What would have made a poor title run a good one?

[LSN80]

Looking at the thread surrounding "Worst Title Runs in History", I couldn' help but think to myself, 'What could have been done to make those championship reigns better? Was the match quality during the reigns so poor that people wanted to see said wrestler lose the belt, only to get him away from the main event scene? I saw quite a few responses be that of the one with the Great Khali, who as heel champion, made for some truly terrible matches. Was it the way the wrestler was portrayed? My choice, Rey Mysterio and his reign in 2006, was exactly that. He was squashed far too often against giants, and given no real chance to succeed. There's a fine line between vulnerable and non-credible, and Rey fell firmly on the latter side of the line. Or did they have a 'blink and you missed it' reign, which I saw being argued regarding Kane.

However, the goal of this thread isn't to discuss that, necessarily, it's to figure out how you would rehabilitate that reign if given the chance. In other words, what would you have done that could have taken a poor reign and made it a bad one? Different opponents to suit the wrestler's style? Add to the length to make the champion stronger, or subtract from the reign to spare us from it? Or would you, like I would have with Rey, attempted to make them more credible?

I went back and forth between Rey Mysterio's 2006 reign and Dave Batista's reign in 2010 and subsequent feud that ended Batista's tenure with the company. While I went with Mysterio, it's Batista's reign that I would choose to rehabilitate.

Batista turned heel at Bragging Rights 2009, when he was pinned in a Fatal Four Way match for the World Heavyweight Title. After beating Rey Mysterio so he couldn't continue at Survivor Series, the man he blamed for his failures to win the World Title, he challenged for the World Title at TLC, losing a chairs match to Undertaker. He then lost a #1 Contenders Match on Smackdown to Rey Mysterio....and quit competing. He refused to participate in a qualifying match for the Smackdown Elimination Chamber, and refused to give interviews.

All questions as to the 'why' with Batista were answered after John Cena won the Raw Elimination Chamber in 2010, where along with it came the WWE Title. Mr. McMahon's music immediately hit, and he granted Batista a title shot against Cena, who he dispatched of easily. Over the coming weeks, he bragged and boasted about breaking Cena's neck, b*tched about not being the face of the company, and beat Cena up every chance he could.

What Batista didn't do that made it a truly terrible reign was defend the title successfully a single time. He lost by submission to Cena at Wrestemania, was outsmarted and caught in duct tape in their LMS match at Extreme Rules, then said 'I Quit" in his final match for the WWE Title, and last match with the company.

What would I have done differently? Had Batista beat Cena at Wreslemania. It's blasphemy as Cena's my favorite wrestler, but to lend Batista some credibility as a to heel, even on his way out, would be to have him beat Cena by nefarious means of some kind. The rest I would book the same. Batista didn't look 'weak' when Cena used the duct tape, he simply got caught. That evens it at 1-1, and Cena still takes the rubber match, Batista's rematch, and he goes out the door with a victory over the top face in the company at WrestleMania.

What difference would it have made? Believability, I suppose. There was little suspense surrounding the LMS match, and even less with regards to the 'I Quit match between the two, because when it counted, Batista never showed he could beat Cena. He got himself intentionally DQ'd against Cena the next night, which guaranteed he would face Cena at WrestleMania. But that's it. A reign that starts off with a win over a beaten down John Cena winds up with Batista handing John Cena a title match at WrestleMania, that confident he could beat him. Instead, he winds up tapping out, then completing the trifecta by being duct-taped by Cena and unable to answer the 10 in a LMS match, then loses an I Quit match to Cena right before being thrown through a stage, ending his tenure with WWE.

Supposing I didn't read online reports, such as that about when Batista would be departing WWE, and the suspense surrounding the latter two of his matches with Cena was gone. But give Batista an actual victory over Cena in defending his title? There's great suspense heading into both matches. A small tweak, a win and lengthening his title reign for a month before losing it to Cena at Extreme Rules and falling short in the 'I Quit' match takes what was a 'hot air' all-talk reign into a successful one, for me.

