Does Matt Hardy legitimize the WWECW title?

[David Otunga: Eternian at Law]

I know a lot of fans don't feel that the resurrected ECW title is all that important, but I have to ask now that Matt Hardy has it does he legitimize it as an actual third Champion/World style belt?

Looking back at who's held the belt I can see that...
-Rob Van Dam's little arrest issue didn't give him a chance to solidify his reign, plus ECW overall was really bad back then...not that it's great now but it was so much worse.
-Big Show actually had a good run but he felt like a transitional champion as they built up Lashley.
-Bobby Lashley here and one too quickly to have made the ECW title creditable.
-Mr. McMahon that was likely the lowest point of the title.
-John Morrison he had a good showing as champ, and I think having the title improved Morrison in the eyes of fans, but being Morrison was still considered an unproven commodity and was BAD with the mike did he really make the belt feel legitimate?
-CM Punk love Punk but he suffered from the same issue Morrison did, most of the WWE barely knew him, he didn't yet have the star power to make that belt feel legit.
-Chavo Guerrero defined transitional champion.
-Kane you know I hardly remember he even had this belt, he was in and out of ECW so damn fast.
-Mark Henry dominate granted, but has the WWE ever really used Henry as anything other than monster heal to be used to pad top level talent matches?


Which brings us back to Matt Hardy.

I think he does legitimize the WWECW title, he's been around long enough to make us believe that having it makes it worth having.

Thoughts?

[Mozenrath]

I think Big Show did, as with RVD it was more of a novelty.

Then Lashley and McMahon ruined it, Morrison was alright as was Punk. I think it only started feeling big again when Kane got it.

Mark Henry did a good job, but Matt Hardy feels like more of a champion worthy of mention.

[Edison taps to the ARMBAR!]

I think Matt Hardy just solidifies ECW as the "not good enough for RAW or SD, but too good to be fired" show/title.

[D-Lo's #1 Fan]

Yes I think he does.

[greeby]

IMO Lashley was worse than Vince. At least with Vince being the all-time ultimate villain to ECW fans, it served it's purpose as people wanted to see the Originals kick the crap out of him.

Lashley on the other hand, was a case of forcing a guy who was the archetype of Vince's vision down the throats of an audience that rejected it. When he made his suprise entrance at the UK show, any hope for the new ECW was lost.

[Mozenrath]

Jan 1, 2009 5:19:52 GMT -5 greeby said:

IMO Lashley was worse than Vince. At least with Vince being the all-time ultimate villain to ECW fans, it served it's purpose as people wanted to see the Originals kick the crap out of him.

Lashley on the other hand, was a case of forcing a guy who was the archetype of Vince's vision down the throats of an audience that rejected it. When he made his suprise entrance at the UK show, any hope for the new ECW was lost.

To be fair, Vince can't be considered too harshly for putting the belt on Lashley. Goldberg and Lesnar had achieved enormous success in the past, along with Warrior and others, so that build has proven very marketable. Still, unlike those guys, Lashley lacked the "it" factor needed to reach the next level. Having the voice and face of an adult would of helped.

[Mr. Nice]

Vince's reign was my favourite reign, besides Big Shows actually. Matt Hardy has the belt because hes not good enough to have the others in the eyes of the WWE. He might get the World title in WWE sometime but until then, he has this one.

[sloride]

No. As others have said it seems to be a mere consolation prize. 'Here you're not good enough to have the WWE or WHC Belts so have the ECW belt instead'.

[The Beast Disincarnate]

the way he's booked on ECW: (Happy to be champ, putting on good matches, defending champ) YES

the way he's booked on Smackdown (basically Edge's bitch, jobbing to kozlov, and being a supporting character in Jeff's story) NO!

[Mozenrath]

Jan 1, 2009 5:51:07 GMT -5 sloride said:

No. As others have said it seems to be a mere consolation prize. 'Here you're not good enough to have the WWE or WHC Belts so have the ECW belt instead'.

I disagree with that. I think more accurately would be that it's a proving ground.

"See if this works. If it does, expect further push in the future".

[Ratings]

No.

[Mozenrath]

By the way, "WWECW" isn't getting any cuter or funnier, folks.

[carter 15]

He legitimize's the fact that the title is only half a step above the U.S./IC title. And i don't see how anyone can believe his reign has shown the belt in higher regard than Show's.

[Mozenrath]

I think the belt could use a little damage control. He should do what Show did, if he's supposed to be a "fighting champion".

