WWE Road to Wrestlemania 29: The Undertaker Returns, CM Punk To Challenge The Streak

Midcard and Tag Team Titles (and Divas Title)

The US Title. The Intercontinental Title. The Tag Team Titles. There was a time when these three titles were presitigious, important, and highly coveted. At the moment though they, and their current holders, are turning into a joke. This week on Raw, US Champ Antonio Cesaro lost to Ryback, while IC Champ Wade Barrett lost to Alberto del Rio. Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan picked up a win, but their storyline has nothing to do with their titles really. On Smackdown, neither champion was even featured, while the tag team champs picked up a win against two of 3MB, hardly credible opponents. Even on Main Event, a show that featured just three matches, they managed to fit in both Wade Barrett losing to Randy Orton again, and Cesaro losing to Sin Cara. By constantly jobbing out the two midcard title holders, they are making the titles look weaker, and leaving the champs with no scraps of credibility. They never win the non-title matches, and barely ever defend their titles. When they do, they usually win by some nefarious means. Before long nobody will take them seriously, and as a result, nobody will take the titles seriously. Will either belt even be defended at Wrestlemania? At present it doesn't look likely, and if they are, it will be in a thrown together match that will get very little TV time to get people engaged. Both of the heel champions, Cesaro and Barrett, are being used to get other people over on the road to Wrestlemania, but it leaves them looking incredibly weak. The fact they can't even then get on TV to remind people of who they are and defend their record just makes them look worthless. It is dangerously short-term thinking. They are being sacrificed for bigger names, but when those names are gone, what will be left? When The Rock is gone, who is seriously going to have the credibility to face Cena? Certainly not Cesaro or Barrett, that's for sure. With regards to the tag titles, this is an even more bitter loss, because so much work was put into building up the tag division in 2012. But now the tag titles are an after thought even to the actual tag champs. You look for credible challengers, and what do you find? The Usos, who have never been given a genuine shot; The Prime Time Players, who have received a huge depush; Brodus and Sweet T, who are not to be taken seriously; 3MB, who are even less so intended to be taken seriously. Hell Primo and Epico couldn't even beat the New Ago Outlaws, who haven't wrestled together for over a decade. The titles have not been defended or even challenged in weeks, and there is very little building for Wrestlemania. Beyond the four marquee matches and the potential Shield match, the card is a mess. WWE has scratched off its midcard in favour of building matches around part-timers. The likes of Cesaro, Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes et al are scraping the bottom of the barrel. And do not even get me started on Fandango. Elsewhere, Kaitlyn, the current Divas champ, lost a non-title match to Tamina, and is also being inserted into a storyline romance with Cody Rhodes it would seem, because apparently that's all WWE can think of to do with their female wrestlers. Prediction: Barrett and Cesaro might defend their titles in two thrown together matches with no build. The odds don't look good for either walking out as champion, but then again who would want the titles at the moment anyway. As for Kane and Daniel Bryan, I still fancy that they will wrestle each other, which leaves the question of what will happen to the Tag Tites. On a brief diversion from the Road to Wrestlemania, William Moody, aka Paul Bearer sadly passed away this week. He was one of the greatest managers in wrestling history, and there is a good chance that both The Undertaker and Kane would not be where they are today, still vital this Wrestlemania, without the work and influence of Paul Bearer. A sad loss for the wrestling world. Until next week folks.