Think to what you consider to be a poor title reign. What tweak(s) would you have made to it at the time to turn the poor reign into a successful one?

 

[Leoffler17]

I would have liked to see Christian with the strap for another day. Christian can at least put on good matches. He can talk, and he'll always have the peeps with him. Man he could have had a great title fued with Y2J or Orton.

 

[#heel420]

Jack Swagger- Not having his 1st World Title feud with Big Show would of helped. That thing was dead in the water as soon as it started.

 

[keith hall]

i would have loved to have gave jeff a longer reign with the title during his feud with edge...He shouldnt have lost to edge at the royal rumble like that...no cause whatsoever...Hardy was THE FACE of WWE Merchandising at the time...we all wanted him to keep it...i would have saved the Matt Hardy chair shot for the elimination chamber match...or i would have taken out that entire feud with matt and let the hardy edge feud go on till extreme rules...have hardy win at the royal rumble...edge win it in the chamber...a classic at WM...and a hateful no dq at Backlash and finally the Ladder match that we all got at extreme rules...Hardy's run would have been way more memorable...just saying

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

I'll go back in the day and say Warriors WWF Title reign. It seemed as if it were destined for greatness as he was super hot in the build up to his title win and then became the first guy to get a clean victory over Hulk Hogan in the WWF. There was no reason that this reign shouldn't have been one of the very best but it seemed to be buried before it got a chance to take off. Around this time Earthquake was the top monster heel, while Macho Man surpassed DiBiasi as the best heel. Earthquake was used to write off Hogan for the months he was out in 1990. Once Hogan was gone Earthquake should have quickly turned his attention to Warrior. Warrior/Earthquake should have been the main event for SummerSlam 90. Had it been the main event Warrior's reign would have started off the right way. Having Warrior go over on the companies top monster should have been the way to go. Following the match Earthquake and other members of Jimmy Hart's crew could have attacked Warrior post match allowing Hogan to return for the save and set up the main event for the 90 Survivor Series with Hogan, Warrior and other faces against Earthquake and other members from Jimmy Hart's crew and other top heels. With Warrior's team winning with Hogan and Warrior as the sole survivors, Hogan would turn his attention to Slaughter and the whole USA/Iraq story except this time there is no title on the line. Warrior would move onto a mini feud with Rude while the seeds for his feud with Macho being planted. Warrior would decline Macho's match request as he did back than and go into the 91 Rumble to defend his title against Rude. Macho would ultimately interfere in the match and Warrior would retain via dq. This would be what finally gets Warrior to take on Macho at Mania in a title vs career match. This was the best match of the card and with the title attached to the match it would have made it the main event and this match would have solidified Warrior as a great champ and kick start his 2nd year as champ.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

May get some bashing for this, but had Rey Mysterio not gotten his push/title on the heels of Eddie's untimely passing, I think it would have been taken more seriously by the fans (More so internet marks)

I'm curious to see if anyone tries to make The Great Khali's WHC reign "better"...

 

[spaldoni]

I'm going back to Ron Garvin's NWA title reign in 87. The problem with that reign was he was booked as a weak champion. I would of booked Garvin's house show title defenses where he had the most fan support. I would of set him up with defenses against solid performers like Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Larry Zybszko, Terry Taylor and Eddie Gilbert. I would of shown highlights of these matches on TV. These guys would of given great matches and made Garvin look good. I would want Garvin going into Starrcade looking strong then at least his title reign would of looked decent and Flair's win wouldn't of been as predictable.

