WWE: Returning the World Championships To Their Former Glory

When professional wrestlers enter the WWE, they do so with the aim of one day reaching the top of the mountain and becoming a world champion.

Guys used to be built up for months or years until finally being given the opportunity to have their chance as a champion. Legendary wrestlers such as Stone Cold, The Rock and Triple H waited years until they were considered ready to be given the responsibility of being WWE champions.

Prior to a few years ago, winning a WWE or World Heavyweight Championship was usually reserved for the best of the best and guys who had earned their stripes for years. Nowadays, wrestlers such as Sheamus and Jack Swagger have already been champions in the early years of their WWE careers, while a world-class superstar like Shawn Michaels has only had four world title reigns in his illustrious career.

Current stars, such as Randy Orton and John Cena, will one day go down as two of the all-time best, but they already have 21 world title reigns between them. Additionally, both men have another five-to-10 years of being in the world title picture and will more than likely surpass Ric Flair's 16 world title reigns—an accomplishment that was once considered impossible.

You can make the point that these two lack any credible rivals at this stage in the WWE compared to other generations, but putting a belt on a guy like Christian or Alberto Del Rio, only to have them lose it almost immediately to Orton or Cena, does nothing for any wrestler involved. It only devalues the titles after so many changes.

It is unfortunate that people like Sheamus are now rushed into the world title picture only to be de-pushed after pretty uneventful reigns as champions, while veterans such as Christian and R-Truth, who are highly entertaining, are not given a decent chance to run with the titles to give us a much needed change from the status quo.

It seems now that Cody Rhodes is the only superstar to be given the proper buildup by having a run with a secondary title and building his character to the point that he is ready to challenge for and stay in the world title picture.

The loss of value of the championships is a big part of why the WWE isn't doing as well these days.

Maybe it is due to Orton and Cena winning back titles almost as soon as they lose them (why don't they just stay champions for some stability?), or the WWE's lack of faith in giving quality guys a good run with the title or pushing those who aren't ready yet for the big time.

Maybe the two world titles need to be unified to stop any more pointless half-day reigns.

Whatever the reason or solution, the world championships need to return to being the focal point of the WWE. Imagine how much more interest the CM Punk and Triple H feud would create if Punk was the rebel champion again.