Talk Within WWE of Creating a New World Title for Both Brands

[MaskedKane]

- There are said to have been discussions among at least one or two people within WWE creative about the idea of building up to a single world title and champion who would headline every PPV and defend against wrestlers on both brands. The reason this has been discussed is that back in the time when titles were over with wrestling fans they knew who “the champ” was as there was only one top guy. This doesn’t happen now with two separate world champions on two separate brands.

Since the creation of two world titles, one for each television show, many feel the company essentially created two Intercontinental champions instead of two credible world champions. The basis for this is that in the 1980s the Intercontinental title was used to main event house shows and drew well, but on its own wasn’t going to sellout major arenas. While some title matches in the brand era have drawn well, most haven’t meant a thing when looking at PPV buyrates. The general feeling is that the generation of wrestling fans today no longer see the world title as fans may have 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. Instead they see it as a prop and nothing more.

It should be noted that when this idea was brought up to Vince McMahon he was said to be completely negative on the idea. So it doesn’t appear there are any plans to go in this direction anytime soon.

I dont know about this....what do you guys think.

 

[TheGreatSPAMbino]

I definately think they should ahve one undisputed champion who goes on both brands, BUT he should be the only person moving around the brands(to make him seem more imporatant).
There should be one solidified top guy in wwe, and ive always thought that having multiple world champions was dumb and diluted the belts. Also having one world champion rotating between brands will allow for more fresh feuds and for more variety in the pay per view main events.
you know what would be even better and simpler than having one world champion...HAVING ONE FUCKING BRAND.

 

[grahambrown]

HAVING ONE FUCKING BRAND.

Calm down, gentlemen.

I know this discussion has been tossed around on these forums before, so I won't really try to kick start the conversation once again. But, I would like to throw a whole new spin on it all. Try to be open minded here...

Why not get rid of the ideas of "brands?" Yes, it would mean trimming down the roster, but isn't that what WWE needs right now? They could reestablish the idea of individuals being dominant over the entire organization. WWF survived this way for years, so I don't think it's a crazy idea now. Sure, WCW is gone so combining the brands would make there only be one mainstream roster in wrestling, but it would give fans more of an incentive to tune into both programs weekly. I know individuals wouldn't appear on every Raw and every Smackdown, but giving everyone the potential to be on both would keep fans watching.

Throw objections my way, I can't say I've thought this one out entirely.

 

[TheGreatSPAMbino]

Calm down, gentlemen.

I know this discussion has been tossed around on these forums before, so I won't really try to kick start the conversation once again. But, I would like to throw a whole new spin on it all. Try to be open minded here...

Why not get rid of the ideas of "brands?" Yes, it would mean trimming down the roster, but isn't that what WWE needs right now? They could reestablish the idea of individuals being dominant over the entire organization. WWF survived this way for years, so I don't think it's a crazy idea now. Sure, WCW is gone so combining the brands would make there only be one mainstream roster in wrestling, but it would give fans more of an incentive to tune into both programs weekly. I know individuals wouldn't appear on every Raw and every Smackdown, but giving everyone the potential to be on both would keep fans watching.

Throw objections my way, I can't say I've thought this one out entirely.

Having one brand and getting rid of the brands is the exact same thing....... We need one roster of superstars that can go on both raw and smackdown like the wwe used to be. With one world champion at the helm of the entire company. Yes, this is a good idea gentlemen.

 

[KillBill]

I'm going to take the other side here. I understand what you guys are all saying, and yes, it does make sense. but there needs to be 2 titles. Just not this way. create another company, make ECW the "other" brand and seperate the roster. Or dare I say "new" WCW. The reason is this. Orton, batista, cena, jericho, punk, mysterio, HBK, JBL, Taker, Edge, HHH, Hardys, etc. The next level-Big Show, Kennedy, R-Truth, Benjamin, legacy, miz, morrison etc. The first group are guys that would be fighting all the time for titles. the second group, guys we want to see. Theres too much. Having 2 titles allows WWE to give the belt to guys who may not get the chance if you have one title, ala Hardy's, Jericho, Mysterio, Guerrero, and that other guy I will not mention, punk, maybe even edge. Having 2 titles allows every wrestler to think he has a shot at the big 1, which would entice wrestlers from TNA to maybe take a shot with WWE. So many people were pumped when those guys finally got the big 1, but none of them would have with 1 title. We have a thread of best wrestlers to never win the big 1. If there were 2 titles, you bet your ass guys like Perfect and Piper could have done it. How many guys have won the title that years from now you wont have to mention in that never category. The guys I mentioned whio won that may not have would be under those category. Name your fav wrestler. He either has, is or will be champ because of 2 titles. I agree, no brands. We need to federations, that would make it work.

