So what are the upper mid-card guys going to do now?

[CM Steel]

Now that there is only one world championship in the WWE. What are the guys who won the world heavyweight championship going to do? Even since the WWE brand split came to an end, the WHC was looked upon as a secondary title next to the WWE championship. Former WHC like...

-Christian
-Jack Swagger
-Mark Henry
-Dolph Ziggler
-ECT.

Would not have been a world champion without the WHC being active in the WWE. And now that it's unified with the WWE title, what's the next step for these guys? Where do they go?? And what should they shoot for??? And for guys like Kofi Kingston who has never been any kind of world champion. What does the future hold for him as a upper mid-carder?

What are the upper mid-card guys going to do now?

 

[kumarjtk]

i think wwe threat ic title as their secondary title behind wwe whc cship. So whc contenders now face against ic title. Now wwe run their wrestlers like 90 and attitude era, only few guys compete for wwe whc title.

 

[spiketbear]

I'm really, really hoping that the Intercontinental Championship rises back up and regains its former glory: that is, to be what the World Heavyweight Championship has been for the past five or more years: a stepping stone for these midcarders to the WWE championship.

In recent years, unless it was around Wrestlemania, there have been two major feuds: the WWE title one, and the World title one. There were barely any storylines outside of that. Most other matches, including lower card titles like the Intercontinental title, were thrown together at the last second. Their matches were pointless and didn't particularly help add much history, careers or memorable moments.

Back in the day (I guess I'm old even though I'm only 27), there were multiple feuds and storylines going on. Whether they were for a title or not, each rivalry was important. The person who held the WWF title was the undisputed face of the WWF, unless they were a transitional champion, or were heels that were being built up to give a babyface a memorable victory.

The guys who held the Intercontinental title were the ones who were almost at the top of the mountain. They were so close to greatness. Either they were next in line or they needed to develop themselves a little more to become world title contenders. Edge held the IC title until it was time for him to move up to the next level, where he won the Money in the Bank briefcase, and finally, the WWE title.

In recent years, the World Heavyweight title fully encompassed this role of the "next big thing." CM Punk had multiple reigns, perhaps testing his mettle at the top of the ladder, before he finally won the real prize, the WWE title.

Meanwhile, the Intercontinental title was pushed down to be just another meaningless piece of rubber and gold. The IC title, the USA title, and even the ECW title seemed to be totally interchangeable, being passed around with few feuds or rivalries. Most of the time, they didn't even make it onto the biggest PPV shows. Kofi Kingston would hold the USA title for 6 months, lose it, and then immediately win the IC title and hold it for 5 months. Santino Marella won the IC title. Oh, how it has fallen. Antonio Cesaro won the USA title on a preshow and held it for like 9 months, where it was barely featured. WWE might as well just deactivate the USA title like they did the Cruiserweight belt. It's basically either the forgotten title or the jobber belt.

Now, to finally answer your question. I'm hoping the midcard guys can feud over a newly prestigious Intercontinental title. The belt can regain its former glory, and its holders can be viewed as future faces of the company, future WWE champions. The co-main events of PPVs can now feature the IC title. It can fill the role that the WHC left behind. The USA title can continue being the lower card belt. THE lower card belt. There no longer has to be 2 of them. The wrestlers should actually care about winning the storied, historic Intercontinental title.

 

[Tyler3750]

The upper mid carders will stay in the mid card and fight for the IC/US titles, as they should have done from the start. Back when i was growing up watching the IC title was the stepping stone to the big time matches, guys like edge, jericho hbk the rock etc, all held the belt and their matches could carry a raw or smackdown, it did help the younger guys get over when they eventually won the title from a bigger name, which is exactly what should happen now. let Big E have A long reign, building him up for a WWE title run later on, then whenever he loses he can make the step up, and whoever beats him can have the same shot, be it reigns, rollins, bray wyatt etc....I dont want any of the Up and comers going for the WWE title until theyve had a decent run with the IC title, just like the old days hahaha

 

[Cade]

I'll agree with what spiketbear said, and want to add a few things to it.

First, there's absolutely no reason the IC title can't fill the same role the WHC had been for the past several years.

While certain wrestlers did use the WHC as a springboard to the WWE title picture, as often as not they simply slipped back down the card. Even thinking of guys like Swagger and Khali as "former World Champion" seems a bit of a joke in hindsight, doesn't it? Whether you get into the WWE title picture is about personal talent, not a stint with the WHC.

Another point I want to make regarding the use of the Intercontinental Title as the #2 belt instead of the WHC; in recent years, the WHC had become something of a dead-end street. WWE insisted that it was a top title, equal in stature to the WWE title. At the same time, they treated it as an also-ran consolation prize.

