WWE Junior Heavyweight Champion?

Whats everyone's thoughts on this kind of title

Firstly, I'd like to say I believe there are far to many titles within the WWE already, so I'm not championing another title for the sake of it, with the imminent unification of the Tag titles and their being talk of unifying the Woman and Diva championships (according to that fountain of knowledge Dave Meltzer) and the likely re-branding of ECW it looks like their could be three titles ready to disappear from WWE TV, none would be much of a loss although the ECW title has had its moments!

I mentioned it in another thread but it could end up being buried so decided to give it it's own article, with the WWE looking like re-branding ECW then their will be a lot of ways to use that our and also use the talent the show has, now I don't think this show should be re-branded in a way that makes it exclusive to 'newer' talent, however I believe if they get rid of the ECW title then their is an opening for a new title.

INCLUSIVE TO ALL WWE BRANDS

Only guys who are under two years into their WWE Career

No Age Constraints

No weight limits

Time Spent under WWE contract in FCW would not count

BENEFITS?

Pros:
Guys like Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, Ted Di Biase Jr, Evan Bourne, Primo Colon, Tyson Kidd, DJ Gabriel, Ezekiel Jackson and that ilk would have a dedicated division for their talents, I also think it would help the progress of eventual future guys promoted to the big leagues like Sheamus O'Shaunessy, Eric Escobar, DH Smith, Heath Miller aka Seb Slater, Joe Hennig and current FCW Champion Drew McIntyre by giving them a division against guys they would probably have worked with in FCW so it would allow them an easier way to settle into the WWE as well as keeping them competitive!

Cons:
Wrestling fans can be a kind of inverted snob, they often decide something isn't good enough before they have even gave it a chance, so if this idea where to work, the WWE would really need to stick with it and push it as an important part of a wrestlers future development!

The fact no one with any real star power or name power couldn't challenge for the title to get over a new champ might hurt it in the short term!

The younger guys wouldn't be exclusive to a Junior division, they could go about their normal scheduled and enter into feuds with better known characters on whatever show they are on, however the Junior title is a good division to allow these guys an escape and a place to showcase their talents.

I would push it and book it as a type of X-Divison type division although not as many multi-man matches or gimmick matches although their would need to be some but only enough as any title within the WWE would require!

So the Junior Heavyweight title wouldn't be essentially a cruiserweight title like it is in Japan then? I suppose it could garner some interest, although I think that the ECW title effectively accomplishes the same purpose, with the majority of their roster being reasonably new to the WWE, or a long time undercard wrestler. But if like you say they do get rid of that title completely, then this could certainly be a suitable replacement. Not sure i'd go with any official restrictions on how long a wrestler has been with the company though, as I'd like to see the likes of Jamie Noble being able to challenge for such a belt.

I wouldn't like to see it as a replacement for the ECW strap, I think the ECW belt has an important place in the development of future talent, and having guys like Matt Hardy hold it, and Christian, Finlay and others contest it helps the new guys along. WWE get criticised for bringing guys to the main roster before they're ready already, and I've seen quite a few matches that have died on their arse by having 2 green wrestlers go at it.

I just get the feeling that having a belt that could in all possibility spawn some shite matches is not going to go down well. And knowing Vince, he'd put it straight on Kozlov and have him and Ezekiel Jackson contest it. That wouldn't be pretty.

At this stage of their careers, Rhodes and DiBiase are benefiting more from an association with Orton and Trips more than holding a lowly title being fought over with Kofi could. Other guys like DJ Gabriel and co, are far too green. I could see this as useful for dark matches, but not on either Raw or Smackdown. It'd have to be limited to ECW, where it'd serve a pretty similar purpose to the ECW title.

I wouldn't say DiBiase would need to be restricted to it though, he could actually hold it while still being involved with Legacy, I wouldn't have the newbies exclusive to that division, the only thing I think would be exclusive would be the time served in the WWE although like Guns said it would be nice to see Noble in their although at this stage I think the only way he would get over now is if he disappeared and came back with a mask and a new name which in turn would make him eligible for the division

I could see a guy like Swagger or Ted being the Junior World Champ challenging the World champ for a match on RAW or SmackDown! given the right programme

I just can't see it working. The majority of the new guys who debut have a hard enough time getting the crowd to give a shit about them; a belt that only the new guys or repackaged jobbers go for isn't going to change that.

Swagger is doing a decent job as the ECW champ, it did Morrison and CM Punk pretty well as ECW champs, and I reckon other guys like Bourne will get a go with it too. That title has more prestige attached to it than what would essentially be the new kids belt.

Thats why I would also introduce these guys to other divisions, showing them go up against the likes of the Hardys, Benjamin, Punk, Morrison, MVP and that likes, show they are capable of living with that company and show them going over them on occasion, however when it comes to contenders it is strickly for 'newer' talent

Doesn't that then cheapen the belt?

say, Cody Rhodes is holding it, is embroiled in the whole orton / Trips feud, then suddenly has to defend it against someone like DJ Gabriel, with no build-up at all? The belt then acts as an afterthought, rather than a valuable prop to get people over...

Not really, while say Cody would be the Junior champion right now, is he anything other than an after thought at this moment?

I would make the Junior Heavyweight division extremely competitive and make sure whatever big programme they champion was involved in anything other than an after thought

Sure DJ Gabriel sounds not very interesting at the moment, however if he or whoever was booked properly then it would make sense in my opinion

I'm not really sure it'd work. Generally the best way to get someone over is to have them beat a bigger, established star.

While fighting over this title it would be a lot more difficult as what you're proposing has less experienced men. Also generally working with more experienced people will help them to get better rather than lots of new guys together.

I think in the end the ECW Title does the same job of getting new guys into feuds and getting them over better as it allows the established guys to put the younger ones over.

It sure does, that is what I myself highlighted in the 'Cons' section of it!

Remember I didn't propose they wouldn't be up against experienced guys, simply those experienced guys would not be able to compete for the title which in turn I believe would help strengthen the IC and US title division

I think the ECW title is doing a good job, however if they do away with ECW which looks likely then what becomes of the ECW title? do they keep it? rename it? without an actual brand then it loses even more prestige

I think the fact that it's looking increasingly likely that the ECW belt isnt even going to make an appearance at Mania speaks volumes on WWE's plan to dissolve it.
After Mania I'd heard that the ECW roster will go back to following SD on the road. With Superstars also about to hit the screens will that then follow RAW?
So both main shows get a B show tagged to them? Where belts like the US, Interncontinental, tag etc get more airtime?

I really hope whatever they do they keep ECW, its a bit light roster wise but its been a good breeding ground for guys like CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Miz and Morrison and helped rejuvenate Kane and Matt Hardy as well, Christian has settled back into WWE life there and managed to be the face of the show while Jack Swagger has become extremely credible having top TV matches with Finlay, Matt Hardy and a couple with Christian.

ECW is being taped before RAW tonight, thats the last of it

Not sure whats happening though, I read last week that there was some form of 'Super Show' being taped tonight (ECW,RAW then SmackDown!)

However I also thought ECW was going to be live this Friday as part of 'Mania week' so don't know how that works out

Next week is the draft though, so ECW will be live next Tuesday then it will be back to normal (possibly)