-aholic]

I used to be a huge fan of Tag Title matches, and I always loved watching how a team worked together, and worked for each other. Tag team matches were, to me, always about which team worked better together, and showcasing 4 pieces of talent instead of just 2. The tag team titles were also held in prestige, with every team aiming for it, and them champions being highly respected.

The range of matches was clear and interesting. Even just ordinary matches with tag teams were good, due to what we could see from a tag team that we couldn't see in just a singles match. It was always good to see two teams working it out together in the time they had allocated after a tag connection was made. They were always interesting and different.

One of the best tag teams in the WWE were the Dudley Boyz, and they are definately one of my favourites. They worked so well together and I can't name one match they had which was boring. They were just amazing whatever they did. I'd like to say there speciality were TLC matches but really, they were good at everything. However the TLC matches involving the Dudleys (along with E+C and the Hardyz) were to me some of the most interesting matches of that show. I'd often buy a PPV looking at the card, and the match I was most anticipating would be a tag team match.

Noe, onto the intercontinental. Holding this belt meant you were there, or very close to being at the top of the WWE. The intercontinental title was held by many greats and all the fans held these as great wrestlers, and who one day would own the championship belt and be top the company we love so much. Intercontinental matches would always be different from other normal matches due to what the belt actually meant.

The intercontinental title was held in huge prestige and was always known as the last stepping stone to the WWe championship. If a wrestler was offered this title they would know they were doing something right, and if they carried on the way they were, or improved, they could expect to see WWE championship gold within the space of a few years.

If you look at past Intercontinental championship winners, most will be going down in history as some of the best, and looking back at some of those matches it makes you think how much as changed. Now, the belt isn't much more than something a few mid-carders aim for, and it's connection to the WWE Championship is barely uphold or respected. It shows by the way it has been showcased at WM recently. Beforehand, the Intercontinental match made us think about what the Main Event would be this time next year, but now, our biggest event doesn't even use this title.

I don't see how you guys can say the IC title is being disrespected, It has, at Wrestlemania, but other than that, Jeff Hardy is adding prestige to it, and if you don't think so, you are all hippocrites, you say long title reigns add prestige, and IC25, Umaga was IC champ last year at 'Mania

I think the tag titles are beign disrespected more, out of the past year, we have had 4 credible teams hold the world tag titles,

• Rated RKO
• The Hardys
• Cade and Murdoch
• London/Kendrick

Other than that, they had HBK/Cena hold them to what? To try to add heat to the main event, it didn't work IMO, and i thought that was a waste of a title reign, and the Hardys could have had a good feud with Cade/Murdoch, but WWE screwed that up, and now we have them hold it until the Africa tour, where they lost them to Londrick, making Londrick the 2nd team (i think) to have held both Tag Titles, WWE and World, but now they have Cody and Holly, a random team, and all challengers have disappeared, and we can only hope that WWE does something with the RAW tag division, maybe merge it with SD! and keep it on SD! on all SD divas go to RAW, that would work IMO.