As WWE continues its 2014 evolution, it may be time for the company to consider adding another mid-to-lower card championship. With the Intercontinental and United States Championships being used as more plot devices, there exists a need for a belt that (like the IC title did in the 80s) was more heavily-centered around matches with a premium based on the wrestling as the plot device moreso than anything else. Furthermore, as NXT continues to produce a slew of new talent ready to be introduced, having a championship that can bring them into the lower-to-mid-card mix with a more defined position is a necessity. The "Universal Championship," as in "being the champion decided by the WWE Universe," isn't the worst idea. Somewhere between mid-to-lower card matches needing some greater direction, creating greater use for WWE's mobile app and also creating some fresh match-ups for television, this is an idea whose time has come. Do you need further convincing? Well, here's five solid reasons why this should exist.
5. The "Universal Championship" Would Involve Championship Matches Voted For By WWE App Use
In a month where WWE's lost $250 million dollars, Daniel Bryan needed surgery and CM Punk announced his forthcoming nuptials and thus created greater distance from himself and a WWE return, the WWE app actually provided the company some positive news. The year-plus old application available on all "smart" mobile devices won the People's Choice Webby in the Sports Mobile division over entries from the NCAA, Nike and Visa. If there were ever a better way to create greater use of WWE's biggest media bright spot of the moment it would be to create a championship that had deep interactivity with the app. Here's how it would work: Triple H announces 16 names that would be up for the "Universal Championship" between NXT and WWE competitors. WWE fans could use the app to vote on the 16 names, with the top 8 being bracketed for the tournament with their positions 1-8 being how the talents are seeded. WWE creative of course, would book the tournament, and given the positions would have a great sense of who's over, and potentially, how to leverage that into greater intrigue for certain performers. After the tournament, WWE App users would be able to vote on a top 5 competitors each week, and of those top 5, would be able to choose the competitor who would challenge for the "Universal Championship" each week. Thus, if say, Big E were the Universal Champion and he, and for instance, Sami Zayn, had a great match, fans could see that match again. Not only would the app give WWE fans some level of greater access to the product, but it could also drive more app downloads as well as greater app usage, too. Insofar as WWE being an industry leader in second-screen connectivity, this would only allow for them to increase their industry advantage in that regard.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
In a month where WWE's lost $250 million dollars, Daniel Bryan needed surgery and CM Punk announced his forthcoming nuptials and thus created greater distance from himself and a WWE return, the WWE app actually provided the company some positive news. The year-plus old application available on all "smart" mobile devices won the People's Choice Webby in the Sports Mobile division over entries from the NCAA, Nike and Visa. If there were ever a better way to create greater use of WWE's biggest media bright spot of the moment it would be to create a championship that had deep interactivity with the app. Here's how it would work: Triple H announces 16 names that would be up for the "Universal Championship" between NXT and WWE competitors. WWE fans could use the app to vote on the 16 names, with the top 8 being bracketed for the tournament with their positions 1-8 being how the talents are seeded. WWE creative of course, would book the tournament, and given the positions would have a great sense of who's over, and potentially, how to leverage that into greater intrigue for certain performers. After the tournament, WWE App users would be able to vote on a top 5 competitors each week, and of those top 5, would be able to choose the competitor who would challenge for the "Universal Championship" each week. Thus, if say, Big E were the Universal Champion and he, and for instance, Sami Zayn, had a great match, fans could see that match again. Not only would the app give WWE fans some level of greater access to the product, but it could also drive more app downloads as well as greater app usage, too. Insofar as WWE being an industry leader in second-screen connectivity, this would only allow for them to increase their industry advantage in that regard.