Alternative Candidates for Title Changes/Runs

[Liam O'Rourke]

I enjoy these podcasts a lot, but the recent one that argued Shawn Michaels shouldn't have got the IC belt in 1992 boggled my mind! Behave!

I loved the debate though, its sparked this one for me in sense of trying to figure out better ways for reigns that fell flat. Fuck, Shane Douglas' run that led to Butchi's immortal post would have been better served going to a few other people off the top of my head, let alone runs like Slaughter or Nash or Jarrett's IC run that come to mind...

[air_raid]

I won't lie ; it confuses me when people say there were better candidates than "The Dean" to hold that belt for an entirely inconsequential ten minutes purely to move the belt from Shawn onto Razor. Anybody that you think might have been a more deserving hand to say they had an Intercontinental title "reign" would have been made to look a chump in that scenario, as Douglas was, and it would have done them more harm than good? So.... it's best that the irredeemable Douglas played fall guy than someone with potential, yeah?

[Tommy!]

Don't put it on either. Hold it up and just have Razor beat Dean to win the vacant belt.

 

That's got to keep the belt stronger if nothing else.

[Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz]

Vader should have won the title from Shawn Michaels at Summerslam 1996. I realise it may have been Shawn's petulance at the time that prevented it, but having Vader go over Shawn would have made far better viewing instead of Sid beating him a couple of months later.

 

With Vader winning the championship you could have still had the Jose Lothario heart attack angle. However this could have been caused by a Vader beat down, given the fact that earlier in the year WWE ran a Vader and Monsoon angle, I feel that this angle would have created far more of an impact than the one we actually got and in turn, should have turned Vader into a monster heel once again, something which the WWE was seriously lacking at the time.

 

With regards to future booking, I would still have had Shawn winning the belt back at the Royal Rumble and hope he would stick around for Shawn/Bret 2 at Wrestlemania 13. However, if he didnt I would keep the Final Four match at In Your House, with Bret going over and have a Bret Vs Vader match for the title at Wrestlemania.

[DraxSpago]

Which would've killed Austin stone (no pun intended) dead?

[Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz]

Which would've killed Austin stone (no pun intended) dead?

I appreciate the comment and yes, my scenario does not include plans for Austin (with the exception of the Final Four, and keeping the original Royal Rumble match outcome) and that really is the problem with fantasy booking as such. However, if Bret/Shawn 2 had have happened in reality (which was the original plan) then what would have Austin had done?

[Kaz Hayashi]

Bear with me as this decision effects the year of 1993 (thank god).

Hogan should have had nothing to do with WM 9. I don't care about the tag match, you could have put anyone in there against money inc.. leading to my main point, Yoko should have kept the belt.

 

I would have him keep the title until rumble 94... yes I know, and I appreciate he was limited, but he was a monster and by letting him hold on to the belt, it means that whoever toppled him would have seemed like a beast and the true super face that the company needed.

Hogan flexing his tash at mania and then Fucking off did nothing but hurt any build Bret may of had, as well as Yoko's monster perception

 

I would then have Bret and Yoko trade matches for the next few months. I would keep Lex as a heel and have Ramon win the king of the ring, (basically taking Bret's Story lines). He could have the same feud with lawler, with Jerry constantly mocking him about his greasy hair, heritage and his history of losses with 123 kid.

Both razor/king and bret/Yoko would continue until survivor series (Jerry didn't like women over the age of 14 at this point, so was off TV).

Ramon was also the IC champ following the tournament win due to Shawn being a fanny, but I would put a bigger spot light on Razor, rather than just have him fill Perfects opening match position due to his injury.

I'd have Razor, Bret, Owen, Savage as the main event face team, with Owen turning on Bret and aligning with Yoko. Allowing Yoko to get the team win over Bret and his team.

At the rumble I would have Razor vs Owen for the IC (Razor retains in order to have the series with HBK).

Bret vs Yoko for world title, maybe some jiggery pokery where Owen attempts to interfere, Ramon doesn't let him, Yoko gets distracted, Bret gets the win and the belt.

 

You could really avoid some of the 93 tripe by having Bret and Yoko at the top, having Owen and Ramon hovering just below.

 

Fuck Hogan's Flex and fuck the Lex Express.

[bobby dazzler]

When Edge vacated the World Title in 2007 and Khali won the battle royal. I would have had Ric Flair win it, if he was only going to hold it for a few weeks. It would have been a nice pop and a fun story of the old boy having one last big title win, 17 time world champ and all that stuff. he could have then dropped it a few weeks later.

