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Will The Titles Be Unified?

PsychoBlack

Damn it feels good to be a Taylor!!
With the supershow concept it seems that the brand split has ended. Now with only one brand it seems really stupid to have two world champions. However it currently seems that they will not unify them and just continue to take prestige away from the reigns of the current champions.

Should they Unify them? And if so, who should be trusted with this match and the undisputed title?
 
No I dont think the titles will nor should they be unified. The reason for the end of the brand split is to give an excuse for certain superstars appearing on both shows, like we've started to see more and more throughout the years. The shows are still predominately based on the members of their official roster, and removing a title would make that particular show suffer. I dont think the two titles eliminate the prestige of the champions, that just depends on whos holding the title and how they got it.
 
Technically, the brand split hasn't ended because Smackdown remains (for the most part) its own show. It's Raw that has become a Supershow, and if there weren't two separate brands it wouldn't be a "Supershow". It would just be Raw...

Now, should the WWE and World titles be unified? People have been debating this every week since they brought the WCW WOrld title over to Raw and split the two brands. Here are the pros of unifying both WWE's World titles:

-The program of champion vs. champion would be a big draw, especially if it were another Cena/Orton feud, but with both of them on even footing for the very first time.
-Having one World title on a wrestling show makes sense. One main title that is the most important prop in the business is much better than two belts that are kind of the same thing, but still different.

Cons:

-Clearly the WWE sees the WWE title as more important than the World title. Combining them really means that the WWE title will be left standing as another "undisputed" title that really doesn't mean anything.
-There are a billion guys on the roster. More titles means more opportunity for them.
-Smackdown and Raw are still separate, even with the Supershow concept. Smackdown not having a World title would be a huge loss for the show, because you have to know it would be featured more prominently on Raw.
-WWE rarely makes good programs that aren't for the World title. Without two belts you're going to have a dozen main event caliber guys and only 2 or 3 involved with the title at a time. I just don't have enough faith in WWE's creative team to book them all well...
 
I don't think I would want to see that happen. Why? It would take away from guys who are in the Main Event picture. This would mean it would be a battle between Orton and Cena, and add in others to take away the staleness of those matches. We would have less people striving for the title as it would always be Orton and Cena.

Not having the titles unified means more wrestlers besides Orton and Cena going for the title. This meaning Punk, ADR, Cena, Miz, Truth. Smack Down would be, Henry, Orton, Christian, Sheamus, and hopefully Wade Barret. One title we wouldn't have that.
 
I am quite split on my thoughts on this subject. I have previously stated I would be for this happening but the more I think about it the more I talk myself out of it. I just don't think the IC or US titles mean enough right now to allow for just one WWE/World Champion. Before now when only one main belt has been available the rest of the roster could still compete for the IC Title and hold it with credibility...or just be content with being involved in a well written storyline in which the WWE Championship was not involved. Nowdays it seems to be all about holding the WWE or World Championship and the midcard belts do not mean anywhere near as much (although that seems to be changing). So the main event roster may get crowded and wrestlers may get lost or underused for periods of time.

If done right though it could well work because it has in the past and I personally like having only one main Champion. I would rather a Champion Vs Champion match take place in which a belt is dropped instead of unifying the two...drop the World Heavyweight Championship..change the design of the WWE Championship and use that.

I just don't think the company is ready for that change just yet but would be interested in this happeining in the future.
 
I don't think there is a need for the titles to be unified; I see no point to it. There is two brands, just because stars from both brands appear on both shows doesn't mean there is one brand. Raw is a Raw Supershow because stars from both brands appear on it, if there was one brand it wouldn't be called a Supershow it would simply be called Raw (like someone else said). Also I don't think having two titles is taking prestige from title reigns, that simply depends on the wrestler and what he does during the reign, so I don't think that's an arguement for unifying the titles.
 
IMO, they should go ahead and unify the WWE and WHC titles. Since they are going with all RAW's being Supershows, to me it makes sense to unify the titles and have the champion on both shows. Similar to the way the champion did after the titles were unified the first time. Plus, the both titles have been passed back and forth far too frequently. And it would be nice to see a new belt design once the titles were unified. Perhaps bringing back the old unified title design.

