Championship hot potato?

[King_of_Swing1520]

so here is my idea (maybe not using these two wrestlers or this championship but this is just an example):

on raw miz faces cesaro for the us title and wins in a very close match. the next week cesaro comes out and demands his rematch (all champions get an automatic rematch when they lose their title). cesaro wins, reclaiming the us title, again in a highly contested back and fourth match. the following week, this would be week 3 in the storyline, miz comes out calling for his rematch. he gets his rematch and what do you know, he wins. week 4 raw comes along we again have miz (c) v cesaro, and cesaro wins the us title. this could go on for as long as it seemed fit and each match could be very competitive. maybe one week someone wins with a roll up. the next week the champ is counted out, not losing the title but losing the match so the challenger gets another shot the following week.

it seems to me that rarely do feuds contain multiple title changes in them. like miz might beat cesaro for the title, fight him once or twice more and then its over. i dont see alot of back and forth with the title. i think having something like this occur would give credibility to both wrestlers involved.

now i 1st thought of this to add some credibility to the us title, that was untill cesaro began his 200+ days as champ. but my question is if you like the idea? my thinking is that it would make both men look strong and that they are both so good its impossible for one to gain any type of winning streak against the other. ofcourse this could also turn the other way, that being that they are both so bad neither can keep the title. but i was looking into this as a way to positively display two superstars.

again it doesnt have to involve the miz or cesaro, or the us title. so what do you think?

 

[@smarkmouth]

As recently as last year, I would have been happy to see a story line like this, if for no other reason than seeing some focus on a midcard championship.

Today, in 2013, the midcard title scene still has some strides to make. However, one thing they are doing well, is giving each title run it's due longevity. Your idea, though deceptively well thought out, would not do either title or wrestler service.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In my opinion, a great thing that all titles in WWE have going for them is that the company is no longer playing hot potato with them. I'm glad to see that champions are getting longer reigns with the titles as, frankly, it only helps them in the long run.

If you notice that the mid-card champs during the past few months have been losing to guys like Ryback, Orton, Del Rio, & Sheamus has a lot to do with WM season. The wrestlers that Cesaro & Barrett have been losing to are wrestlers that Vince has big plans for, are established stars that have shown to be money makers in the long term or are wrestlers that Vince believes in.

I have hopes for next week's triple threat IC title match. Barrett has been losing ground as champ since the Royal Rumble. I'm hoping that things will pick back up for Barrett and the IC title next week.

The mid-card titles in WWE aren't being treated as though they're important as the WWE or World Championship. As much as it bothers some people, that's exactly how it's supposed to be. It's really how it's always been. I personally think some of the problems in the mid-card title picture could be solved if there was only one World Championship in WWE, thereby leaving a void that could be filled with the IC or US title.

 

[MWRedskins]

I am not a fan of that idea. I think hot potatoing the US title will likely do more harm than it will good. I think the best way to get the title over and get it more prestige is make it a WANTED title have someone actually put that title over as very important and have a long feud with good wrestling matches and of course some mic work. they can have a best of match series over the title or have a guy take the title, then 2 months later have the former champ regain, but don't hot potato it almost every week or month as that will hurt the title and wrestlers.

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

I'm not a fan of hot potatoing. Remember the IC title from '99-'02? You pretty much had a new champion every 4-6 weeks. As much as I loved that time period, it became a little predictable when the IC champion would lose the title. Antonio Cesaro is the best U.S. champion we've had in a while. Part of that is because he's held the title since Summerslam. (Thank God it's not Santino that's still champion.)

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Right now, John Cena is a 12-time World champion and Randy Orton is a 9-time World champion. All because of Hot Potatoing. I'm NOT a fan.

