Consider this the bootleg of 🤯's thread.

So here's the skinny - at Vengeance 2001 Vince unified the WWF and WCW Championship to have one definitive title. That was the way things were until after SummerSlam 2002 when they had Eric Bischoff crown Triple H as the World Heavyweight Championship.

Let's say that doesn't take place, so I want to know if you were in charge, how should the title have been booked? I don't want your prediction, I want your take, how would have you booked the title and who should have been THE guy in the WWE?

Big Pete, you mean no WHC and the Undisputed Champ keeps appearing on both brands? Or go as far back as Y2J's crowning and correct that mistake?

I've always been a fan behind a traveling "world" champion with a home title on each brand. I'm not sure how it can be booked properly, maybe a precursor to MMA Brock we have been living with for the past decade.

I believe they were toying with the idea with RVD as IC Champ, but supposedly HHH nixed it because politics. I did attend a houseshow in 2002 when Taker was champ and he wasn't there. Might be why it got scrapped.

Getting this out of the way as a quick tangent, but the first Undisputed Champion should have been crowned in 1998 WCW, Bret coming in recognized as "WWF Champion," WCW not accepting the screwjob as a loss. Fast track a Clash of the Champions unification in March '98 versus Sting or Hogan or Sting AND Hogan in a Triple Threat, or just keep Bret as another world champion for a while. Both scenarios better than the reality. WCW can also deem Austin a "paper champion" as he's ascending at the same time, which honestly, is not going to slow Austin down even a little bit, but is at least a technical victory because he would be! He beat HBK for the title, who didn't really beat Bret, Bret who beat Austin every time they faced each other.

As for the real Undisputed Champion, this was just after I bailed, but Jericho, god love him, I get the idea of him needing the rub more than Rock/Austin, but it should have been Rock or Austin. Forgetting what is best for future booking for a second, just to culminate WWF superiority, one of the two aces that helped put WCW out of business, the perfect symmetry of someone like Austin being crowned the first Undisputed Champion would have been best for history.

As for the booking, I'm less sure, not watching at the time. I suppose my instinct is just why does there have to be a next? WWF has the Undisputed Champion, that's the victory, that's the end of that story, everything goes back to normal after that (no two belts, just a new beautiful WWF belt). Austin or Rock drop it at Wrestlemania 18 to a workhorse while they fade into part timers.

I never separate the belts in 2002. It's idiotic to unify titles just to split them back up 8 months later. So dumb. And didn't work, thought they learned that, then inexplicably did it again, and surprise to no one except Vince, it hasn't worked again. I suppose if they stick with "brand separation" then they go the traveling champion route that Ness mentioned, but only one. He is the champion of both brands, and would have to alternate defending against a Raw guy/Smackdown guy. Would especially suit Triple H in his desire to be Flair. What the specifics of that look like, I'm less sure. Don't know enough about that period. Is this impossible to book? Probably.

I enjoyed Chris Jericho being the first Undisputed Champ but I'm biased because I love him. Looking back, instead of an entire evening of screwy nonsense and an even screwier finish, just do the right thing and have Austin and Rock in the final and let them deliver like they always do. No bullshit, amazing title match, and you can't go wrong with whoever wins.

Then going forward you can still do the fun feud between Austin and Booker T regardless of whether he's the champ or not, and you can have Rock reminding Chris Jericho that he still can't "win the big one." Jericho makes it his goal to finally take that leap and make the new millennium his own, and he pulls off an "upset" at the Royal Rumble by last eliminating a returning Triple H.

If I'm going this route, I probably have The Rock beat Austin at Vengeance, defend the title against Kurt Angle at the Royal Rumble, then Jericho goes over The Rock in Canada at Wrestlemania 18 to finally win the big one.

Jericho spends the summer having bangers against Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, then drops the title to Brock Lesnar at Summerslam.

I agree that there should have only ever been one champion, and if I'm booking it that's what I do. One World Champion, one women's champ, one IC champ, one US/Euro/Hardcore/whatever champ, one tag team champs. If you win a title, you're expected to be available for both shows, end of story.

