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Belts, there are a lot of them these days. If you’re Austin Aries, then you have quite a few.
WWE and NJPW are the main offenders in the oversaturation of titles. NJPW introduced the IWGP United States title in 2017 and WWE added a mid-card belt to NXT - the North American Championship at last week’s TakeOver: New Orleans.
NJPW has 8 active belts while WWE now has 14. The two companies need to trim the fat, let’s look at five titles that need to either be sidelined or more competition to make them more relevant in today's day and age.
#1 WWE Universal Championship
Since Brock Lesnar has been Universal Champion, the title has been mostly absent on Raw for over a year.
Have Raw’s ratings suffered greatly? Has the show’s quality drastically gone down? Are live events attendance down? No, no and nope.
Raw has done fine without the Universal title on the brand. Coupled with the news that single brand PPV’s are a thing of the past, does WWE even need the red and gold belt? I believe the Universal title should be unified with the WWE Championship.
The unification of the Universal and WWE Championships should be saved for a big event. SummerSlam or Survivor Series (which has the Raw vs Smackdown theme) fit the bill.
After the unification, WWE should go back to the same model they used after the 2002 WWE draft, have the WWE Champion appear on both Raw and Smackdown. The two brands would rotate the top challenger each month. Having just one undisputed champion and both brands wrestlers vying for the title will make championship defenses much more special – and title changes a massive occasion.
#2 IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
After The Young Bucks moved up to the heavyweight tag division in February, only one regular team is left in the junior division: Roppongi 3K. The current holders of the IWGP Jr titles are the makeshift team of Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
The junior tag division was once the highlight of NJPW, but it has been depleted greatly by the departures of various talent. The division has been on life-support for years; it’s time to pull the plug.
When the talented Roppongi 3K inevitably regain the IWGP Jr titles, they should immediately aim to unify those belts with the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
The heavyweight tag division has been given a boost with the additions of The Bucks and reformed Golden Lovers (Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega). Adding Roppongi 3K to the mix could usher in a new ‘golden age’ (pardon the pun) of tag team wrestling in NJPW.
#3 NEVER Openweight Championship
Such is the proliferation of titles in NJPW; the NEVER title is now the quaternary heavyweight title in the promotion. NJPW’s roster is bigger than ever, but to have four heavyweight singles titles is ridiculous.
The NEVER title used to be known for its gritty title matches with wrestlers who personified strong style. Some of the bouts contested between Tomohiro Ishii, Togi Makabe, and Katsuyori Shibata were the most brutal in NJPW’s history.
However, recent NEVER title bouts have lacked the brutality of previous matches, the title has lost its identity. (The toning down of these bouts may be due to the career-ending injuries Shibata and Tomoaki Honma sustained).
To be relevant again, the NEVER title needs to embrace the second word in its name “Openweight”. It’s been years since a junior heavyweight has challenged for the title. Floundering junior heavyweights like Kushida would be a great challenger – or champion.
#4 WWE United Kingdom Championship
Pete Dunne is a king without a home. WWE’s failed attempts at launching the UK brand means that title slung over Dunne’s shoulder is just very lavish dressing.
Occasionally, the UK title has been defended on NXT shows as a secondary title. With the introduction of the NXT North American Championship, there is no need for another singles title.
During WrestleMania weekend, it was announced that a tournament would take place in June at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the winner will get a shot at Pete Dunne’s UK Championship. However, news on a weekly TV programme is not forthcoming. WWE wants to get the UK show on television in its home country, which is holding up the launch of the brand.
British fans are not as nationalistic as WWE may think they are. They like good wrestling, which country the wrestler is from is irrelevant. Forcing WWE’s UK fans to watch the programme on paid TV rather than WWE Network - like the rest of the world, may backfire.
As long as the UK brand remains in limbo, so does, it’s title.
#5 IWGP United States Championship
NJPW officials unveiled the IWGP United States title in May 2017. The plan was for the title to be defended on NJPW US shows and Ring of Honor events. The IWGP Intercontinental title had the same concept when it was introduced in 2011, but it ended up just becoming a regular NJPW singles title, just like the IWGP US title has become.
The tournament to crown the first champion took place at NJPW’s G1 Special in Long Beach California. The title started promisingly, the tournament final between Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii was one of the best matches of last year. Omega triumphed, and as the inaugural champion, he had one incredible match after another. Most notably, he defended the title against Chris Jericho in the Tokyo Dome in a classic.
Omega shockingly dropped the title to ‘Switchblade’ Jay White earlier this year. The prestige of the title fell suddenly. Around the waist of Omega, the title was a legitimate main-event attraction. The unproven White has a tough act to follow.
At NJPW’s return to California in March, White’s US title defense against Hangman Page was slotted high, and the bout itself was good, but it was overshadowed by The Young Bucks vs Golden Lovers tag match.
When NJPW returns to California in July at the 10-000 seat Cow Palace, they’ll need a strong main event. White and his US title don’t cut it.
The only way the title can be relevant is in a unification match.
