Who would be better off without a title?

[MikeKillam]

While a championship around your waist can give you a lot of credibility, and instantly put you in a spotlight, there's still something to be said about a really good feud. Look at the Jericho vs. HBK feud last year. When that was going on, who were you more concerned with? Personally I could have cared less about CM Punk trying to become a decent champion, when Jericho and Michaels were putting on classics every single week.
So my question is: Who do you think would benefit from having a really good feud, and staying away from a title for the time being.

I have a few answers:
-Triple H and John Cena: These two are constantly going after titles. Their characters are now based on going after titles...I would like to see the two take some time off of the title scene and go after each other. Maybe they could have a feud centered on who is really "carrying" the company, and go at it for a couple of months trying to see who really is the best of the best. Clearly Hunter won't let himself be embarrassed by losing to Cena, so maybe Shawn could confront them both and tell them to get over themselves, leading to a triple threat match for the #1 Contendership to the title.
-Edge: I know, I know...the guy hardly ever gets title shots...NOT! The most undeserving 9-time champion...well, that's not true. I don't think he's undeserving, it's just that his title reigns have been complete crap... I want to see him face off against Christian or Jericho without the title in the picture. I would even say maybe have him chase Jericho as champion...just, when he wins the belt for the 10th time...give him a good run.
-Shelton Benjamin: How long/How many title reigns in the mid-card is this guy going to get. He's good. He's real good. Maybe what he needs is a really good feud to get his main event career started.

So who do you think needs some time away from the title picture? And who do you think really needs some time as champion?

 

[Blade]

Nice thread.

Well firstly, it's the aforementioned CM Punk. A random title win does not a main eventer make. He never had any midcard feuds to work off when he won his title last year, he was running on overness from his slightly above average charisma. He wasn't over cause people though "Oh it's CM Punk! I remember him from such classic matches as *insert match here*! I hope he gives us another classic match!" because the guy simply didn't have any great feud-based matches. The matches with Morrisson were decent enough, but they were both still learning at that time, especially Morrisson, so the matches were never going to steal the show.
That's why I'm putting all my hope into the Umaga/Punk feud, cause this is what both of them need right now. This is the opportunity Punk needs to have a memorable feud, or even just one memorable match. He's being paired with another really good worker in Umaga, so let's hope they can put on a feud that'll elevate them both to main event level, cause I'm still prayin to god that Punk doesn't cash in at Judgement Day.

Next up I'm gonna say Jack Swagger. He was in ECW for a matter of months before they threw the title on "the prodigy." Yeah, he's alright but Matt Hardy should've had a longer title reign. But they wanted to get the Hardy vs Hardy storyline over with so they took the title off Hardy, and for some reason gave it to Swagger. For a week or two, there was the excitement of a young champion. A guy who was barely around for 4 months and had become the top of his brand. But once the novelty wore off, we're just left with a rookie champion carrying the 3rd biggest show. Swagger is no Brock Lesnar, and he's certainly no Kurt Angle, he shouldn't have been given the title so early. And to make matters worse, he did it on his first try.
Swagger needs a non title feud. The problem is, he's on ECW where if you're not having a feud over the title, then you simply don't matter. I actually like Swagger, but I don't want him as the dominant figure on one of the brands. Thankfully Christian arrived in time to help him out, but he needs a decent feud before the title is put back on him.

 

[Baller]

Chris Jericho. Y2J is unbelievable and he should have straight up feuds with guys like Edge Christian etc. Yes i know they are both champions but you get the point here. Y2J is great heel talker and he needs to be like HBK and Undertaker who have great feuds with everybody but never really have a title run anymore

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Edge needs to stay away from the title for a while. He's been the champion nine times in three years with short title reigns so if he isn't the champion, he is always the challenger. With Punk, Hardy, Jericho, and Morrison on Smackdown Edge can have a non-title feud with somebody and elevate them a bit higher. Cena wasn't in the title hunt for half of 2008 and I believe it will be good for Edge to do so before he turns into another HHH.

 

[Chris in SC]

Cena. This is NOT a Cena-bash or anything of the sort. I'm neutral to somewhat positive towards Cena.

When I started lurking here months ago, a number of people were saying that Cena was better chasing the title than having it. I did notice that crowd reaction was alot more positive between NWO and WM XXV when he was chasing Edge for the title.

After WM, i started hearing more negative reactions from the crowd again.

When Cena overcomes-all-odds to beat Big Show this weekend, it's only going to get worse, IMO.

 

[Shua]

I'm going to have to go with Edge on this one. As was said above, 9 times in 3 years is a bit excessive. Sure, he's a great main event heel, and he's certainly championship material, but enough is enough....at least, for now.

On Smackdown, Edge and Y2J have a nice little back and forth, which leads to a main event match between the two of them. They are certainly no strangers to each other, as they've feuded a couple times in the past. Sure, it'd be heel vs heel, but they both play very different types of heels....so that could be very interesting. If both men could bring the same level of intensity that they brought when Jericho was feuding with HBK and Edge was feuding with Cena, we could have a very good match (or series of matches) on our hands.

