Does Pro Wrestling have too many Championships?
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A debated subject in pro wrestling circles is the number of titles a promotion should have. For most fans, there should only be four (world title, women’s world title, tag team titles and a secondary men’s title). With rosters being bigger than ever, the number of titles has expanded in wrestling all over the world.
There’s no rule about the number of titles a promotion should have though… Some fans and experts think that if you have too many titles, then all titles lose their importance and prestige. There’s a balance a promotion should have regarding titles and their number, but also how creative you can be with them.
The Current Landscape
Having too many titles is a bad thing. If you don’t believe me, just ask CMLL. The Mexican promotion has the absurd number of 33 championships, as of this writing. To be fair with CMLL, the promotion is very old school with their titles, and they divide them by weight and height, and that created a lot of divisions for the promotion. There’s also the fact that championships don’t mean that much in lucha libre, and with Lucha de Apuestas being more important.
In the U.S., the number of titles is growing, but there’s several reasons to this… First is the obvious reason that promotions in the U.S., especially those with TV deals, have deep roster. Because of that, having different titles allow the ability to tell stories easily. Another factor is the growth of women’s wrestling in the U.S., and with promotions finally giving their women’s division secondary titles. We’ve seen the TV championship (in the case of AEW) or tag team titles (WWE).
There’s also cases of promotions expanding titles from other countries, like NJPW introducing titles for STRONG, their U.S. shows, and even planning the introduction of the IWGP women’s title.
Booking Is Important
The most important part of titles, is how you book and design them. A bad design can kill a title, especially if it’s a new championship… But at the end of the day, the booking is the most important aspect. Booking any title strong, especially the world title, is the key. It’s also important what fans and bookers think of them; the best example is the tag team women’s title in WWE. For a long time, fans asked for them, but Vince McMahon didn’t think they were necessary. Needless to say, the booking of those title have reflected that.
The number of title in AEW’s case has grown too, because of the acquisition of ROH by Tony Khan. The titles are featured in AEW until ROH can get their own TV contract and those take time, especially if you’re looking for the right offer and time slot. This case is interesting because once ROH has their own TV time, then this title won’t be in AEW that often. The number in AEW will probably increase, especially with fans ask for a tag team or even trios titles for the women’s division.
What do you think about the amount of titles in pro wrestling? Let us know in the comments below.
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