Combine the U.S and I.C title

[hoppydude]

Currentely both of these titles are relatively meaningless. From the 80's to the 90's the WWE used the I.C title to elavate superstars to superstardom. From the turn of the decade the title started to lose credibilaty and in 2002 it was discontuned for a few months. They brought the I.C title back a few months later on raw and brought in the U.S title on smackdown. Since then it has been used mainly to bring in new guys and make them mean something right away. Superstars will come in, win the belt, and then fade into nothingness, or compete on superstars same difference. What the WWE did about a year ago was combine the tag titles, while this didnt solve the WWE tag team problem it gave the title holders credibilty, made Big Show relevant, and title matches main evented a number of Pay Per Views. They should do something rather similar with the I.C and U.S title, both titles are titles from the decades ago and are not very relevent anymore. Combine them as 1 title and call it the Smackdown vs Raw championship. Have the champion compete on both programs and have their be a title match on almost every PPV. By doing this you give the champion double the exposure so they will have a much better chance at getting over and will more likely be able to elevate themselves to Main Event championship gold. The name of the championship can use some work as it doesnt quite roll of the toungue so any other ideas you can come up with would be welcome. I think this title would elevate superstars to superstardom and make a mid card title relevant for the first time in a decade.

 

[TokiRKO]

I agree. I hate having 2 world champs, 2 mid card champs, and 2 div...well I don't give a shit about the diva division but you get what I mean. I also think they should drop the whole brand roster bullshit and go back to the old days. People are tired of Cena vs Orton, Cena vs Batistia, Cena vs HHH. I'd remark on the smackdown list but I don't get the channel so I can't. Which is another thing, a lot of people can't watch smackdown so I have no idea who this Drew McIntyre is or how he wrestles. I did youtube his finisher and it's badass, but that's it. You have 2 shows so why separate them like they have? One draft a year still means we're exposed to the same matches week after week. I say combine the WWE and WH titles, make a brand new one and call it the WWE championship and you'd have a MUCH larger pool of contenders. Same with the IC and US titles

 

[Cookie14]

While I like the concept of a cross branded title, it would be very hard to get it to actually work.

First off, how would they decide who gets to be number one contender? It would either have to be as a result of cross-brand matches between PPV's, which would blur the lines of the brands. Either that, or alternate which show gets a challenger every PPV. Let Raw have it one month, then SD the next and so on.

Secondly, as a result of the champ appearing on both shows, but the challenger only on their respective brand, it would be hard to build a proper fued over the title, unless the Champ appears on EVERY Raw and SD, which I can't ever see happening.

The US and IC titles are still very important and relevent, but there is a lack of decent people to carry either of those titles at the moment, and there is a lack of challengers to either title. You can have 5 different people trying to go for either world title, but only the champ and one challenger for the US/IC titles. Get more people involved in the hunt for the titles and they become more relevent, and seem more prestigious and desirable to wrestlers, because at the moment it just doesn't seem like they care about them.

 

[The Scarred One]

Personally, I see no reason to combine the Intercontinental and United States Championships. Unless the WWE decides to end the brand extension, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

It's true that the two titles are not as prestigious as they use to be. I mean, there was a time when the two championships actually meant more than the WWE or World Heavyweight Championships because of the athletes who held them. There have been times in the recent past where the titles were pretty much props. For example, after ShowMiz won the Unified Tag Team Titles, I don't really remember the Miz defending his US Championship. Didn't there use to be a stipulation where the champion had to defend his championship once a month or be stripped of it? As for the IC Title, when Rey Mysterio held it in 2009, it didn't help at all because it was unnecessary for both Mysterio and the title. But the IC and US Championships, when used properly, can still mean something and elevate guys to the next level.

With the Unified Tag Team Championships, it's simple because there are not as many tag teams as there were 10 years ago. Like stated, it didn't solve the problem but it gave the champions credibility. But there are plenty of mid-card guys on both shows that could benefit from having the IC and US Titles seperate.

 

[Decarow]

Ugh, this again? Here is my view on it

I think it is great to have one on each brand. We get to see up-coming stars show out their championship skills before they win the Big One. Plus it is an automatic feud starter. I think they were better when we had uni-brand PPV's (which I wish they went back to, but I'll start a topic on that later).

