Rate the major WWE/TNA title holders...

[John Stephens]

Joined 4th April 2007

 

WWE Championship: John Cena

 

Cena was about half way through his year long reign here. He won it from Edge in a great TLC match at Unforgiven the previous year. I enjoyed this reign of his even though I thought it was a little long.

 

World Heavyweight Championship

 

Undertaker won the title 3 days before I joined the forum when he beat Batista for the title at Mania 23. Always enjoyed the Undertaker but this was not one of his best reigns as he lost the title a month later to edge

 

NWA World Title

 

Never really watched TNA at the time. Christian was champion so he probably had some good matches

[ninevisions]

Joined: 21/9/2010

 

WWE Championship: Randy Orton

His latest championship reign thus far, won in a six pack challenge at Night of Champions, I found this title reign to be completely random (the previous champions were Sheamus, John Cena & Batista) and felt that this was his poorest reign since being awarded the title back in 2007.

 

World Heavyweight Championship: Kane

Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Rey Mysterio at Money in the Bank the PPV, back in the day when Paul Bearer was managing him (RIP), this I felt was a good title reign, most notably about this reign was the end of Undertaker's full timerism in WWE, having been buried alive by Kane at Survivor series.

 

TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Vacated

Need I say More?

[spotlightmagnet1]

Joined March 30th 2006.

 

WWE Champion John Cena.

 

Don't like him. I don't hate him and have a begrudging respect cause of all the things he does for charities and the WWE. But no I don't like him. At the time I think Edge had proved what a great champion he was and HHH was facing Cena at Wrestlemania. I was rooting for Hunter, which I hadn't done cause I jumped on the HHHate bandwagon early on it's role.

 

At the time I thought I just didn't like Cena cause he was doing a rapper gimmick that I didn't relate to. Nowadays my opinion is simple; Cena isn't his own man. All the greats had unique personalities which were distinctively themselves, Cena feels like he's made up of focus group suggestions and tie ins for WWE products. Right now he's meant to be a PG street wise thug with a US forces admiration and is a wrestler through and through despite the twelve side products he partook in.

 

I don't hate Cena, but I just wish he'd turn heel. If he turned heel I get the feeling some of his real life personality would come shining through and make him more of a person rather than a billboard.

 

World Champion Kurt Angle

 

Just before he was fired by WWE for ill health, before he tore up Samoa Joe and then did some fantastic work for TNA. You know what, I love Kurt Angle. I still love Kurt Angle, I remember meeting him in Liverpool for the first TNA tour and telling him I hope he recovers soon. Kurt looked touched and thanked me. Anyway at this point in time I think Kurt was given the title cause of injuries (I think Batista got badly hurt), the title reign was short and but super sweet thanks to that No Way Out match with Undertaker.

 

I love Kurt's work, whether he was comical nerd, wrestling machine or somewhere in the middle. Kurt was and in my mind still is, the greatest all round wrestler ever.

 

NWA World Champion Christian Cage

 

I also love Christian. I genuinely miss him from my wrestling viewing right now. He has always had a good personality and great matches. But if memory serves me correct, this reign was quite the dud. His matches with Monty Brown were pretty bland and I think he feuded with Abyss but that's about it. The greatest part of this reign was when he first won and they had that awesome celebration in the ring with all the fans. He would later redeem himself with some kick ass feuds with Rhino and an association with Tomko and AJ Styles. But at this time he wasn't that good.

 

Sorry Christian I do love you but this reign was pretty forgettable.

[Tommy!]

Randy Orton

 

Cena had vacated it a few months or so earlier, Orton and HHH traded it at the, from what I recall, great No Mercy event.

From then he had a bit of a lacklustre showing at Cyber Sunday next to HHH and Youmanga and Taker Vs Batista in a feud I remember nothing from with HBK without looking it up.

 

However I believe this was the time he was kicking people in the head and being super heelish in a way which made him seem the biggest cunt going and was in a sort of transnational stage.

It's sad I don't remember much about his matches with HBK.

 

He would go on to a top little feud with Hardy into the rumble.

