Driving home the emphasis on the mid-card titles

[Rogue]

Ever since WrestleMania has passed they've really made it a point to have the mid-card titles be held in a higher regard, like they once were. Hell, the U.S title was even defended in the main event of a PPV not too long ago.

I've come up with an idea to really drive home the emphasis on the mid-card titles. Why not have the winner of next year's Royal Rumble challenge one of the mid-card champions? Seeing as there is no more World Heavyweight title anymore it's been petty easy to narrow it down to who's going to win the Rumble, and challenge for the WWEWHC.

If the winner of the Rumble challenged either Owens or Del Rio it'd really widen the pool for winners, and add a little more mystique back to the PPV.

I'm not saying limit the choices to only have the 'lesser' titles be options, but let them be factored into the equation.

I.E: Daniel Bryan is cleared again, comes back at the Rumble, and wins the match. The following night he tells everyone that it's ultimately his choice to pick who he wants to face, and decides to challenge Kevin Owens because he feels like he never lost the I.C title to begin with. It's a win-win because it gives a lot of fans what they want, kicks off what'd be a good, sensible feud, and the WWEWHC title picture would still be unknown.

 

[Green Jesus]

I think it's great how I no longer look at the mid card champions and just write them off the main-event, this makes the product as a whole much more enjoyable to me. Take last raw, for example. It was fairly predicable that Reigns was going to win it, but still on the corner of my mind I was thinking "what if it's owens, or del rio?" which made a otherwise still decent main-event into a much better one, due to the added tension.

As for the actual thread, I think I would rather have a midcard champion win the royal rumble rather than the winner deciding he will not go after the world title. Not to mention in your scenario the fans could feel(unreasonably, but even so) like wwe just gave them the middle-finger by teasing another DB main-event only to announce they actually saddled him with a lesser spot.

I also think it would feel a little artificial to have him just settle for less. It weird back when a winner would just go for the WHC knowing he wouldn't close wrestlemania, but it was a kayfabe world title so I accepted it.

The only way I would (sort of) like to see it is if there was a big feud or storyline involved(like the winner wanting to take revenge on a U.S champion) AND if there is some relevant way of deciding the number one contender for the WWE title, as it would feel pretty underwhelming to have the top title not be chosen in a spectacular way while the U.S championship had a Royal Rumble match.

 

[Mr. Roman Empire]

no matter who the title is on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is always the top prize, to the superstars and to the fans.

Maybe the runner up for the Royal Rumble winner could challenge for his choice of either the IC title or the US title.

 

[Prince Bálor]

So, the winner of the Royal Rumble would settle for something less than a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight title, huh.

Not a fan of the idea. If you've earned a shot at the top prize, go for it. I'd rather see the runner-up challenge one of the midcard champions instead of the RR winner making that challenge. But, that's just me.

 

[CFCrusader]

I'd rather they did something like a MITB for the IC title and cement it as the top 2nd title/co-main eventers while US title could be the normal Open Challenge/everyone can get an opportunity title. The Rumble winner should always go for the main heavyweight title. The runner-up getting a chance to fight for a midcard title, though, could be quite good.

 

[Roadster]

I think having 2 WWE Network exclusive tournaments to find out the #1 contenders in January or February, would be better. More Network content and more prestige and esteem added to belt.

 

[The GOAT]

I like the idea in theory, but I'd have an almost impossible time accepting that someone would willingly settle for a lesser championship, especially on the grand stage of Wrestlemania. The only way I could see it working was if the Rumble winner had a really personal beef with one of the people in possession of one of the midcard titles, but even then, I find it hard to swallow.

I think the idea would work better with the Money In The Bank briefcase, where the rules could state that you're allowed to cash in on any of the champions at any given time. Imagine the World, Intercontinental, and United States Champions always collectively being on their toes at all times because none of them would know for sure which of them the briefcase holder was targeting, or when that person might strike. Would also make it a lot more unpredictable from an audience perspective. But even then, you run into the same problem - someone willingly settling for a lesser championship than what they can achieve.

 

[Jacob Fox]

The Royal Rumble is usually my favorite event of the year and I'd prefer that they stick to the format they used. I don't even like it when the Rumble winner has to defend his title shot to anyone else like Reigns did this year. Although I like Daniel Bryan a lot more than Reigns, Reigns won the Rumble and it was bad to make him have to defend his title shot against Bryan.

Don't mess with the Rumble, it's fine the way it works. It also would never make sense that anyone would challenge for a mid card title over the main one.

If WWE wants to give prestige to the midcard titles, it's easy enough to do. Give the titles to wrestlers who haven't made it to the world championships yet. Have them defend it regularly against strong opponents and defend the titles on Raw. Stop having the champions lose non title matches. Focus on longer reigns, don't play hot potato with the belt.

It's not hard so it's baffling how they continue to drop the ball here.

For example, have Owens defend the belt on Raw at least every other week and have defenses be the main event. The world title is almost never defended on Raw so if there is an IC title match, it only makes sense that it should be the main event on Raw.