10 Things That Absolutely SUCK About Wrestling Today

9. The Inflation Of Championships

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AEW

There are too many championships everywhere.

The wrestling title is the narrative backbone of every company, whether they call themselves pro wrestling or not.

Accomplishment is meant to mean everything. Not to dwell too naively in the past, which is deceptive, but very few title changes carry the same sense of game-changing prestige as Howard Finkel saying "And new".

New Japan is a mess in particular. The NEVER Open-weight title is wildly unnecessary, the King Of Pro Wrestling title is simply weird, and while the World Television title is a great, unique idea with a long-term benefit - whomever dethrones Zack Sabre, Jr. will be made - it's one title too many. It means something in itself, but it undermines everything else beneath the World title. They suffer in comparison.

The TNT title has lost the prestige Cody Rhodes built in 2021. Does that happen without the All-Atlantic/International title, and Orange Cassidy's brilliant stewardship of it, forcing fans to make a choice over which belt they care about?

Does a single person - except the octogenarian NXT fans who watch literally owt with the WWE logo on the top left hand corner of their black and white TV sets - give a single flying f*ck about the NXT Women's Tag Team titles? Or the main roster Women's Tag straps for that matter?

What percentage of title matches in wrestling today truly feel like huge, momentous occasions?

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!