Firstly because the IC title is A home grown title. It started in the WWWF, and Vince isn't going to throw away his company's title for a relic of WCW (and the NWA).
Secondly the IC title is supposed to represent that the title holder is the champion of both North and South America, as opposed to just the Unites States. The IC title has (by default) more prestige.
Thirdly of late the IC title has been booked far better than the US title... At the very least the IC title has been regularly defended in some pretty damn good matches since last year.
Okay well before there was a NWA U.S. title (Mid-Atlantic) the WWWF in 1963, 12 years before the NWA U.S. title's inception and 14 years before the WWWF I-C title's inception, had its own United States championship. The belt read WWWF U.S.A. Heavyweight title and was held by the likes of Bobo Brazil and Pedro Morales. At the time of their reigns they were both in their respective primes and had or would have World championship success in the same years as their reigns or very close. In 1975 when the current WWE U.S. title was created WWE was an NWA member..
How cute that your markish ass took the fictious Rio de Janiero tourney to heart. There was no South American title unified with Pat Patterson's North American title so technically the I-C title is esential the North American title which was a continental title which put it STRICTLY speaking on equal standing to the European title. If you want to argue about i could say that the United States covers more of a diverse area then North America because it includes lands in the South Pacific (American Samoa), Asia (Iraq's sovereignty was transfered in 2004, 1 year after the U.S. title's reactivation), and Oceania (Guam).
Furthermore since the South American title was fictious outright we can only go by the text book deffinition of "intercontinental" which provides the same redundancy issues as TNA'S Global championship. Both wors are synonyms for 'world" and that contradicts the fact that its a mid carder's title not a co-main eventers alternate title.
The I-C title has had its rough patches too and the U.S. title has had more glorious years. Would you call the matches in which the Godfather, Billy Gunn, and Val Venis "pretty damn good matches?" During the time of those reigns in WCW the U.S. title was being competed for by the likes of Sting, Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, Scott Hall, Goldberg, and other top names and World champions. Titles, even World titles have their off periods. Half of you people don't even know or comprehend that Jimmy Snuka was the first ECW champion.., the same lineage including the likes of Justin Credible.
Jabroni Beatin Pie Eatin said:
As much as I don't like the design of the IC title either..Haven't since Austin threw it in the river.
The I-C title he threw into the river was the basic design of the U.S. title used in WCW at that time. It also was the same exact design as the ECW tag team titles at that point. It was a tired design, ripped strait from the NWA, And the designs before it (seen on Tito Santana), and the designs after it (seen on Shelton Benjamin) atleast had originality.
Jabroni Beatin said:
The name sounds better. The Intercontinental Championship. Sounds like something that can be defended/held by someone from anyone in the world at any place. The US title. Sounds like something that is strictly American.
See my above coments to the other fellow about why the name is stupid to any wrestling fan that likes logic as much as kayfabe..
Thread isntr about which one WILL stay, becuase obviously, its gonna be the IC. The WWE wouldn't get rid of one of its original belts for a WCW/NWA original, sorry.
I would prefer the US, mostly becuase the IC looks like shit. I hate that belt design. I would say the IC in general has been booked worse in the recent past, but has really revved up in the immeadiate past, with fueds between Mcyntire and Morrison, Rey and Jericho, and currently Doplph and Kofi.
So I would say the IC is probably the stronger of the two at this point, and should stay.
I think somewhere the guy in WWF management who thought up the light-heavyweight division is throwinghis arms up at your first remark.
Furthermore the U.S. title came a few years after the WCW U.S. title was unified into te I-C title. That means that instead of WWE choosing to bring back the North American, European, International, Hardcore or even World Martial-Arts title it chose a WCW title. It could had chosen its own U.S. title over WCW's also.
Furthermore WWE could had used a different desig then the NWA/WCW's "Big Gold" for its World heavyweight title. Maybe even a revamped version of the WWWF title "Superstar" Billy Graham held..