 

[ad21k]

There are plus points, and there are bad points aswel. I'll list what I think the good and bad points are...

Good Points
-More prestiage the the title: it will obviously be harder to win as our reducing the number of world titles effectively by 2 (you could argue by 3 but the ECW title means nothing anyway)
-It will boost ratings to have the champion on both shows, you saw what Cena did for Raw's ratings, having him on smackdown aswel would benefit both brands.
-Allows for fresh feuds to develop as the champion would probably have to rotate between brands
-Unifying the belts would be a big drawing match whatever PPV they decide to do it at
-It will bring prestiage to the other titles like the IC because invetiabily there will be more main eventers in mid card feuds.


Bad Points
-It may be harder to keep main eventers over as having a title over around a wrestlers waist increases their credability
-The brand that doesn't have a title match on PPV that month
-The title itself is the primary basis so most feuds, so it might be more difficult to establish feuds that fans will care about if there is no clear reason for the fued, and this also allows for less poor booking
-There is less oppotunity for some wrestlers to get a title reign, therefore guys like Edge who have been great champions may never have been given the oppotunity to show how great they could be.
-HHH would probably hold the belt for at least 6 months a year

 

[Khalifa]

Nope I like to titles with two brands. sure there would be more reigns for the big guys like HHH and Cena. But people like TBK or Jeff Hardy heck maybe even randy orton might not get it with the big boys around him even no he deserves it. . It might be able to bring credibility to the smaller titles like IC and US but with that it makes a sacafice of the younger wrestlers as listed above.

HHH would probably be the first champion but i reckon he wouldn't hold the title but he would have a 5 month run then loose the title and not challenge for it a couple of years.

also if there was the be a title. there wouldn't be any more of those 3 month feuds like randy orton and cena had , edge/cena and so on. thus making quick feuds.

 

[StuartHayden]

If this happened HHH would be the only Dual Brand champion ever since he likes to have the WWE Universe revolve around him.

 

[TheGreatSPAMbino]

Having two world titles is stupid, there is one absolute best in the industry if having one world title means some guys wont become world champion too bad, if they were truly good enough they would have the talent to get over and earn a run with the title(even with one world title edge and orton would have been champion). Also with multiple world titles we get these watered down brutal filler champions such as khali. The WWE had one world champion throughout its history until the brand split and it worked fine with one world champion.

 

[Remasked Kane]

Having two world titles is stupid, there is one absolute best in the industry if having one world title means some guys wont become world champion too bad, if they were truly good enough they would have the talent to get over and earn a run with the title(even with one world title edge and orton would have been champion). Also with multiple world titles we get these watered down brutal filler champions such as khali. The WWE had one world champion throughout its history until the brand split and it worked fine with one world champion.

This is exactly right. You don't start 'adding' World titles just to make it easier for some guys to be champion because they wouldn't be champion without it. Why don't we just make a million 'World titles' and give one to every wrestler in the world?

Becoming World champion is SUPPOSED to be hard. Not everyone is going to be able to pull it off. The harder it is, the more special it is when someone accomplishes it. That's why having two (actually, three) 'world' championships lessens the impact of each championship victory. Yeah, Jeff Hardy is the WWE Champion, but how does he compare to ECW Champion Matt Hardy? Raw Champion John Cena?



Besides, what sense does it make to have 'brands' in a sport like pro wrestling, anyway? Does the Raw brand team up against the Smackdown brand? No. Raw wrestlers beat up Raw wrestlers or Smackdown wrestlers or ECW wrestlers. It doesn't matter. Pro wrestling is booked as an individual task (not counting tag-teams or stables, of which neither the Raw, Smackdown, or ECW brand would count as), so the 'brand' thing is stupid.

The only thing it really does is confuse new fans (or old fans who have been away for a few years) who might try to get interested in WWE.

 

[Suneeboy]

I am not a fan of having one title for one main reason. Because it means that HHH will be in the main feud for most of the year and I just can't have that. Unless you want to see HHH in the main event of at least 6 PPVs a year then you shouldn't want one title either. I am not a Trips hater, but he needs to step out of the main feud for a while he has been in the top feud all goddam year no matter who has the title. Having one title will not help at all.

The downside of not having one title also involves HHH IMO. It means he will break Flair's record for title reigns because there is an extra belt floating around.

 

[michaelj817]

All valid points in this thread guys. However, the champ, or in this case champs are has nothing to do with being the best in the industry. Whoever the Champ/s should be those individuals who are the biggest draws and best for business at that particular time, but they are not necessarily one and the same.

