Interim WWE World Heavyweight Champion possibility.

[WarroBODFan]

Seen a few rumours flying about regarding WWE possibly naming an Interim WWE WH Champion in Daniel Bryan's absence while he recovers from his neck surgery. The main rumour I've read believes that we could see two high profile superstars fight for the right to become interim champ, and will hold the title until Daniel Bryan returns. Then the interim champ and Daniel Bryan will face off in an 'Undisputed' type match to determine the champion for good. This is certainly not set in stone, but it's an idea I'd love to see. So, who fights and/or gets the championship if this idea goes ahead?

Batista - Reportedly disgruntled backstage for numerous reasons most of us know about. Maybe giving him the title for a little bit can somewhat appease him? (Highly doubt it). The fact he didn't seem too thrilled about putting DB over again at Payback may put a nail in the coffin for this possibility though. Not to mention his Hollywood commitments may just see him walk anyway.

Randy Orton - The rematch has to happen sometime or another, but I doubt they'd put the title on him again after a 161 day reign that ended not that long ago. Arguably it wasn't a great run either. It would not surprise me to see him possibly in the match to decide the interim champion, but I can't see him getting the title again.

Triple H - In my personal opinion, it would be awesome to see him as WWE WH champion, albeit just temporarily. Chances seem slim again though considering the ongoing program with The Shield. Still, I don't think anyone can generate more heat than HHH right now, and it does keep the authority powermad angle strong by giving himself the strap.

Kane - I know DB's neck surgery ordeal is completely legit, but we've still seen the kayfabe angle that it was Kane who put him in there. I could see DB getting revenge on the big red machine, and putting the title on Kane gives the match a bit more importance. Whatever your feelings towards Kane are, over the years he's been a loyal servant to the WWE, and I'd be happy to see him as the top dog even for just a week or two. He deserves more than a one day reign as WWE champ. Only problem I have with this is that it's very predictable that DB will win. I know that applies for pretty much everyone else, but we all know WWE won't go with Kane as the champ for an extended run, and rightly so to be honest.

John Cena - Busy with the Wyatt family, but you still can't count out 'the top guy'. I could see him involved in the build-up at least.

Bray Wyatt - Vice versa with John Cena, but he's easily the top heel not involved in the title picture. (Not hard I know). Has some previous with DB, and they had a fabolous match at the Royal Rumble. I think his first reign as WWE champion will be more important than just as an interim though.

Brock Lesnar - No idea what the plan is going forward with him, but there's no way he won't be involved in the title scene sometime soon. Further down the line I could see him taking the title, maybe at Summerslam or later on, and then we could see a Cesaro type get put over. So for this particular instance, I don't think Lesnar would be involved.

Other - Insert superstar here.

By the way, not meaning to steal Feedback's thunder, but his thread is Bray Wyatt specific. http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=276625

Maybe this will turn out to be totally false and DB will remain champion throughout his recovery, but I think this is an absolutely golden opportunity for WWE to create something great. What do you guys think? Who would you like to see as interim champion?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I suppose it's possible. It's not the worst idea I've heard and it'd be a way of keeping them from stripping Bryan of the title altogether. Also it wouldn't be the first time that more than one person at a time has laid claim to being WWE Champion. We saw it back in 2011 with Cena vs. Punk. After Punk beat Cena at Money in the Bank and "walked out" as champion, he was still technically WWE Champion when he and Cena had their rematch at SummerSlam. I guess, when you get right down to it, Cena was technically the interim WWE Champion.

It's the exact same sort of setting in boxing and mixed martial arts. If he's unable to defend the title due to medical, legal or other reasons that are beyond his control, then two top contenders fight to become the temporary champion. When whatever issue that prevented the World Champion from competing has been resolved, then he has to meet the interim champion to determine who the undisputed World Champion is of that particular weight division. While WWE isn't a 100% legitimate sport in that the outcomes of the matches are predetermined, this sort of idea does lend more of a legit sports feel to things.