You can't deactivate a title due to a belt design issue. Before Miz, John Cena and MVP did a lot for WWE's U.S. title by defending it and elevating it. The Big Show too. Benoit.
DeanerAndTerry said:
Obviously it will be the IC title, but at the same time it should be. The IC Title has meant more in the annals of the WWE and has been an integral part of the company for almost 40 years. Throughout the history of wrestling the US title has meant just as much if not more than the IC title, but not in WWE. The IC title and title matches have been a part of such great moments in WWE's history and has played a part in some of its biggest moments, Jimmy Snuka/Don Muraco, Perfect/Hart, Savage/Steamboat,HBK/Razor the list goes on and on, it has been a huge stepping stone to the world title in the past and winning that title a lot of times meant that your time is coming.
In WWE its only been around 7 years and was only brought in because of the brand split in the first place.
Its just over 3 decades old.. Apparently all those NWA and WCW moments meant enough to WWE to reactivate the U.S. title out of thin air when they had EIGHT former WWWF/WWF titles to rectivate, one of which including the WWF Canadian heavyweight title!
All of the guys you mentioned except HBK and Savage are former U.S. champions. All except Muraco held U.S. titles in WWE/WCW's lineage.
If the I-C title meant so much why did Trips unify it into the WWF title and why was it thrown into a river? When Goldberg won the WCW World title he vacated th U.S. title ditto for Luger, Boker T. simply held both..
FitFinlay4Life said:
the US belt doesn't have the same prestigious history IMO because the NWA/ WCW had another secondary belt in the TV
Title and they also had a further singles belt in the Light Heavyweight/ Cruiserweight belt. For the most of the WWWF/ WWF title history, the only other singles belt was the IC belt.
The WCW TV title was never on par with the U.S. title.. It went TV then U.S. then World.. Or you start out as a light/cruzer then work yor way to U.S.
USA Heavyweight title, (19701975) · North American Heavyweight title (19791981) · International Heavyweight title (19591963,19821985) · Canadian Championship (19851986) · European Championship (19972002), Light heavyweight (1981/1997-2002). Jr. Heavyweight title (1967-85). From '87 to '96 it was the only secondary title, thats only 9 years out of 52 years of buisiness that Capitol Wrestling/WWWF/WWF/WWE has only ha the I-C title as its sole secondary singles title.
Silver Wraith said:
I feel like the WCW US title was equivalent to the WWF/E European title. And contrary to all the other posts, the IC title is my favorite design of any belt. The US title does have a cool, unique design, but I hope they never redesign the IC belt.
No it wasn't. The U.S. title was equal to the I-C title or the ECW TV title or the UWF TV title or Mid-South Championship Wrestling North American title or the WCCW TV title. The European title was on par with the WCW TV title or the WCCW Texas title..
Both belts have ugly succesors or predecessors. The I-C title is shaped like a maxipad on its side.. The U.S. title looks like a lepel pin..
Kaze said:
How many US champions have gone on to become the WWE champion in the last 10 years compared to IC champions?
Thats not the U.S. titles fault. Benoit, Booker T, Big Show, and John Cena. Before WWE heritage jacked WCW in 2003 Austin, Slaughter, and Ric Flair. I am counting show because the day before his ECW brand title win Van Dam held the WWE title along side it..
How many former World champions held the U.S. title? Luger, Booker T., Bret Hart, Flair, Hennig, Sting, Vader, Steamboat, Stan "The Man" Hanson, Psycho Sid, Terry Funk, etc. How many I-C champs have become
World champs since 2003? Punk, Orton, RVD, Jeff Hardy. Can we even count Kane with an 8 year gap between his I-C title and World title? Did the I-C title elevate Christian to the NWA title or Nitro to the ECW Brand title?
I vot for both though because it makes no sense. Interbrand competing should be for world, tag and womens' titles only.
Although I do wish the WWE United States title should be deactivated because its too much for me to see the spoils of Monday Night Wars on WWE programing.