 

[sanefan_har]

I'll go back in the day and say Warriors WWF Title reign. It seemed as if it were destined for greatness as he was super hot in the build up to his title win and then became the first guy to get a clean victory over Hulk Hogan in the WWF. There was no reason that this reign shouldn't have been one of the very best but it seemed to be buried before it got a chance to take off. Around this time Earthquake was the top monster heel, while Macho Man surpassed DiBiasi as the best heel. Earthquake was used to write off Hogan for the months he was out in 1990. Once Hogan was gone Earthquake should have quickly turned his attention to Warrior. Warrior/Earthquake should have been the main event for SummerSlam 90. Had it been the main event Warrior's reign would have started off the right way. Having Warrior go over on the companies top monster should have been the way to go. Following the match Earthquake and other members of Jimmy Hart's crew could have attacked Warrior post match allowing Hogan to return for the save and set up the main event for the 90 Survivor Series with Hogan, Warrior and other faces against Earthquake and other members from Jimmy Hart's crew and other top heels. With Warrior's team winning with Hogan and Warrior as the sole survivors, Hogan would turn his attention to Slaughter and the whole USA/Iraq story except this time there is no title on the line. Warrior would move onto a mini feud with Rude while the seeds for his feud with Macho being planted. Warrior would decline Macho's match request as he did back than and go into the 91 Rumble to defend his title against Rude. Macho would ultimately interfere in the match and Warrior would retain via dq. This would be what finally gets Warrior to take on Macho at Mania in a title vs career match. This was the best match of the card and with the title attached to the match it would have made it the main event and this match would have solidified Warrior as a great champ and kick start his 2nd year as champ.

Couldn't agree more. Plus we would've been rid of that cluster****ed main event at Summerslam and actually have had a great feud between Warrior and the Undertaker/Jake Roberts.

 

[Johnny Scumm]

I'm going to take a slightly stranger approach on this and go for a title reign that you might think meant absolutely nothing and that is;

Santino Marella's 2nd Intercontinental Championship Reign

Now, Santino won the IC Title for the first time after beating Umaga, losing it eventually a month and a bit later.

The 2nd time Santino won the IC Title, it was in a mixed-tag match, where he & Beth Phoenix defeated Kofi Kingston & Mickie James for the IC/Women's title respectively. After that, Santino claimed that he was going to become the "Greatest IC Champion Of All Time", beating Honky Tonk Mans 64-Week reign. Using the "Honk-A-Meter", we'd keep track of how Santino was doing. Now, Santino was already a heel at this point, so what I would've had is him DEFEAT William Regal, not losing to him. Gradually, Santino would defend the title, either pinning the contender clean, or winning through some kind of DQ, like he did with Honky Tonk Man.

62 or so weeks in and Santino is now a genuine credible heel, as well as a credible champion, having held the title for a year. Bear in mind now that Santina Marella & the Vladimir Kozlov stuff wouldn't have happened. All of a sudden, after defeating people like Honky Tonk Man, previous IC Champions (Goldust, Jericho, Kingston etc), Santino would brag that he was the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, even though he hadn't yet beaten the 64 Week record. With a PPV looming, Santino would offer up an open challenge, to a former IC Champion. Any former IC Champ can take up the challenge, right there, right then.

Cue former IC Champion, Kane. He comes out to a face reception, runs down to the ring and beats on Santino Marella, cutting a promo saying that he's a former Champion, so he'll be taking on Santino at the PPV for the Title. Over the next couple of weeks, mind games take place with Kane on Marella, who is becoming increasingly convinced that he'll be losing his title, but Beth Phoenix assures him that will not be the case.

At the PPV, the match takes place & everything seems to be going fine, where Kane is beating Santino and looking like he's gonna be winning the IC Champion. Just as Kane looks for a chokeslam, Beth Phoenix (who's proven she can go with the men, being in the Rumble) gets in the way as Kane ends up with his hand around her throat. Kane looks confused, but also instantly regrets it, letting Phoenix go from the hold. Santino attacks him from behind, getting the controversial win over Kane, but retaining his title and taking the reign into it's 64th week. On the 65th, where he has finally defeated Honky's title reign, the GM is sick & tired of Santino's manners, so books him into a Battle Royal to defend his title against 11 other men.