Buuuuut I'm assuming they always wanted two titles for the brand split and that was always going to happen, in which case I just never would have created a new belt and kept the old WWF title and the Big Gold belt. After Summerslam, Brock has to relinquish one to Raw, and a tournament is held to crown a new winner instead of Bischoff just handing the belt to Triple H. I probably still have Triple H win it though. :lol:

Man, I wrote something beautiful and looong but then refreshed my tab by accident.

Fuuuck...

Mar 1, 2022 20:25:26 GMT 🤯 said:

Big Pete , you mean no WHC and the Undisputed Champ keeps appearing on both brands? Or go as far back as Y2J's crowning and correct that mistake?

When I wrote the post, I was thinking post-SummerSlam 2002 but if you want to go back to Vengeance then by all means.

Mar 2, 2022 2:46:14 GMT 🤯 said:

Man, I wrote something beautiful and looong but then refreshed my tab by accident.

Fuuuck...

I just realized my rebooking takes away the Hogan vs Rock match at Wrestlemania 18.

Ok…so Austin wins at Vengeance, feuds with Booker T and defends the title against him at Royal Rumble. Rock, Jericho, Triple H and Kurt Angle are in a 4-way feud. Rock says Jericho will never win the big one, Triple H is back and ready to become champ, and Kurt Angle is there because he is. They’re the final 4 in the Royal Rumble and Jericho wins.

Jericho vs Austin at Wrestlemania 18 and Jericho wins the title to a huge ovation. Rock vs Hogan can still happen too. Instead of Austin vs Hall, The Outsiders challenge Triple H to find a tag partner to face them. Since he ended up returning in 2002 anyway, you hand Shawn Michaels a blank check and he returns early to team with Triple H.

I think I just fixed Wrestlemania 18 by accident.

Mar 2, 2022 2:46:14 GMT 🤯 said:

Man, I wrote something beautiful and looong but then refreshed my tab by accident.

Fuuuck...

I'll try again. Might be with way less gusto though...

Austin over Angle and Rock over Jericho in the semifinals, and then Austin over Rock in an epic final at Vengeance to become the first-ever Undisputed Champion.

Austin defends against Booker in Atlanta at the Rumble. HHH wins the Rumble after last eliminating Angle.

Jericho finally gets a win over Rock on RAW to earn a No Way Out title shot, but Austin retains because LOL Y2J. nWo makes surprise debut with triple-team on Austin after the match. Meanwhile, HHH retains number one contender status against Kurt (w/ Steph).

Two-Man Power Trip on a collision course for WrestleMania. Hall & Nash tease they'll have Kliq buddy HHH's back. Go-home RAW sees epic six-man pitting nWo against Austin, Rock & HHH. Hogan pins Austin with leg drop after errant sledgehammer shot from HHH to tease all sorts of shit.

Main event is made a HIAC to prevent unwanted interference and to help Austin vs. HHH not be overshadowed by Rock vs. Hogan. Rock wins, Hogan turns face, they pose after beating up Hall & Nash. HHH beats Austin clean to become second-ever Undisputed Champion.

Brand split draft in wake of WrestleMania. In exchange for RAW getting first overall pick (Austin), SmackDown! gets to name HHH's first challenger. Vince names Rock (#2 pick overall), but Rock has Hollywood project commitments, so he defers to Hogan. Hall & Nash continue to tease Kliq connections to HHH on RAW, as does returning X-Pac. nWo straight up rebrands as Kliq in fact. HHH says he wants to face Hogan on his own. Meanwhile, Flair books himself as special guest referee for Austin vs. Taker to determine RAW's number one contender for Judgment Day.

At Backlash, Taker pins Austin after a Flair chair shot in a scene reminiscent of the SummerSlam 1997 main event finish. Then Hunter Hearst Helmsley retains clean against Hollywood Hulk Hogan to prove himself the one true HHH. Kliq comes out and assaults Hogan after the match until HHH stops them, telling them to leave Hogan be.

Plane Ride from Hell kinda screws up Kliq storyline by costing us Hall & X-Pac. Nash continues to pursue HHH though. Taker tells Nash to stay out of his yard at Judgment Day. HHH echoes this sentiment, saying he can take care of Taker by himself. Nash doesn't appreciate being twice spurned...

