Why Bad Bunny Should Get a Title Run in WWE (And How He Gets it)

About two weeks after an exciting Backlash in Puerto Rico, WWE fans are still discussing Bad Bunny’s excellent performance in the San Juan Street Fight. While celebrities aren’t usually a good option for titles, Bad Bunny should get a title run in WWE soon.

With WWE’s next international show, Night of Champions, centering on the titles in the company, it’s worth talking about a Bad Bunny championship win. What would a Bad Bunny championship run look like, and would it be a good idea?

Bad Bunny Should Get a Title Run in WWE, But Not a World Title

So to clear the air, Bad Bunny should get a title run in WWE. However, it should not be the world championship. Historically, celebrities and non-wrestlers holding the top title have ended badly. That could change with Logan Paul being positioned to win a world title someday, and athletes like George Kittle have the raw skills for it if they switched to wrestling full-time.

Bad Bunny, though, is not an athlete. He is an incredibly engaging presence in professional wrestling, but he has different training or conditioning as a musician. So to keep the world championships strong, only top-tier performers should be eligible for that title. Luckily, WWE has a perfect title and champion to give Bad Bunny a shot.

The United States Championship and Austin Theory would make a perfect title program for Bad Bunny. Theory has already worked with a celebrity performer, Pat McAfee, in a decent match at WrestleMania 38. Also, WWE is pretty intent on trying to spotlight their young prospect as the future.

A Bad Bunny feud would provide a lot of eyes on him and present an opportunity for media appearances. That could be invaluable if Theory is really meant to be the next John Cena. Theory wouldn’t lose anything more from losing to Bad Bunny than he would to anyone else. It would be an excellent test of his ability in the ring and on the mic. It would also be relatively low stakes; the legions of Bad Bunny fans would tune in regardless.

For Better or Worse, Championships Don’t Need Constant Defending

Bad Bunny’s title reign would be brief; he has touring commitments that would be more important. But the idea that the champion must defend the title constantly is provably untrue. Roman Reigns is not nearly as big a star as Bad Bunny, and yet he sometimes doesn’t defend the Undisputed World title, even on the rare instances that he does wrestle.

It is feasible that after the feud with Theory, Bad Bunny would go away for a few months and then begin his second and likely final feud to crown a new United States Champion. Yes, fans are tired of the part-time champions, but with Reigns still, around and future World Champion Seth Rollins earning a Marvel role, that reality isn’t going away. So instead, WWE can make lemonade out of some very lucrative lemons and leverage Bad Bunny.

In the meantime, you can set up a system to determine his challenger on SmackDown. Not worrying about having the champions available monthly frees WWE up to have that celebrity engagement. But it also lets their actual talent get a little creative.

While Bad Bunny is away, they can utilize social media and other third-party platforms to advance the feud for when their eventual title match happens. Of course, Bad Bunny could still make sporadic appearances, cutting promos on his challenger to promote the rivalry. And Bad Bunny will go around the country with the title when he isn’t on WWE TV, providing free marketing at high-profile events.

Bad Bunny Could Be Champion, But Why Should He?

WWE has the means to give Bad Bunny a title run, but why should they? There are several reasons why it is a good idea. There are a few reasons why it will directly help the product, which is essential. However, one of the most important reasons is the WWE should reward talented partners like Bad Bunny with legitimate accolades.

In doing so, they could entice other long-term celebrity fans to enter the ring and lend their star power to their product. Like any other employee, you want to reward good work. WWE gives their actual wrestlers titles and accolades when they get over, so if a celebrity is willing to make a story work and is massively popular with the WWE Universe, the same logic should apply.

Gives a Younger Star a Marquee Match

Ask any wrestling fan how to make a new star, and they will say something like: have younger talent beat more established stars. WWE and other wrestling promotions need to balance building new talent with maintaining the current main event scene. If you do not create enough, you are risking future profits. On the other hand, building too much could make your current crop of main event talent look like a joke and crowd the product.

One way to mitigate those issues is with celebrities like Bad Bunny. Bad Bunny wrestling will always be an event on a WWE card, so the company and entertainment media will treat anyone in that sport as a bigger deal. With an outside star that is talented enough in the ring, you can let your newer performers win marquee matches without requiring anyone in your main event scene to lose to them.

It gives them all the potential for viral moments and mainstream exposure, just like headlining the event would. Adding the title to that match gives it stakes as well. Bad Bunny should get a title run in WWE if for no other reason than it elevates at least one more championship into the public consciousness when he promotes and then loses the title.

Bad Bunny Would Promote the Product

When the most streamed artist in the world started his WWE journey, he went all in. After winning the 24/7 Championship, Bad Bunny appeared at concerts and Saturday Night Live with the title to promote his WWE storyline.

Should Bad Bunny get a real WWE title run, he would likely do the same thing with that. The championship once held by legends like Harley Race and John Cena or top stars like Seth Rollins being featured at sold-out stadium shows would do a lot for the WWE brand.

https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1363380303440584707

Wrestling hit its first apex as entertainment during the Rock N Wrestling era. Partnerships with stars like Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper helped turn WWE into a far more accessible medium for many American fans. Bad Bunny could very well be a piece in a larger plan to recreate that success for modern audiences.

With the amount of wrestling that airs each week competing for fans, successful wrestling companies must look for ways to attract new viewers to their products. Celebrities taking on more significant roles can do that, as can solid wrestling at events like Rolling Loud, which WWE has tried but has yet to perfect.

A Bad Bunny Title Run in WWE Should Mean New Fans

These crossover events and stars are crucial to earning those views, and Bad Bunny is a proven draw. Having the title involved with a celebrity like Bad Bunny is a good idea for all the reasons mentioned. It rewards partners, promotes the show, and adds star power to the lower card where newer talent resides. However, continuity is the biggest reason for mixing the title scene with celebrities, especially talented fighters like Bad Bunny.

The issue for so many fans with celebrity wrestlers, even the beloved Bad Bunny, is what comes next. Where do these viewers go when their favorite singer or athlete moves on? If Bad Bunny can introduce fans to a title, like the United States Championship, they may have more significant reason to stick around.

The title becomes a lasting reminder of the star power that Bad Bunny brings on every Friday Night Smackdown from now on. It also gives those new fans a familiar touchstone for the product to follow when Bad Bunny moves on to his next project.