Let's start with John Cena's first WWE title win..
1. He beat JBL for it. This was a good long reign, but then Hot Potato begins.
2. Edge beats him for the title. Cena gets it back.
3. Cena loses it to RVD, who drops it to Edge, and... Cena gets it back.
4. Cena keeps it for a YEAR. Great reign ended by an injury. Orton gets it, and what do you know, he drops it to Triple H immediately. And Triple H drops it back to Orton on the same night! Hot Potato at its finest.
5. Orton keeps it for seven months, and then drops it to GUESS WHO? Triple H! The very guy he just played Hot Potato with.
6. Triple H has a decent reign and drops it to Edge.... who drops it to Jeff... who drops it to Edge. Hot Potato Hot Potato!
7. Edge drops it to Triple H in the Chamber! And Triple H drops it to... Randy Orton, his Hot Potato partner.
8. Randy Orton drops it to Batista. And Batista drops it to Randy Orton. *sigh*
9. Randy Orton drops it to John Cena... who drops it to Randy Orton... who drops it to John Cena. Seriously, this shit is fucked up.
10. John Cena then drops it to Sheamus. Who drops it to, dum dum dum, John Cena!
11. John Cena immediatley drops it to Batista, who then drops it to JOHN CENA -____-
12. John Cena then drops it to Sheamus. AGAIN.
13. Sheamus then drops it to Orton, who then drops it to Miz. Miz drops it to Cena. And Cena drops it to Punk. That's fine right? But then they do that stupid tournament where Rey won just to give it BACK to John Cena.
14. Cena then loses to Punk, but Punk loses it to Del Rio. Del Rio then drops it to Cena... and then Cena drops it to Del Rio. Hot Potato!!
15. Del Rio then drops it to Punk who gives it to Rock.

So all in all, we've had 14 different guys have a total of 37 title wins. 37% of all title wins were for the first time. Do we really need more Hot Potatoing? It will be 14 out of 38 by WrestleMania, and if Cena ends up dropping it to a guy like Orton, the percentage gets worse.

No more Hot Potatoing. It's overdone.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

I don't mind it. This isn't the typical hot potato that people seem to be comparing it to here. This is keeping things between two guys, and making them both look strong in the process.

I've seen the idea work in the past. The Midnight Express and the Fantastics once had an angle in the NWA over the old US Tag Team title where they kept trading the belts back and forth over a series that lasted several months. It was highly competitive, served to put both teams over, and was probably the high point for that championship.

Today, I wouldn't even think of trying something like that with a major title, but considering a title like the US title is basically just a prop now, what can it hurt? You can't hurt the prestige of the title, because it doesn't have any anymore.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This is a horrible idea. Absolutely awful.

Few things damage a championship's credibility more than these types of scenarios. If the championship is so easy to win then what do you accomplish by winning it? If someone had 20-somewhat title reigns but none of them lasted longer than a week then the wrestler in question can hardly be considered as great as another who may have had less than 5 but each of them lasted over 100 days. Championship reigns need to be lengthy. Not to the point where fans get sick of the title holder, which unfortunately happens too often it seems, but long enough to where it will be a big deal when he gets defeated.

A new champion needs to win in his first title defense nearly every time. I'm 100% against putting the belt right back on the person the champion defeated for it. This damages the credibility of the belt as well as the wrestler involved. Want to improve the credibility of the titles? This is not the way to do it. Meaningful feuds with strong title defenses and "big moment" victories fueled by plenty of promos along the way is how it's done. So what if the title getting switched around frequently makes things different, what benefits the federation in the long run is making the titles appear to be worth winning in the first place. It needs to be a challenge and this might quite honestly be the worst way to attempt to accomplish that.

 

[Dirk]

I get that the longer reigns means more for the belt and the wrestler, but what would the point of the rematch clause be? Since Punk and Sheamus became champs there have been no successful rematches, so why not just drop it?

 

[Radical]

I'm not a fan of Hot Potatoing the titles except when I hate who has the title (not kayfabe-wise but simply are not entertained by who is holding the title) then I want the title on someone I like ...

But aside from that I agree with those who say more lengthy title reigns are better for the title than quick reigns.

That's why I'm a HUGE supporter of Tournaments and Multi-Man Matches including Championship Scramble or Elimination Matches because you have the opportunity to give certain Superstars a boost without actually, officially changing the title holder.