Right now there is no IC champ, and the Miz hasn't done shit with his title. I think Drew will get reinstated on SD and interfere in the match between Kofi and Christian, causing a triple-threat at Over the Limit. I think the Miz needs to keep defending his championship. I honestly think he'd be a great US champion if he started defending it more and held on to it for a year. Maybe longer than MVP's reign.

But should they combine the titles? I don't think so. Unless they bring in another title (hardcore, Light heavyweight/cruiserweight, etc) to fill in its place.

 

[MWRedskins]

ugggg, i hate when people bring up the idea of splitting the titles. the only way they should is if the brand extension ends (which i doubt happens). If we had one title for midcarders, i want you to imagine this, think about how many midcarders fall down to very low midcarders. On Raw, guys like Miz, Dibiase, Morrison, R-Truth and (hopefully) Daniel Bryan all get shots at the U.S. title. While on Smackdown, guys like Kingston, Christian, Hardy, Rhodes, Ziggler and many others get shots at the IC title, combine them and half those guys are having other meaningless feuds.

 

[mikec]

I long for the days before the brand extension, when being a champion actually meant you were the best in the company. Having two world championships and two mid-card titles makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. "I'm the WWE champion!" No your not your champion over about half the roster. "I'm the world champion!" if by "World " you mean your respective brand. So stupid. Same goes for the U.S. and I-C titles. Bottom line is this, there needs to be one World Champion, one I-C Champion (retire the U.S. title), and one tag-team champion. And all this needs to happen on one brand, the WWE brand.

 

[MrNR]

No they should not combine the titles


If anything they need to bring the cruiser weight title back
Bring some more cruiser weight because of tired of seeing Evan Bourne
look like a joke HE NEEDS SOME GOLD.

 

[Jeff]

The WWE and World should be combined into one title. This would be a win/win situation for the WWE. First off it creates a true champion. The champ should be on BOTH brands. The whole roster use to do both Smackdown and Raw each week in the 90's. The champion should have to be able to do this. Maybe you cut back the champs House show they must appear at but it makes sense to do this. It would also give a huge boost to both Smackdown and Raw. If Cena is champion (love him or hate him he is the face of the WWE) and he is on both Raw AND Smackdown the Smackdown ratings will go up. Also how they can figure out number one contender is simply by having a Smackdown Superstar vs a Raw Superstar at a PPV to determine who is number one contender. However I wouldn't be too worried about trying to figure out who gets a title shot. The WWE writers are creative I am sure they can figure it out.

This would also make the US Title and the IC title mean something again. Those titles would mean you are "top dog" on your brand where the World Title would mean your top dog in the company. I think wrestlers like Swagger and Sheamus would of never have gotten World/WWE Titles if the IC and US Title still meant something.

Currently I think of the Smackdown title as the IC title from the past. They are building Swagger into a star and to do this they gave him the Smackdown Title and eventually they will bring him to Raw to fight with the big boys.

 

[BourneToFly]

Being completely honest, I think the WWE should have cross-branded titles for every division - Heavyweight, Midcard, Tag-Team, and Women's. Isn't it about time to make a new title mold anyway? They should have a PPV at the end of the year where the World Heavyweight Champion and the WWE Champion fight and combine the titles to the WWE Championship. The Intercontinental Champion and the US Champion could combine those titles, there would be a tag team title match where the winner is presented with new belts, allowing them to again only have one belt, and the Divas champion and Women's Champion would combine their belts.

 

[Syborgg]

The problem with the IC and U.S. titles arent that they are separate titles. It's that they are hardly ever defended. I know they have/had a PPV called "Night of Champions". But IMO these two titles should be defended at every PPV just like the WWE/WHC titles are. That is the only way to give the titles back any of their prestige. Stop giving the tag titles to guys that already have a singles title. We all know they have enough talent to keep this from happening, but it just seems creative is so lazy that they give a guy the U.S. title and forget about it for a month or so. The main event scene is good, and should be the focal point, but the undercard should be centered around those 2 titles.

 

[pyrusane]

I agree. I hate having 2 world champs, 2 mid card champs, and 2 div...well I don't give a shit about the diva division but you get what I mean. I also think they should drop the whole brand roster bullshit and go back to the old days. People are tired of Cena vs Orton, Cena vs Batistia, Cena vs HHH.