Main event of Judgment Day sees Nash invade Taker's yard... but Nash jackknifes HHH, not Taker, unbeknownst to a temporarily downed Deadman. Taker finishes the job with a Last Ride to become the third Undisputed Champion. On the undercard, Hogan defeats Jericho (LOL Y2J) to become SmackDown!'s number one contender for King of the Ring.

On RAW, HBK makes his surprise return to try to broker peace between Nash & HHH. He ends up assigned as special guest referee for a Kliq implosion at KOTR to determine RAW's number one contender for Vengeance. Meanwhile, on SmackDown!, Hogan returns the favor to a returning Rock, yielding the title shot at Taker to the People's Champion. Wig-wearing Angle challenges Hogan to a match, calling Hogan foolish for forfeiting a title shot, and also claiming to be the REAL American himself... and also also claiming to have the better hairline. BTW, the 2002 KOTR tournament will have a RAW & SmackDown! bracket. Crowned king gets a title shot at SummerSlam.

At KOTR, RAW finalist Brock (w/ Heyman) beats SmackDown! finalist Edge after they respectively advance over RVD & Y2J (LOL). HHH beats Nash after HBK turns on his former bodyguard to reunite DX. Angle does the unthinkable by tapping out Hogan after Hogan unwigs him. A pissed Angle ruins the main event by attacking both Taker & Rock, causing a double DQ no contest.

HHH exercises his title shot the RAW after KOTR because he doesn't want to wait. Nash screws him as payback, but then tears his quad before they can settle their Kliq beef. Taker defends against Jeff in a ladder match, while we pivot on SmackDown! to set up the GOAT 3-way at Vengeance involving Rock & Angle.

At Vengeance, Rock becomes the 4th Undisputed Champion by pinning Angle. Brock (w/ Heyman) retains his SummerSlam title shot against IC champ RVD. HHH, meanwhile, is distracted by new GM drama. HHH picks Bischoff over joining ex-wife Steph on SmackDown! But then he becomes distraught when he finds a murdered HBK in the parking lot... Whodunit!?

At SummerSlam, Brock (w/ Heyman) beats Rock to become 5th Undisputed Champion and youngest world champ in WWF/WWE history. We're going all in with the Next Big Thing. Co-main sees HBK return to the ring at long last to upset HHH in a street fight and then get crippled by two sledgehammer shots.

HHH gets a win back over a now-face Taker on the RAW after SummerSlam to become number one contender for Unforgiven thanks to interference from Brock. However, Stephanie pulls a fast one by revealing it's SmackDown!'s turn to name a number one contender... It was RAW's turn for Vengeance, but HHH blew his load and wasted his shot early.

Unforgiven through No Mercy sees the same booking as IRL between Brock (w/ Heyman) & Taker. HHH occupies his time squashing RVD for the IC title (previously unified with the European and Hardcore titles) at Unforgiven and then defending against Kane at No Mercy.

HHH (w/ Flair) finally gets his shot at Brock (w/ Heyman) at Survivor Series in MSG in a title unification match. A returning (again) HBK exacts revenge on HHH with Sweet Chin Music, costing HHH the match as payback for nearly crippling HBK. Co-main sees Team SmackDown! (Angle, Benoit, Eddie, Edge & Rey) beat Team RAW (Kane, RVD, Booker, Y2J & Big Show) after defector Show turns on his teammates. As a result, SmackDown! gets to name a number one contender for Armageddon.

Edge wins a round robin on SmackDown! to challenge Brock. Brock murders Edge's tag partner Rey to send a message. Meanwhile, tired of being overshadowed, Bischoff introduces the elimination chamber to crown a number one contender for RAW for Royal Rumble. Brock (w/ Heyman) retains against Edge in a callback to. KOTR. HBK wins the EC after last eliminating HHH. Same match as IRL, just a month later.

Brock (w/ Heyman) retains against HBK at the Rumble. Angle, with help from Team Angle to counteract the help from Evolution, wins the Rumble by last eliminating HHH in a reversal of the previous year's finish.

