The revised European Championship Idea

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Anyone kind of missing The European Championship ? A recent thread mentioning The British Bulldog and the Hall of Fame mention got me thinking about The European Championship. First held by The British Bulldog himself after winning it in a tournament.

Notable wrestlers have held the belt, including......

HBK
Triple H
Jeff Jarrett
Kurt Angle
Chris Jericho
Eddie Guerrero
Christian
Jeff Hardy

...and others.


I'd like to see the belt return to the WWE in it's original design. IMO the WWE wouldn't be muddled in belts and it could be used to elevate a lower card wrestler to more of a brighter light. Have it be the lesser of the other belts, kind of like before...not as important as the I.C or U.S title. Without a Hardcore Title...the WWE have a gap in championships and bringing back the European Championship would fill that gap.

Lana had teased awhile ago during Resev's reign when she showed a picture of The European Championship on her Twitter...or Facebook account making people think they were going to revert the U.S Title to the European Title.

Guy's flailing around the lower card , or being used to job out the higher up card wrestlers could benefit from the title. At least it would make some of these lower card matches seem like they had the slightest bit of importance to it.

R-Truth , Neville , Stardust , Wade Barrett , Damien Sandow , Axle , Slater , Alex Riley , Adam Rose , Fandango , Zack Ryder , The Miz , Big Show , Mark Henry ........

All those guys could be contenders for the title. Even grab guys from the tag team division to get title shots and you have a wide range of wrestlers who could compete for the European Championship Belt. Bring it back as it was introduced back in the day.....a multiple show tournament for the title. Slap the belt on a Heel R-Truth who's yapping about little Jimmy again...and then go from there. And if the thought of the belt being held by uninteresting wrestlers all the time doesn't work...bring in star power like Chris Jericho for two weeks and have him hold the title until a PPV and lose to a Wade Barrett or somebody.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

What are people obsessed with bringing back old championships? WWE is fine with their current setup.

WWE Championship - Main Event
US Championship - Upper Mid Card
IC Championship - Mid Card
WWE Tag Team Championships - Tag Team
Diva's Championship - Women

If anything, change the "Diva's Championship" to "Women's Championship". Also, make the US Title the mid card title and the IC Title the upper mid card title.

 

[baken1942]

I agree with bring the Women's Championship back to replace the Divas Championship.....Paige even hinted at this during the Stone Cold Podcast, so it's just a matter of time before that happens.

But one of the US or IC titles needs to go, probably the US title since the IC title has and always should be the Upper Mid Card title that leads Superstars into the World title picture and is a WWE title. The US title came over from WCW

So I would say the US title needs to go, and the Cruiserweight title needs to come by. There are so many cruiserweights in WWE that have nothing to fight for. The odd few would be IC title worthy but the cruiserweights needs to fight for a title and give them something to do. And who doesn't like the high flyers?

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Another poorly thought out "why not this old championship" thread. Where is the demand for this title? So the jobbers can feud over king of the jobbers?

When titles are introduced, its because divisions have formed and require a prize. In WCW, cruiserweights were so popular they were given a title, and later their own tag titles. Ditto for TNA's knockouts.

WWE launched the European title as basically a prize to give British Davey Boy Smith in Europe when the other titles were busy. Correct me if I'm wrong. The majority of champions weren't European.

WWE is an American company, so having their us title makes more sense. I believe the OP is experiencing nostalgia for the European title, not actually coming to any conclusion that reviving the title will draw.

And that's what it's about, drawing. Will a European title draw a cent? The biggest market in Europe has to be the UK, a country full of people that do not self-identify as Europeans. The European title won't draw a dime, it'll just become a punchline and a stereotype like it used be. Remember Al Snow's run?

That being said, the Euro title had some good runs. I especially enjoyed Regal, Shane, Angle, and D'Lo amongst others. It also had forgettable reigns like Test, Mideon, Saturn, and the afformentioned Al Snow.

Hardcore wrestling became popular in the 90s, so a title was necessary. Title creation is due to a demand. There's no demand for a jobber title, and if there were, there would probably be a better name for it than a defunt belt from the past.

Until a specific division forms of its own volition, WWE has enough straps.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

If they were to bring back the European Title I'd like to see it intially used as a wrestler's gimmick if that makes sense.

For example, Wade Barrett could declare himself the European Champion, and carry aroun the belt, but it wouldn't be an officially recognized Title. He would claim to be a fighting champion but every time he loses a match he would then turn around and say it was "non-title" or make up some excuse for why his opponent's victory is invalid ("I'm afriad I've got some BAD NEWS...*insert bullshit excuse"). It could be an entertaining heel schtick for awhile. Eventually of course, Barrett would be backed into a corner and forced to defend the Title with set rules and would drop it to a babyface. From there it could become an active Title for the lower card.