Here is your new IC Champion (It's now late '09), so just as happened in late 2009, perfect time to kick out the debut of Drew McIntyre.

 

[LODemolition]

Punk's title run should've lasted til Mania. A 500+ day reign vs an undefeated Taker at Mania. Would've been an absolutely terrific build. No reason to put the belt on Rock.

 

[HBsam31]

In the thread the op is talking about with the worst title reigns I picked Rey Mysterio's as the worst so I will try and tweek that run a bit. If I am not mistaken Kurt Angle was the champion in the 3 way where Rey won the gold. An easy fix would have been to let Rey and Kurt have a lenghty feud going forward. Kurt was not in the WWE for too much longer after that so it would have been natural for him to put Rey over as a strong champion going out. He may not have known he was leaving at that time, but there would have been plenty of time for it. They could have had an outstanding series of matches over the World title. Orton was the other person in the three way. He also could have gotten involved, and again Rey could have had some good matches with him as well. I think they had Rey getting squashed in non title matches for a good portion of his run which was the many reason for it sucking imo so after he got done with those two guys I think what Rey should have done was call out a crusierweight. He could come out and say he was given a chance through winning the Royal Rumble, and that no one thought he was big enough to be World champion so as champion he was going to give someone else a shot at the gold. Enter Chavo. I know this is a stretch, but they had a great series of match later on when Chavo turned heel so if Rey got a shot because of Eddie then why not Chavo. It would have been a fed with a lot of history and it would have become personal. After that feud then maybe have Rey go over a giant clean. He could have then lost the title to whoever he lost it too in the first place, but they could have extended his reign using they guys I mentioned, and it would have been much more enjoyable than they way they did it. My way isn't perfect, but I think it would have workd.

 

[TheHorndogSays]

I'm going to pick yokozuna's 1st title reign. There was no need for Hogan to win the title from him that same night. They could have teased the match to end it or simply let yoko ride high into the night and challenged Hogan at KOTR where Yoko still wins in a similar version. Having him as CHAMPION yet involved in a lame "body slam challenge" was foolish. I have no issues with Luger/Yoko headlining Summerslam but it should have been started differently. I would have had Luger win KOTR as there was honestly little reason for Bret to win it. That sets up the Luger/Yoko match which Yokozuna WINS. Having him lose via count-out was FOOLISH. Yoko's reign had no credible challenger. Luger was never taken seriously. Yoko should have been a DOMINATING champion squashing opponents left and right.

 

[Judah's Lion]

I'm curious to see if anyone tries to make The Great Khali's WHC reign "better"...

i'll take the challenge! i'll probably fail, but i'll still try. but first, mad props to the OP for this thread. really great responses so far, too.

i'm with the OP for Batista's last World Title reign. also agree with Christian's first, Jeff Hardy's first, Yoko's, Ultimate Warrior's, Rey's first, Swagger's only and even Santino's second IC Title reigns. really fun reads and totally agree with all of them. now on to Khali...

quick recap for those that missed this terrible run: Khali won the strap on a july episode of Smackdown in a Battle Royal last eliminating Kane and Batista. he then defeated both the next week at Great American Bash in a Triple Threat. he retained via DQ at Summerslam in august. Khali lost the title in a Triple Threat to Batista in a match that also featured Mysterio. Khali lost his rematch to Batista in a Punjabi Prison in october and never did anything worth talking about again.

not only was Khali's run short, it just flat out sucked. he won in a multi-man Battle Royal, retained in a multi-man match, retained in a singles match but via DQ, then lost the title in a multi-man match. he never had a single win in a one on one match that mattered. he was a monster heel booked as a total wuss. nobody can deny or dispute the fact that Khali is pretty lousy when it comes to technical prowess. or even just walking. he's not the most mobile, agile guy. furthest thing from it. but still, the WWE did wrong by him in his only title reign.