I admit that I am not a fan of the brand split itself. But if you watch WWE TV, there is little to no brand split remaining at this point anyway. The only performers relegated to their respective brands anymore are the guys at the bottom of the card. And herein lies the necessity for the continuation of some version of a brand split.

If you think WWE is stale and boring now, abolish the brand split and see what happens. In a hypothetical brandless WWE, with the current sized roster, and everyone working all 3 shows, there will not be enough TV time to feature everyone. The card will suffer because the same main event performers will be featured in even larger roles on all 3 shows than they currently are. What's that? Roster cuts? Sure...try it. Cut out the fat throughout the card, and everyone left such as HHH, Cena, HBK, UT, Edge, etc. will be just as overexposed as they would be otherwise, and nobody will want to watch. Either way, there is not enough talent to fill 5 hours of new TV every week if the roster gets smaller, and if you abolish the brand split all together the same upper/mid card guys with take up even bigger chunks of TV time on all three shows. It's a catch 22.

Having trouble envisioning these scenarios? Just take a look at a Wrestlemaina card and you'll know where WWE sees their bread and butter. Wrestlemainia used to billed as the night of the double main event, but now that has grow to 4, 5. or even more main events. That's what happens when you have too many main eventers that need a spot on the card, and that is what the WWE would become year round if you were to kill off the brand split and cut the roster with 3 shows worth of TV per week.

So, in order to abolish the brand split and unify the WWE and the WWE Championships, WWE would have to cancel Smackdown, Raw, or ECW or make a concerted effort to devote less time to the upper/mid card and let the undercard guys truly develop. I don't see these options as bad things, but I also don't see either of them happening any time soon.

 

[thepoo62]

I actually like having seperate brands but the problem is they atren't seperate enough. Make it so that wrestlers don't jump around as much and brand loyalty actually means something. Create a differwent vibe with each brand. One champ would fit great here as they could go from show to show but that is it. Vince wants to recreate the competitive vibe from the Monday Night War but own both parties. He needs to actually make them seem seperate...

 

[Thomas_Argyle]

The brand split should be ended. They should create two separate house show rosters. Tape Smackdown with RAW on Monday Nights.

There should be only one champion. To compensate for the lack of a second championship they can do what ROH did at one point and have some sort of Number One Contenders Trophy. The system could be that in month 1 RAW gets the World Champion to wrestle their former Number One Contender, while Smackdown gets a match to determine the number one contender for month 2. Month 2 Smackdown's former Number One Contender faces the World Champion, Raw gets a match to determine the number one contender...repeat.

This way the Number One Contenders matches would become a draw in itself, as they'd have some sort of meaning.

Let's say Cena is the World Champion. He should NEVER.....absolutely NEVER wrestle on TV. The only time he should ever wrestle on a TV program is for things like the three hour RAW specials, or the Tribute To The Troops in order to add prestige to the programs. The champion should only make non wrestling appearances on TV to further his feuds with the Number One Contender. If you want to see the champion wrestle (who in this case we're saying it's Cena), you have to PAY to see it.

WWE should can ECW and open up a new separate promotion. They could use this promotion in much the same way that they currently use ECW, except have it tour smaller venues. This would allow them to figure out which younger guys can get over in Main Roles, as they'd be granted Main Roles easier on this show. If somebody gets over huge and starts selling merch and drawing in ratings (see CM Punk in ECW) they can bring them over to the WWE and give them a decent push.

 

[NSL]

If you want to see the champion wrestle (who in this case we're saying it's Cena), you have to PAY to see it.

This would be a major failure, because no one in their right mind would pay to see someone wrestle, that they haven't seen in nearly a month, maybe more.


In my opinion, the WWE needs to end the brand split, and trim the unwanted waste from the roster. This would unify not only the WHC and the WWE Title, but the tag and women's titles. I'd leave the US and IC title separate, because it would keep people in a title hunt, that are knocked out of the main title picture due to there only being one belt.

In a perfect world, I'd split it back up to RAW on Mondays, ECW on Tuesdays, and WCW Nitro on Fridays, but only 1 roster. The difference between shows would be that ECW would have it's extreme rules, RAW would have the WWE-style wrestling, and Nitro would have it's WCW style. For the mid-card belts, they can even show a match or two exclusively on WWE.com, without changing the titleholder, or having anything major happen.