 

[wrestler36]

I like this idea and quite frankly, I'm upset at myself for not thinking of it. I think this was the issue the first time Razor won the IC title. If I'm not mistaken, I think Michaels was suspended for steroid accusation in '93, so he had to vacate the title and have a tournament. Hence Razor won the tournament, but Michaels never gave up the title, so that's why two titles were hanging at WM 10.

I like this idea. I wonder if the Bryan/Kane story will continue or they will just move on from it

 

[bioshock]

Its the route MMA goes, and it would be something new for WWE and good IMO, only so long as they did it with every champion, instead of a BS loss just before going away for months i.e Cena handing the belt over to Orton, Dolph losing the belt to Del Rio over a head injury, Undertaker losing to Edge in seconds before going away with a injury. Plus it instantly makes a storyline between that interm champion and the actual champion.

Just so long as it doesn't lead to some bull crap where the belts are split up again, or we end up with a whole new UNdisputed champion along with the WWE and World champion, WWE can always screw up a straight forward good thing. Thats if any of this ever happened.

 

[Hem]

I don't really see a point in having an interim champion, it just makes it seem worthless. However to go along with the idea, I think it would HAVE TO HAVE KANE as the champ.

You've listed everyone who is at the main event and really all of them are just very busy, except Kane. He still has time before taking off to promote his movie and him being the interim champ until Daniel Bryan returns could be a good way to move ahead storyline wise and it would make Daniel Bryans return already be at a top level for the championship.

How Kane should be crowned as a champ is I think similar to how they crowned a new champion (Don't remember when but Rey Mysterio won the thing and Cena beat him in the same night).

A giant one week tournament which covers Raw and Main Event and then SD! with the final match taking place on RAW. The winner of this match gets the titles and then goes if D Bry is not ready by payback/Mitb than the winner of the tournament defends the title against the person who placed second in the tournament.

I'd start of with Batista Vs. Reigns, Cesaro Vs. Swagger, Bray Vs. RVD, Kane Vs. Ambrose, Swagger Vs. Orton and Rollins Vs. John Cena all happening on Raw.

The winners of those match - Reigns, Cesaro, Orton, Kane, Bray, and Cena advancing on SD!.

SD - Bray Vs. Cesaro, Kane Vs. Reigns and Orton Vs. Cena

The winners end up as Orton - due to interference by Evolution and the Wyatts. Cesaro due to interference by Cena and Kane just wins fair and square.

The next match up is a elimination triple threat with Orton, Cesaro and Kane all facing off. Orton is out first due to interference by the Shield, Kane eliminates Cesaro after reversing a cesaro swing or something.

Kane wins, takes on Cesaro at payback and than if Bryan isn't back at MITB than Kane takes on Cesaro again.

 

[Pedigree1]

To my knowledge the WWE has never had an interim champion ever in its history.. The title has been vacant but never an interim champion.. As far as the interim champion goes

John Cena: Involved right now with a program with Bray Wyatt but the program will end at Payback.. No need to go any further after this. I could see him involved for an interim run

Kane: Kayfabe injured Daniel Bryan and Kayfabe killed the yes movement for now.. He is a reliable star on the roster,and it be nice to see him get one last run.. But when DB gets back we all know who will win.

Trips: While a run as champion would be great im sure he has enough respect for the title not to be an interim champ.. Interim is just a nice way of saying your the NO1 contender. Plus with the emergency conference call on Monday triple H may not have powers anymore depending on what happens

Bray Wyatt: See John Cena,but Bray is not ready yet.. He is barely a year into the Wyatt family and while true,he is over as a heel its predictable once DB comes back he would win..

Brock Lesnar: TBH i think he is the most logical choice right now.. Giving him the title would make sense,afterall he killed the streak at WM! Having him as the champion,would only increase the hate for him and well,that equals more money for him and the WWE!

 

[WorldChampionJustin]

Randy is my favorite wrestler, but his heel turn was quite pathetic, he has had over a dozen titles, he is one of the best stars of this era. He should of been a monster heel and just destroyed everything and everyone, with Daniel Bryan being the underdog, and getting a lucky win on Orton. Randy should just get one more belt before he takes a little break, make him a monster heel damnit!

