WWE Is Hurting Its Midcard Champions with Formulaic Multi-Man Matches

It's a common—and justified—complaint that WWE Creative does not try hard enough with its booking of midcard champions.

Often, the straps are left hanging stagnant around the waists of stars with very little to do. Gone are the days when the Intercontinental title signifies the true workhorse of the industry, although there is certainly a case to be made for current champion Dolph Ziggler. Nowadays, these titles mean little.

One of the best ways to breathe life into these belts is with intriguing, heated rivalries.

Unfortunately, the last month of WWE programming has been a prime example of how not to book a series of developing midcard feuds. Rather than adding detail and complexity to the storylines, Creative seems content to simply throw the Superstars involved in these rivalries into tag matches for little reason at all.

Of the last six episodes of Raw, four have featured some sort of multi-man match involving a combination of the Intercontinental, U.S. and Tag Team champions.

The message this sends to fans is that none of these feuds are significant enough to get individual screen time. If the various rivalries can simply be thrown together, there's no reason for them to capture the interest of the WWE Universe.

There's no personal edge.

A good title feud should be the kind of rivalry that would still be interesting without gold on the line. The Superstars involved should be ready to tear each other limb from limb, regardless of a glittery accessory.

That's not something that comes through in any of the current midcard battles.

It's not as if the current champions lack potential, either. Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro's feud over the Intercontinental Championship shines a spotlight on two of the best ring workers in the business. However, without any real bite to their rivalry, their inevitable title bout will feel insignificant, even if it is technically sound.

The same goes for Goldust and Stardust, who have a potentially great brothers vs. brothers feud with the Usos, but have not been able to give any real direction to the story. More than any other midcard rivalry, they are consistently booked as part of six-man matches and given no time in the spotlight.

In fact, the "Cosmic Twins" have only won one match on TV since they took the titles at Night of Champions.

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The worst offender, though, is the rivalry between The Miz and Sheamus over the United States Championship. The man with the gold, Sheamus, has been routinely sidelined in favour of the constantly shifting dynamic between Miz and his hugely entertaining stunt double, Damien Mizdow.

It cannot be good for a title feud to actively drop its champion to the bench every week.

Since the unification of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Creative is having to deal with a huge midcard. There are at least a dozen guys who should be in the mix for the titles, but it doesn't seem like WWE knows what to do with them.

This kind of Booking 101 is hurting the midcard belts. Surely a bit of storytelling is not out of the question?