Is it time to Unify the IC and US Title

[ASKane]

When WWE unified the WWE and WHC titles HHH said it was due to the fact that 2 Main Event titles weren't needed since the brand split ended. So is it time the they decided that 2 midcard titles and then unify them at Summerslam or later in the year. Personally I think with the rise of Kevin Owens he would be the perfect candidate to unify them, have him win the US title off Cena at Battleground then try to unify the titles at Summerslam. In terms of a name they could keep one of the titles names or use a title name such as the TV title which they previously had.

Your thoughts on if they should Unify the titles? When they should? And Who should?

 

[Softcore Holly]

Seems very unnecessary. Cena has been a fantastic US champ and made the title look better than it has in years. Ryback got his first title and it'll hopefully help him move up the ladder. As for us we recently got some great matches involving both titles along with 2 WM matches with the winners being two of the most popular guys in the company, a great feud with Rusev and of course a EC for the IC title. In a few weeks we're about to get what could possibly be the best US title match in ages and while not top tier the triple threat for the IC should be entertaining as well. Where if one title was gone we would've had 1 less of everything I've just listed above, and I just don't see why anyone would want that. Anyway

1. No
2. Possibly never, a 2nd midcard title for a giant roster is a very useful thing to have around
3. I guess Owens can take it but really if he manages to take the US title off Cena getting the IC too won't really do much for him that the Cena win already did

 

[Woodstuff]

When WWE unified the WWE and WHC titles HHH said it was due to the fact that 2 Main Event titles weren't needed since the brand split ended. So is it time the they decided that 2 midcard titles and then unify them at Summerslam or later in the year. Personally I think with the rise of Kevin Owens he would be the perfect candidate to unify them, have him win the US title off Cena at Battleground then try to unify the titles at Summerslam. In terms of a name they could keep one of the titles names or use a title name such as the TV title which they previously had.

Your thoughts on if they should Unify the titles? When they should? And Who should?

Short version, they shouldn't.

Long version, they shouldn't because less titles means less prizes for the mid-card guys to chase. Two World titles was overkill. The World title is the top of the mountain prize. Having two guys on top of the mountain always left one (literally always the WHC) looking like a guy that was main event status, but not good enough to win the WWE title. Two mid-card titles is different. They both enhance talent that needs enhancing. If you were going to retire one of the titles, either Ryback or Cena (presumably Owens after Battleground) would be left without a title, and just another name on the roster.

I personally think WWE should introduce a third second-tier title into the mix. 15 years ago, there was the IC title, the European title, and the Hardcore title. I'm not one of the many that thinks bringing back the Hardcore title would suit WWE's PG product, but another title for low to mid card guys to wrestle for would raise the stakes in matches that otherwise wouldn't have meant much. Plus, it would maybe give guys like Adam Rose, Zack Ryder ect a belt to feud over, which would make their matches feel less like card fillers. Imagine if there was no Hardcore title during the Attitude Era. Guys like Al Snow, Steve Blackman, Raven, Crash Holly ect would've been in the same boat as the current aforementioned low-card/jobber guys.

 

[TheBadGuy92]

Theres a couple scenarios id be okay with it. I wouldn't really want it to happen, but..i would be okay if Owens was the one to do it. Also if they unify them with such a big roster i would like to see a gimmick title come to TV, maybe the hardcore title, TV title, crusierweight or something completely new.

 

[Prince Vee]

No they shouldn't unify it at least not at this moment. WWE doesn't give importance to midcard feuds and other random feuds if there isn't a title involved in that. You see, Cena and Kevin Owens are trying to put out yet another match out of their feud and its about the US title this time. Cena comes out every week boasting the US title as Symbol of Excellence. So they can't afford to lose a symbol of excellence by unifying it.

On the other hand, in my verdict, it seems like WWE are trying to build Ryback into something more. Its obvious that his inring, mic skills and connection with the crowd have improved drastically over the years. And this title around his waist gives him more value. So it should just stay there.

Cheers!!

 

[MCMG]

Now isn't a good time at all. Maybe in the long run but, as of right now, the mid-card belts are interesting. One title is on Ryback who is still trying to prove himself and the other is on Cena; a top guy in engaging feuds helping to make younger guys.

This can be a template moving forward. Who is to say that Bryan, Orton and Brock may not hold the IC title. Indeed, having two mid-card titles help gives the WWE the option to do so.

Having a title obviously makes it easier to book for someone. Look at Rusev. A young superstar making good progress can take the title and instantly be more important. Without that title, there isn't that option. Also, it is something people can feud over rather than simply because there is nothing else for the.

Having two mid-card titles works fine. Both have great lineage and feel more important than they have for a long time. Taking one away reduces the options and shrinks the number of guys who would be in contention for a belt.