Brock (w/ Heyman) & Team Angle defeat Evolution at No Way Out. A returning Stone Cold referees Rock/Hogan II, handing Hogan the win after stunning Rock in response to comments made by Rock the previous summer about taking balls home. Benoit is kept in the Paul Orndorff wing on standby in case Angle's neck shatters.

At WrestleMania XIX, Angle becomes the 6th Undisputed Champion by pinning Brock after a botched Shooting Star Press. Rock retires Austin. Hogan beats McMahon's ass. HHH finally gets his win back over HBK. Goldberg's debut is announced. And RVD wins the reinstated IC title in a proto-MITB ladder match also involving Booker, Y2J, Kane, Christian, and... Test?

Angle vacates the title to have neck surgery. Brock becomes the first-ever two-time Undisputed Champion by defeating Benoit in a tournament final. Goldberg sends Rock packing in his WWE debut, setting him on a collision course with HHH and eventually Brock. HHH defeats a returning Nash to settle their year-old beef. HBK beats Y2J.

TO BE CONTINUED...?

I've been meaning to come back to this thread, but you guys gave me way too much to chew on.

RT - If there was ever a moment to make Jericho that was it. I never bought Jericho as a heel around that time, it was terrible booking and a case of turning heel for the sake of the company. For what it's worth, I believe HHH wanted to be a heel according to Prichard but off the back of the MSG reception the company thought otherwise. I still think you could have your cake and eat it as well, bask in the reception, but have HHH quickly turn just like he did in 2005. If Michaels for whatever reason couldn't agree to join you could just as easily give HHH: Shane, X-Pac, Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect or The Big Show as a sub. I think of those choices, Angle in an odd couple pairing could work.

pi - Hot damn who wanted to torch fan fic? Not me, no sir. I think your booking is a lot clearer although the anti-Jericho and RVD sentiment has been noted and won't be forgotten anytime soon. So hang on, in shoot Brock plans on near crippling himself or does Kurt just go into business for himself, takes the title and then elects to have the neck surgery he should have had months prior?

I'm a big believer that long-ass title reigns was one of the worst ideas of the Ruthless Aggression era and hurt business. You don't want to give the belt to any Tom, Dick or Harry but you run over a 100 episodes a year, that belt has to move around. So even as chaotic as it was, I can live with the first nine months of the Undisputed titles inception, especially since it ended on Brock. I believe it was a premature reign, but then again, I'm fine with a Rock '98 and HHH '99 type run because they can grow from it.

So without going into any major details yet I'd go...

Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2002
Rob Van Dam - Survivor Series 2002

Kurt Angle - SmackDown January 2003
Rob Van Dam - Wrestlemania XIX
Brock Lesnar - Judgement Day 2003
Goldberg - SummerSlam 2003
Brock Lesnar - Survivor Series 2003 (Hell in a Cell)

Chris Benoit - Wrestlemania XX
Triple H - Judgement Day 2004
Eddie Guerrero - Great American Bash 2004
Randy Orton - SummerSlam 2004
Shawn Michaels - Taboo Tuesday 2004
Triple H - RAW after Taboo Tuesday (sub for Orton who is mysteriously injured)
The Undertaker - Survivor Series 2004

Triple H - New Year's Resolution 2005
Batista - Wrestlemania XXI
Kurt Angle - Great American Bash 2005
John Cena - SummerSlam 2005
Kurt Angle - No Mercy 2005
Batista - Survivor Series 2005

Vacant
John Cena - New Year's Resolution 2006
Edge - New Year's Resolution 2006
Rey Mysterio - Wrestlemania XXII
John Bradshaw Layfield - SmackDown May 2006
Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand II
Edge - RAW after drug arrest
John Cena - SummerSlam 2006
Umaga - Unforgiven 2006
Batista - Armaggeddon 2006

The Undertaker - Wrestlemania XXIII
Edge - Whenever that happened
Vacant
John Cena - Great American Bash 2007
Randy Orton - SummerSlam 2007
The Undertaker - Survivor Series 2007
Edge - Armaggeddon 2007

The Undertaker - Wrestlemania XXIV
Randy Orton - One Night Stand 2008
Jeff Hardy - SummerSlam 2008
Chris Jericho - Unforgiven 2008
Jeff Hardy - Survivor Series 2008