I think the titles being unified is inevidable anyway, b/c slowly it looks like the brand extention is dissoluving. And if the current ratings slump doesn't stop soon, I could see WWE ending the brand extentions just to create more interest in the product.
 
Should they - yes will they probably not . the great thing for the wwe is they dont have to until after next years wrestlemania - nothing will superseed rock vs cena so unifycation will have to happen after that if it was up to me it would have to be a best of 3 over the next ppvs probably between cena and orton
 
With the supershow concept it seems that the brand split has ended. Now with only one brand it seems really stupid to have two world champions. However it currently seems that they will not unify them and just continue to take prestige away from the reigns of the current champions.

Should they Unify them? And if so, who should be trusted with this match and the undisputed title?
If you think the brand split, you haven't been watching that closely. Raw is still primarily dominated by Raw storylines with the SmackDown people mixed into eight man tags and other segments that don't involve any Raw superstars. SmackDown is also still pretty much exclusive to the SmackDown guys. So there are still two separate sets of storylines, including a main title storyline on each show. Thus, getting rid of the titles would be stupid as they haven't quite gotten it to the point where they even have that option. And personally, I hope they don't for a long time, because I think it would be a detriment to the company and the growth of young stars.
IMO, they should go ahead and unify the WWE and WHC titles. Since they are going with all RAW's being Supershows, to me it makes sense to unify the titles and have the champion on both shows. Similar to the way the champion did after the titles were unified the first time. Plus, the both titles have been passed back and forth far too frequently. And it would be nice to see a new belt design once the titles were unified. Perhaps bringing back the old unified title design.
Do you remember what happened the last time they did that? The guys on the other show pretty much floated around in limbo without a title to compete for. The title is the best source of main event storylines and if a show doesn't have one, there's not a whole lot else to fight for. Plus, given how biased WWE has been towards Raw over the last couple of years, most title storylines would probably be on Raw and that would lessen SmackDown's status even more. Not good when you're still trying to give off the impression that the brands are equal.
 
I don't think unifying the belt is a good idea. First, I don't think the Raw "supershow" would last forever. So if your idea of unifying the belt is because we are having both the superstars of smackdown and raw in one show then that probably won't happen.

Second, unifying the belts wouldn't be enough to accomodate all those who are already in the main event status. John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, R-Truth, Alberto del Rio, CM Punk, Mark Henry, The Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Rey Mysterio, Christian, Sheamus, Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan. How the hell will you book all of them on one title?

As for unifying the shows, I don't like that either. There should be a fine line between the superstars of RAW and SmackDown. And they should only see each other during PPVs. Just like the old times.
 
Do you remember what happened the last time they did that? The guys on the other show pretty much floated around in limbo without a title to compete for. The title is the best source of main event storylines and if a show doesn't have one, there's not a whole lot else to fight for. Plus, given how biased WWE has been towards Raw over the last couple of years, most title storylines would probably be on Raw and that would lessen SmackDown's status even more. Not good when you're still trying to give off the impression that the brands are equal.



Yes well, in case you haven't noticed, guys are still floating around in limbo on the shows. That is the primary reason every title is lacking proper contenders, even though the rosters on each show has enough wrestlers to do that. As far as WWE lessening SD's storylines, again where have you been? RAW has been treated as the main show and SD has been the B show almost ever since it's inception. The problem with the perception that the shows are equal is that hasn't been the case since the brand extention. If they are "trying to give off that impression" they are failing miserably and SD still looks inferior.

At least doing title unifications and ending the draft who force guys to step up or be released. Not to mention you wouldn'r have upwards of 20 titles between the two shows. Exactly how prestigious does that make the respective belts look? Not too prestigious or credible IMO.
 