When you hold the IC title as the #2 belt, you can plainly and directly say that you have your sights set on something bigger. You don't have to hide the fact you have higher aspirations in order to stick to the company line. The WHC actually boxed in the talent who held it - holding what everyone knows is the #2 belt, while showing absolutely no interest in moving up, since the company insists you're already at the top. It restricted the ability of wrestlers like Del Rio, Ziggler, and to a lesser extent, Sheamus, to further develop their characters and engage in meaningful feuds with greater goals. Using the IC title for the same purpose should solve that, allowing it to showcase the upper tier of the midcard just as the WHC has been doing since the end of the brand split, while allowing the talent that holds it to exhibit even greater aspirations and potential for development.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE itself has indicated that the removal of the World Heavyweight Championship means that the Intercontinental Championship will get a boost. At least, that's the indication given in a recent WWE.com article listing 5 ways that WWE would change with only one World Championship. With the WHC gone, there's genuinely no reason why the Intercontinental Championship won't be reinstated as the top secondary championship in the company.

I think that, ultimately, we'll see upper mid-card guys do what they've generally always done, which is floating in & out of the main event picture. The only differences being returning the traditional format of only one World Champion and a renewed level of importance for the IC title due to the lack of a secondary World Championship.

When it comes to upper mid-card guys, all in all, I tend to think more along the lines of Bryan, Punk, Jericho, RVD, The Shield, Big E., Henry and a few others. These are guys that I see heading into the main event every now and again, which means I think their focus would be along the IC title. Even though there's never been any official indicator, it seems pretty obvious that the IC title is thought of as the more prestigious mid-card title in the minds of most. With the trajectory of the careers of Swagger, Ziggler, Christian, Kofi, Cesaro, Miz and a few others, I see them firmly within the mid-card range going after the US title as they're just not as high up as others I mentioned at this time.

I might be completely wrong, as it's just a pure guess on my part, that WWE will unify the IC & US titles somewhere down the line. At some point afterward, I think they'll introduce another secondary mid-card title. They could reinstate the Cruiserweight Championship, they could reinstate & rename the WCW Television Championship or create their own TV title, or create an entirely new title altogether for wrestlers that are more within the lower to middle mid-card range.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The upper midcarders as well as any former WWE Champion or former World Heavyweight Champion that are not currently in non-title feuds should all end up in the Intercontinental Championship scene. In 2014 I expect that title to see some more of its former importance restored. It used to be the #2 belt in the federation. Now that the World Heavyweight Championship is no longer with us it will not be difficult for that to happen. Former World Heavyweight Champions competing for the Intercontinental Championship against upper midcarders will seem like a demotion for them at first, but in the long run it will be great for the belt and the title structure as a whole. This in turn makes the WWE Championship scene and overall main event tier much less crowded. It will be a win/win situation for all involved once enough time has elapsed for the Intercontinental Championship to have some of its importance and prestige restored. It will take a while but it will be worth it. By this time next year I fully expect it to be much more important again.

 

[ramblinroy682]

Like many have said, I think the IC Title will become more important now. Curt Axel's run left a lot to be desired, but having it on one person for so long does help the title feel less like a prop. Especially since it was the only important part of Axel's run with Heyman.

I also think WWE is making that statement by putting it on Langston. I'm not the fan of Langston that some are. I just don't see the appeal. To me, he is the perfect guy for a tag team. But, you know how Vince loves Big Muscles.

Anyway, based on him interfering in the Shield's business, I can see a few things happening. The first, and more likely in my opinion, is Mark Henry and Langston face off against Reigns and Rollins. Henry turns his back on Langston and sets up a feud between the two. The second, based on the ending of Smackdown, we about to get a singles program between Reigns and Langston. WWE will give each a chance to prove who is going to be the next alpha dog. The Last option, and the one I'd like to see the most, is Ambrose versus Langston in a US/IC Title Unification Match. I could see this being the beginning of the end of the Shield any way you slice it.

Back to the topic, I think the up and comers, guys like the one mentioned above will be the fine fighting over the IC title. Older guys or proven guys don't need a title to fight over. Daniel Bryan, Henry, Punk, Cena, etc can carry a feud with or without a title. Another place to look for these guys to land will be in makeshift tag teams as that division is being pushed. Look at Show and Mysterio. Goldust and Cody. These are guys that are proven guys who are in the middle of one of the best tag team runs we've seen in years. I expect that to continue.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Now that there is only one world championship in the WWE. What are the guys who won the world heavyweight championship going to do? Even since the WWE brand split came to an end, the WHC was looked upon as a secondary title next to the WWE championship. Former WHC like...

