What do you do with the IC & US titles....?

[resignedknight]

For too long now we have seen the IC & US titles underused and undervalued by the WWE. Ambrose has had the US title for close to a year and hardly even defended it and although the IC title has been defended more often it hasn't really mattered. My first question is do people care that little about the history and heritage of these titles? My second question is how would you build stories to involve them more?

Here are my suggestions for both from now to end of 2014 forgetting what may happen at Extreme Rules.
IC title
Bad News Barrett has had 2 good wins over Mysterio & Kingston since Mania so is on a bit of a role have him start a rivalry with Big E with them facing off at Extreme Rules. Barrett seems over with the fans with his current gimmick so he could win the title their and have a solid run with rivalries against Ziggler, Del Rio, Sheamus & Christian. At Summerslam he could defend it against Reigns where he loses the title and Reigns wins his first singles title. Reigns could then battle Bigshow, Ryback & Alexander Rusev to give him strong challenges that he over comes until TLC where he drops the title in a fatal 4 way ladder match against maybe RVD, Adrian Neville & John Morrison(I put Morrison here for personal reasons as I was a big fan of his in 2011 and could see him having a Jeff Hardy type rise to the top) where Neville could win. (Reigns losing here opens him up to a bigger push going into Mania.

US title
Ambrose could start off by defending the US title against maybe Kane at Extreme Rules with Kane claiming that Ambrose is a disgrace as US champion and no longer deserves the belt but Ambrose can go over Kane to prove it wasn't that he wasn't a fighting champion it was that no one stepped up to face him. Cesaro could then win the title from him beginning a potential push for him where he could hold it against people like Wyatt, Sandow, Henry & Axel. At Survivor Series Cesaro could drop the title to Sami Zyan as the 2 have had some insane matches on NXT. (Like with Reigns this would free him to move up to the next level as both would have had solid title runs and steady pushes in 2014 culminating in Maybe Cesaro or Reigns winning or close to winning the 2015 Royal Rumble. (This also caps off good rookie years on the main roster for Sami Zyan & Adrian Neville plus give Barrett some in ring credibility again which he needs after injuries ended his previous pushes).

Do you like the sound of these ideas or can you think of anything better to do with the IC & US titles? (Obviously the creative team needs to put good story lines around the titles to add to the interest).

I love your idea of a lengthy run with the IC title for Barrett. It seems like putting the belt on a guy like him who can put on entertaining matches with the whole midcard is the perfect way to build its prestige back up. With the upcoming UK tour, now would be the time. I would add in some multi-man gimmick matches where he retains, too. I guess it depends on how the Shield breakup goes as to whether or not it makes sense for Reigns to win it, but if he needs it that would certainly work well.

I'm less concerned about the US title, and with both being so underused for so long, I'd probably focus on raising the prestige one at a time. I have no problem with keeping the US on Ambrose until the Shield breaks up, then it's a big rub for whomever beats him after a year+ reign, and that person can work on building it back up. Great ideas, though. I hope they do something.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I am with you on Barrett but your trajectory is wrong... make him the face IC champion, the fans want him face... he is clearly well suited to it and getting over. So why not put him into the US or IC picture feuding with some of the heels like ADR, Ziggler and a returning heel Jericho.. that feud never happened, NXT rookie v pro, you can have Jericho even win the IC title first and Barrett chase him as the face... Jericho as a 10 time IC champ does make sense for the story alone. Add in the mic segments that would come from the two of them (Barrett is quickly getting up there with Bray for how he is handling his mic time and making the most of it) and you have a great feud in the making... give it a title change in the UK and you have a major talking point... rememeber how intense Orton v Barrett was, if they can get Jericho in and on that page with him it could be a big turning point for the title AND Barrett.


The US title is more of an issue as it is dead weight on Ambrose and in danger of becoming an albatross round his neck... This Evolution feud is even worse... The answer is to have Triple H strip him as punishment or put him into some kind of scramble where his teamates are barred thus he can always claim his "reign" never officially ended or he was screwed out of it... Rusev would be a good pick for this, a long reign with the US title would help get him over strong and would fit with the Lana/Mrs Drago angle they have going on... Alternatively Titus O' Neil or the debuting Bo Dallas could benefit from the title.

I can see the argument for unifying, but I can equally see a TV or WWE Network title being created and defended once a week on TV or a Network show doing as good a job. The US title IS behind the IC but that's mainly because it often ends up round the waist of someone who it doesn't make sense to hold it, like Ambrose.

The problem extends to all the titles however, the tag titles can't get on Mania, before that the IC title match couldn't... WWE is treating anything that isn't the world title as a prop, not a title... till that changes, all the other belts are as good as junk.

 

[OYDK]

IC Title: Well, as of right now I really see Swagger taking the title off Big E. sooner rather than later and than going at it with Cesaro. I really wouldn't mind seeing this, as this is a feud that has already been bubbling and adding the IC title adds that much more legitimacy to both Swagger and the IC title. I see Cesaro going over Swagger at Payback and holding the title for a few months before dropping it to Seth Rollins and beginning his main event push.

