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Friday, July 19, 2013

WWE- Retire the World Heavyweight Championship Already

Batista holding the WHC when it was relevant (photo by Mshake3) 
(Originally published on my Squidoo lens on 04/26/13)

As WWE continues to roll forward into the certain-yet-uncertain future, there are a number of anachronisms that they must deal with in order to both build up new talent and find the art of storytelling that they seem to have lost as a company.

Probably the most glaring of these anachronisms (aside from Super Cena who I've already gone into much detail on) is the presence of the "World Heavyweight Championship."

To go into a brief history of the title, it was brought to the WWE ultimately by its purchase of rival World Championship Wrestling in 2001, where it went under the same name and was represented by the same belt. It was briefly unified with the WWF/E Championship in 2002 as the Undisputed Championship, but was separated and reintroduced in its present form by on-screen RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff later that year, where it went on to serve as the top title on the RAW and SmackDown brands, alternating between them in the years.

Back then, during the 2000's, this made sense, as WWE, especially up to 2007, had a strict brand split in place. In this atmosphere, it was almost as if that each of the two were separate companies in competition with each other under the WWE umbrella, and this is an image that was striven for especially in the early going. Wrestlers were strictly confined to their respective show- either RAW, or SmackDown. Appearances by a RAW superstar on SmackDown or vice versa were extraordinarily rare. Each show even had their own pay-per-views, with the only such shows featuring both brands being the "Big Four-" the Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, SummerSlam, and WrestleMania.

Slowly but surely as the 2000's wound down, these restrictions began to be relaxed. The separate PPVs were ended in 2007, as they were too expensive to produce. Appearances by another brand's talent on the opposing brand became more and more common. Titles such as the Tag Team Championship were unified. Fast forward to the 2010's and there is basically nothing left of the brand split. RAW is now called a "super show" featuring talent from both. In 2012, there was no longer even a WWE Draft (and in the years preceding it, the WWE Draft became less an important event wherein storylines for the next year might get shifted alongside the talent, and more of a spectator event for its own sake).

Even the House Shows apparently are no under operational under the brand extension moniker.

So this now begs the question- why the need for the World Heavyweight Championship, this deadweight from the brand extension period?

It's clearly obvious that it is not a real world title anymore. It is always playing second-fiddle to the WWE Championship. The World Heavyweight Championship today is what the Intercontinental Championship used to be in the past- a way to reward hard workers and give them a chance to see if they were really ready to shine in the main event. Essentially, it's the company's top mid-card title now, which is fine, but the name and history of the belt diminish from this fact alongside the deceptive booking (most importantly, a separate Money in the Bank contract) that goes along with it.

Consider Dolph Ziggler's recent bizarre run with his Money in the Bank briefcase. He was essentially chasing a ghost- the ghost of a title that was once a world championship, but now is a phantom with no real life breath left (as far as being a world title goes). The Money in the Bank for a mid-card title is somewhat oxymoronical, a situation that came to the surface in his convoluted angles over the months after he won it. Now he is the World Heavyweight Champion, but won't be main eventing shows anytime soon, especially when lost in the shadow of someone that always humiliated him in his run as Mr. Money in the Bank and who is now the WWE's REAL champion- John Cena.

This is deceptive, and is unfair to both Ziggler and his fans who want to see him pushed into the real main event. The continued presence of the World Heavyweight Championship detracts from the ability of the WWE to build up new stars in a permanent way as they used to- namely, by putting them in good matches and angles, and instead deceptively promotes them as being in the limelight then and there- a cheap illusion that even further detracts from the real story of these characters.

As the oft repeated phrase goes- "Having two world titles detracts from both." Not to mention the fact that the Money in the Bank loses its value as well, again becoming not much more than a cheap gimmick for quick cash, which again, distracts from storytelling

So, it's time that WWE end this charade and unify (more likely absorb) the World Heavyweight Championship with the WWE Championship. It would not only serve as an excellent storyline that could make WrestleMania a smashing success, but it would work wonders to build the career of whoever held the World Heavyweight Championship at the time, especially if he were to win the unification match.

Above all, it would revive the importance of the proper mid-card titles- the Intercontinental and United States Championships, and breathe fresh life into the mid-card division, leaving the main event less convoluted as well as allowing new stars to be born without smoke and mirrors.

In effect, the World Heavyweight Championship has in recent times been pushing guys into the "main event" before they were even ready for it. It's time to end that silly practice.

And as for the House Show argument- even if WWE hadn't ended the brand split in the House Shows, which they apparently have, are they really important enough to merit diluting the real way it delivers content to its fans- namely, through television and PPV's? House Shows would be fine without it. Trust me, WWE!

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