To unify the major titles, I'd hold a tournament. with 9 wrestlers (3 from each brand), and give the title-holders a "bye" in the first round. From RAW, I'd take Cena, Orton, and Jericho. From ECW, I'd take Hardy, Morrison, and Mark Henry. From Smackdown, I'd take Hardy, HHH, and Edge.

Here's how the tournament would go. 3 first-round match-ups, followed by 3 second-round match-ups, followed by a triple threat match.

I'd make it look like this:

Morrison v. Edge (Edge advances)
Orton v. Mark Henry (Orton advances)
HHH v. Jericho (HHH advances)

Edge v. Matt Hardy (Edge advances)
Orton v. Jeff Hardy (Jeff Hardy advances)
HHH v. Cena (Cena advances)

Then, let Cena win the triple threat, and have HHH feud with him, because that's who Cena beat to get into the big match.

 

[StuartHayden]

You do realize almost every company has mutliple brands right?

Look up Coke and Pepsi. They are each their own, very powerful company, but they each have their own respected "brands" of soft drinks.

WWE is just doing the same thing. Same product as a whole, 3 different experiences individually.

 

[michaelj817]

You do realize almost every company has mutliple brands right?

Look up Coke and Pepsi. They are each their own, very powerful company, but they each have their own respected "brands" of soft drinks.

WWE is just doing the same thing. Same product as a whole, 3 different experiences individually.

True, but Pepsi and Coke are not trying to create internal competition(even it is fake) like WWE does. For the longest time it was Coke vs. Pepsi, but not Pepsi vs. Diet Pepsi. Both products are marketed towards 2 completely different demographics and that is the problem with the current brand split. Everything on all 3 shows is the same and marketed towards the same group.

The brand split idea was and could've been cool. However, they need to actually be separate and different in order to stand out among each other. It shouldn't even be about creating competition between the brands on TV; if they are separate and different, it will create competition within the fanbase. Some people will inevitibly be Smackdown fans and some will be Raw fans. Keep the brands separate long enough and you can create dream matches akin to days gone by of WWF vs. WCW dream matches. Who would win in an Austin vs. Goldberg match, or Sting vs HBK? Left alone for a long enough period of time and you can create this atmosphere, or at least something close to it. Example: Cena's a Raw guy and UT is pure Smackdown...wouldn't that be a showdown in a Wrestlemania main event?

Instead, interbrand matches are given away like candy on free TV every time WWE wants to pop a rating, or excuse me...try to pop a rating with another mundane 3 hour "Raw Special Event."

 

[hotwater10]

Goods:
- One big champ
- More main event matches. Like so HBK is actually in every PPV.
- Dream matches. such as Taker vs Orton and Mysterio vs Hardy.
- The depute would be great.
Bads:
- 4 World champs. No. They would mean less then they do now.
- That would be a total of 12 belts.
- They would make the WHC and WWE Champ look pointless
- All the Raw stars would show at Smackdown! and vise-versa

I'm going to say no because all the belts they already have.

 

[TheGreatSPAMbino]

If they are going to do the brand split the need to make the brands seperate in every way. Make Raw the edgy attidue style show and have smackdown geared towards kids. Then divide the roster accordingly. This will differentiate the brands and give them an identity. This will expand the audience as well. Also, the production for each show should look completely different to make the shows seem liek completely different products, they should also have different creative teams so that there is different things going on storyline wise and different thought processes for each show. Smackdown would be effective as the kids show because most teens and adults go out on friday nights and wouldnt be watching wrestling, and RAW should be the attitude show becuz it has that reputation attached already. If there is going to be 2 brands then keep them seperate no crossing over with the exception of wrestlemania dream matches, to make these dream matches seem bigger. Also, instead of one wwe.com there should be 2 seperate websites one for each brand, to create even more seperation. When you go on to wwe.com right away you should choose whether you want to view the RAW section or the Smackdown section and then you are redirected to your selcted site.

The WWE needs to go all the way with something, either create 2 different "companies" entirely or just combine the roster and go back to the way things were. Right now they are somewhere in between and its not working.