I can't believe they've done away with Championship Scramble matches. They do so much, IMO, for everyone involved. In a Chamionship Scramble you can have a comedy character like Santino or Brodus Clay get a pin or submission and be the temporary Champion (giving him a boost) and then have a Heel come in and in a few seconds get their own pin/submission thus boosting them (which is more important) and at the end of the match the Champion can still get the final pin/submission or, at least, a quality contender gets their first ever title win and 'shocks the world'!

The length of Cesaro's run as US Champ certainly gives it some more credibility than it has had in recent years but at the same token ... not really. Because who has really shown they care about winning the US title in the WWE? R-Truth? Great Khali? And now, The Miz? But that's really all since SummerSlam. 3 guys in like 8 months?

And a big-ass Battle Royal does NOT count as showing 'other guys care about the title'. You need other Superstars to actually SAY they care about it.

This goes for all titles of course. And I'm a supporter of getting rid of the World Title and boosting the IC title in prestige thus making the US title seem a little more important as well. And the only way you boost the IC title is have more guys show interest in winning it.

 

[H33LTurn]

I like the idea. Its unique and could potentially regenerate interest in the title. However, the most it could last is a month, with the true champion being determined at a ppv. Any longer that that and it becomes incredibly redundant.

 

[sdelfin]

In my opinion, a great thing that all titles in WWE have going for them is that the company is no longer playing hot potato with them. I'm glad to see that champions are getting longer reigns with the titles as, frankly, it only helps them in the long run.

If you notice that the mid-card champs during the past few months have been losing to guys like Ryback, Orton, Del Rio, & Sheamus has a lot to do with WM season. The wrestlers that Cesaro & Barrett have been losing to are wrestlers that Vince has big plans for, are established stars that have shown to be money makers in the long term or are wrestlers that Vince believes in.

I have hopes for next week's triple threat IC title match. Barrett has been losing ground as champ since the Royal Rumble. I'm hoping that things will pick back up for Barrett and the IC title next week.

The mid-card titles in WWE aren't being treated as though they're important as the WWE or World Championship. As much as it bothers some people, that's exactly how it's supposed to be. It's really how it's always been. I personally think some of the problems in the mid-card title picture could be solved if there was only one World Championship in WWE, thereby leaving a void that could be filled with the IC or US title.

While the IC and US titles shouldn't be considered quite as important as the WWE and World titles, it would be nice if they were treated with some importance, with which they are not. But it's not just that it's wrestlemania season. Things were getting better when Cody was IC champ, but when they put the US belt on Santino, things went downhill. His run as champ was a disaster that consisted of losing constantly to Del Rio(why not put the US belt on him as he tries to win a bigger title being unsatisfied with just one belt?) and beating Heath Slater. Cody's second IC run was awful. Christian became a TV jobber within weeks of winning the IC title as did Miz who lost more than he won as champ, even to guys who they weren't pushing hard. Kofi was pushed harder before he won the IC title than after. Cesaro beat Santino twice before even getting a shot. Now Cesaro and Barrett lose way too often as champs. It's not a wrestlemania season thing, it's the whole booking philosophy. They have enough of a roster that it's not necessary. But I guess creative is under the wrong impression that beating champs that the fans know rarely win somehow make the Ryback look better.

As for the original post. It's not a bad idea, but wouldn't work well until longer title reigns are more established and the IC and US titles are treated better. I also wouldn't have the title change hands more than twice in such a storyline. WCW did something like that in 92 I believe. Stunning Steve Austin was TV champ, and Barry Windham beat him for it, but lost it right back not long after.

 

[Prince Punk]

this only works under specific and rare circumstances... Normally I would HATE this idea but I can think of a time when it would have been perfect to execute. Let me elaborate for everyone..

After Elimination chamber last year... You know the one where everyone was freaking out thinking Santino was going to win the World title? afterwords they gave him the U.S title as something of a consolation prize. It was not a big deal it was not really doing much anyway.... Here is where you could have used a hot potato scenario as Santino did nothing with his title reign (it had a little time to it but he never defended the belt) as if you found him someone to defend against and had them win, and he could have tweaked his gimmick by chasing the title and they could have traded the belt 2-3 times enhancing his gimmick bringing the belt back from oblivion because it was actually being fought over, and could have helped another young talent as well (whom ever he would have feuded with).