[Otto Dem Wanz]

At risk of posting this too late (ie, after your Rebooking 2006 show) I’m going to say that Edge’s first reign starting at New Year’s Revolution should not have ended at the hands of John Cena at the Royal Rumble.
 

Edge should have retained after that match and kept the title until at least the summer, I would have loved to have seen where a longer Edge run would have led and what the consequences would have been, particularly in regards to Cena. While I appreciate there were a fair few viewers just in it for the wank, the massive spike in ratings for Edge’s title celebration on Raw showed how people were interested in a new guy at the top and an alternative to the faltering white meat babyface Chain Gang Soldier. I would have had a Road to WrestleMania Tournament (as they did in real life) with a final between Cena and HHH ending indecisively so both are inserted into a triple threat match for Edge’s gold at Mania. The verbal jousting between the three was so entertaining, I’d have had them oppose each other on the mic at all of the shows until the match itself, which would have been a cracker (as it was at Backlash 2006 when they did it). Edge would successfully defend it in said triple threat, and in the following weeks I’d be paying very close attention as to how the crowds were responding to Cena when planning what to do next. You could have him chase it over the summer and let H segue into his DX feud as in real life, but the dynamic could be completely different.
 

I say all this because I honestly believe that Cena’s fan backlash wouldn’t have been as bad had Edge not had his reign cut short at the Rumble. Mania was the most viewed show of 2006, and with dem wans (I finally get to use the term in actual context!) piling on abuse at him in his main event match with HHH, and the company specifically referring to it, it encouraged the same reactions that have plagued him ever since (there were poor reactions during the latter part of 2005 and early 2006, but weren’t universal).

I know he was able to withstand the abuse and the company eventually embraced it to make the interesting dynamic we have now with Cena, but this alternative title history raises several questions:
 

• Does Cena become the fully-fledged babyface as he was supposed to?
   
• With ‘their guy’ getting a good run instead being a transitional champion, would those new viewers and the 18-30 male demographic held on watching for longer?
   
• Would Edge’s have found his feet as the cocky heel champion that he became, or would he have started to attract babyface reactions as the best heels often do?
   
• Do they change course with the DX or ECW stuff?
   
• Do they begin to see money with a Cena heel turn?
   

I think it’s definitely something interesting to think about.

[Statto]

When Edge vacated the World Title in 2007 and Khali won the battle royal. I would have had Ric Flair win it, if he was only going to hold it for a few weeks. It would have been a nice pop and a fun story of the old boy having one last big title win, 17 time world champ and all that stuff. he could have then dropped it a few weeks later.

 

I'd have really liked to see Ric get a run with (what was undoubtedly then) the 'minor' World Title around then, there was so much they could have done with it.

 

I think the only reason they didn't do it was that was the period they seemed hell bent on getting Triple H to be the one to overtake Flair's record, e.g. JR crediting him with another reign after he successfully defended the title in that Championship Scramble match, despite the fact none of the 'current champions' in that match were subsequently recognised as having officially held the belt.

[Liam O'Rourke]

Just an update, will be recording this tomorrow due to a one week delay (blame Old Man Jones), so any last minute suggestions are still welcome.

[FLips]

I was worried with the UKFF being down you'd just do it without the suggestions here, so kinda happy it's been delayed as the podcasts are the only thing stopping me from dying of boredom at work.

[Liam O'Rourke]

It was a blessing in disguise in some ways - Old Man Jones had an issue pop up that kept him away, and Chase is having nonstop transport problems lately, which combined with more than one forum acting up meant it was better to wait a week...

[FLips]

Well while the getting is good, I'll throw Jeff Hardy's IC win over HHH the week after the Two Man Power Trip brayed the shit out of Lita. HHH won it back a week later so Hardy got nothing from it at a time they were hanging with the main eventers and could have benefited.

[HarmonicGenerator]

I wondered what had happened to Chase recently!

 

If you're still accepting noms I'd second RVD in 2002 - and even 2001 when he was at his hottest. Anyone but JBL in 2004. Literally anyone. Garrison bloody Cade would have been a better bloody choice in my mind than him. And Sasha Banks at WrestleMania this year. I get why Charlotte retained but there was no bigger occasion for the Boss than this one. I hate titles not changing hands at Mania so it can be done further down the line. When it comes to Mania there should be NO further down the line - it happens at Mania or it's just not as important. So you can take any title change that happened in a Mania rematch too!