The US and IC titles are in good shape now?

[The Rick Jericho]

Getting both belts off the dead weights of Priest and Nakamura. Are we finally going to see these belts get elevated by the talent who will be holding them?

Anyone else feel Balor and Ricochet can take these belts to the next level?

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

I’ll believe it when I see it.

There’s no harm in putting these belts on workhorse guys like Balor or Ricochet if you actually do something with it. If they do nothing, then it’ll just be the same unmemorable run that nearly everyone’s had for most of the last 20 years.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

That Nakamura is being called dead weight tells you all you need to know about how much the person holding the belt matters.

Change the name, booking stays the same, it won't matter.

[1 Free Moon-Down with Burger]

I’m just glad to have some face champions

[The Rick Jericho]

Mar 5, 2022 11:25:41 GMT -5 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger said:

I’m just glad to have some face champions

This too.

If the world titles must be held by heels, then we gotta balance it out with faces as the mid carders.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

I'm not too optimistic. Finn wins the title but gets absolutely destroyed three minutes later and the main thing the viewer takes away from the segment is Priest turning. Ricochet wins the title but it's thanks to the celebrity interfering and the guy who lost goes into Mania with a high profile match against that celebrity and I doubt Ricochet gets anything close to that in terms of hype and build. I'm sure they'll have good matches but I don't think the titles or the talent are about to get some sort of major push.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Mar 5, 2022 11:27:05 GMT -5 The Rick Jericho said:

Mar 5, 2022 11:25:41 GMT -5 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger said:

I’m just glad to have some face champions

This too.

If the world titles must be held by heels, then we gotta balance it out with faces as the mid carders.

I think they’re the only babyface champions on the main roster, other than 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke, which is a loose use of the word Champion. Hell, even accounting for NXT only adds one more babyface champion (Bron Breakker).

EDIT: Forgot about Lesnar. Dude’s usually heel so I didn’t think of him.

[fw91]

nah, Riccochet does nothing for me, should have kept it on Sami

[Deleted]

We have this thread every time a "workrate" guy wins a midcard title.

The answer is always no.

Nakamura could've been the best IC Champ of the modern era but they never had him defend it.

That's on WWE. And as long as they don't care, nothing will happen. Regardless of who's holding it.

[RadcapRadsley]

The IC Title is being held by a guy who had spent most of 2021 as a jobber and who needed celeb interference to beat a chicken shit heel who almost never beats anyone clean. Like I am sure Ricochet can put on a banger at WM,but given how he has been booked I find it unlikely the fans will get behind him.

[attitudeeraguy22]

I’m optimistic although I think these two could both be transitional. I think Theory is destined to get the US Title eventually and Sheamus will probably win the IC title that’s eluded him

[This Player Hating Mothman]

It's all in the booking. The only time one name ever means they care about the second rung singles titles is when they're on a name like John Cena, and that's not to rehab the title, that's because John Cena is important, so when John Cena has the US title, he does things with it. Balor and Ricochet are not important so they will not have runs that make the titles important.

[Dub H]

The belts are more dead weight than the people you mentioned

[Deleted]

I thought Priest was a good US Champ until they decided to ruin his face run. Apollo and Nak might be the worst back to back IC Champs I've ever seen, but that's neither guy's fault.

I think with Ricochet they just need to copy what they did with Seth during his first IC Title reign, because I still think Seth's the best IC Champ in a long time. Hell, do the same with Finn.

[häšhtå.gdālėÿ]

Putting a title on Ricochet =/= good shape.

US is pretty solid though.

[msc]

*Better* shape than they were. The basics (people wanting the actual belts, and treating them like a big deal) were gone far too long. But it takes time to build things back up - and WWE have given up on those too early before.

[asuka007]

Only if they’re booked properly, which they have not been for quite some time.

[A Platypus Rave]

Damien Priest was a midcard guy that was on the rise, and Nakamura is a guy the crowd has wanted to cheer forever... neither of them were "Dead weight"

the title was the weight, becuase the writing team didn't give a shit about the titles.

Nakamura could have been having bangers with whatever's left of the midcard instead they decided to have him mostly compete in tag team matches with Boogs for some reason.

Damien Priest could have continued being the smooth as hell badass face he was and defended against a bunch of people... instead they turned him into the Angle/Devil meme and had him get dq'd a lot.


all they really did was now the US title is on Finn the workhorse that the fans desperately want to cheer and the IC belt is on Ricochet the midcarder on the rise

I fully expect them to do nothing with them.

[lildude8218]

It's always Us and Ic with you people when it should be "Us and We"

[joeiscool]

I feel like the Us title was always in shape. They featured the title almost every raw.