US Title: I'm ok with Ambrose not defending this until literally Mania 31, IF him and Rollins have a unification title match at Mania. I can see Ambrose getting jealous that Rollins is IC champ and bitching that the US Championship is more prestigious blah blah blah. Rollins can say something like , "Yea so prestigious that nobody has even thought about it for two years, while I've been defending my title for 9 months straight". This of course would lead to both men settling it in the ring, with each one wanting to prove they're the ONLY midcard champion.

And also if both do get unified, no new name, no new title.... please just keep it as the IC belt.

 

[Agent Orange7]

I mentioned this in another thread recently, I'd love to see Rollins get the IC title (Reigns gets a big push without needing one of these two belts) and Rollins and Ambrose have a unification ladder match, like Cena and Orton did for the big titles - but I would think this one would be more entertaining. I think it would be cool to see Rollins get that IC belt, keep the team together for awhile with both belts - maybe put the tag team championships on them too - have them drop the tag titles, the split happens at the conclusion of that match, leading to the unification match.

 

[Hakushi]

I appreciate the thought you put into it,and could see it working out. I am opposed to unifying the US and IC Titles. Does noy make them anymore significant at all IMO. I would love too see the WWE place importance on both titles. Some ideas are;
1. At MITB/ELIM CHAMBER PPV'S, hold two of each match (one for each, IC and US Title) Also hold a WWE WHC Match. I understand you want the focus to be on your main title holder, but if the WWEWHC can "go", as he should be able to, the match will speak for itself.

2. Lengthy Title Reigns are nothing without memorable feuds or matches (See Ambrose). This involves creative storytelling with consistency.
Who doesn't remember Hitman/Bulldog, Austin/Rock/Triple H, Razor/HBK, Piper/Hitman, Savage/Steamboat, Warrior/Rude Roberts/Rude etc...etc...Most of the top matches for these guys were for that IC Title. These individuals were heading the same place in their career paths and were able to build these feuds, some following throughout their respective careers.

 

[TheICChampion]

I remember someone mentioning this in a past thread, and I gave my thoughts on how they could place importance on both belts again. Get 2 guys who have had a rivalry in the past (if they've had good matches) and have them win the IC and US titles respectively. Barrett and Sheamus come to mind for me because, while they didn't have a "rivalry" per se, they still had good matches against each other. Have them parallel each other as heel (Sheamus) and face (Barrett) as tough ass-kickers who can't be beat, no matter who challenges them. Then, Barrett (or Sheamus) can get on the mic or backstage and brag how no one has even come close to beating him, claiming he's the toughest in the WWE. The other guy comes out and challenge him to a match to prove who's the toughest. They also say they'll put both their titles on the line to see who truly is the best.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

The US title has been nothing more than a costume accessory for a long time now. The IC title at least gets defended, but the person holding the IC belt is usually a jobber to the stars. They'll beat other mid-card guys on a regular basis but lose to bigger names/more-over guys way too often.

If unifying the belts means that they will treat that one championship the way the IC/US belts should be treated now, then I'm all for it.

 

[Hoke Hogan]

I keep seeing the argument that certain mid-carders "don't need" the IC or US titles to get over because they already are. I think that this mindset is why these titles have come to mean less over time. In order for the titles to have prestige, they need to be worn by prestigious stars. I think that an IC title reign for Roman would be great. A feud between him and Barrett for the IC title over the summer would be fantastic.

The Ultimate Warrior and Curt Hennig didn't need the title to get over but putting the strap around their waists and others like them is why we used to care about these titles.

 

[LMaruko]

I've been saying this for years on the same topic.

The US Title needs to go. It has no relevance in the WWE, as it was merely used as part of the WWE/WCW Invasion storyline, and kept as per the brand split in 2003. Since there is no longer a brand split, the belt is not a hot commodity, and the WWE is currently treating it as such. Dean Ambrose has hardly ever put it on the line, and the last PPV he defended it on was Night of Champions in September against Ziggles.

No title defense at Wrestlemania? Really?

Unify the Intercontinental Championship and the US Championship. And if there really needs to be a fourth belt, bring back the Cruiserweight title, or, with the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV, the Hardcore title. I was entertained by the 24-hour title defense rule brought in by Crash Holly, because it led to some wacky situations for the guy, but Hardcore matches were pretty entertaining anyway.

I was highly disappointed with the way the WWE handled the the Cruiserweight title and dropped it as an afterthought; no unification, and it was last on Hornswoggle. What a joke. And this way, a lot of lighter wrestlers could get much needed exposure. Evan Bourne would be given relevancy instead of remaining on the disabled list by trying too hard to wrestle with the big guys.

Rey Mysterio could be given one final hurrah before hanging up his boots.

But just get rid of the US Title. Incorporate the IC belt in high caliber matches, or even put it on former WHC superstars.

Hell... put it on Cena and knock him down a peg or two.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

Honestly, do you want to know how to elevate the midcard titles? It's really easy.

Step 1: make a list of IC Title guys and a list of US Title guys, preferably about ten to twelve guys per title.

Step 2: Give the duties of writing the IC Title and it's contenders to Paul Heyman.

Step 3: Give the duties of writing the US Title and it's contenders to Zeb Colter.

Step 4: Wait two weeks.

At this point the midcard titles are the most entertaining and prestigious titles in all of pro wrestling.