 

[ckoneagain]

They aren't going to get rid of the intercontinental or US championships because it would upset either Americans 'US Title' or basically everyone else 'intercontinental'. They were able to merge the tag and world titles because they served the same purpose once the brand split ended, but these two titles represent America and the rest of the world. The U.S. Title came from WCW and the WWE title was basically a U.S. Title in that people would win the intercontinental on there way up but to better than everyone they'd have to beat the Americans too which meant the world title. So it means they can't combine the titles and I can't imagine they want 3 Midgard titles. The best they could do would be for a European heel wrestler to win the U.S. Title and then swap it out for the European title during their reign.

 

[shafe_41]

The European Title made no sense when it was around the first time. Why bring back a bad idea?

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

The European Title made no sense when it was around the first time. Why bring back a bad idea?

How did make no sense? It's the exact same premise as the IC Title or US Title. It's the champion of a region that isn't the world, therefore less important than the World Title. Pretty straightforward.

 

[EastCoastFan]

Not necessary. WWE already has enough titles, and the European title was never that big of a deal anyway. If another title is created/revived, I agree it should be the Cruiserweight title.

 

[Goldie]

It was a trophy title for the Bulldog in 1997.
It worked for a while... even if Davey didn't defend it much (he was tag team champ with Owen at the time he won it).... though when Shawn won it (in a highly charged emotional match in Bulldogs home country) it immediately became a prop... as Shawn dropped it to HHH in a non-match.

It was a title for midcarders in the late 90s- but was further diluted when the Hardcore title was created for Mick Foley... and the acquisition of all the WCW titles in 2001 meant the Euro title was lost in a maze of fools gold.
The WWE retired several titles soon after (even the IC titles for a short while!!)

I don't think the Euro title is really needed in the modern era. Who could be bothered upating the Wikipedia page with all those title changes every few days

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Generally speaking, I think the overall set up right now has a near perfect balance. I agree with changing the name of the Divas Championship to the Women's Championship because of the negative traits that tend to be associated with the term "diva."

The European Championship always struck me as one of those titles that existed primarily just so someone could carry a belt around for a while. If WWE created an off shoot promotion that operated overseas strictly in Europe, then I could see reinstating the WWE European Championship as said promotion's top title.

IF WWE wanted to use a title that's sort of a lower mid-card title that could be used to potentially elevate someone further up the card, I'd rather they reinstated the old WCW Television Championship and rename it the WWE Television Championship. Prior to Ted Turner buying Jim Crockett Promotions and its eventual rebranding, the then titled NWA Mid-Atlantic/Television/World Television Championship served as one of, at times, three mid-card titles in the company. However, in the grand scheme of things, I don't really think bringing back that title or creating another is necessary, or even potentially necessary for that matter, unless they decide to unify the IC and US titles.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

Forget the TV Championship. The Social Media Title would be better. The first feud for this could be Tyler Breeze's entrance into the WWE. Have him start a Twitter war with Zack Ryder and go from there. It would probably be entertaining and Ryder would do a good job getting some TV time and helping to familiarize the WWE audience to Tyler Breeze. The European Championship is DEAD. Unless Finn Balor debuts and captures the US title and exchanges it to the European title I don't see it happening. They have Neville, Barrett, Rusev, Sheamus, and others coming up, but they need more European competitors IMO.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Ah, I guess the question to - Is anyone missing the European Championship ? - is pretty much a fuck no. I'm surprised at this , seeing how much the lower card wrestlers are doing nothing at all. Give them a belt to fight for , is what I'm sayin.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Ah, I guess the question to - Is anyone missing the European Championship ? - is pretty much a fuck no. I'm surprised at this , seeing how much the lower card wrestlers are doing nothing at all. Give them a belt to fight for , is what I'm sayin.

Spot on. I've said time and again that the lower card guys need a title belt to fight for, to make their feuds and rivalries mean something. Why are they fighting if they haven't got a realistic target to achieve.

Let's face it, someone like Curtis Axel or Heath Slater aren't going to be facing the IC or US champion for the belt any time soon, but if they were feuding then a title belt (whether it be European or something like a TV title) would make their rivalry mean more.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Plus, the argument that the European Champion has to be European is downright silly and suggests the poster didn't watch wrestling during the Euro's Time. 90 Percent of the European Champions were definitely NOT European. It was just considered a third tier title and that's how it was treated for guys getting started in the business or just out of No-Name Ville. Kurt Angle seem European to anyone ? How about HBK ?

There is room for a new belt as well, why not give these lower jobber matches some slight meaning to them ? When was the last time Stardust had a title around his waist other than a tag title ? Bo Dallas could fight with meaning for once.... anyway, you get my drift.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

That's true, but there also was no US title back then, either. I wouldn't mind the Hardcore Division being re-established because it creates a niche for that more physical style. If they had a Hardcore Champ that was really over they could pit him against the US or IC champ at Extreme Rules or TLC.