Yes well, in case you haven't noticed, guys are still floating around in limbo on the shows. That is the primary reason every title is lacking proper contenders, even though the rosters on each show has enough wrestlers to do that.
Oh, I agree with that completely. So why make a bad situation worse by having even more guys float around with nothing to do? Merging the titles is certainly going to make that problem worse rather than remedy it. Then you'd basically be taking all the guys who actually have stuff to do right now, which isn't all that many, and cutting them in half. That's as counter productive as it gets.
As far as WWE lessening SD's storylines, again where have you been? RAW has been treated as the main show and SD has been the B show almost ever since it's inception. The problem with the perception that the shows are equal is that hasn't been the case since the brand extention. If they are "trying to give off that impression" they are failing miserably and SD still looks inferior.
It's clearly gotten worse over the last couple of years, though. Raw was always the A show, but it wasn't always this obvious. They put a lot more stars on SmackDown, put a lot more effort into the storylines, and had SmackDown matches main event pay-per-views on much more regular of a basis. They also had SmackDown rebounds on Raw instead of just the other way around, and they even had brand-specific pay-per-views for a while. Merging the titles would just help us to continue going in this direction where SmackDown matters less and less by the month, instead of going in the opposite direction, which is where I would be trying to go if I were in charge.
At least doing title unifications and ending the draft who force guys to step up or be released. Not to mention you wouldn'r have upwards of 20 titles between the two shows. Exactly how prestigious does that make the respective belts look? Not too prestigious or credible IMO.
They have two world titles, two midcard titles, a tag team title and a divas title. That's really not that many, and it's certainly not a ridiculous number like you're trying to make it seem. They had nine titles as of about three years ago, and they made that work then, so obviously six isn't too many. I mean, what do you want, four titles across two brands? Who exactly does that benefit?
 
Better yet, lets say for arguments sake that they did unify the titles sometime over the coming year which Superstar would you like to see win?
For example if it was to be done in a similar fashion to the last time they unified the two titles would you prefer to see a younger guy get his big push on the back of being the first undisputed champ as Y2J did and if so who?
Or would you prefer to see one of the already established main eventers take it out??






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As cliche and biased as this is going to sound, I feel like if it was going to happen, Cena should be the one to do it. I can't think of a more fitting candidate, and it would make the match so much bigger. Imagine Cena vs. Orton as a face vs. face match to unify the titles. That could be huge if done correctly. Or, conversely, an even better option: Cena and the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Of course, I'm probably one of the only people here who wouldn't mind seeing Cena end the streak - but that same fact would make it all the greater.
 
Oh, I agree with that completely. So why make a bad situation worse by having even more guys float around with nothing to do? Merging the titles is certainly going to make that problem worse rather than remedy it. Then you'd basically be taking all the guys who actually have stuff to do right now, which isn't all that many, and cutting them in half. That's as counter productive as it gets.

No matter how you look at it, unifying the titles or not, guys will still be floating around doing nothing. The main issues with some ppl not being used is more of a booking and creative problem. So, IMO ending the brand extention would have no major effect on guys not being used. Sure, guys would be released that are doing nothing, but it beats them being on the roster with no use at all. Being counterproductive to me means keeping a irrelevant draft going that always winds up making SD look horrible. At least unifying the belts would have one champion for each particular belt, instead of two like now(except for the tag titles). Not to mention RAW features SD guys anyway, so what's the reasoning for keeping the shows seperate? If the point is to make wrestlers exclusive to shows, then doing the Supershows only detracts from that idea. Regardless, what ever your view on this is, WWE has screwed up the brand extention royally and now it doesn't serve any relevant purpose.

It's clearly gotten worse over the last couple of years, though. Raw was always the A show, but it wasn't always this obvious. They put a lot more stars on SmackDown, put a lot more effort into the storylines, and had SmackDown matches main event pay-per-views on much more regular of a basis. They also had SmackDown rebounds on Raw instead of just the other way around, and they even had brand-specific pay-per-views for a while. Merging the titles would just help us to continue going in this direction where SmackDown matters less and less by the month, instead of going in the opposite direction, which is where I would be trying to go if I were in charge.

