Stipulation Match Titles

[IrishCanadian25]

YEARS ago, I was chatting with a buddy and talking about cool gimmicks for wrestlers. We're talking back in the day of the attitude era. And I came up with an idea of a gimmick that would see a wrestler "specializing" in a particular type of match. After winning a few of them, that wrestler would go out and get himself a championship belt made (similar to what Ted DiBiase did) and declare himself the world champion of that type of match. Around 2002-2003, I thought the gimmick would have worked great for JBL to declare himself "Leather Strap Match World Champion."

The wrestler would claim to be the best ever in that type of match, but would continue to wrestle normally, only occassionally beating up jobber and running feuds for the "specialty title." Eventually, some young babyface would meet the heel specialty champ on his home turf and beat him, retiring the title.

So here are my questions:

1. Do you think a gimmick like this would work?

2. What match types would translate well into a particular champion?

3. What historical wrestlers would have made this gimmick work?

Obviously the Hardcore title is an example, and Mick Foley sure would have made it work what with the sheer number of hardcore matches he's been in. Also, Terry Funk would make sense.

I also mentioned Leather Strap. So feel free to give me some more...

 

[jmt225]

I think it would be a nice way to get a wrestler (perhaps 2) over for the short term, but as a permanent title? Nah... I don't see that ever working, man. You could sort of treat a gimmick title like this the way Chris Masters treated his Masterlock challenge when he first made his debut in WWE, but nothing more than that.

Let's say we have CM Punk win 5 cage matches in a row, throughout the period of 9 months, so no one catches on that he's on such a big win streak when it comes to cage matches. After CM Punk beats someone for the 6th time in a cage match, he comes out the next week, with a music video package, showing how he hasn't lost a Cage Match in such a long time. Since Punk is a snotty heel, who feels he's getting repeatedly cheated out of a real title, he decides to create a title of his own and that's "Cage Champion", since he's won so many cage matches in a year's time. He debuts a new title, and says he'll only defend it in Cage matches.

From that point on, you have Punk defending it for a few months, finding a way to cheat his way to victory. Then, finally, you have someone defeat him (getting that person over hugely in the process), and he burns the belt on the next episode of Smackdown or Raw.

Punk has something to do for months on in with this gimmick, and the guy who defeats him is instantly made.

In my opinion, that's the ONLY way a gimmick title of this manner could ever work.

 

[absent]

I dunno, depends upon which era. Really if you can have a wrestler declare himself a champion and create a belt and have that belt recognised as anything but a dodgy storyline, it goes against the whole kayfabe concept of the wrestling federation being run by a legitimate body. If the title is supposed to be phoney joke, fare enough, but if a wrestler declarers himself the title holder of whatever with the endorsement of the overall body.... I don't see how it could be construed as anything but a storyline joke. It might be a fun short term gimmick, but nothing else.