since Khali last eliminated Kane and Batista in the Battle Royal to win the World Title in the first place, i would have kept the Great American Bash match the same. let Khali put them both away in what had to be a quickly put together event since Edge had just forfeited the title. then i think Khali should have had singles matches with both at the next ppv events. Khali vs Batista at Summerslam and then Khali vs Kane at whatever the next ppv was (maybe Unforgiven?). singles victories over those two would make Khali at least seem like a credible monster and given him a couple of victories that actually mattered.

then maybe book the Triple Threat with Batista and Mysterio for No Mercy, or maybe make it a Fatal Fourway with Kane also there in october. i'd have Khali eventually lose the title to Batista at Survivor Series. Batista won his last title at Survivor Series against King Booker, so there's some history going in there. have Batista win in a gimmick match at Survivor Series, maybe a Last Man Standing Match or something like that. then have Khali get his rematch in the Punjabi Prison the next month.

long story short, i'd attempt to fix Khali's title run by making it two months longer and giving him two singles wins over bigger guys/names that would actually help maintain his image as a monster heel/champion. that'd be my attempt.

again, OP, really great thread!

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

i'll take the challenge! i'll probably fail, but i'll still try. but first, mad props to the OP for this thread. really great responses so far, too.

i'm with the OP for Batista's last World Title reign. also agree with Christian's first, Jeff Hardy's first, Yoko's, Ultimate Warrior's, Rey's first, Swagger's only and even Santino's second IC Title reigns. really fun reads and totally agree with all of them. now on to Khali...

quick recap for those that missed this terrible run: Khali won the strap on a july episode of Smackdown in a Battle Royal last eliminating Kane and Batista. he then defeated both the next week at Great American Bash in a Triple Threat. he retained via DQ at Summerslam in august. Khali lost the title in a Triple Threat to Batista in a match that also featured Mysterio. Khali lost his rematch to Batista in a Punjabi Prison in october and never did anything worth talking about again.

not only was Khali's run short, it just flat out sucked. he won in a multi-man Battle Royal, retained in a multi-man match, retained in a singles match but via DQ, then lost the title in a multi-man match. he never had a single win in a one on one match that mattered. he was a monster heel booked as a total wuss. nobody can deny or dispute the fact that Khali is pretty lousy when it comes to technical prowess. or even just walking. he's not the most mobile, agile guy. furthest thing from it. but still, the WWE did wrong by him in his only title reign.

since Khali last eliminated Kane and Batista in the Battle Royal to win the World Title in the first place, i would have kept the Great American Bash match the same. let Khali put them both away in what had to be a quickly put together event since Edge had just forfeited the title. then i think Khali should have had singles matches with both at the next ppv events. Khali vs Batista at Summerslam and then Khali vs Kane at whatever the next ppv was (maybe Unforgiven?). singles victories over those two would make Khali at least seem like a credible monster and given him a couple of victories that actually mattered.

then maybe book the Triple Threat with Batista and Mysterio for No Mercy, or maybe make it a Fatal Fourway with Kane also there in october. i'd have Khali eventually lose the title to Batista at Survivor Series. Batista won his last title at Survivor Series against King Booker, so there's some history going in there. have Batista win in a gimmick match at Survivor Series, maybe a Last Man Standing Match or something like that. then have Khali get his rematch in the Punjabi Prison the next month.

long story short, i'd attempt to fix Khali's title run by making it two months longer and giving him two singles wins over bigger guys/names that would actually help maintain his image as a monster heel/champion. that'd be my attempt.

again, OP, really great thread!

That's about as good as it could have been with Khali. Couldn't do much there and I never understood why they didn't just have Batista win the Battle Royal in the first place... I guess just for the curveball effect and nothing more perhaps?