Randy Orton - RAW January 2009
Jeff Hardy - Wrestlemania XXV
CM Punk - Great American Bash 2009
John Cena - Bragging Rights 2009 (woof that PPV name)
Rey Mysterio - Survivor Series 2009 (multi-man match, Batista turns heel not long after)
Batista - Armaggeddon 2009

John Cena - Wrestlemania XXVI
CM Punk - Fatal Fourway 2010
Randy Orton - RAW post-SummerSlam
Sheamus - Night of Champions 2010
John Morrison - Survivor Series 2010
The Miz - Survivor Series 2010

CM Punk - RAW January 2011
Christian - Backlash 2011
Sheamus - SmackDown May 2011
Randy Orton - Capitol Punishment
CM Punk - Money in the Bank 2011
Vacant
Triple H - SummerSlam 2011
CM Punk - Survivor Series 2011

----

The Rock - Royal Rumble 2013
CM Punk - Wrestlemania XXIX
Seth Rollins - Money in the Bank 2013
Daniel Bryan - SummerSlam 2013
Bray Wyatt - Battleground 2013
Daniel Bryan - Survivor Series 2013

Batista - Royal Rumble 2014
Daniel Bryan - Wrestlemania XXX
Roman Reigns - Money in the Bank 2014
Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2014

Daniel Bryan - Wrestlemania XXXI
Seth Rollins - Money in the Bank 2015
Roman Reigns - SummerSlam 2015

That's my basic rough draft skeleton. I'm really fuzzy when it comes to 2009/10 though. I also feel like Dolph should have got a run somewhere. Maybe he can have a Lex Luger esque disruption in 2012? I'd just go all in on Punk because he's one of the few guys who felt extremely overly.

I'll elaborate on these...

Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2002
Rob Van Dam - Survivor Series 2002

I'm a firm believer that Rob Van Dam should have been champion long before 2006. Especially in 2002 when the Undisputed Championship had established a long leniage with such names as HHH, Hogan, Taker and Rock. With the belt established, you can start to establish some of the new names and RVD would have been that big babyface of this era. You'll often see me use Survivor Series as a title change show as well. That's because I view a calender year of WWE as three TV seasons, with Wrestlemania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series being the cut-off points.

Kurt Angle - SmackDown January 2003
Rob Van Dam - Wrestlemania XIX
Brock Lesnar - Judgement Day 2003
Goldberg - SummerSlam 2003
Brock Lesnar - Survivor Series 2003 (Hell in a Cell)

I'm not beholden to the brand extension, but I like the occassional television championship change especially when it involves a heel. My idea here is that Team Angle debut and help Kurt win the title. RVD wins the Rumble and wins at Wrestlemania XIX to have his huge moment. I thought Kurt was one of the best performers in 2002 so he deserved the spot. I like coming back to Brock later on and him getting even better after each title defeat. I thought Brock was clearly the stand-out guy in 2003 so I'd go all-in on him. I couldn't say the same for Goldberg, but if you're signing him you have to be prepared to go all-in. Brock-Berg with the right build seems like an awesome 2003 match.

Chris Benoit - Wrestlemania XX
Triple H - Judgement Day 2004
Eddie Guerrero - Great American Bash 2004
Randy Orton - SummerSlam 2004
Shawn Michaels - Taboo Tuesday 2004
Triple H - RAW after Taboo Tuesday (sub for Orton who is mysteriously injured)
The Undertaker - Survivor Series 2004

Kind of a redux of what happened. With Brock and Angle gone, HHH can finally come in and get his championship run. In fairness, I did think Hunter stepped his stuff up around the time and the Evolution stuff actually became entertaining after being a slog. Benoit, HBK and Eddie get their charity runs, we start the Evolution dissension stuff and we give the Deadman character some momentum.

Triple H - New Year's Resolution 2005
Batista - Wrestlemania XXI
Kurt Angle - Great American Bash 2005
John Cena - SummerSlam 2005
Kurt Angle - No Mercy 2005
Batista - Survivor Series 2005

Another redux, except Kurt deserved some acknowledgement and I think breaking up the title reigns would make them fresher.

