Like my main man Geno, I am both excited for the new WWE 24/7 title, and repulsed by the green, silver and gold monstrosity of a belt they debuted for the champ to run around with.
The excitement is due to the same things a lot of people, including Geno, Alex Briggs, and I have written about since the championship was first teased on the Money in the Bank broadcast Sunday night. It gives the roughly 75% of WWE’s huge roster who aren’t regularly featured on Raw and SmackDown something to do, and the gimmick is perfectly suited to the non-stop social media world of 2019.
Heck, we’ve already got current champ R-Truth and Drake Maverick involved in a fun little Twitter program over the new strap. The championship gives them something to focus on, and a reason for fans who might not regularly do so to follow them, while they show off their personalities:
The search for @RonKillings & the @WWE #247Title continues.
— My Shoot Name Brand (@WWEMaverick) May 21, 2019
Earlier I received an anonymous tip to his location... #WWE #RAW #SDLive #247Championship pic.twitter.com/6xv3aovgcu
Have you seen @RonKillings in any of your establishments? https://t.co/ue2yg5HleU
— My Shoot Name Brand (@WWEMaverick) May 21, 2019
I felt interrogating people individually might take a while so I have taken up “old school” methods to find @RonKillings & the @WWE #247Title#WWE #RAW #247Championship #SDLive pic.twitter.com/hRFiqptzgr
— My Shoot Name Brand (@WWEMaverick) May 21, 2019
Stop ✋ Looking for me!! #247title #SDLive #DanceBreak sincerely yours... The European Champion pic.twitter.com/apK6w6Gu6E
— WWE R-Truth (@RonKillings) May 21, 2019
So what’s the problem? This...
Keep running for it, @RealRobertRoode!! #Raw #247Title pic.twitter.com/TnpewiNdty
— WWE (@WWE) May 21, 2019
Fun little scene, but could Baron Corbin or Bobby Lashley clothesline Robert Roode in this moment and claim the title? Probably. But they don’t care.
That’s the problem.
Does it make sense that guys getting ready for the Raw main event aren’t interested in the 24/7 championship? Sure, in that moment. They’re probably never going to be interested in it, though.
That’s the problem.
When the Hardcore title, the 24/7’s predecessor, was introduced, it didn’t start out as the comedy belt the job squad bickered over. It was initially held by a guy, Mankind, who’d been in WWF title feuds. Shane McMahon and the Corporation wanted to make sure they controlled it. It took a couple years before Crash Holly made it something which could be won any time, any where, and folks like Johnny Stamboli and Stevie Richards were the ones fighting for it. And once that happened, the belt was on its way to being phased out.
I love an undercard angle as much as any fan. Most wrestlers, it seems to me, aren’t so much worried about titles as they just want to have a role in a storyline instead of sitting around in catering. This does accomplish both those things. But when its introduced as a joke... titles in WWE don’t tend to get better reputations over time.
The company also has a pattern of introducing gimmicks and storylines for undercarders, then just forgetting them. If the 24/7 belt is going to be contested by the Mojo Rawleys and Dana Brookes of the roster, why should we have faith creative won’t lose interest in it the way they do with so many of the wrestlers who are fighting over it?
As usual, I really hope my fears are unfounded, and the new (very unattractive) title lives a long, useful life helping WWE Superstars get over, stay on television, and make money. But if was only featured on Instagram stories and Main Event in a few months, and gone in a year, I wouldn’t be shocked either.
In the meantime, give Drake and Truth a follow. Even when they’re not racing across America in a 24/7 championship feud, they’re entertaining cats who deserve your support.