I do agree it has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 years or so. The only real time SD looked as great as RAW IMO was around 2003. They had Heyman writing awesome storylines for SD with him as the GM. And the wrestling then was far superior to RAW(which has for the most part been the saving grace of SD). And at least back then they wisely used trades to explain guys jumping shows, instead of the current disregard for the basic premise of the brand extention. To me, that is the main reason even having this brand extention is a pointless exercise. If WWE doesn't treat RAW and SD like two seperate, but equal shows, then the reasoning behind it makes no logical sense. The way it stands now, RAW is a Supershow and SD is still the B show. If the negatives way outweigh the positives, what purpose does that serve?

They have two world titles, two midcard titles, a tag team title and a divas title. That's really not that many, and it's certainly not a ridiculous number like you're trying to make it seem. They had nine titles as of about three years ago, and they made that work then, so obviously six isn't too many. I mean, what do you want, four titles across two brands? Who exactly does that benefit?

Ok, I let this go in the Cena turning heel thread, so I will address this now. When I said 95% of the crowd booes Cena or there are 20 titles in WWE, I'm exaggerating sarcastically to make a point. Too bad typing words here doesn't allow sarcasm to pentrate the sound barrier. Even though I did exaggerate the number of titles, the point remains the same. If you have two world titles, two mid card titles and two divas championships, how prestigious do those belts look? Cause to me, having two of each says either guy/diva can claim to be the best, even though the WHC and US Titles are viewed as inferior to the WWE counterpart titles. From the titles looking prestigious standpoint, IMO it craps on the credibility of those titles to have two guys laying claim to essentially the same belt.

Besides, having unified champions wouldn't be all bad. It appears most here assume that fact, even though WWE survived for years before the brand extention without multiple titles. And you know what that did? It forced guys to step up and prove themselves to become champion, thus making those belts all the more prestigious and credible. I'm not saying it has to happen, but if it does, I think it will have more benefits than most realize.
 
No the titles should not be unified. The Raw brand's supershow concept does see Smackdown stars coming over to Raw, however that does not mean the brand extension has ended. If they do Raw exclusive events, then they make money off of those. Same goes for Smackdown. Last I heard, house shows are still brand exclusive. If the brand extension ends, then there goes all the money from having a second brand to use. Plus, the midcard and world titles each have enough guys fighting for them to warrant two brands per division. Only the tag team and divas divisions are dual branded. The titles should not be unified because they still have enough guys to use on two brands as well as making money off of both brands.
 
No matter how you look at it, unifying the titles or not, guys will still be floating around doing nothing. The main issues with some ppl not being used is more of a booking and creative problem. So, IMO ending the brand extention would have no major effect on guys not being used. Sure, guys would be released that are doing nothing, but it beats them being on the roster with no use at all. Being counterproductive to me means keeping a irrelevant draft going that always winds up making SD look horrible. At least unifying the belts would have one champion for each particular belt, instead of two like now(except for the tag titles). Not to mention RAW features SD guys anyway, so what's the reasoning for keeping the shows seperate? If the point is to make wrestlers exclusive to shows, then doing the Supershows only detracts from that idea. Regardless, what ever your view on this is, WWE has screwed up the brand extention royally and now it doesn't serve any relevant purpose.
Yes, the guys who are doing nothing would be released. Then, you would have guys who get time now doing nothing, i.e. the Swaggers and Zigglers who should be future main eventers. Basically, what would happen is that everybody would get pushed down and the main event scene would become even more stale than it is now. Think about it. There would be no room for anyone beyond Cena, Punk, Orton, Sheamus, Miz, Del Rio, Truth, and maybe Christian. And you would only actually have two or three guys in the title picture at once. There would be no hope for anybody else to move up, and some of the guys I just mentioned might even drop down to the midcard. Hell, they had to pair Miz and Truth together to keep them relevant as it is, and that's WITH the brand split, and with only one other top heel on Raw.
I do agree it has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 years or so. The only real time SD looked as great as RAW IMO was around 2003. They had Heyman writing awesome storylines for SD with him as the GM. And the wrestling then was far superior to RAW(which has for the most part been the saving grace of SD). And at least back then they wisely used trades to explain guys jumping shows, instead of the current disregard for the basic premise of the brand extention. To me, that is the main reason even having this brand extention is a pointless exercise. If WWE doesn't treat RAW and SD like two seperate, but equal shows, then the reasoning behind it makes no logical sense. The way it stands now, RAW is a Supershow and SD is still the B show. If the negatives way outweigh the positives, what purpose does that serve?
Well, it gives a lot more people time to shine, for one. Sure, SD is the B show, but it's still an important show, unlike say, an NXT or Superstars. We all know that Raw is where most of the good stuff happens, but SmackDown has enough stars to keep the fans interested, give some veterans their due, and build up some guys to the future. Basically, they build up guys on SmackDown to send them to Raw, which isn't a bad strategy given how much exposure SmackDown has. I would rather the shows be equal, but I would take the current arrangement over an ending of the brand split and having the same guys on both shows every week. And, if you're going to keep it anyway, then it needs two separate titles to work. Otherwise it fails even worse than it supposedly has been already.
 