Vacant
John Cena - New Year's Resolution 2006
Edge - New Year's Resolution 2006
Rey Mysterio - Wrestlemania XXII
John Bradshaw Layfield - SmackDown May 2006
Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand II
Edge - RAW after drug arrest
John Cena - SummerSlam 2006
Umaga - Unforgiven 2006
Batista - Armaggeddon 2006

This was a really chaotic year as you can see reflected in the title reigns. I'd extend Edge's initial reign and make him the top heel. I thought Eddiesploitation or not, Rey was ready for a title win. I don't like the idea of jipping the fans with a crappy title win, so JBL wins it on TV just to get his ass handed to him by RVD. In true ECW fashion, that isn't the real main event with RVD being challenged by Vince's go-to an Olympic shooter in Kurt Angle to protect his asset. RVD was never going to hold the title for long so we eventually work our way back to Batista winning the title while giving Umaga more of a push.

The Undertaker - Wrestlemania XXIV
Randy Orton - One Night Stand 2008
Jeff Hardy - SummerSlam 2008
Chris Jericho - Unforgiven 2008
Jeff Hardy - Survivor Series 2008

Skipping to 2008 since 2007 basically played out as it happened, Orton and Jericho are established as the top heels while we go all-in on Hardy who was red hot leading into the Rumble. Substance issues or not, I'm giving the fans what they want. I also think Jeff works best in shorter spurts.

Randy Orton - RAW January 2009
Jeff Hardy - Wrestlemania XXV
CM Punk - Great American Bash 2009
John Cena - Bragging Rights 2009 (woof that PPV name)
Rey Mysterio - Survivor Series 2009 (multi-man match, Batista turns heel not long after)
Batista - Armaggeddon 2009

Orton was red-hot at the start of 09, so I think doing a big finale pay-off at Mania XXV would be the way to go. Punk was finally established on the main roster, so he can get his run before once again we go back to giving Batista the championship to end the year. Except this time we're turning Batista heel and doing the Batista-Cena end of an era match.

John Cena - Wrestlemania XXVI
CM Punk - Fatal Fourway 2010
Randy Orton - RAW post-SummerSlam
Sheamus - Night of Champions 2010
John Morrison - Survivor Series 2010
The Miz - Survivor Series 2010

This is where I wanted to stray a little bit. Nexus would be a bigger deal with Punk and Sheamus (among others, Swagger would be another) joining the charge. Punk suffered an injury around the summer, which is why I'd have Sheamus pushed as the new champion. There was also a time in 2009-10 where Morrison was considered the next guy, so I'm actually going to give him a taste before The Miz steals his spotlight. Miz was one of the best performers that year and I think a short-ish reign would feel right.

CM Punk - RAW January 2011
Christian - Backlash 2011
Sheamus - SmackDown May 2011
Randy Orton - Capitol Punishment
CM Punk - Money in the Bank 2011
Vacant
Triple H - SummerSlam 2011
CM Punk - Survivor Series 2011

This is one year I'd have to revisit, but Punk in the main event scene makes more sense. I liked the idea of Christian finally getting his run, this is my attempt to fix it by making Sheamus the buffer before Randy wins. Either way it has to be John or Randy defending against Punk in Chicago with Punk going over. I like the idea of HHH in meta making a comeback as the champion and having a run only to put Punk over at Survivor Series.

The Rock - Royal Rumble 2013
CM Punk - Wrestlemania XXIX
Seth Rollins - Money in the Bank 2013
Daniel Bryan - SummerSlam 2013
Bray Wyatt - Battleground 2013
Daniel Bryan - Survivor Series 2013

I'm not completely married to the idea of Punk keeping the title for an entire year but if there was one run that deserved it, that was it. I probably drank too much of the Pepsi so to speak, but Punk getting The Rock rub is just food for thought. I like the idea of starting The Shield push early and I just went with Rollins because he's the most reliable in the ring. I like Bryan being the first to finally end their reign at SummerSlam and getting his long term pay-off. Similarly I like establishing Bray as a huge deal right away and giving him a run with Bryan eventually getting his win back.