 

[Raw Panic]

This would be absolutely stupid in my opinion because would you ever see CM Punk or Jeff Hardy as World Champion because there are two World Titles it means that the next generation of the World Champions will not have the chance as the limelight will be held byt he likes of Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton,Edge and Shawn Micheals menaing there would be a lot of pointless minor fueds below the World Title fued and what I like about two championships is if you don't like one champion there is always the other Champion to like

 

[J Fine]

I like the idea of one champion. I think what most of you are forgetting is that the midcard titles such as the US and IC titles become much more important. Basically, it's like eliminating the world titles and replacing them with the midcard titles while adding an ultimate undisputed championship that hovers around all 3 brands. It's obvious that over the past few years, superstars haven't exactly "stuck" to their brands as much as they used to. Think about this. Triple H is your WWE champion in this scenario. He's on smackdown and has started a feud with Edge. Triple H is a fighting champion so of course he'll be on raw wrestling Kane just for shits and oh hey look it's Edge coming in for interference. More unpredictability means more interesting product. This also can cause multiple feuds. Maybe Kane is angry that Edge interfered and the match at the ppv will be a triple threat with raw and smackdown contenders. It's different you know? Also, keep in mind that it gives more opportunity for free championship matches on tv to boost ratings. Basically, my entire point is that it creates more interbrand competition and eliminates repetitive feuds.

 

[GameOver]

We know the reason for multiple Titles was to try and bring back abit of the WCW vs WWF type feel so fans could become passionate about there own favourite show. except in WWE's case Raw vs Smackdown Vs ECW. It also serves to lessen the road trip times for the main eventers.

Well it's failed, there's clearly not enough people to house 2 World titles + 2 US Titles. I mean how often do you ever see the IC or US title or Tag Titles defended. and where'd the Cruiserweight Title go? That dissapeared when Gregory Helms got injured a yr ago.

I've been saying ever since they split the brands, it was a mistake. Sure in theory it's a good idea, giving more air time to lesser guys, but that doesn't happen.

Scrap the brands or increase the air time for Smackdown and Raw and even *cough* ECW and go back to the way it was when Raw and Smackdown and Heat were on fire.

And for god sakes make a WWE Wide champ and no brand world champs, except maybe ECW. if they insist on keeping the brands, just rename the IC and US titles to Raw and Smackdown Title least then they'll get used.

WWE World Champ would move about between brands and at PPV's could defend against the WWE no #1 contender of all brands and the individual brands could also have there own Title matches still.

 

[DeadMan5000]

Well honestly, I would get rid of ECW. It is not really much of a show anymore. Get rid of SmackDown! and combine SmackDown! with Raw. Trim down the roster a little bit. Bring back the Undisputed Championship, get rid of the spinner belt and the gold world championship, and you got yourself a fresh new WWE.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I've been on the side of the brands being ended for a long time. It's simple to do. Only three or four of the guys need to wrestle on every show. The week before the PPV maybe six to eight of the big 15 need to wrestle. One backstage segment or in ring promo would serve most of the guys well by accompanying their one match on TV every week. Ending the brandsplit makes the midcard belts more important. If Cena and HHH are feuding over the big belt, Orton could be fighting HBK for the IC title. This way, when CM Punk wins the belt, it means something, as opposed to his beating Regal. You can throw some of the big guys together in tag teams for the short term, and bring prestige to those belts. The roster is too big anyway. I like that the WWE keeps cutting the roster. You could have 60 and ten divas and do five hours of TV just fine. Letting TNA have some of those guys would be big fore WWE anyway, as competition seems to be the best thing for the entire industry. '

My points are all over these boards. It jsut seems like the brandsplit is stale. I do look at the titles as less important.

As it stands now, it is so hard to turn someone who is at the top of the card. The surprises draw more viewers than the wrestling. I, for one, would love to see a 20 minute Edge/Hardy classic every week. I also mark out way more for things that shock me, like the CM Punk title change. On a one brand show, something like that would be monumental. With two shows, it was a nice surprise, but an uneventful reign. Trust me, if CM Punk had to dodge HHH, Edge, Undertaker, Batista, Orton, and Cena, his reign would have been way better than feuding with JGL (if you type it that way, it looks like jiggle). Jiggles hurt CM Punk way more than anything Punk did to himself. This is coming from a non-Punk fan.

 

[TwistofRKO]

I love the idea.

Some PROs and CONs

PRO:
-It solidifies a champion, and doesn't run up the championship count.
-Increases rivalries not centered around the belt.
-Title runs aren't as exciting with 2 belts (Hardy winning it over more than HHH, Kozlov, and Edge wasn't as good as if he beat Orton, Cena, etc)
-Brings respect to the IC belt. I like Santino, but he should never hold a major belt.
-Tag team division would be major again
-Increases brand rivalry, more invasions, etc
-A true main event every PPV, and a #1 contender match underneath for each brand every PPV
-A bracket-style would bring a higher quality to TV shows without compromising your Champion on TV

CON:
-Be hard to plan how it would be executed (RAW champ, always facing SD guys, etc etc)
-May be hard to draw Raw or SD! viewers if they have no champion
-Would be harder to give people a push in people's eyes w/o a WH title, since that's what they've breed us accustom to..