5 changes WWE must make to its current championships and titles
As Triple H has assumed creative duties of WWE over the last year, he has made many positive changes. Matches aren't thrown together at random, and give both performers time to tell an in-ring story. Ricochet has benefitted from this, as have many others like Chad Gable and Gunther.
He has also made changes with championships, reinstating the World Heavyweight Title, while also introducing new designs for the major singles belts.
WWE also merged with the UFC, now known as TKO Group Holding, and some crossover aspects have been used. Rey Mysterio and Logan Paul had a weigh-in for their title match at Crown Jewel.
With the merger still fresh and Triple H able to make sensible changes, there are some other alterations he could make regarding certain title rules in WWE. Here are five changes WWE should make to some of its championships.
#5 Introduce a mid-card title for NXT Women
This is more of a change by addition than an alteration of an existing one. The male stars in NXT have four titles to pursue - the NXT Title, the North American Championship, the Heritage Cup, and tag team gold. The women, however, only have the Women's Title to chase.
The NXT roster used to have its own tag team titles, but they were merged with the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. With a roster that is filled with some stars still learning on the job, it would be a good idea to institute a mid-card title for the women of NXT.
It can be a pre-cursor to see how an exciting prospect may do as NXT Women's Champ. That move would lessen the need for experienced veterans, but they could still help out from time to time.
#4 Penalties for cheap shots in Heritage Cup matches
One aspect that has marred every one of the current Heritage Cup matches has been Noam Dar's cheap shots. He has routinely landed cheap shots after the bell rings to end a round. The referee has always seen these illegal strikes, yet does nothing.
At the very least, there should be a yellow card or warning for one such infraction. In his match with Akira Tozawa, he landed two unfair shots between rounds yet was still allowed to continue.
If this happened in the UFC, a point would be deducted, or the person would be disqualified. With the TKO merger, WWE should at least try to mimic MMA rules of a rounds match. If Dar consistently did this in an MMA setting, he'd think twice before doing it if he was penalized.
#3 Part-timers must commit to a regular schedule if a Champion
Over the last decade, Goldberg, Ronda Rousey, and Brock Lesnar made being a champion a part-time affair. Some, like Rousey, stuck around for a year at a time. Goldberg and Lesnar, however, often showed up for a title match, and then disappeared if they didn't win.
All three won championships but had differing schedules. Goldberg won the title and then lost it at the next event. Lesnar would come and go as he pleased, holding a title hostage. Roman Reigns has seemingly made that a bigger problem when he went part-time after unifying the WWE and Universal titles.
If a part-time star is going to win a belt, they need to be around weekly. Coming and going every two or three weeks can take away from a title/angle. It can help sometimes, but if a full-time star is a champ, they do the work.
WWE should make part-timers - especially now that Logan Paul is the US Champion - commit to regular appearances until they lose the title.
#2 Separate the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles
Once Nick Aldis was introduced as the GM of SmackDown, WWE returned to having distinct brands, with distinct authority figures. Gone were the days of the top stars of one brand (usually Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, or Becky Lynch) showing up on both shows in a given week.
With all the alterations WWE has made to brand identity, it's time to break up the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team titles. They can be renamed like the rest of the championships so that draft switches are less awkward.
There have been rumblings of new designs for the tag team belts, so why not take the next step and give RAW and SmackDown their own titles? There are plenty of teams on both shows to support two sets of titles.
#1 WWE should utilize a 60-day 'Must Defend' clause
While UFC Champions often only defend their titles twice a year, champs in wrestling are different. The norm used to be a title match once a month, with some even defending their titles multiple times in a month. As the NXT Women's Champion, Becky Lynch defended the title five times in less than a month.
When a UFC Champion is injured or fails to defend his or her title, they are stripped of said belt. That creates an Interim Championship situation, or a new champion altogether.
To make sure that every titleholder is treated fairly, WWE should implement a '60-day defense' clause. Essentially, any titleholder must defend their title at least once every 60 days, or be stripped of the belt.
It would still allow Roman Reigns to make sporadic defenses to prolong his title run. This would also allow for non-title feuds between premium live events. It's a bit ridiculous when one titleholder defends his/her title four times, before another makes a single defense.