-Christian
-Jack Swagger
-Mark Henry
-Dolph Ziggler
-ECT.

Would not have been a world champion without the WHC being active in the WWE. And now that it's unified with the WWE title, what's the next step for these guys? Where do they go?? And what should they shoot for??? And for guys like Kofi Kingston who has never been any kind of world champion. What does the future hold for him as a upper mid-carder?

What are the upper mid-card guys going to do now?

The only one of those guys who had a halfway decent title run was Mark Henry. IMO, not a single one of them should've been World Champion. These guys should be shooting for the U.S. Title, the IC Title, or the World Tag Team titles. That used to be plenty of motivation for guys. Barring that, they should be able to get over in feuds with other guys in similar situation, and start telling a story that doesn't just revolve around the title.

Bottom line: If you need a title to help make yourself relevant, you probably shouldn't have the title.

 

[PingPongBundy]

I wish I could believe otherwise, but we all know the IC belt will never regain it's ultimate former glory. Around 1999, it just stopped being the stepping-stone to the WWE Championship. No longer was it seen, as an unspoken belief, that the holder of the IC strap was, even though he wasn't the top champion, the best wrestler in the company at that moment. Savage, Steamboat, Valentine, etc were far better in-ring performers than Hogan could ever have hoped to have been. They all held the IC belt at different times during Hogan's WWE title runs. In 1994, when Razor Ramon was competing to regain the strap from Diesel, he remarked that the IC belt was the most important thing in his life!! When Diesel lost that at SummerSlam, not even the tag belts were acceptable (for a moment anyway) as a consolation being that he'd lost the IC belt. No, we'll never get back to that point. Then again, it should surprise nobody. There are a lot of things some would like to see that could never happen again in wrestling. To make a long story longer, the IC belt could, at least, go back to being an important belt again. It was better, even around 1999-2001 than it is now, in terms of prestige. I mean, it must have meant something to the WWE higher-ups to have brought it back at all in 2003. They could have named that belt anything they wanted to, but they decided to reinstate the IC belt.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

What are the upper mid-card guys going to do now?

Goodness forbid, contend for mid-card titles??!


Hopefully this is the shot in the arm that those belts needed, and they are treated a little differently.

 

[enviousdominous]

I really do miss a time when there was enough "A" material for the writers to share with pretty much anybody. It would be great for us to be able to see our most favorite wrestler get a chance to wear the world title, if only to give them a couple months of creative momentum. I doubt that anyone's favorite wrestler has to be wearing the world title in order to remain their favorite.

There was a time when, despite Hogan's hogging the spotlight, you could still have an entire show of amusingly obnoxious story lines. You could have Jake The Snake ripping off Rick Rude's pants in the middle of the ring, you could have Brutus Beefcake threatening to cut The Honky Tonk Man's hair, you could have Razor Ramon tackling Goldust through giant snow piles. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic here, but it seems to me like the filler of yesterday was a thousand times better than the filler of today.

The sad thing is that these days, all championships except for the world championship exist as the same bland filler as the rest of the program. There's never ANY hype for an intercontinental title match anymore; and does anybody recognize that Dean Ambrose is the US Champion? Even the tag team titles. None of the heel tag teams are cutting promos directed at CodyDust, there's never a verbal confrontation in the ring or backstage. The show is 95% focused on the world title picture, and 50% of that percentage involves giving a mic to Stephanie for some reason.

I'm just thankful that my favorite performers are on tv and are allowed to have a match once or twice a week. Fuck a championship.

 

[Airehk]

They will need to write two "world title" storylines, just as they used to. Only, they will have to substitute the WHC with the IC title.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

The only one of those guys who had a halfway decent title run was Mark Henry. IMO, not a single one of them should've been World Champion. These guys should be shooting for the U.S. Title, the IC Title, or the World Tag Team titles. That used to be plenty of motivation for guys. Barring that, they should be able to get over in feuds with other guys in similar situation, and start telling a story that doesn't just revolve around the title.

Bottom line: If you need a title to help make yourself relevant, you probably shouldn't have the title.

Exactly. The men makes the title, not the other way around. Im glad the world title is gone now. There has always been this consensus/belief in the iwc that if this midcarder wins the world heavyweight, this midcarder would instantly become a star. BS. Back in the day, when one wins the world title, it represent you're at the top. Period. Now when somebody wins the world title, it means you're still trying to go over with the help of that title. Pathetic.

