Night of Possibilities

I don't normally comment on the non-Big Four Pay-Per-Views, but I must admit that I am very intrigued by the possibilities of this Sunday's Night of Champions. Actually, even without the hoopla of the Draft, I think that a PPV completely devoted to defending each championship is a novel idea. Theoretically, your champions ARE supposed to be your top wrestlers, so it's a bit disheartening how rarely some of them are defending on a grand stage. This is especially true for the tag titles, and more recently the Intercontinental Championship, which has not been defended at a Pay-Per-View event since, goodness, last August's SummerSlam (can that actually be right?) Hell, champion Chris Jericho doesn't even take the belt with him to the ring for his promos anymore! For that matter, I also don't agree with the criticism of "there are too many championships!" Whine, whine, bitch, bitch. That's a load of bull, really. I mean, the same people who complain about how there are too many championships also argue that most of the roster is underutilized.

Anyway, does anybody remember the old Voltron cartoon from the 80's, where the guy in the red costume controlled the black robot lion, the guy in the blue costume controlled the red lion, and the girl in the pink costume controlled the blue lion (the green and yellow guys were correctly coordinated with their lion)? Well, following last Monday's draft, that pretty much sums up the title situation as well. The ECW Championship is on Raw, the United States Championship (formerly a Smackdown exclusive) is now on ECW, and both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships are on Smackdown. If I were a betting man (which I'm not), I'd say that by the end of the night, things are restored to normal, with ECW's Mark Henry returning the ECW Championship to its proper show, and either John Cena defeating Triple H or Batista defeating Edge to bring one of the World titles to Raw (probably the former).

There's about a 40% chance that they'll swerve us, though, and if they're going to do that, why not try something REALLY adventurous? Something that if handled properly, can legitimize the ECW Championship as a REAL World title, make Smackdown really attractive to its new network, and give Matt Hardy and CM Punk credibility as main event players. Although it'll never happen, here's something to consider:

All three World Champions retain their titles at Night of Champions. Edge is still World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H is still WWE Champion, and both titles remain on Smackdown. Meanwhile, Kane holds onto his ECW Championship, making it the #1 title on Raw. Basically during this time, have Raw treat the ECW Championship just as they did the WWE Championship. Don't even have them acknowledge that the other two World titles are on Smackdown. As far as Raw is concerned, they DO have a World Champion. It just has the red ECW logo on it. If they want to give that title to a "bigger" name like John Cena or Batista, so be it. But for the sake of this fantasy, we'll just make matters easier and keep it on Kane. So, basically, make the ECW Championship the most sought after title on Raw. I keep hearing WWE higher ups (particularly Jim Ross) tell us that we shouldn't care that the WWE Championship is all blinged out. So why should it matter if it's got the ECW logo on it? It's all about how the title is treated and how they present it.

Meanwhile, on ECW, center the show around Matt Hardy and the United States Championship. During the past year or so, the ECW Championship has lost so much credibility that it truly was no more prestigious than the US or Intercontinental Championships, so it's not really a "demotion" to make that belt the centerpiece of the show. This would hopefully boost Matt Hardy's credibility amongst fans.

Finally, on Smackdown, create a bit of a war of supremacy between World Champion Edge and WWE Champion Triple H, with both arguing that THEIR belt is the REAL #1 title on Smackdown. Have Edge try to instigate people to attempt to dethrone Triple H as champion, and have Triple H manipulate La Familia to create some tension within the ranks. This angle would also allow them to effectively delay the Edge vs. Triple H title match that will inevitably happen when only one championship ultimately remains on the show. Since these two have never had an extended singles feud, they shouldn't screw the pooch and give away the match immediately. Besides which, how can we ignore the irony that in the storyline, Edge is constantly being made champion because of his relationship with the boss, when Triple H has been accused of the very same in real life.

As some "filler" feuds in the meantime, they can always do Triple H vs. The Great Khali for the WWE Championship, and Edge vs. Big Show or Jeff Hardy, perhaps, for the World Heavyweight Championship. The fact that the two most prestigious championships are on this program, once viewed as the "B-Show," could make it awfully attractive when it moves to MyNetworkTV (Lamest. Name. EVER).

