An interesting has been happening in WWE for the last couple months. Suddenly we are seeing a resurgence in the posterity of the mid card championships. The Intercontinental Championship, held by Dolph Ziggler, and the United States Championship held by Daniel Bryan have slowly started to look like true champions and not just placeholders, as mid-card champions have in recent years.
The interesting thing to note is that these championships are gaining notoriety at a time when legitimate main event talent is not holding them. We are seeing two young stars hold these titles, which was the original point of these championships. Is it possible that the importance is not in the experience of the talent holding the championships, but it should be in the talent itself?
Take Daniel Bryan as an example. He is the antithesis of what WWE would like a superstar to be. He is small and is not charismatic on the mic. Despite all of that, fans are going crazy for the guy. He is young, an amazing wrestler (possibly the best in the company) and crowds pop for his unorthodox entrance music. The most important fact about him as United States Champion is that he has never held another WWE Championship.
Now look at Dolph Ziggler. He is the epitome of a WWE superstar. He has all of the necessary charisma in and out of the ring. He has an impressive physique. Fans are finally starting to get behind his act after a couple years of start and stop pushing. The only thing, aside from wrestling ability and a championship that he seems to have in common with Daniel Bryan is his youth and the fact that this is the only championship he has held in WWE.
As I look back and I remember the mid-card title wins of Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, and even Ric Flair I remember that these were just other accolades. They did not matter because all of these men have had better and could get better easily. For these men, it was another count on their impressive total of title reigns.
Now look at men like Ziggler and Bryan. These titles do not mean something only because they are made of gold. They mean something because they are a major happening in the careers of the men that hold them. By moving main event level stars down to those championships, WWE made those championships seem like lesser titles because they meant less to the men carrying them.
This is not to say that WWE can never have main eventers in the mid-card mix. The instances of it should be done well and few and far between. Most importantly, the main event level talent should be putting over the mid-card division and the championship itself at every chance.
What do you think? Are the titles beginning to mean more to you? Would you rather see Mysterio and Jericho in the mid card or Ziggler and Bryan?
This content was originally published at itswilltime.wordpress.com. You should go there.