Anyway. Now wwe needs to restore the prestige of the US and IC titles if they ever want to build maineventers for the future. Otherwise not many midcarders gonna have that stepping stone to help get themselves over.

 

[L@RISANO]

I think the fact that Big E Langston rather than a Big Show,Mysterio or Mark Henry coming out to interfere on Smackdown's Main Event this past Friday night, shows alot about the value the IC title is going to have. A feud between Roman Reigns and Big E seems to be on the cards.
Hopefully, someone like a Damien Sandow is going to be the challenger for Dean Ambrose's US Championship. Imagine the Promos between the two of those guys...even though both are heels.Maybe one can be a tweener of sorts,can't he?

 

[deadman talking]

it can only mean the intercontinental championship will be more important like it use to be, i hope. i loved that title and mainly the characters surrounding it. the united states title will hopefully experience the same admiration ar it did. i dont know why but i use to associate it to the more badass and rougher around the edges performers. time to put these titles on the line more and have the talent do almost anything for these prestiguous titles.

 

[Softcore Holly]

Simple, have non-title feuds. Do what Punk and Heyman did, fight each other for reasons that wasn't related to any titles. Have people actually want to beat each other up and let us watch them settle it in the ring.

Which is pretty much what they're doing with DB and Punk in their thing against the Shield/Wyatts, no titles are mentioned at all in their matches(although for the love of god please get the US title off Ambrose so it can be used elsewhere) yet 2 of the most popular "upper mid-carders" are being used well enough while the main title picture is full.

As for the IC title, it has a long way to go before it becomes important again, and sadly enough it looks like it's going to stay that way for a while. The problem with the IC title is it isn't feuded over, hasn't been that way for months. Instead it's champ vs #1 contender, contender loses, move on to next contender while forgetting all about the previous one, rinse and repeat. Both men get little to no mic time to promote the match, and thus people could care less about the match itself. Was that way during all of Axel's boring title reign, and judging how quickly Sandow got tossed to the side it looks like it's going down that route again for Big E. Doesn't really help that he's getting fed opponents that no one really expects him to lose against. Makes the match not worth caring about, much less the title that's it's being defended in.

 

[Robert Roode Fan]

Like many have said, I think the IC Title will become more important now. Curt Axel's run left a lot to be desired, but having it on one person for so long does help the title feel less like a prop. Especially since it was the only important part of Axel's run with Heyman.

I also think WWE is making that statement by putting it on Langston. I'm not the fan of Langston that some are. I just don't see the appeal. To me, he is the perfect guy for a tag team. But, you know how Vince loves Big Muscles.

Anyway, based on him interfering in the Shield's business, I can see a few things happening. The first, and more likely in my opinion, is Mark Henry and Langston face off against Reigns and Rollins. Henry turns his back on Langston and sets up a feud between the two. The second, based on the ending of Smackdown, we about to get a singles program between Reigns and Langston. WWE will give each a chance to prove who is going to be the next alpha dog. The Last option, and the one I'd like to see the most, is Ambrose versus Langston in a US/IC Title Unification Match. I could see this being the beginning of the end of the Shield any way you slice it.

Back to the topic, I think the up and comers, guys like the one mentioned above will be the fine fighting over the IC title. Older guys or proven guys don't need a title to fight over. Daniel Bryan, Henry, Punk, Cena, etc can carry a feud with or without a title. Another place to look for these guys to land will be in makeshift tag teams as that division is being pushed. Look at Show and Mysterio. Goldust and Cody. These are guys that are proven guys who are in the middle of one of the best tag team runs we've seen in years. I expect that to continue.

I REALLY hate this guy does not need a title talk, because it makes the title look like a prop, or gives cena fans an excuse why he should be the only guy to hold it other than orton, (oh this guy does not need a title, so Cena should win it again, even though he is the greatest wrestler of all time and is more over he needs it to get over). Also this talk of putting a title on a wrestler to them over makes no sense, is wwe not trying to get rid of that nonsense, and if cena needs the title then why on earth are people claming he is a big star, then he is not a big star, and by the old school standers did not deserve one world title because if you are not over by now then you are a failure, and by what you are saying cena is a flat out failure and wwe has wasted an entire decade. If I were you, I would actually hope bryan wins the title instead, because hbk is not coming out of retirement, it was perfect, why would he need to come out, most people suggest this match should happen then don't even want bryan to win the title after maina at any point, why should hbk come out of retirement, also that means bryan will be stuck up a river. Also this talk about titles being props was made by taker and hbk fans as well, because people realized those guys would never be champion again so they buried the title to make them look good. I guess I get tired of titles are props talk to because I was told for years by wwe and lesser by wcw TITLES MEAN EVERYTHING, epically the world, now someone is going to tell me the world title is a prop that is bullcrap, if the titles are props then I have no point in watching wrestling.