Yes, the guys who are doing nothing would be released. Then, you would have guys who get time now doing nothing, i.e. the Swaggers and Zigglers who should be future main eventers. Basically, what would happen is that everybody would get pushed down and the main event scene would become even more stale than it is now. Think about it. There would be no room for anyone beyond Cena, Punk, Orton, Sheamus, Miz, Del Rio, Truth, and maybe Christian. And you would only actually have two or three guys in the title picture at once. There would be no hope for anybody else to move up, and some of the guys I just mentioned might even drop down to the midcard. Hell, they had to pair Miz and Truth together to keep them relevant as it is, and that's WITH the brand split, and with only one other top heel on Raw.

The main issue I have with saying that the Swaggers and Zigglers would have nothing to do if the brand extention ended is that they aren't making an impact now. Granted, the major reason for that is horrible booking and a creative team that is clearly out of touch with what fans want. I do agree to some extent that ending the brand extention would diminish some guys chances of ever being on TV again. And the primary reason the main events would be stale is b/c WWE isn't currently producing new stars fast enough. So, really IMO ending the brand extention would only be one part of the problem. Their issues are alot deeper than that though and have been problems that have been ignored for far too long.

And as far as the Miz and Truth, it is yet another example of WWE not making new stars fast enough, thus making the few guys on top stale. The only reason I'm advocating for the brand extention to end is b/c WWE is ignoring keeping the two shows seperate. To me, having SD guys on RAW and vice versa contradicts the whole premise of the brand splits.

Well, it gives a lot more people time to shine, for one. Sure, SD is the B show, but it's still an important show, unlike say, an NXT or Superstars. We all know that Raw is where most of the good stuff happens, but SmackDown has enough stars to keep the fans interested, give some veterans their due, and build up some guys to the future. Basically, they build up guys on SmackDown to send them to Raw, which isn't a bad strategy given how much exposure SmackDown has. I would rather the shows be equal, but I would take the current arrangement over an ending of the brand split and having the same guys on both shows every week. And, if you're going to keep it anyway, then it needs two separate titles to work. Otherwise it fails even worse than it supposedly has been already.

I do agree having two brands means more opportunities for up and coming talent. That's pretty much simple math and common sense. But, not utilizing those said brands to establish new talent is counterproductive and a waste of time. Not to mention SD has been treated as inferior for so long, I'd say most fans(unless they are loyal WWE fans regardless like me)don't care about SD and aren't watching anymore. This is backed up by the extreme drop in SD's ratings as well as WWE repeating every SD match and storyline on RAW. Even WWE has to be aware that SD is almost on par with Impact, which is saying alot since WWE has a much larger fanbase.

I personally don't see how ending the brand split would be any worse than their current product. Both shows have lost a huge amount of ratings and neither show capitalizes on making young guys, so what is the point? At least doing the unification means less titles in WWE, while also forcing WWE to make new stars. SD will never go away, so it's not as if ending the brand extention would limit how many guys could be seen on either show.
 

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