WWE: 3 Titles That Should Be Updated
By Josh.0
Championship belts are status symbols within professional wrestling, but the WWE needs to update their title roster.
The NFL has the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The NHL has the Stanley Cup. FIFA has the World Cup. Professional wrestling has belts. Athletes from various sports love the belts produced by the WWE and over the years there have been some interesting designs and styles that sought to represent the highest of achievements. Some of these belts are stepping-stones to bigger and better things (The Intercontinental Championship) while others stand on their own (The Million Dollar Belt).
As the years go by, some championships retain their glory, some begin to fade and some have yet to be realized. As the WWE continues to evolve and move itself in new directions, so too should some of its most coveted prizes.
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The United States Championship
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This championship was introduced into Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in 1975 and has been worn by some of the all-time greatest wrestlers in history including Harley Race, Lex Luger, Steve Austin and Ric Flair. To date, there have been 81 different champions.
The current design for the U.S. Title came about in 2005 after John Cena’s custom “spinner” belt was mercifully destroyed by JBL and Orlando Jordan who had recently defeated Cena for the title. It features a diagonal red, white and blue star-spangled centerpiece, crowned with the newest WWE logo and flanked by images of an eagle and the Statue of Liberty. In case these jingoistic images weren’t enough of a giveaway, the words “UNITED STATES CHAMPION” are mounted in their own bracket across the center of the belt with the current champion’s name engraved on a small plate below. In a word, this belt is messy and not in a good way. John Cena helped bring relevance to this title with his open challenge and I wish this would have become a requirement for all future U.S. Titleholders. Until then, a cleaner, more professional design would help update a title that is a decade past due.
Divas Tag Team Championships
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If the WWE genuinely wants to “give Divas a chance”, they should give them a chance to show their capabilities in formal tag team competition. Thanks in part to the Divas revolution there are more women on the WWE roster than ever when NXT is taken into account. This means that more and more women will be making their presence known on RAW and SmackDown and this also opens the door for more match variety and more opportunities to be recognized for their accomplishments.
As it stands, women in the WWE can only compete for the Divas Championship since inter-gender matches are verboten during the PG era. These women are working hard to establish respect in a male-dominated business and yet they only have one prize for which their work can be rewarded. Some of the greatest wrestlers in history made their mark in tag teams and groups such as The Four Horseman, DX, and the nWo. A tag team championship would allow some of these women to form unique female factions and write chapters of their own in the WWE history books.
The WWE could also benefit from showing their women the same respect as Lucha Underground and allow them to compete alongside their male counterparts but that is a discussion for another day.
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Hardcore Belt
Not only should this belt be revived, but so should the 24/7 stipulation. Introduced in 1998 and disbanded in 2002, the Hardcore Title remains one of the most entertaining and unique belts in WWE history because of its flexibility, even in spite of its short life span.
The 24/7 rule was introduced by Crash Holly in February 2000 when he boasted that he would defend the title 24 hours a day, seven days a week so long as the challenger had a referee. This led to some great moments where the belt was fought for and sometimes even won in all manner of places including backstage, amusement parks and even while the champion was sleeping.
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The name itself is somewhat misleading in that these matches were not always “hardcore” to the point where blood was spilled. Fans loved this belt because the opportunity for wrestlers to showcase their creativity in a variety of environments was ever-present. Not only that, but the Hardcore Belt was the everyman’s title; a tattered and pieced-together Frankenstein’s monster of an object barely held together by tape and glue that had no prestige, no storied legacy and no pomp. It was the belt of the working man and fans could imagine themselves becoming the Hardcore Champion so long as they had the good fortune to come across the champ at any place and time.