 

[JBowling]

I'm gonna have to agree with some of the others, and say Edge. Hes a great main event heel, but give some of the other stars a chance for crying out loud. there are plenty of other guys on SmackDown, who given the chance, could be great champions.

Cena is another one. There are alot of young guys on Raw who arent getting a fair share of main-event light becuase of Cena.

Guys who should get a title match:
Raw: MVP, Matt Hardy, William Regal
ECW: Evan Bourne
SmackDown: John Morrison or Shelton Benjamin

 

[Black Snow]

I have four answers to this question. They're the most obvious answers but I think they're all apt.

John Cena - Like the man or not he's always near the title and one of the biggest contributing factors for fans hating him is that he constantly beats more talented wrestlers in title matches. He holds the belt over guys that fans would rather see holding it. I can count on one hand the number of personal feuds Cena has had in the past five years that didn't involve the title. Let's see... Big Show, JBL, ECW in general in the form of Sabu... that's about it.

Triple H - Especially now that even the most naive fans know that he's married to Stephanie and basically has a say in running the company he needs to stay away from the belt. He's always going to get accused of trying to eclipse Flair's record and putting himself over. Winning the title at No Way Out just so he could get a WrestleMania title match and win doesn't help. I bag on TNA like so many other people but at least they've been smart enough to keep Jarrett away from the World title since they acknowledged his role in the company on air. Of course, even that smart decision is finally starting to disappear...

Batista - We've all heard the joke about Batista using the Konami code to get unlimited title shots. The guy gets injured and much like Cena he gets title matches the second he returns. Oddly enough though, the main reason for why Batista needs to get out of the title picture is the opposite of Cena. Batista usually LOSES in his title matches. It's fairly pathetic that the guy can lose like a dozen title matches and the company is always more than ready to give him a 13th shot. Heck, he actually had to win the title for a week last year from Jericho just because all of his title matches with no results was getting far too ridiculous.

Edge - This is the only one of the four guys that I truly enjoy in the ring. Also, in actuality Edge is the one guy that it makes sense to have win tons of World title reigns that only last a month or less. It really fits his slimey heel character and is a nice extension of his seven tag titles with Christian. That being said, enough is enough. Edge has always had trouble really connecting with the fans as a face and I think a lot of personal feuds that slowly lead to a face turn and a 10th world title reign that is insanely long will be just the ticket he needs. I almost want to say turn him into a version of Cena that doesn't spout cliched, empty buzzwords. Edge carries feuds on his own just with his words like Jericho.

 

[Sandman18]

Every main eventer on Raw besides Orton as he needs to have a title reign until WrestleMania like they used to do back in the day...let MVP and Kennedy lose to him so they have good matches and elevate their game... Let Edge battle the new faceturn in Morrison and hopefully they give him the strap...like stated above Jericho wants a fued with Rey and that will bring the IC title back to the once prize it was..SD is so much better as the matches are fresher and stars are being more developed

 

[Mr. TM]

Batista should take a step back from the title. With all the men in the main event right now, Batista does not need the title. Cena can be disputed as one man, but as the champion he puts up great feuds. Batista on the other hand seems to do better without the title. He does not seem as though he appreciates having the championship, so why not keep him out of it.

The problem with my own choice is simple. Batista is boring. Batista is extremely boring to me, and if he is not going for the title, what is the point of having him do anything? He needs the title, or to be the contender to have a match of feud of importance, so taking that away from him will leave him with nothing. But it will mean that the main event is not held down by him.

I am sure Batista can go off and do a feud that means something. What the need to do it give him more of a character. Build a real character, and not just this Animal persona. does he have a family (keyfabe). Has he ever been in trouble (keyfabe). Has he ever fornicated with a dead body (keyfabe). Just give him something that the fans can look at in a feud as the vocal point.

 

[psychedelicgranny]

I think WWE makes more money from fans wanting to see the face conquer the heel champion. I remember all of 1999 and parts of 2000 just wanting to see someone beat Triple H so bad and no one would do it or if they did, Hunter just won it back a month or two later. Looking back, that's way more entertaining than if The Rock just kept beating every heel in the company and that's what kept me tuning in; to see Triple H finally lose. This brings me to John Cena and current face Triple H. They, especially Cena, would do better without the title. Cena gets better reactions from everyone who either hates or loves the guy when he's chasing the title. It also works if he fails because it would put a guy like Orton or Edge over. And that's why I think people like Orton and Edge NEED the title.

Hunter won't job to anyone and Cena is being pushed as an unbeatable superman. The only ones losing to them are already established champions such as Orton and Edge and in unfair circumstances which is why they are so important. This mainly applies to Edge but could work for Orton at any point. Edge has been willing to job the title to CM Punk and Jeff Hardy to give them a chance. One Cena or Hunter would never do. WWE needs them with the title to build new stars. They should be winning against the likes of Triple H, John Cena, and throw Batista in there to build them up as credible champions but still be able to job to up and coming face stars to cement their main event status.