 

Overall Ortons one who, to me at least, has faded in recent times. I remember when he was in Evolution finding him amazing, he was cocky, cool and conceited, he had a nice little series with Foley which produces some great moments and that Backlash match, even if WM20 did fall short. Then he went face, and to start with I liked it but he just never stuck me as the kind of person I could get behind as the plucky face and I remember hating him flopping about concussed or whatever it was at the rumble 05(?) because it was just dull.

 

Then he went heel again and re-found his feet, I enjoyed his series with Taker in 2005. Some people may not but I believed he had taker at moments at 21 and all the fire casket and cowboy bob stuff drew me in. The HIAC match I still enjoy and gave a nice unique feel to it where I really wanted to see them go all out and at it.

 

His, seemingly never ending, series with Cena had it's moments and produced some great matches, however it was over done to the point where the concept of another match had me stringing myself up. His matches with HHH were mostly solid if unmemorable with the odd flash of brilliance.

 

I was never a huge fan of legacy and the resulting feuds, even if it did bring the world the power house of charisma known as Manu, however I do recall the mass love of Orton at this time and the on line venom when a then hot as hell orton was bested by the chubby shane o'mac was massive. I enjoyed the build to WM25 but the match was a massive, massive let down.

 

In recent years his run with Christian was fun and I really enjoyed his match with Kane at mania. He has that feel of the sort of person they can just stick out there and he'll get a good match and a good response but if he fucked off I wouldn't notice straight away.

 

Highlights also include running at some with a chair, stopping and running away after HHH got injured, the resulting edit for DVD is painful, and putting his shoulder out punching the mat and doing teh splits for shits and giggles.

 

Batista

 

The most hot and cold man at the time. When he was in the mood he was second to few, just put on great viewing.

When he couldn't give a shit he was intolerable. His series with Booker was just dire. However this title run is towards the end of his amazing series with Taker, which produces classics through the year.

I recall a couple of class showings with Khali this year, and a couple of shockers too.

 

His highlights were that taker series and the build to his face turn and HHH series. The HIAC is still fondly remembered. His matches with Cena were fun for the most part and I remember loving their last man standing match.

 

Angle

 

Angle was TNA champion. He is class.

[Deego]

Joined 8th November 2009. I'd only been back watching wrestling for a couple of months before I joined here.

 

WWE Champion - John Cena

 

I don't really remember having an opinion on him either way, so a bit stumped on what to write here. Weird to think this was only his 5th WWE title reign though considering he's now an 11 time champion.

 

World Heavyweight Champion - CM Punk

 

As I said, I'd not long got back in to wrestling. Before this, WHCs were the big Triple H types so I really couldn't take him seriously and never took to Punk until his SES stuff. He was feuding with Jeff Hardy at the time, who I still remembered as a high flying tag team guy, so really couldn't take the whole WHC scene seriously at all. Looking back, I still can't take him seriously as the WHC at the time. I could if he was champion now, but not then. Does this make sense?

 

TNA Champion - AJ Styles

 

Couldn't care less.

[Jaffa]

None of those existed when I joined, there was just an Undisputed Champion.

 

 

It started badly for Jericho with a poorly timed and executed heel turn on The Rock right in the middle of them both being leading faces for Team WWF against The Alliance.

 

It didn't get much better when he was crowned Undisputed Champion either. Everyone wanted to see Rock vs Austin in the final of the 4 man tournament. Anything else wasn't going to cut the mustard. On top of the disappointment of not seeing that match, Jericho wins the title with a weak belt shot from Booker T to the back of Austins neck. I'm not suggesting that he should have cleanly pinned Austin, but they should have done something a bit more forceful (maybe have Y2J hit the Lionsault in a similar way to Eddie Guererro splashing Brock Lesnar at No Way Out 2004). Jericho becomes the first Undisputed Champion in history (somewhere, Alex Shane is probably crying and threatening to sue the WWF) and is greated by a mighty 'meh'.

 

Sadly, he was constantly overshadowed as champion. That's mainly his fault but he was never going to be the main man when Austin, Rock and a returning HHH were still full time. His matches were mainly sloppy and uninteresting (except a class match against The Rock at Royal Rumble 2002) and as has been well documented, his last days as champion were spent shovelling shit.

 

Overall, a crap title reign. Nice chef trousers mind.