Batista - Royal Rumble 2014
Daniel Bryan - Wrestlemania XXXRoman Reigns - Money in the Bank 2014
Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2014

Kind of a repeat of last year, but we really turn up the heat here. I forgot to mention Bryan would have to vacate the title like he did in real life, I like the idea of Reigns winning it early only for Brock to destroy him and start their rivalry. Brock is one guy where I can accept a long title reign.

Daniel Bryan - Wrestlemania XXXI
Seth Rollins - Money in the Bank 2015
Roman Reigns - SummerSlam 2015

I was beginning to run out of steam here. Fans were right behind Bryan so giving him that feel good moment here would seem appropriate. I like the idea of Rollins avenging his loss from two years prior and going over only for Reigns to step up and beat Seth at SummerSlam. That was where I was going to cap it but to tie it to an earlier thread where I re-booked RAW circa 2016-on. Roman loses to Bray at Night of Champions, wins it at Survivor Series only to lose it to Brock at TLC. Roman then wins the Rumble and faces off against Brock and beats him there. Rollins then wins the title at Payback with Balor winning the title at SummerSlam 2016.

Mar 5, 2022 18:03:04 GMT Big Pete said:

Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2002
Rob Van Dam - Survivor Series 2002

Kurt Angle - SmackDown January 2003
Rob Van Dam - Wrestlemania XIX

John Bradshaw Layfield - SmackDown May 2006

RVD dethroning Brock and winning the Undisputed Championship at Wrestlemania=All The Dimes. And you still rewarded JBL! Beautiful.
=============
I'll probably give it a whirl next time I'm here. For now I'll touch on some other stuff...

I'm the opposite of RT in that I hated Jericho becoming the first Undisputed Champion. Would have preferred Austin, Rock, or Angle with Kurt being my #1 choice because Kurt was always my #1 choice in those days. Also thought Jericho's reign sucked. Though I'll admit he finally grew on me not long after losing the title. Pretty sure it was during his feud with Hogan.

I liked the Undisputed Title concept and wish they would have stuck with it for a few years. Early in the brand split they treated it as a modernized version of the old NWA Championship with all the emphasis being on just earning a title shot. It made for good storytelling while also making the Championship seem important again after all the hot shotting that went on during the Attitude Era. Guys suddenly had to work hard just to get a crack at the champ. In theory you might go two months without the title being defended on your brand. This made those title shots a really big deal. It peaked during Undertaker's two month reign iirc. I'm obviously the opposite of Pete in that I tend to prefer longer reigns. Makes the belt seem more important when it's not changing hands every other week.

Hated HHH just being handed a made up World Championship. That + Trips beating RVD at Unforgiven 2002 is what finally caused me to turn on him again. One promotion having two World Champions was just confusing in 1993 NWA. It wasn't cool in 2000s WWE either. 

I like long championship runs in theory as well, but in practice you're subjecting your audience to 100+ episodes of only 2 or 3 champions and it can get really stale.

Did you enjoy the balance the WWF had in 2000-01? For me that balance was just right.

Mar 8, 2022 4:48:08 GMT Big Pete said:

I like long championship runs in theory as well, but in practice you're subjecting your audience to 100+ episodes of only 2 or 3 champions and it can get really stale.

Did you enjoy the balance the WWF had in 2000-01? For me that balance was just right.

I liked 2000 the most, I think. HHH, Rock, and Kurt were your only three champions that year (assuming we don't count Y2J's fakeout win on RAW), Rock/HHH trading the belt made them feel like really equally matched peers who could potentially trade the belt any time they faced each other, but over the span of a calendar year —and that year in particular— it felt like any one of like 10ish guys (Rock, HHH, Kurt, Austin, Taker, Kane, Big Show, Foley, Benoit, Jericho... MAYBE Rikishi) could've won/held the belt despite only 3 guys technically holding it hostage.

Mar 8, 2022 4:48:08 GMT Big Pete said:

I like long championship runs in theory as well, but in practice you're subjecting your audience to 100+ episodes of only 2 or 3 champions and it can get really stale.

Did you enjoy the balance the WWF had in 2000-01? For me that balance was just right.

Something like 90-96 hits that sweet spot for me. Reigns were generally being long enough to mean something while not dragging on too long to risk burning the fans out on a wrestler.