 

[shafe_41]

While a championship around your waist can give you a lot of credibility, and instantly put you in a spotlight, there's still something to be said about a really good feud. Look at the Jericho vs. HBK feud last year. When that was going on, who were you more concerned with? Personally I could have cared less about CM Punk trying to become a decent champion, when Jericho and Michaels were putting on classics every single week.
So my question is: Who do you think would benefit from having a really good feud, and staying away from a title for the time being.

I have a few answers:
-Triple H and John Cena: These two are constantly going after titles. Their characters are now based on going after titles...I would like to see the two take some time off of the title scene and go after each other. Maybe they could have a feud centered on who is really "carrying" the company, and go at it for a couple of months trying to see who really is the best of the best. Clearly Hunter won't let himself be embarrassed by losing to Cena, so maybe Shawn could confront them both and tell them to get over themselves, leading to a triple threat match for the #1 Contendership to the title.
?

Yes, Yes, and more Yes. As far as the main event picture goes, can you think of a time you actually enjoyed the main event more in the last 2-3 years when these 2 were not going after a damn title? I think I had wood the whole time HHH was going after Vince in '06, then led to the subpar reforming of DX with humor nowhere near as funny as the original (with the exception of the night HHH and HBK dressed up like Shane and Vince... that was epic. I care NOT what anyone says about that.), then got injured (not happy that he was injured) and then came back to not go after the title right away. That's over 2 years of HHH not in the title picture. Like I said, I had a 2-yr. main event wood. And while I don't like Cena, that was his time to shine and grow as the superstar he is today. Unfortunately I'm not a fan of Cena's character, the big dog HHH was out, and a younger guy really really rose and got over. For that, you can't hate.

In response to your choices of Cena and HHH, I agree they can both stay away from the title picture for awhile. Even though Cena still can grow as a superstar, he doesn't need it right now. HHH... don't really need to get into that at all because it's obvious to everybody that he doesn't need to be a champion for a long long time unless they somehow brilliantly turn him heel and keep him and Orton seperate on Raw somehow. Like that'll happen... but we can hope can't we?

At the current state of the Raw roster... my personal choice would be Orton. Now hear me out before the negative rep starts to fly. I love Orton, he's great and all that stuff. HOWEVER... when you want to keep Cena and HHH away from the title picture, who the hell is Orton going to feud with? HBK when he returns? I don't think anybody would buy that. Plus, Orton destroyed him for like 2 or 3 ppvs straight awhile back. But they would put on some great matches like they have in the past. So maybe HBK does deserve it. I'll follow up on that below. With all that being said, who does Orton have left? MVP? Kennedy? These guys will hit the main event sooner or later (Kennedy god willing he stays healthy) but they're not ready right now. So just by process of elimination, Orton/HBK/HHH/Cena is going to be who we're stuck with for awhile.

In the context of this thread, the title looks bad on Orton just because we don't want Cena or HHH to have the belt for awhile. Again... leaves HBK. I THINK HBK does deserve one more title run of sorts before the end of his career just because he's given so much to the business. And he's held the title less (I believe half as many times) as Edge for crying out loud. Does that say Edge > HBK? Hellz no. But I really do believe one more solid title run for HBK would really give his career an amazing exclamation point even though the general consensus says he doesn't NEED it. But somehow, a last title run is something he could STILL benefit and build from. Not that HBK needs built anymore, but honestly... who wouldn't love HBK as champ just one more time? The strap looks damn good on that guy... it ALWAYS did.

Edit: I didn't mention Batista because I forgot about him being on Raw... does that REALLY need elaboration?

 

[Thugz417]

VERY good topic/thread/question!!!

Honestly I feel that edge would be better off without a title. Not because he doesn't deserve a title but because of his character when he was chasing the title. Remember how crazy Edge used to go. Totally snapping on everyone and everything when he didn't get the title shots or the wins. (Think back to the Randy Orton as Raw GM and Edge segment where he was begging Randy for a title shot). That segment was HILARIOUS yet at the same time suspenseful. I swear to God i thought Edge was going to absolutely flip his lid on Randy and attack him. That brings unpredictability to the show. Which is something WWE really needs. Edge being the "hungry challenger" is a great storyline that can be run a few times without getting stale. Then of course you let him get a title match and have him lose. Thus sending him off the deep end causing even more carnage and mayhem. But all in all Edge is the guy that shouldn't be running around with a title because he is a much more solid character/heel when he is without said titles.

another guy that comes to mind is HHH. Give it a rest trips! No one wants to see that guy running around with a title around his waist. It's getting boring. He is good yes but when he holds the title he very rarely lets it go. I mean give me a break he's going to break Flair's title reign record in less time than it took Flair to get there. It's getting to the point where my friends and I turn OFF WWE when HHH comes out either to get a title shot or win a title. HHH holding the title is just bad business for WWE.