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

i'll take the challenge! i'll probably fail, but i'll still try. but first, mad props to the OP for this thread. really great responses so far, too.

i'm with the OP for Batista's last World Title reign. also agree with Christian's first, Jeff Hardy's first, Yoko's, Ultimate Warrior's, Rey's first, Swagger's only and even Santino's second IC Title reigns. really fun reads and totally agree with all of them. now on to Khali...

quick recap for those that missed this terrible run: Khali won the strap on a july episode of Smackdown in a Battle Royal last eliminating Kane and Batista. he then defeated both the next week at Great American Bash in a Triple Threat. he retained via DQ at Summerslam in august. Khali lost the title in a Triple Threat to Batista in a match that also featured Mysterio. Khali lost his rematch to Batista in a Punjabi Prison in october and never did anything worth talking about again.

not only was Khali's run short, it just flat out sucked. he won in a multi-man Battle Royal, retained in a multi-man match, retained in a singles match but via DQ, then lost the title in a multi-man match. he never had a single win in a one on one match that mattered. he was a monster heel booked as a total wuss. nobody can deny or dispute the fact that Khali is pretty lousy when it comes to technical prowess. or even just walking. he's not the most mobile, agile guy. furthest thing from it. but still, the WWE did wrong by him in his only title reign.

since Khali last eliminated Kane and Batista in the Battle Royal to win the World Title in the first place, i would have kept the Great American Bash match the same. let Khali put them both away in what had to be a quickly put together event since Edge had just forfeited the title. then i think Khali should have had singles matches with both at the next ppv events. Khali vs Batista at Summerslam and then Khali vs Kane at whatever the next ppv was (maybe Unforgiven?). singles victories over those two would make Khali at least seem like a credible monster and given him a couple of victories that actually mattered.

then maybe book the Triple Threat with Batista and Mysterio for No Mercy, or maybe make it a Fatal Fourway with Kane also there in october. i'd have Khali eventually lose the title to Batista at Survivor Series. Batista won his last title at Survivor Series against King Booker, so there's some history going in there. have Batista win in a gimmick match at Survivor Series, maybe a Last Man Standing Match or something like that. then have Khali get his rematch in the Punjabi Prison the next month.

long story short, i'd attempt to fix Khali's title run by making it two months longer and giving him two singles wins over bigger guys/names that would actually help maintain his image as a monster heel/champion. that'd be my attempt.

again, OP, really great thread!

I don't know why I keep having to bring this up but it is my duty to inform the uninformed.

He's fucking 7 foot tall and over 400 pounds. Why the hell does he need technical prowess? He wasn't going to chain wrestle or suddenly become Chris Benoit in the ring? Why can't idiots never understand that? I had no issues with Khali's reign. Kane was shit in 2007. When Batista wasn't fighting Undertaker, he was basically shit as well. Smackdown was floundering when Edge and Undertaker so they took a shot and rolled with Khali. No problem with it whatsoever. I've seen way more terrible title runs than Khali's.

 

[Judah's Lion]

I don't know why I keep having to bring this up but it is my duty to inform the uninformed.

He's f*cking 7 foot tall and over 400 pounds. Why the hell does he need technical prowess? He wasn't going to chain wrestle or suddenly become Chris Benoit in the ring? Why can't idiots never understand that? I had no issues with Khali's reign. Kane was sh*t in 2007. When Batista wasn't fighting Undertaker, he was basically sh*t as well. Smackdown was floundering when Edge and Undertaker so they took a shot and rolled with Khali. No problem with it whatsoever. I've seen way more terrible title runs than Khali's.

i'm typically a pretty non-confrontational guy by nature, but now that i've been called out, it's my turn to inform the uninformed. or the just plain lazy.

not once in my post did i suggest that Khali become the next Benoit. or even become a master technical chain wrestler. several times in my post, i stated that Khali should have been booked as a monster. you know, since he's a 7 foot 400 pound giant. book him as one. especially because he's not a technical genius. book him according to his strengths.

and if you've ever read any of my posts -- and i'm not suggesting that you should be following my every move or that my posts are the bests reads around -- you'd see that i'm actually a big fan and avid supporter of the giants. i regularly defend and build up the value of guys like Khali, Big Show and Mark Henry that get crapped on for not being the second coming of HBK/Angle/Jericho/Bryan, etc.

for example, a post of mine from march of this year...