 

[Planet_Velvet]

Years ago, I'm sure a lot more people would have said yes. But look at what these two titles have going on. John Cena and Kevin Owens in one heck of a feud thus far culminating in a match that will actually be for the U.S. title. The IC belt was the focal point of the Elimnation Chamber deal not too long ago. There is a lot more life and a lot more mileage left in both of these championships. Eliminate one of these championships and that's one less prize for guys to fight for. With sports-entertaiment alternatives picking up TV deals and WWE desire to remain number-one while using its vast resources to lure talent away from other companies to keep them distant runners-up, dropping one of those belts is not the smartest thing to do right now.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Many of us figured the original intent of putting the minor titles (IC & US) on perennial main event performers John Cena and Daniel Bryan was to elevate the prestige of both belts. I felt it was a worthy goal and has certainly succeeded with Cena's 'open challenge' series. Unfortunately, Daniel's efforts were cut off almost immediately after he won the title because of injury.

If the company plans to continue that worthwhile project, it wouldn't serve to merge the two belts. Since no one can be certain that Daniel will return at all, management seems to have adopted the stance of replacing Bryan with Ryback and hoping he can be built up to the point he can make the IC title significant. I don't know whether it will work or not (Ryback ain't no Daniel Bryan in terms of popularity and charisma) but it's probably worth a try.....and at any rate, Daniel's injury is a huge break for Ryback.

I'd keep the titles separate, at least for now.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I've seen these unify the midcard titles threads come up pretty frequently and never has anyone provided any tangible evidence as to why they should.

Does it add more importance to the title? No, one of the titles is put away and forgotten and that title sure isn't going to be the IC title. The unified champ could carry both titles, nut then what is he? The United States Intercontinental Champion? Sounds kind of dumb, you're a champion of all continents plus one country.

A temporary holder of both titles could be interesting. Like when D'Lo Brown or Kurt Angle held both the European title and IC titles.

I just don't see any real tangible benefit other than a short term payoff. It's not like the World title where you're asking yourself which World Champion is more important. They're both midcard titles, they serve different purposes.

WWE now seems ok with letting their main event talent hold the midcard titles. Cena and Bryan came out of Mania with them. Up and comers like Ryback can hold them. I see no need to remove one of those two titles. Having them both allows you to push two guys at once in a championship angle.

Some people are suggesting abolishing one of IC or US in favour of a gimmicky title, why not just use the titles we have now for gimmicks? Cena has basically used the US title as a TV title. Neville and another high flyer could feud over the IC title for a time, there's your cruiserweight title. Have an extreme rules match and you've got your hardcore title.

WWE's titles are fine as they are (except the tag and divas which need to be recast in gold, but that's another thread). Until someone thinks of an angle that's going to draw money long term, there's really no tangible benefit to unification.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Absolutely not. WWE needs more titles, not less. Unifying the World Championships was a big enough mistake. Unifying the midcard titles would make 90% of the WWE roster useless. The titles MUST remain separate.

 

[wrestler36]

I don't think so. Especially with the mid card so deep with talent, you'd want them to strive for something if they're not in the world title picture. You can only have so many interesting mid card feuds that don't involve titles. I wouldn't mind if the titles are Raw/Smackdown exclusive though.

 

[t2ne]

I feel like they should've never unified the world titles.
Didn't they also unify the two mid card belts before just to bring it back? Or was that the European title? Anyways, they need two mid card titles and wouldn't hurt if they added a tv title instead of bringing back the European championship.
Too bad Theodore long isn't still gm or they could bring back the six man belts the nwa had.
Without the two titles and possibly a third creative would cave and struggle even more to make some matches relevant. Without the I c. belt on the line at battleground who would really care about the triple threat? Not many people. Those belts become even more important in this era of subpar writing by creative. Better writers and Vince getting some oxygen to the brain to make some of the stories and fueds mean something would make it easy to unify but without the ability to push more than two fueds semi properly the titles and maybe a third is a necessity!

 

[legendkillerbsal]

It's pretty good the way it is. You have only 1 top belt instead of 2. It makes sense to have more second tier prizes than top prizes because people who have the second tier will compete with eachother to get to the top.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

No, I don't think they should be unified. With the amount of TV time that WWE have, they need more than 1 mid-card championship belt. The only issue with having both the Intercontinental and United States titles is that I view them as of equal importance, rather than during the Atttude Era when the Intercontinental was the clear number 2 belt, and the European belt was 3rd tier.

As there is no longer a European belt, as well as no Hardcore or Cruiserweight titles, the huge number of mid-card wrestlers need more than 1 championship, as what the hell are they fighting for if there isnt anything to win?

Personally, IF they were to unify the IC and US Titles, I'd like the reintroduction of the European Title, or the creation of a never-seen before WWE Television Title, which is required to be defended on TV each week (either on Raw, SD, Main Event or Superstars), adding some importance to the matches held on the lesser shows and encouraging viewers to tune in to maybe catch a title change.

 

[OYDK]

Why unify them? There's no good reason to do so other than a possibly interesting 3-month feud followed by years of mid-card mediocrity. Having one mid-card belt would devastate the mid-card competitors who are not going for said belt, because we all know WWE only focuses on mid-card title feuds in the mid-card... damn I said mid-card a lot...