Now however Antonio is in the middle of a massive run and the title is being shown around the waist of a predominantly dominant champion i think he will more than likely have a year+ reign, though your idea could possibly work with the I.C title as it seems like it along with wade are going no where.... which is a shame as I feel they just need to showcase the midcard titles more and actually build lengthy rivalries over the titles, that would help the talent and the titles more than anything else they could do in terms of the midcard and star building...

 

[Redemption-2012]

No, this would not work because where is you're logic? The title is not being passed around like a hot potato. You're idea sucks dick and you should know this by now. ALL of you're ideas suck dick and you don't know a thing about Rasstlin.

 

[Redemption-2012]

I like the idea. Its unique and could potentially regenerate interest in the title. However, the most it could last is a month, with the true champion being determined at a ppv. Any longer that that and it becomes incredibly redundant.

 

[~Heup©~]

Right now, John Cena is a 12-time World champion and Randy Orton is a 9-time World champion. All because of Hot Potatoing. I'm NOT a fan.

Let's start with John Cena's first WWE title win..
1. He beat JBL for it. This was a good long reign, but then Hot Potato begins.
2. Edge beats him for the title. Cena gets it back.
3. Cena loses it to RVD, who drops it to Edge, and... Cena gets it back.
4. Cena keeps it for a YEAR. Great reign ended by an injury. Orton gets it, and what do you know, he drops it to Triple H immediately. And Triple H drops it back to Orton on the same night! Hot Potato at its finest.
5. Orton keeps it for seven months, and then drops it to GUESS WHO? Triple H! The very guy he just played Hot Potato with.
6. Triple H has a decent reign and drops it to Edge.... who drops it to Jeff... who drops it to Edge. Hot Potato Hot Potato!
7. Edge drops it to Triple H in the Chamber! And Triple H drops it to... Randy Orton, his Hot Potato partner.
8. Randy Orton drops it to Batista. And Batista drops it to Randy Orton. *sigh*
9. Randy Orton drops it to John Cena... who drops it to Randy Orton... who drops it to John Cena. Seriously, this shit is fucked up.
10. John Cena then drops it to Sheamus. Who drops it to, dum dum dum, John Cena!
11. John Cena immediatley drops it to Batista, who then drops it to JOHN CENA -____-
12. John Cena then drops it to Sheamus. AGAIN.
13. Sheamus then drops it to Orton, who then drops it to Miz. Miz drops it to Cena. And Cena drops it to Punk. That's fine right? But then they do that stupid tournament where Rey won just to give it BACK to John Cena.
14. Cena then loses to Punk, but Punk loses it to Del Rio. Del Rio then drops it to Cena... and then Cena drops it to Del Rio. Hot Potato!!
15. Del Rio then drops it to Punk who gives it to Rock.

Yea a bit much I agree. But I don't like year long title runs... that's just me though. I'd rather see those straps (and I do mean all of them) desired. Like give theses guys the heart and want for a belt and when they drop it show them in detailed story climb back up the latter. I know it still would eventually be "hot patatoed" but at least it wouldn't be due to shock effect but actual struggle to achieve.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Not the worst idea ever. I'd keep tuning in to see when the madness ends. Plus it's a mid/low (during WM season) card title so why not have some fun with it? What I'd prefer though is a best-of-series since it tells me when the story is going to end. Preferably from two guys who are creative in the ring. To me, Benoit's best work was working with Booker T in a Best-of-seven series in WCW. If your going to trade wins and losses this way the title doesn't "lose it's value" in the eyes of the uptight smarks.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

There's a balance between hot potato'ing a title and lengthy reigns.

I, personally, am a fan when it's done right. Title changes on live TV are exciting, and it makes you feel like you need to actually watch every week or you might miss something. This is what the attitude era/nWo era had that made the shows exciting. Now, things are very much like they were in the mid-90s, where RAW is just one long advertisement for the PPVs.

Take, for example The Rock/Triple H feud in 2000:

• Triple H - 4 month long reign
• The Rock - 1 month long reign
• Triple H - 1 month long reign
• The Rock - 4 month long reign

That's quite a bit of hot potato... but each guy got their lengthy reign in to establish themselves. And the frequent title changes I think benefitted the feud, by putting both guys over as each other's equal.