I'm not sure which is more ridiculous...the fact that you are reviving the same tired old argument that the brand split should go away, or the fact that the reason you give is because you have to see the same main event players every single week. Getting rid of the brand split would only make that worse, not better, as you would still see the same guys in the main event, only it would be on Monday and Friday. That's kind of the reason they split the roster to begin with, y'know?

I'd remark on the smackdown list but I don't get the channel so I can't. Which is another thing, a lot of people can't watch smackdown so I have no idea who this Drew McIntyre is or how he wrestles. I did youtube his finisher and it's badass, but that's it.

That sucks for you. Not being facetious, I actually mean that. It sucks that you aren't able to watch SD! Combining the rosters, however, isn't the answer to that. If that were to happen, you wouldn't really see very many fresh faces or feuds, all that would happen is some of the guys who are basically used as jobbers would lose their jobs altogether, mid-card guys would be pushed down to jobber status, and the main event scene would be more cluttered and make less sense than it does now.

You have 2 shows so why separate them like they have? One draft a year still means we're exposed to the same matches week after week.

And combining the rosters will not fix this issue. It will make it worse.

I say combine the WWE and WH titles, make a brand new one and call it the WWE championship and you'd have a MUCH larger pool of contenders. Same with the IC and US titles

No, you would have the same pool of contenders, and less opportunity for them to shine. Every show would have to feature the same four or five top guys, leaving very little time for the undercard to shine, and their would be less titles for them to go after which means less opportunity to elevate their status. With only one World Title and one mid-card title, guys like Shaemus, Swagger, Kofi, McIntyre, Miz, etc. would never have gotten the chance to shine that they have recently seen. You have to have at least one top guy that can sell PPVs or else you run the risk of losing too much money. With two of each title, you can keep one on a proven draw while experimenting with an up-and-coming star with the other title.

While Shaemus had the WWE title, the WHC went from the Undertaker to Chris Jericho, both proven draws. As soon as Jericho lost the WHC to Swagger, John Cena won the WWE title and traded it back and forth with Batista. With just one title, you take too huge of a risk putting it on the shoulders of anyone who hasn't had a chance yet to prove themselves, so you see less advancement of rookie talent.

 

[Ferbian]

They shouldn't combine the championships, there's too much talent on both rosters so that it will eventually be one big clusterfuck of constant contenders and not enough time for proper feuds for it.

The current state of the championships as being divided is perfectly fine, while they're not contended for as much as they could be as of late, that doesn't automatically mean that "OH SHIT UNIFICATION TIIIME" not at all, it just means the championships should be put up for grasp a bit here and there, the Intercontinental championship will become that eventually, and I'm guessing the United States championship also will.

 

[TempestH]

Being completely honest, I think the WWE should have cross-branded titles for every division - Heavyweight, Midcard, Tag-Team, and Women's. Isn't it about time to make a new title mold anyway? They should have a PPV at the end of the year where the World Heavyweight Champion and the WWE Champion fight and combine the titles to the WWE Championship. The Intercontinental Champion and the US Champion could combine those titles, there would be a tag team title match where the winner is presented with new belts, allowing them to again only have one belt, and the Divas champion and Women's Champion would combine their belts.

While I do believe that the WWE and World Heavyweight Titles should be merged, and that the Women's title and Diva's title should be merged, I believe they should keep both the IC and U.S. titles, but make the US Title be the undercard title, equivalent to European Championship of the Attitude Era.

The problem is not that there are too many or too little championships, it's that the only relevant superstars are the ones competing for the titles while everyone else languishes on Superstars, or only appears on RAW or Smackdown one or two times a month for less than three minutes. Even if there was a flourishing tag team division with five teams on each brand, the only ones that would be on TV would be the Tag Champions, the #1 contenders, and the two flunkies that follow the top heel around. What we need are more storylines and feuds that don't have to necessarily revolve around a championship.

 

[frankiep]

i mean im going to agree with the merging of the titles, but the thing i hate about WWE when comparing to TNA is theres no feuds without titles in the picture anymore. This upcoming payperview is actually the first time in maybe years that theres two single matches that dont involve titles which im extremely interested in with CM PUNK vs REY. and randy vs edge...I actually have more interest in those two matches then I actually have for the pushover World Title Matches.