Going into August, I believe ECW's partnership will shift from Smackdown over to Raw. At this point, I'll start to retain original the status quo. I'd have Matt Hardy drop the United States Championship to a Smackdown midcarder in line for a push, perhaps Carlito or Shelton Benjamin (or to make things REALLY interesting, maybe even Jeff Hardy). When the ECW/Raw talent exchange begins, I'd have Kane defend the ECW Championship on his show again. Within a couple of weeks, I'd have him drop it to an official ECW Superstar, probably either Mark Henry (since they seem intent on pushing him), Finlay, or even Matt Hardy. The new champion can then proclaim that he will only defend his championship against ECW Superstars (if it's a heel, it can be portrayed as cowardice, if it's a face, it can be shown as brand loyalty).

Now, Raw is without a World Championship. How would we get one of the two Smackdown titles over there, when a "talent exchange" between the two shows doesn't exist?

Enter CM Punk and his Money in the Bank contract.

I'd have Raw go several weeks without a World Champion -- at least until Smackdown premieres on its new network, which I assume would be sometime in September. At this point, I'd have the announcers bring up this fact, and discuss the severe repercussions. Talk about the time that Brock Lesnar exclusively signed with Smackdown while he was Undisputed Champion, or when Rob Van Dam brought the WWE Championship to ECW. Discuss how Raw has never gone this long without a World Championship, and how it's truly unprecedented. Have up and coming Raw Superstars discuss how they always dreamed of becoming WWE or World Heavyweight Champion, but now that dream will never come true. Have Raw veterans who have never won the "Big One" talk about how they may not have many years left to compete, and how the lack of a World Championship could deprive them of fulfilling THEIR dream before hanging up the boots.

In fact, I can imagine one of the scenes now: you could have some of the younger talent in the dressing room, such as CM Punk, Charlie Haas, Ted Dibiase, Cody Rhodes, Cryme Tyme, Paul London, Kofi Kingston, and a few others, discussing this very fact. They'll note that there's nothing they can do, and that there's no way to bring one of the Smackdown titles over to Raw (they can even add that Vickie Guerrero is doing everything she can to ensure that both titles remain on her show). Have them all leave the dressing room, except for CM Punk. Just as he's about to leave, he realizes that he almost forgot something, and he grabs his Money in the Bank briefcase by its handle. Before picking it up, he contemplates something, as if a lightbulb just went off in his head. He briefly looks down at the briefcase, and then smirks before going to a commercial break. When the show returns, as CM Punk makes his way to the ring for his match, have the announcers speculate whether he's going to cash in his title shot to bring a World title back to Raw. Obviously, have Punk win cleanly, and afterwards have him grab the mic and announce that he will be cashing in his title shot at the next Pay Per View, and that he will bring a World Championship back to Raw.

This, in effect, can make CM Punk the savior of Raw. It also creates a logical reason for making HIM the center of the show for a few weeks, and not "bigger" stars like John Cena or Batista. It will also create a HUGE match feel, with all of the Raw roster getting behind CM Punk. And for good reason. They won't be using the highly inconsistent "brand loyalty" excuse. Instead, all of Raw want CM Punk to win so that THEY have a World Championship to compete for. Go a couple of weeks of having Punk tease which title he'll go for before ultimately choosing Edge.

And, finally, at the PPV, have Punk win the big one. During the match, have the Raw Superstars backstage anxiously watching the match. If they don't want to sacrifice Edge with a clean loss, they can have Triple H distract him (which would make sense, since he wants to be the supreme champion of Smackdown) to cost him the match. After Punk's victory, have all of Raw come down and celebrate with him, lifting him up on their shoulders.

So at the end of this angle, which would last well into September, a few key things would be accomplished if done correctly:

• Smackdown cleanses itself of that dreadful "B-Show" perception....
• Matt Hardy becomes a credible main eventer and centerpiece for his show....
• CM Punk becomes a credible main eventer and, for a time, centerpiece for his show....
• The ECW Championship becomes a legitimate World title....
• This would also show that the Draft has long-lasting consequences. When titles and wrestlers are traded to new shows, matters aren't neatly and conveniently resolved in six days...

And best of all, at the end of the day, everything championship-wise is more-or-less back to normal! The United States Championship is back on Smackdown, the ECW Championship is back on ECW, and the World Heavyweight Championship is on Raw.