WWE has always had more than 3 belts in the male division, ( IC, US, Tag Team, European, CW, Hardcore, etc.) there's no need to change that now, especially with such a large and loaded roster.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to agree with the majority on this.

As Sally pointed out, if WWE's overall goal is to heighten the prestige of the mid-card titles as a whole, then merging them at this point in time definitely puts the kibosh on that.

As others have pointed out, Cena's been exemplary as United States Champion, just as I figured and hoped he'd be. I think the IC title would be much, much further along of Bryan's injury issues hadn't resurfaced, but it is what it is.

As far as Ryback goes, I think it's pretty clear to see that WWE is still invested making the plan work for the Intercontinental Championship. After all, the IC title became he first mid-card title to be contested for inside the Elimination Chamber, which was a good step in the right direction in my opinion. Ryback's feud with Miz & Big Show, while not as high profile as Cena's feud with Owens or Rusev, is still a good step forward. After all, they're not jobbing Ryback out left and right, nor have they reverted back to playing hot potato with the title. The problem is that Miz & Big Show just aren't opponents that people aren't all that interested in seeing; however, for someone on Ryback's level, it's a good first feud in the grand scheme of things. They've made a lot more positive strides than negative ones and as long as they keep progressing things, I'm personally okay with it.

 

[Navi]

I have to agree with most as well, don't unify them.

We have seen the problem last year when Lesnar won the WWE title and offed it for a few months. All the main event superstars where just sort of standing around looking at each other going, well what next. It seemed like a total waste of time, and made for some really bad TV. Some of the PPV's weren't that much better. With the belt not in play it created one hell of a bottleneck, that they are still trying to work out, by the looks of things.

One solution was to move both Cena and Bryan down to the midcard and give them the IC and US titles. It has been a glorious success with Cena. Bryan unfortunately not so much because of his injury. But that doesn't mean the title isn't needed.

There are far more wrestlers in the mid card than there are in the main event, and these titles should be used to elevate them when space becomes available. The last thing you need is another traffic jam in the mid card, or the title changing hands every month or so, just so others have a chance to hold it.

Like Naitch said, if you don't have anything to fight for, then what's the use. Not everyone on the roster will hold a title in their time served. But it would be extremely unfair to take away their chance at the possibility of ever getting a title run.

 

[TempestH]

Yes. I do believe that we need more belts, but the problem is that all of the contenders seem so interchangeable.

The people competing for the IC and US belts could feasibly be inserted into a World Title program and vice versa. It feels like we have three main event titles and no actual midcard titles. There needs to be a proper pecking order for the belts.

 

[theblasterkid]

I say unify them. Why you say? For a couple of reasons:

- The unification would make the midcard title more prestigious.

- It would strengthen the tag team division.

- Bring back the Cruiserweight Championship and division.

- Owens versus Ryback title unification match at Summerslam sounds good.

 

[Dagger Dias]

No. Absolutely not. The roster is large enough to justify having two midcard titles. The right choice was made for unifying each of the other title tiers. The big gold World Heavyweight Championship belt felt like a glorified midcard title for the last few years it was around, there was no need to have two World Champions at once anymore. As for the divas and tag team divisions, challengers were getting rushed to titles before they were ready and there was just no need to have two separate tiers anymore in either of these two divisions. They should NOT unify the two midcard titles until one of them is no longer needed. Both titles still serve a purpose.

The Intercontinental Championship continues to get bizarre booking and is nowhere near returning to being the #2 belt, which I predicted it would once the two World Championships were unified. That honor, oddly enough, appears to have gone to the US Championship. That belt needs to keep its Open Challenge format even after Cena loses it. It must remain active for that reason. They need to keep the Intercontinental Championship around too, the midcarders still need a belt to compete for normally with traditional feuds. WWE should keep them both active until there is legitimately no need to have both anymore. We have not reached that point yet.

 

[Faaahn Daaahn Gooooo]

no need to unify the titles. not everyone will be wwe champ, so having two mid card belts with a roster as large as wwe's makes sense. the problem is wwe not booking the belts as meaningful(aside from recent cena run)

if booked right, the titles can be seen as once again something to strive for if not pursuing the wwe title atm

 

[kadroan]

When WWE unified the WWE and WHC titles HHH said it was due to the fact that 2 Main Event titles weren't needed since the brand split ended. So is it time the they decided that 2 midcard titles and then unify them at Summerslam or later in the year. Personally I think with the rise of Kevin Owens he would be the perfect candidate to unify them, have him win the US title off Cena at Battleground then try to unify the titles at Summerslam. In terms of a name they could keep one of the titles names or use a title name such as the TV title which they previously had.

Your thoughts on if they should Unify the titles? When they should? And Who should?

They should unify the titles. They don't book both title divisions well enough consistently to maintain two titles. TLC would be the perfect time. A TLC match for both titles.

I'd have a match between Kevin Owens (U.S. Champion) vs. Ryback (IC Champion) and have Ryback put Owens over.