"Could have been" World Champions

[Dave the Dave]

We live in a world where people are WHC before they might be really "worthy". They're not WWE title ready, but they are being tested with the silver medal basically.

Where guys like Jack Swagger or Ziggler would be IC champ (and it meants something) decades ago they are now considered world champions instead. What wrestlers from the past could have added that credit to their resume if from this era?


There are the obvious Piper and Diabiase votes.

I think Dolph's dad Billy Gunn would have at least had a run. He wouldn't be looked at as failed push king perhaps if he had that secondary rung to get to.

Who else? Maybe D'lo Brown or Ken Shamrock? To a lesser extent Funaki.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

I think that we'd either complain because "THAT GUY was a World Champion?" or that the WWE "held him back" because he was "WWE Title material" but was forced to settle for the World Title.

[Deleted]

Wade Barrett, if they decided to actually use Nexus in other things than just Cena squashes. That was his high point. Now, he can easily join fellow Chosen One Drew and make it 4MB.

[rybackrulez]

All they have to do to make the world title matter is have guys have awesome feuds for it. I mean have del rio beat rvd, big show, mark henry, and others to help build up the galue of the title.

It has only been downgraded because of the end of the brand split

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Aug 19, 2013 15:57:38 GMT -5 rybackrulez said:

All they have to do to make the world title matter is have guys have awesome feuds for it. I mean have del rio beat rvd, big show, mark henry, and others to help build up the galue of the title.

It has only been downgraded because of the end of the brand split

It's been downgraded because it's been fully solidified as the "experimental" belt. In the past few months they've segregated their bigger names like Orton and Sheamus away from the title scene with the idea that they're "giving others a chance", but all it did was marginalize the title even further. I'd argue that at this point, Money in the Bank isn't even necessary to win the World Title because anyone can win it. Some random NXT'er like Jake Carter could win the WHC tomorrow and I would believe it.

When the Shield was at their hottest, they were more important than the WHC. Going into Summerslam, the Rhodes/Sandow feud was more important than the Del Rio/Christian program. The World Title will always be the 3rd-4th most important thing going on at any given time. 5th most important if John Cena ISN'T in the title picture.

Honestly, I think the belt should be killed off. It limits the amount of contenders for both the WWE and IC Titles. WWE needs to ultimately decide who is a main eventer and who is a midcarder and stop going halfsies on it.

Retire the World Title. I say let some low card guy get an upset win for the belt, someone like Alex Riley, or even capitalize on the Darren Young hype by having him win it. Then have the guy cut a promo saying that he doesn't deserve to be called a World Champion until he can compete with the likes of John Cena, CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan and he forfeits the title, and it's quietly forgotten.

Meanwhile, someone like The Miz, Dolph Ziggler or Ryback is slowly building the Intercontinental Championship back up.

[Dave the Dave]

Awe guys. I just wanted to talk about whether or not SD Jones would have been world champ or not

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Aug 19, 2013 16:13:52 GMT -5 Dave the Dave said:

Awe guys. I just wanted to talk about whether or not SD Jones would have been world champ or not

Maybe he could have . But as I stated, the reaction would either people getting pissed because "That Guy was World Champion?" or complaining because they made him settle for the lesser belt and didn't push him to the REAL world title, the WWE Championship.

[Dave the Dave]

People would be getting pissed now that Billy Gunn won the title in 1999?

I just thought it would be fun to talk about what mid card guys could join the higher ranks as world champ. I wasn't trying to bring up our complaining and the minutia of the little IWC crap.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I think the title is pretty pointless now, but wouldn't you want to live in a world where Razor Ramon was a world champ somewhere?

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Sorry for being a wet blanket and ruining the fun.

I like the idea of midcarders being pushed, but not the idea of someone being a "world champion" on paper, but not truly being given the ball (unless it was for a 1-2 month transitional reign).

You're talking about the idea of the World Heavyweight Title existing back in those days? I know people compare the current WHC to the Intercontinental Title of old, a stepping stone into the top tier. However one major difference is that WWE didn't claim that the IC Title holders were already "made men" the way they do with the WHC and its holders. We were never expected to suspend disbelief and think that someone like Tito Santana or Ricky Steamboat were on par with Hulk Hogan, but WWE very half-heartedly tries to push the idea that the likes of Alberto Del Rio and Christian are on par with John Cena despite it being clear as day that they aren't. WWE likes to pretend that the wrestlers in the World Title scene are already "made" except when it's more convenient to the story not to (see also Henry, Mark, Bryan, Daniel)

I'd like to live in a world where Razor Ramon was a World Champ somewhere. But I'd rather see him as the top champion of a "lesser" promotion such as TNA or RoH, than see him as a paper champion in WWE.

[Dave the Dave]

Right. I get what you mean. But guys like say Billy Gunn and Roddy Piper may not have been "the man" but people would argue they were good enough to world champs. Especially Dibiase and Razor.

In those cases, I'd like to have them be "paper champions" if anything just to give them the credit they deserve.

Again, less so with Funaki.

[Reflecto]

To help it towards it, the first post basically said it all- before, when the IC title meant something, it was the second title like the WHC. Therefore, just move it up one level and it's there: Any IC champ [and maybe some of the ultra-Euro champs like D'Lo] probably would have been WHCs today, every big Euro champ [and maybe some of the heavy-Hardcore or LH/Cruiser champs like, say, Crash Holly or Gregory Helms] would have probably been a Intercontinental Champ today, every Hardcore/LH champ probably could have been US Champ today.