"really interesting thread. good idea by the OP. that said...

most people in the IWC dislike Khali. i understand why. don't necessarily agree 100% of the time, but i get it. he's the furthest thing from a technician that there is. as many have stated, he's even a far cry from just plain mobile.

but he does have value. he's a giant, no questions asked. he makes tons of money for WWE thanks to India. got huge global interest. done some movies and shows so he has some media attention also. and then there's the immeasurable type stuff. for example, my wife loves him cuz he's huge and had a funny line in the "longest yard" remake. then again, she's not exactly a hardcore wrestling fan. but he does have value.

this might sound absolutely blasphemous to some, or many, but i'd suggest an almost Brock Lesnar-esque route with Khali, with some twists. first and foremost, keep Khali face. got tons of heels and more to turn, and the monster heel has been done often. keep him face and remind us that he's a former world champ. drop Swoggle and Nat. have him win a few big and important matches. then drop him from tv for the majority of the year. have him return only during the "big 4" ppv seasons. run short programs with the major and/or up and coming heels.

again, i'm sure i'll get heat and hell for saying that, but here's my thought process. could you imagine the rub Cesaro would have gotten if he hit the Neutralizer on Khali after a brief feud and well built match at Survivor Series? or if Ryback could hit the Shell Shock on him during the Rumble match? if Mark Henry added him to the Hall of Pain during a Summerslam showdown?

i think using him less and with a simple yet effective purpose would add to his draw, since clearly his wrestling ability and current gimmick isn't working at all. like, at all."

if you'd like, i can bring up similar posts i've written concerning Big Show and Mark Henry. but i don't think that's necessary.

i totally agree with you, LJL. i've also seen far worse title reigns than Khali's, both in and out of the WWE. the reason i chose Khali was multi-fold:

1. i saw that there was a kinda sorta challenge thrown out there to make Khali's run better, so i thought it would be fun.
2. at the time that i posted, Khali had not been mentioned other than the above-referenced challenge, and i like to post new ideas as opposed to just repeating what's already been posted.
3. because i actually like Khali and think he adds value to the company, i wanted to suggest a possible way to make his poor title run a better one. that's the whole point of the thread as laid out by the OP.

sorry if that wasn't clear from my original post. but i don't think me wishing that the WWE booked Khali's only -- i reapeat, only -- title run in the history of the company a little bit better for the benefit of Khali as a character and ultimately the company as a whole makes me an idiot.

just sayin'.

 

[Gavschenko]

Jack Swagger- Not having his 1st World Title feud with Big Show would of helped. That thing was dead in the water as soon as it started.

Yeah but to be fair he only won when the title was on the line that's why his reign sucked how can he get beat by john morrison, but beat randy orton and the big show it makes no sense what so ever

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The Warrior one is interesting but I'd have done it with a 2nd reign... Rude winning at Summerslam 90 due to Savage interference (he would be tweener) . At Survivor Series Savage screws Rude in the "Final" match leaving him to Warrior when it's 2 on 1 setting up Rude v Savage for the Rumble... Savage wins the gold and costs Warrior the Rumble, setting up the Mania match and Warrior's much better 2nd reign... Or they could have just not put him in the Phil Collins video...

The one I'd pick though is Diesel.

First off he wins the title on PPV still in 8 seconds but from Owen Hart (he not Backlund wins at 5urvivor Series). From there he faces Bret and Owen in rematches and The Bulldog at Mania 11 instead of Shawn. Basically keep Shawn away from him... No buddy tag team, no enemies... Have it slow build with Diesel "inadvertantly" cutting Shawn off, missing him by seconds, doors closing on him etc, so Shawn's resentment builds to a massive feud.

 

[theHeadliner]

Diesel's run could have been made better. If he won his first PPV match and generally looked more like a tough badass, rather than the white meat panderer that Vince liked at that time.