He needs to give some guys shots and beat them. A classic face match with Mysterio, Helms, or Kofi, for instance. Miz, Morrison, Kane, or other heels would also be good contenders for one-off matches like Big Show would do. Hell, him defending it in an Extreme Rules match, or giving a Santino a "for the hell of it" title shot would be improvements.

[BxB]

I personally find his reign to be really boring. I like Matt Hardy as a wrestler, but his glaring weakness on the mic don't really make him an outstanding champion. Add to that the fact that there are hardly any worthwhile challengers on ECW, I wouldn't say he has brought any legitimacy to the belt. Big Show's reign was the only time the ECW belt looked to be on par with the WWE and WHC title. Show was booked as such. Hardy is booked as a mid-carder on Raw and SD. The segments with him, Finlay and Bourne were really hard to watch.

[Jared Jammer]

I thought Lashley was the last important ECW Champion. He was the last title holder that felt big league to me, even if it was entirely due to his overpush. Vince started the downfall. Nitro and Punk made the belt feel midcard-ish. Chavo lowered it even further. Kane tried to bring it back up, but he hasn't been entertaining in 6 years and can no longer be taken serious.

Matt Hardy? Bland. The ECW title still feels like a midcard belt to me.

Jan 1, 2009 6:01:37 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

By the way, "WWECW" isn't getting any cuter or funnier, folks.

It's not getting any less true, either.

[Tombi]

I think one thing people are forgetting about Vince's reign is that, whilst he was playing a comedy character in "Gansta Vince" (which was awesome TV, nonetheless), that character treated the ECW title like it was the most important thing on earth. Seriously, he'd carry it around with him and act like he was just so important because he had it, and thought he could get away with just about anything he wanted to just because he was champ. You can look at the glaring stuff like him not being an active wrestler, or being the 'exact opposite' of what some thought "ECW" was, but you can't say he didn't put over it's importance.

To be honest though, that's something not a lot of other ECW champs did afterwards. Guys like Kane for example barely ever acknowledged they even had a belt so it was essentially a prop(although this can also be blamed on Kane's character not being one for lengthy promos or taunting) and I got the same vibe from Punk after he had the title for a good while. (although he started off well)

I will say I loved[/i] Henry's reign though, he seemed to think of the title as something that really made him more important than everyone else, and it also helped that, for me, he really started to up his game in-ring and character wise too. Whilst Matt Hardy is no doubt over and a good wrestler, I don't get the same 'big deal' feel that I got with the Silverback's title reign.

In response to the original question though, I'd say no. Because THA WORLD STRONGA CHAMPIA MARK HENREH legitimized it.

[Topher is Human]

Matt Hardy's quest for the title made it mean alot more, but once he won it... it seemed like... well yeah... not that big of a deal.

Matt Hardy makes a better chaser than a champion.

Mark Henry and Vince (as well as their rivals, Hardy and Lashley respectively) really made the title look coveted, it's a shame that once the faces won it that made it look bleh.

[Red 'n' Black Reggie]

agreed that hardy never really goes anywhere when he actually gets hold of the belt. look at the US title, hardy chased it for like half a year and it was absolutely awesome. then he won it, and it was so meh that i can't remember anything about his reign. the same has happened here. he puts on good matches, but it doesn't have any significance. hardy pays the determined runner up too well. same with chavo. when he was fighting punk, iwas hoping that that irritating dickhead wouldn't get the title, then he did, and somehow lost all his heat.

as a rule heels tend to legitimise belts more since they're more likely to brag about it, therefore putting the belt over, and are more likely to resort to desperate measures to keep their title, but some people are just better in certain roles. i still think big show's reign is almost unbeatable. he made that championship seem more important than oxygen.

[dh03grad]

'Gangsta' Vince didnt give a damn about the ECW title. One promo he forgot he even had it on his shoulder. The ECW title quit being a world title though when Johnny Nitro won it. RVD was automatically legit since he was WWE champ at the same time. Big Show was treated as a main eventer taking on top named talent every week on ECW and feuded with DX while champ. Lashley was pushed to the moon as champ, he damn near squashed Randy Orton one week, feuded with the biggest name in the company (Vince) and was in the most pushed match at Mania 23. When Nitro,Punk, etc became champion, they just feuded within the increasingly depleted ECW roster. With now perennial mid carders like Henry and Matt Hardy getting the belt, it cements that it is a mid card title.