 

[lil steroid meat]

Definitely like the idea of the "Interim Champion" concept with a match for the "Undisputed" Title at Summerslam.

Only problem is that everyone is tied up in things. My first thought was that this would be a nice rub for Cesaro, but he's likely facing Lesnar at Summerslam. I'd personally love to see Barrett take it, but logically it wouldn't make sense to give it to him over Orton or HHH. I wanna see HHH have one more heel reign, but he's facing Reigns at Summerslam unless plans change.

If they do this, it will likely go to Orton which I don't really care to see again but whatever.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Definitely if Bryan is only going to be out a few months. No reason to derail his entire push, which connected so well with fans, and move in a completely different direction.

It's reminiscent to Sting circa 1990 when he was injured (and needed surgery) after a botched spot at the Jan 1990 Clash of Champions, when the company had been building for several months his World Title Push, expected to end with a win over champ Flair at the big Feb PPV event. Rather than have someone randomly win the title with no storyline or push (which some people claim WCW strongly considered) they just extended Flair's reign until Sting could return, building more excitement for his long awaited title win, in time for the July Great Am Bash PPV.

Since Bryan is the champ now, if he is off a few months, WWE would be best served to have some sort of "Interim Champ" come in, with the idea that when Bryan retruns he wants "his belt" back, make the Interim Champ either a mega heel fans will want to see Bryan defeat or someone like Cena, a big time star that would have major appeal (and add some doubt as to if Bryan could beat him), then let Bryan get the title and let him run for awhile.

 

[mlp420]

It makes no sense to do this. In wrestling people are conditioned to seeing the champ out there every week and the title defended on a regular basis. If he/she has to be out a few months, can't be champ. You can't all of a sudden decide that somebody can hold the title for 3+ months while injured after years of doing it another way. The man can go for the title again when he gets back. I know some people are all warm and fuzzy inside about Bryan being champ, but he'll have several more title reigns in his career. He's injured, he's gotta step aside until he can get healthy.

 

[SoulTrain4]

No interim champions, that shit sucks because the interim champion isn't considered a "real" champion just a temporary champion he's basically the #1 contender with a belt.

Just strip Bryan (it's the right thing to do) and do whatever you want to get a new (preferably heel) champion over, then have Bryan chase for the title.

 

[TheICChampion]

While I realize that they're obviously not the same thing, here's something to think about:

When Trish Stratus got injured back in 2005, she was Women's Champion at the time. Now, she was gone for at least, what, 6-7 months? They never stripped her of the title, nor made an interim champion. While I am aware of the fact that WWE is scripted, and what not, all I would like is some consistency. For example, some superstars are stripped of the title if they don't defend it within 30 days (or at least reminded of that "rule") while other times months go by and we haven't seen them put up the belt once. I know house shows count, but if that's the case, why bother mentioning it at all, regardless of whether it's a storyline or not? All I'm saying is either make sure everyone defends their title on television/ppv at least once a month, or don't strip anyone of their titles if they "fail" to defend them every month. As far as injuries go, it should be an automatic vacation? of the title until that wrestler is healthy again, especially if they have to be gone for more than 30 days. Then simply crown a new champion, don't make an "interim" champion. When HBK was suspended back in 1993, they held a tournament to crown a "new" IC champion, not an "interim" champion. The only reason they had HBK come back with his own title is because he felt he shouldn't give it back because he didn't think he did anything wrong. Shawn came back and pitched to Vince the story of how he never lost the title so he could claim Scott was not the real champion. Clearly it worked pretty well. Anyway, like I said, if Bryan can't come back in at least a month, then strip him of the WWE Heavyweight title and get a new champion, not an "interim" champion.

 

[V Dogg]

I'm in the vast minority here, but I think the idea of an interim champion is a dumb idea. Go the tested, tried, and trued route by simply stripping Bryan of the title and stage a tournament. Bring back King of the Ring if you must, but for a much bigger prize.

