The Last great champion(s)?

[MartialHorror]

I include the 's', because I'm referring to all the current belts.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I've enjoyed any of the current WHC reigns. If I had to choose one that I liked, it would be Lesnar just because his matches felt so important and epic (in contrast to any of Orton's title matches during his time as champ). But I also really didn't care for his part time status, which undermined the length of his reign. Beyond him, I'm not sure.

Cena is a worthy champ, but it really felt like the only reason he was champion was because there was no one else ready at the time- not helped that the storyline was designed around Roman. I hope his next reign has a much stronger build. Daniel Bryan's victory was awesome, but his brief reign was rather lame since his only real opponent was Kane (he was more-or-less upstaged by the Shield at that point anyway). Randy Orton was...okay, I guess. He usually did come out on top without too much help in his important matches and his growing weakness at least was a major part of the story. But I'm not a big fan of overly craven champions. Plus, cowardly Seth is more interesting, albeit also a victim of repetitive writing.

U.S Championship: I thought Rusev was a good champion, but the champion seemed to devalue Rusev. Was it just me or did he get weaker after winning the belt? He failed at Survivor Series, lost to Ryback, was removed anti-climactically at the Rumble and began cheating a lot more. Sheamus wasn't bad, but it didn't seem like the writers knew how to use him. Ambrose was a pretty crummy champion because he never defended the belt and it seemed unnecessary on him.

Intercontinental Champion: I thought the last good reign was Barrett BEFORE his injury. He was presented as strong, but not unstoppable. When he'd fight Reigns or Sheamus, it always seemed like a big deal- even if he lost. His more recent reign sucked and he was presented as a weakling, not even a crafty one like Rollins. I often forget Harper had a reign and I felt Ziggler and Miz devalued the belt by playing hot potato with it. Big E is regarded as a flop, but I thought he made a pretty good champion. With the belt, he was placed in high profile matches and got louder pops. However, fans rejected him for Barrett and lost interest once he lost his title.

Tag Team Champions: I actually didn't think much of the Uso's as champions because it seemed like they spent 90% of their reign fighting the Wyatts. I might say Miz/Mizdow was the last really good one simply because they had a stronger storyline going on- although the Miz hogging the spotlight made him seem too strong. Cesaro/Kidd are a lot of fun, but they didn't do much as champions. Losing to Randy Orton seriously diminished them and the belts, in my eyes. Goldust/Stardust felt more like transitional champions as no one seemed to care.

Diva: I'm going to get crap for this, but I've thought Nikki has done well as a champion. Admittedly some of the booking was rather stupid (why didn't she defend the belt at Wrestlemania?), but I thought she carried herself as a villainous pretty well. Strong enough, but not above cheating. I feel this will be derailed now that he is a face. AJ made a great champ during her long run, although once she and Paige hijacked the title scene, I stopped caring after awhile.

 

[Double S]

World- punk since then we had reigns which were lacking in length, freshness or being part time

U.S. -This current cena reign may be the best since the belt came to the WWE, the open challenge is great

IC- last may be big E, he was booked as a champion should be but it wasn't very memorable. The only other modern reign that stands out was Cody Rhodes reign that ended at mania 28, it felt like a big deal

Tag- usos had a nice series with the wyatts, but it was hurt with not having many challengers behind them,

Divas- ajs long one, none of the rest have gone past a single feud for the belt

 

[MartialHorror]

Yeah, Cena's reign has been pretty good so far. I don't know why I forgot about it, even though I still feel like the belt is pulling Cena down just as much as Cena is elevating it.

 

[jerichoambrosemark]

I will do like Double S did and go down the line with a list of names:

World/WWE Title: Brock Lesnar- I know I know, part timer blah blah blah. He was BELIEVABLE as an unbeatable champion. He was not just booked strong but was ACTUALLY strong.

US Title: John Cena- gotta give it to the dude, this title reign may be not only the best for the US title in a long time but also one of the best reigns that Cena has had in all of his reigns. The one big thing I like about this reign is, even though he is winning the matches, he is bringing out the best in the up and coming talent. You don't have to win to be put over and Cena just in the past couple weeks has put over some of the younger talent.

Intercontinental Title: Cody Rhodes- Yes, Barrett was a great champion but if you look back at when the IC title was becoming relevant again, it was when Cody was the Dashing Champion. Him changing the title back to the white strap was the best thing that could have happened to the title.

Tag Team Titles: Kidd/Cesaro- Even with them not having a long reign, they brought a new dynamic to the titles. I am really looking forward to them regaining the titles for a longer run. They are both young, agile, they have strong and high flying ability. The only thing I think they could use is a mouth piece, but the way they wrestle they don't really need that.