There's been a lot of non-title matches on TV where the champions lose. I think this hurts the champions more than hot potato'ing the belt between guys. 1) it makes TV more exciting and 2) adds intensity to the feud for the champ to get his rematch, potentially making the PPV match more interesting.

Even in 1999:

• The Rock - 1.5 month long reign
• Mankind - 1 month long reign
• The Rock - 1 week long reign
• Mankind - 3 week long reign
• The Rock - 1 month long reign

Did this hurt the championship? Did it hurt The Rock or Mankind? I don't think so. This feud defined both guys during that time period. And having them both beat each other senseless over the title, and each struggling to hold onto it made it that much more intense, in my opinion. It was also right after a period where Austin held the title for 6 months. So some frequent back and forth was fresh.

So yea, I'm a fan of this idea. The only thing is that there needs to be a balance. If you hot potato the belt, eventually give one guy a longer reign to establish himself. It will make it matter that much more when one guy can finally hold onto it and set himself apart.

 

[crippler]

Hot potatoing any championship makes the title less interesting and have less meaning. I personally like the long title runs especially on heel characters. Cesaro's lengthy title run its made the us title more watched personally I would rather see the US champ vs the IC champ rival for awhile and at mania unifying the titles could have a few non title matches between Cesaro and Barrett each getting a non title win then have them cost easch other matches building up to mania. Only problem is its too late now it should have been started the week after extreme rules

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Hot potatoing any championship makes the title less interesting and have less meaning. I personally like the long title runs especially on heel characters. Cesaro's lengthy title run its made the us title more watched personally I would rather see the US champ vs the IC champ rival for awhile and at mania unifying the titles could have a few non title matches between Cesaro and Barrett each getting a non title win then have them cost easch other matches building up to mania. Only problem is its too late now it should have been started the week after extreme rules

Really? Both Barrett's and Casero's reigns have been lengthy but completely meaningless. They barely defend their titles. And they job in non-title matches more often than they successfully defend it. A long title reign is meaningless if there isn't a feud over the title. I'd much rather have a meaningful feud with shorter reigns than keeping the belt on a jobber for 8 months.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

I'm a little confused why some people here seem to think that Cesaro is having a strong run as US Champ?

Yes he's featured in a match every week on TV, which I suppose is a step up from previous US title runs. But does everyone realize that the last time he won on RAW was the January 7th show, where he beat Khali? Since then he's lost 7 times on RAW, by pinfall or submission every time.

In what world does a champion get defeated soundly 7 straight times, still have his championship, and also be considered a STRONG champion?

The US title is a prop. Eliminate the title tomorrow, and it doesn't change Cesaro's current push one bit. It means absolutely nothing today, so going back to the OP's point, doing something like a hot potato with the title cannot hurt the title itself. There is nothing there to hurt.

The guy hasn't won on RAW in over 2 months, and he still has his big, shiny belt. THAT... is a joke!

 

[Trance Metaphor]

-sigh-

I wish there were a handful of guys that were in the Main Event and never won a single title in the WWE today. I miss the days when it wasn't only about titles. Hot potato-ing is the worst. It's like a slap in the face to all the past wrestlers that went their entire careers without even winning ONE WWE title, despite the differences in eras. Why the WWE felt like cheapening the victories is beyond me. For a long time there was this pattern where any title other than the WWE title was easy to win. Look at the Tag Team titles. Those are the easiest titles to win, thus the most worthless. There's no challenge; you just need to have a partner and be put on the hotspot radar early on in your career. I think every title in the WWE should be defended successfully for a minimum of THREE times. Transitional Champion crowning is bullshit. Have the would-be transitional Champion interfere or distract the wrestler into losing his title to the next guy in line instead. John Cena is a 12-Time World Champion, which is just silly. Ric Flair is a 16-Time World Champion, but that's not silly because Ric Flair spanned decades and has the longevity to give his history credibility. Having more title reigns today doesn't mean jack. Having a single long reign today doesn't mean jack. The only thing that matters (or should matter) today is how many times you've successfully defended the title.