The interim champion is like a face telling a heel (or vice versa), "keep my titles nice and polished until I get back." Insulting. The Authority could give Daniel Bryan the opportunity down the line to win the back the title he never lost by letting him qualify for the shot by throwing near insurmountable odds against him but he overcomes them. Then he wins back the title and the Yes Movement resumes.

Predictable, I know. But no stupid interim champion. Too ridiculous in my book.

 

[streicher187]

Have the winner of the Shield vs Evolution --- Make it an elimination match and last guy to get a pin on the other team becomes the champion..

Eliminate HHH and 2 of the shield so it comes down to Reins vs Batista/Orton and have Batista/Orton stop each other from pinning Roman before HHH gets involved and costs Batista the belt putting it on Orton..

This would give you a champion and allow Batista to leave for a while and come back as a face vs Orton/HHH

Right now there aren't a lot of guys to put the belt on even though I would like to see Mark Henry have a run w/ it

 

[thebarber]

with Bryan out for 2-3 months, HHH will staoryline strip him of course, perfect way in their eyes to get the belt off him and the fans cannot argue that he was screwed out of the belt.
Have HHH claim himself to be the new champion......then have Hulk Hogan come out, and state he has been advised by the Board of Directors to announce an 8 man tournament, with the winner becoming the new WWE WOrld Champion. Whomever wins the belt, gets Bryan autmatically at Summerslam.

 

[MWRedskins]

if their (WWE) plan is to crown a new WWE World Champion while Bryan recovers, then i would do it like this. i would have Stephanie McMahon ask for the belts, BUT have Bryan disobey and do something that generates a reaction and have Bryan walk off with both belts, then later have Stephanie announce that even though Bryan refuses to give up the titles, they will still crown a new champion and then create a new title, that way they do two things. 1) bring in one title and 2) when Bryan returns, he can claim that he NEVER lost the titles and the true champion is him. All i know is this. No matter what WWE does, whenever Bryan comes back and is healthy, he NEEDS to re-gain the title and have a PROPER run. it's unfair to Bryan that they either give him really short runs (see SummerSlam last year) or bad luck just happens to him like this, but Bryan needs to get a run and one other things needs to stop. HHH and Stephanie need to quit saying he's a B+ guy because then some fans will actually sadly believe that garbage. i know it's them being heels, but it's just not working as i think it just hurts Bryan just like faces in TNA calling Magnus a paper champion when he had the title.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

I definitely think the Authority should strip Daniel Bryan of the Title, and as far as an interim Champion goes, John Cena is the best choice.

John Cena is the prototypical babyface, he's everything you would expect a top guy to be. Daniel Bryan is not, but that's a big reason why he's gotten so over. The Authority resents Daniel Bryan and doesn't want to see a guy like him as the Champion, so it makes sense for them to take this opportunity to strip him of the Title. Having the Authority award the Title for Cena also makes sense, because he's the guy that's "best for business".

The key to the angle though, is that when the Authority awards Cena the Title, he has to say how he doesn't want the belt this way and that he wants to earn it. Cena denies being aligned with the Authority, but at the same time you're teasing it. Toying with the fans like this, and teasing the possibility of Cena turning heel is very effective. When Bryan comes back you have a huge match between him and Cena at SummerSlam, to determine the Undisputed Champion. In the build to that match, you have to really hype up the possibility that Cena is working with the Authority, and make it seem like the Authority might get involved to help him beat Bryan. From there you can go in a few different directions.

 

[tripleddd]

Interim Champ ? Simple answer no!!!. If Daniel Bryan is out for 2-3 months then he has to forfeit his title simple as that plus it builds a new story for his return .Who wins it next ? For me has to Be Kane . Kane can hold it for the time Daniel Bryan is out injured and Kane is a legit champ.How Kane wins it I don't mind 10 man battle royal , king of the ring style tournament at payback or just a Kane squash match.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

I think it'd be awesome if Kane held the WWE title again. This time over a day hopefully.