Divas Title: This is a tough one. I want to follow suit and say either AJ or Paige, but I think is they work on booking and give her a few more defenses, Nikki has the possibility to have this one in the bag. She has been seen on TV every week and has been involved with a pretty decent ongoing feud. Ask this question again in a year and I feel like it will be a toss up between Nikki and Naomi.

 

[LBGetBack]

WHC - CM Punk. The reigns since then have been pretty mediocre. Lesnar's could've been great if he had a bigger variety of opponents. Too much Cena.

U.S. Title - Chris Benoit. Seriously, this title hasn't mattered since the Booker T- Benoit best of 7 and then Benoit-MVP days. They finally appear to be elevating it, first with Rusev and now Cena. The open challenge thing is great, and Cena's reign is off to a great start.

IC title- Chris Jericho. The last time this title truly mattered was the Jericho-Mysterio feud. Again, they appear to be trying to elevate it. Sadly, Bryan is hurt because he could've done for this title what Cena is doing for the U.S. Title.

Tag team - MNM. Just teaming up two singles stars or two guys from a stable doesn't cut it for me. MNM was the last time there was an actual tag team feel.

Divas - Michelle McCool. Her 2009 reign when she first turned heel and won the belt was great. Nikki Bella is doing a great job, but the booking has let her down first with Brie turning heel with no explanation, now with both of them turning face with no explanation. Stuff like that is an absolute joke. Dying days of WCW level BS. Nikki has done a great job and deserves better from the booking side.

 

[TheLittleOne]

american dragon Daniel Bryan, him being the top guy/ world heavyweight champion just made me very happy, he was one of those guys that EVERYONE KNOWS earned this belt with hard work since 2001.. come on, 13 years of crazy hard work, yes it wasnt in the WWE, but obviously it mattered since the E even mentioned it many times leading into WM30.. plus this man put on many matches declared 5 star, or went easy 60mins making BRET/HBK look like doink vs crush.. OK OK that last example was terrible and just ruined all my credibility so i will backspace the evidence!

my personal favorite part is knowing that he was heavily on every WWE's super talents' radar from 04-till his wwe debut.. and he was able to say no to the OLD developmental system back in ov dubs because he would have taken massive pay cut and he preferred to work more and earn his way in..

but it is with much regret that i declare he spent tooo much time there.. i was close to him in 2005 where i believe he was better than ever and i will just say that his body ( neck & shoulder) were far from perfect like any1 who works all over the world every weekend, with tons of high impact suplexes and shooting star presses from top rope to the 2nd row on to hero or witmer or airies or daniels or shelley or nigel...

but imo this was the first champion since BRET that i felt truly wanted to be champion more than anyone else.. and earned it the hard way. and had the respect of every one of his peers.

i also felt the same about the canadian crippler, but i refuse to acknowledge that person anymore.. wish it was different.. but it is what it....u know the rest

at this time, i truly believe BRYAN will train for a SHORT comeback and his final run.

he returned to roh after a major injury in 2004 sporting a new look and a badd ass chip on his shoulder to become the best, and defeated jamie noble for the championship... !! imagine J&J security jamie holding a world championship!! yea he was that damn good too!!

CHEERS! as stonecold ( who was a damn good champ) would say, sip a beer for daniel bryan, lets hope he talks Hunter and the office into securing the RIGHTS TO " FINAL COUNTDOWN" which is DANIEL BRYAN'S THEME MUSIC and means as much to him as cult of personality did to punky.

as if .. if he can return to compete, it WILL be BRYAN'S FINAL COUNTDOWN.

 

[Wald]

Brock Lesnar was a superb WWE Champion. He is the top star in the industry and he looks unbeatable so having him hold the belt gave it a prestige that not even John Cena can give it. Any other wrestler versus Roman Reigns for the title at Mania and the match doesn't go on last, I guarantee that.

Plus Lesnar's reign gave us the two outstanding matches of the year so far, the triple threat at the Royal Rumble and the Wrestlemania main event itself.