 

[kadroan]

Not necessary. WWE already has enough titles, and the European title was never that big of a deal anyway. If another title is created/revived, I agree it should be the Cruiserweight title.

I don't think the Cruiserweight title should be brought back. We're in the age now where we have cruiserweight sized world champions like Rollins. I could see if we still had heavyweights dominating the main event picture scene but I think the Cruiserweight title served it purpose to break down barriers.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

That's true, but there also was no US title back then, either. I wouldn't mind the Hardcore Division being re-established because it creates a niche for that more physical style. If they had a Hardcore Champ that was really over they could pit him against the US or IC champ at Extreme Rules or TLC.

The problem with hardcore matches in this PG-ish era is that they can't really go all out in a hardcore match anymore. ( there has been some rare exceptions ) This era and hardcore matches are nothing compared to the 90's. Not allowed head shots anymore, no intentional bleeding to create drama during a match, Extreme Rules shouldn't even be a PPV right now in WWE, it's just a waste at this point. I'd be all for a hardcore champion if they took off the dozens of restraints and let loose.

 

[Navi]

I made a mistake and voted "undecided", should have picked the second option. Also agree that the only title changes they should make right now is the Diva's title to read Women's title.

The problem I have with the European Championship coming back, is that what is it replacing? The US title, or the IC title. We don't need it. And what I find happening is that wrestlers get pigeonholed into a certain group, and it's almost impossible for them to break out.

In a perfect world you would start out going for the IC Title, then progress up the the US Title, then eventually maybe if your good enough challenge for the WHC. Unfortunately, most wrestlers will never obtain that last title, but that's how it should be done.

If they do bring back the European title, then I can see the IC or the US title going. No need for 3 midcard belts right now.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I think its like anything else they could make it work if they wanted to when the title first came out it did seem like it worked well but in later years it felt kind of worthless.
I would like to see it back again and be won by someone like Sheamus or Wade Barrett.

 

[OYDK]

Usually, I'm totally against bringing back retired titles for no reason but my opinion has kind of shifted in the last couple of months... I guess I'd say I'm not completely against bringing back the Euro championship, but only if it remained a kind of TV title for the lower mid-card. Something that people like Neville/Stardust or Barrett/Truth could battle for. Over the past couple months, we've seen WWE finally put some effort in building feuds that don't involve the championships, but now it seems as if the guys like Neville, Stardust, Barrett, etc. don't have anything to aim for. Let's be real, those guys are pretty far from the IC/US titles at this point and nowhere near the big belt... why not give them something to possibly run with?

The roster has not been this loaded in a very long time, and I think WWE could handle booking one more title. More importantly, there are a lot of good talents that just seem to be floating around because there doesn't seem to be anything for them. For instance, I think Wade Barrett could do wonders with the European title, especially considering his current gimmick. Adam Rose is another one that could benefit hugely from this. Also, and I just sort of realized this, there are A LOT of European talents in the WWE right now; Rusev, Cesaro, Neville, Balor, Rose, Sheamus off the top of my head.

I get that not every feud has to be for a championship, but I think the Euro belt would allow for more ingenuity and possibility in the lower card.

 

[Scotty]

I'm not really in the market for another championship. I think they are fine with the current vibe that they have going on. I'm more or less the kind of fan that doesn't really care about championship reigns as much as I do about the story behind the matches. As long as the story fits why they are fighting for a championship I am ok with it. I just don't want to see another championship floating around going from person to person and never really amounting to anything other than a prop.

 

[rmp0012002]

The current belts are fine. The Intercontinental is a classic, the WWE had a U.S. Title going back to the beginning of the company and the current title continues the lineage of the U.S. Belt from JCP. I would prefer a women's title instead of calling it the "Diva's" title.

I thought about a TV title only defended on Raw or Smackdown but fear it would have a 100 title changes like the Hardcore title.

The issue with the European title is not that it should be for foreign wrestlers but the WWE only does a few tours a year there so there's no reason to have a belt.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Rather than adding championships to the mix, WWE seems to be interested in boosting prestige of the minor titles they already have. Taking a couple of main event performers (John Cena & Daniel Bryan) and installing them as holders of the US & IC belts was the method used to prove to fans that these championships were still important. With Cena, the objective was met.....with Bryan, the effort terminated only because of his injury.

Presumably, the company wants to continue on this path. So, the European championship.....or any other.....seems extraneous at this point.

 

[LuckyLouie]

European title should not be in the WWE.
When was the last time WWE did a real stint in Europe.
Im not talking about UK shows, Europe.
Also WWE doesn't really have a strong European roster. At least I think they dont.
Overall, it just seems like having a Japanese championship belt. WHile it would be cool, it will never be big because its not the right environment for it.
Im not sure which one will be better, but hardcore title or the cruiserweight will sit much much better with US audience