Ricochet and Finn Balor are the perfect wrestlers to rebuild the mid-card titles

There’s been a wave of championship changes across WWE television. Dolph Ziggler picked up the NXT Championship, while Team RK-Bro recaptured the WWE Raw Tag Team titles. But the title victories by Ricochet and Finn Balor are an important shift because it is an opportunity to rebuild the mid-card and the titles on both shows, with the two perfect individuals to do so.

Balor took the WWE United States title from Damian Priest, while Ricochet picked it up from Sami Zayn. This comes at a time when there were rumors about who WWE CEO and Chairman, Vince McMahon was thinking about pushing versus those that were not in the cards for the future. Ricochet and Balor are two of many roster members that fans want to see better utilized, and it’s time for that to come not only for their careers but for these championships that mean so much to the roster.

The US title is in a stronger position with individuals like Damian Priest, Sheamus, Matt Riddle, and Bobby Lashley having recent, well-booked runs. The IC title is not in the same position, coming off runs around the waists of Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura. By no fault of their own, capturing the belt didn’t do much for them or the titles’ prestige. However, what’s in the past will stay there, so it’s time to look forward at how Ricochet and Balor can reestablish them both as “work rate” titles.

The proverbial mid-card needs strong champions and titles to build the next iteration of main event attractions. On the main roster, these titles are seen as opportunities for challengers and champions to “graduate” to the main event scene. Along the way, fans hopefully buy into the person’s abilities in the ring and overall character. That hasn’t truly been the case, as these titles aren’t consistently booked in an adequate storyline, with matches that have important stakes.

Ricochet and Balor are two men that are perpetually over on the main roster. Ricochet looks and flies around the ring like a superhero, while Balor is the tough guy everyone wants to be with the world’s best six-pack. Both can deliver a compelling match and have a catalog of examples. Look back to Balor’s second run in NXT or all of Ricochet’s time in that brand for multiple hits.

Take that same energy and apply it to these two individuals having a strong run on the main roster. Imagine Balor vs Chad Gable, Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, and others. Or Ricochet versus Nakamura, Xavier Woods, Pete Dunne, and more. All of those are the types of matches that are meant to be used by mid-card titles while benefiting everyone involved. Both men should have long, 150-200+ day runs with these titles. This will benefit them as individuals and the portion of the roster that aren’t seen as top-level talent and those at the top of the card.

WWE needs to invest in rebuilding its roster and putting the mid-card titles on Ricochet and Finn Balor is a step in the right direction.