 

[Dagger Dias]

World Heavyweight Championship
The last really good one for me was Daniel Bryan's in 2014. Seth's has not lasted long enough for him to be a potential answer here yet. Lesnar didn't defend it enough. Both Cena's and Orton's reigns didn't feel like anything special. Daniel Bryan, despite it being short, has had the only good reign since the unification. Seth's potentially could be good, once we have seen it in its entirety depending on how it plays out. Now, if we are going back before the unification that then it takes me several years back. I cannot call CM Punk's 430+ day reign the last good one because for me it was highly tarnished by his booking, and that is NOT Punk's fault. For the WWE Championship I would have to go as far back as Randy Orton's Age Of Orton reign in 2007-2008. Just about all of the others that followed up until Punk's lengthy reign were not that memorable. That's if we are only talking about the WWE Championship from before the unification though. For the big gold belt before the unification it was John Cena's reign with it in late 2013 because it made that belt finally matter again going into the unification match.

Intercontinental Championship
Bryan's and Barrett's reigns this year didn't last long enough to be anything special. Going back from before this year.... The last great one here for me was Cody Rhodes' reign in 2011-2012 when he brought back the classic design. Far too many short and/or meaningless unmemorable reigns have taken place since then. This belt should be getting far better exposure and booking. It's truly sad that they did not take the opportunity to change that when the two World Championships got unified, this belt should have inherited the treatment that the big gold World Heavyweight Championship belt was receiving prior to the unification.

United States Championship
John Cena's current one. EASILY. It's the best reign the belt has seen in the past decade. Thanks to Cena's open challenges the belt has become something meaningful. A chance for anyone on the roster to get an opportunity and all of these matches have been great. Disregarding the current reign? That makes it tough. As much as I want to say Dean Ambrose's nearly year long reign, I can't due to the booking. I'd have to go as far back as Ziggler's reign back in 2011. No reign after that one stands out having meant anything memorable in a positive way for me until Cena's current one. Rusev came close. Back in 2011 with Ziggler at least it felt like they were trying to make this belt matter. The best before that was back when MVP and Matt Hardy feuded and did all sorts of random contests. That was fun.

Tag Team Championship
As much as I dislike them.... The New Day could be on their way toward having the best recent reign. The use of The Freebird Rule helps and their reactions to the fans telling them how much they suck all the time is generating interest. It will depend on the rest of this reign plays out though. Going back before that.... The Shield's reign was ok, but for me the last great one was Team Hell No's reign with the belts in 2012-2013. With the exception of The Shield, every team after Team Hell No have had reigns that did not stand out at all as great for me. Several reigns were too short, and some never should have held the belt in the first place (looking at YOU, Usos!) but this topic in the future could very well see New Day as the most recent great Tag Team Championship reign at the rate they have been improving.

Divas Championship
Well, it's absolutely NOT the current reign. Nikki's reign needs to end. The moment Paige gets back, or the moment Charlotte gets her inevitable promotion to the main roster. Even though she has improved, Nikki is still not Divas Championship material. Also.... I refuse to cheer for her. Randomly turning her face while she sits at the announcer's table is NOT goint to make me stop disliking her. She still sucks. Anyway.... AJ's reign from 2013-2014 was the last great one. Paige's reigns as well as AJ's other two ended far too soon. AJ's first one on the other hand, was not only the best recent reign but also the best in this belt's history.

 

[CaptainObvious]

The last great title reigns for me were

WWE Title - CM Punk's 434 day reign. Though they kinda muffed it up in the beginning by having Del Rio cash in on him and then later with the Ryback debacle and The Rock. I still feel like his reign was the most entertaining of recent memory. Close second would be Lesnar as him not being there made the title just seem that much more important.

IC Title - Cody Rhodes. He brought back the old design and white belt. I don't remember who he feuded with other than Rey and the Big Show. But I like his character development from Dashing to the "Disfigured" Cody Rhodes

US Title - Rusev was decent but you knew he was getting fed to Cena. Cena is doing good right now with the open challenge and everything. But i don't like it being simultaneous with his Rusev feud. I'm going back a few and gonna say Cesaro was my last favorite US Champion. he had a nice long reign. a couple decent feuds and he just looked good with the belt.

Tag Title - I wish I could say the Wyatts but sadly they haven't been there yet and I feel like they could have a great run. But here I gotta say it's a tie between Team Hell No and Jeri-Show. Team Hell No were just entertaining all around and Jeri-Show were just a force to be reckoned with.

Divas - I tried to think of ones other than AJ's long run. But honestly I couldn't remember anything about them. So I'm going with AJ by default here

 

[kadroan]

WWE: Punk. He made us believe he is the Best In The World.
US: Rusev. He ran through everybody, just couldn't beat Cena.
IC: Cody Rhodes. The last good champion they had before they passed the title around like a hot potato.
Tag Team - The Shield. They ran through everybody including The Usos, when Goldust and Cody beat them for the titles, it was a big deal.
Divas - AJ (her first reign). She was a dominant champ.