 

[Slash-LN]

Hopefully it means the Intercontinental title will return to prominence.
The United States title can play the role of European title for lower card to mid card guys.
The Intercontinental title can be the next step for mid card to upper card guys.
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship can be for true main event guys.

I think that helps the roster kind of shift around a little but and decide who the WWE really wants to push.

It's pretty clear that they're behind a guy like Big E. which will probably help the Intercontinental title a little bit while he's holding it.

A guy like Curtis Axel who has pretty much flopped can move down to the United States title and they can have someone else they are behind work with Big E.

I'm actually glad they unified the titles the way they did.

 

[kadroan]

i think wwe threat ic title as their secondary title behind wwe whc cship. So whc contenders now face against ic title. Now wwe run their wrestlers like 90 and attitude era, only few guys compete for wwe whc title.

True. They need to unify the US and IC title again. Despite having numerous mid card talent and no more WHC, Ambrose still doesn't have a storyline. They could have atleast had Bryan win the title off him if Ambrose just going to wear the title as a decoration.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I've never agreed with "the man makes the title". It's the other way around. Every wrestler who ever laces up their boots, that man's goal should be to be the best wrestler in the world. In today's world of wrestling, that means be the top guy in WWE. Guys dream their whole lives of being the top champion in the top organization in the world.


As for the post, I never considered the World Heavyweight Championship to be a mid-card title. It was the separate but equal counterpart to the WWE Championship. Two brands, two titles. I never understood why so many people had a problem with that. When they ended the Brand Extension in 2012, that created a problem they didn't need to have. Now they're back where they were in 2001, with one roster and one championship and too many top guys.

Now, as for the midcarders, like pretty much everyone says, the other championships are going to be getting a boost as to the level of talent that competes for them. Top guys teaming up to go after the WWE Tag Team Championship is going to happen more often. But WWE needs to NOT unify the midcard titles. They desperately need to keep them separate. There's way too many guys on the roster and not enough titles. Make ALL the championships more important, and ratings go up. It's really simple.

 

[shalliin]

I wish I could believe otherwise, but we all know the IC belt will never regain it's ultimate former glory. Around 1999, it just stopped being the stepping-stone to the WWE Championship. No longer was it seen, as an unspoken belief, that the holder of the IC strap was, even though he wasn't the top champion, the best wrestler in the company at that moment. Savage, Steamboat, Valentine, etc were far better in-ring performers than Hogan could ever have hoped to have been. They all held the IC belt at different times during Hogan's WWE title runs. In 1994, when Razor Ramon was competing to regain the strap from Diesel, he remarked that the IC belt was the most important thing in his life!! When Diesel lost that at SummerSlam, not even the tag belts were acceptable (for a moment anyway) as a consolation being that he'd lost the IC belt. No, we'll never get back to that point. Then again, it should surprise nobody. There are a lot of things some would like to see that could never happen again in wrestling. To make a long story longer, the IC belt could, at least, go back to being an important belt again. It was better, even around 1999-2001 than it is now, in terms of prestige. I mean, it must have meant something to the WWE higher-ups to have brought it back at all in 2003. They could have named that belt anything they wanted to, but they decided to reinstate the IC belt.

I don't remember the IC belt ever being discontinued so how could they have reinstated something that never left? This isn't baseball and Arod we're talking about, this is a championship that has been around more then 30. It might have lost some importance during the clusterf*** that was the merger between wwf/wcw/ecw but it was never cast aside.

 

[spiketbear]

I don't remember the IC belt ever being discontinued so how could they have reinstated something that never left? This isn't baseball and Arod we're talking about, this is a championship that has been around more then 30. It might have lost some importance during the clusterf*** that was the merger between wwf/wcw/ecw but it was never cast aside.

Unfortunately, the IC title was discontinued. Back when Triple H was awarded the brand new World Heavyweight Championship by Eric Bischoff because the Undisputed Champion, Brock Lesnar, was drafted to Smackdown in the first draft lottery. Over the next few months, the Intercontinental, European, and Hardcore Championships were unified with the WHC. This basically meant that Triple H buried every other champion on various episodes of Raw. It was pathetic.

A while later, Stone Cold was like a co-general manager of Raw, and he reinstated the IC. This led to the title structure of Raw being the WHC, Intercontinental, World Tag Team, and Women's championship; and the titles on Smackdown being the WWE Championship, USA title, WWE Tag Team, and Cruiserweight title.