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Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio Brings a New Focus on the World Championship

Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio Brings a New Focus on the World Championship

Posted: Mar 5th 2013 By: mikeiles

Jack Swagger is headed to WrestleMania 29, where he will face Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Swagger?s victory at WWE?s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view set him on this course, and the controversy surrounding his and Zeb Colter?s views on immigration are causing this feud to become very hot very quickly.

This is turning into a must-see rivalry and that is only elevating the importance of WWE?s commonly recognized ?secondary? championship.

And that is a good thing.

This is what the World title needs. Drama, controversy, all layered between two solid talents like Del Rio and Swagger who will attempt to do justice to the belt next to the massive WWE Championship main event of The Rock vs. John Cena.

No pressure, right?

But WWE needs the World Title to be as important, as relevant, as possible. While it may not hold quite as much prestige as the WWE Championship, it is still a very important title and has seen its fair share of great champions.

Triple H, Edge, Randy Orton, The Undertaker, CM Punk and Chris Jericho all held the World Title and each man brought his own unique talents to the main-event scene in WWE.

Despite who the WWE Champion was during these particular title reigns, none of these Superstars likely felt they were merely a ?No. 2? in Vince McMahon?s company.

Therein lies a major point about the big gold belt that some fans may tend to forget. As with any other championship in the company, the belt is only as good, only as valuable, as the guy holding it.

It may be an impressive replica of Ric Flair?s old NWA championship, but the belt itself is meaningless unless the man wearing it can add something to it. If he can make it a little better, a little more interesting and important than when he won it, then I believe that?s all anyone can ask.

The main objective for any Superstar who gets the World Championship should be to carry it as if it?s the only title in the company.

But while the attitude has to be right, the fact is it will not do much good if the champion is not booked properly.

He has to look strong. He has to be tough and he cannot be put into situations that could leave him looking like anything less than the champion he is.

At any given point, whether he?s working on Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown or a pay-per-view, he has to look as credible and as important as the WWE Champion.

This has to be the case every time, or the World title will lose its luster. To see the World champion losing in non-title matches, or even getting pinned in tag matches, simply cannot happen unless it is to build a rivalry with a title contender.

Anything less and suddenly the notion that the World Title just does not mean as much will suddenly hit the front burner once again. And when that happens, it becomes increasingly hard to convince fans that they should care about the championship at all.

When Sheamus was World Champion, a lot was made of how the guy just could not lose. This perhaps stemmed from the fact that before he defeated Daniel Bryan last year to win the belt, he was enduring a pretty major losing streak.

The former WWE Champion could not seem to get it together and at times fans were likely wondering if he was on his way out of the company.

So when he became the unstoppable, unbeatable World Champion, there was likely some serious head shaking among the WWE faithful.

But, the more Sheamus defended the championship, the stronger he looked. He began turning in one hard-fought match after another, and was booked on TV nearly every time WWE was on the air. And most importantly, he rarely ever lost.

Being World champion called for Sheamus character to up his game and for WWE to book him in the most positive light possible. And Sheamus the man responded by becoming the tough, hard nosed hooligan that he had always been billed as in the past.

We have now seen a very similar situation with Alberto Del Rio, who went on his own losing streak before becoming World Champion. Now that he has the belt, its up to him to bring everything he has in the ring each night he works and it?s up to WWE to book him in the right way.

Pairing him with a red-hot Jack Swagger who happens to believe that Del Rio and the majority of his people should all be rounded up and deported to Mexico? That is definitely a step in the right direction for WWE.

Again, it?s controversial, it gets heat with the crowd, and it makes the fate of the World Championship more important now than it arguably has been in a very long time.

Love or hate Swagger, the fact is that he would bring a lot of spotlight and focus to the World championship. He may even gain some new fans as a result.

Let?s face it, The Rock vs. John Cena, while it will be the bout that WrestleMania 29 is built around, has already happened. We saw it all last year and if Cena goes over for the WWE Title, as many fans expect he will, then his title reign could just turn into more of the same that we have seen in the past.

Move along, nothing to see here.

But Jack Swagger as World Champion? With Zeb Colter holding the gold over one shoulder and the American flag over the other, proclaiming the two to be as equally important?

That is new, fresh, territory. That will bring the kind of attention to the World Title that it needs to be relevant. At the end of the day, it just needs to be booked properly. And I believe that?s exactly what WWE is doing.

Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio will wage war at WrestleMania and the shots fired before then should make the match worth the fans? time.

When it?s all over, the champ will be standing tall and despite which man that is, it will mean that the championship has reached another level of importance.

And that is definitely a good thing.

 

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Spotlight in History

  • 1979 The Spoiler & Mark Lewin def. Kerry Von Erich & Bruiser Brody for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Titles
  • 2004 Bobby Dalton def. Shane Morbid for the SRPW Hardcore Title
  • 2008 Michael Faith became the TCB Heavyweight Champion
  • 2008 High Society (Al Farat & Thomas Trump) became the TCB Dual Kombat Champion
  • 2008 Michael Faith became the TCBW Heavyweight Champion
  • 2008 High Society (Al Farat & Thomas Trump) became the TCBW Dual Kombat Champion
  • 2010 Dane Griffin def. Cody Jones for the NWA-OK Texoma Title
  • 2010 Aerial Assault (Ky-ote Joe & Montego Seeka) became the NWA-OK Oklahoma Tag Team Champions
  • 2010 Michael Faith def. Dane Griffin for the NWA-OK Oklahoma Heavyweight Title
  • 2016 Mr. Nasty def. Brian Breaker for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 2026 T. J. Spade became the ASP WTF Champion

Week of Sun 09-13 to Sat: 09-19

  • 09-13 1967 Brute Bernard def. Bull Curry for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 09-13 1974 Jose Lothario def. El Gran Markus for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 09-13 1987 Eric Embry became the WCCW World Light Heavyweight Champion
  • 09-13 2008 Dustin Heritage def. Kenny Campbell for the IZW Impact Division Title
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  • 09-13 2009 3rd Rail def. Maniac Mike for the SWCW Hardcore Title
  • 09-13 2009 Maniac Mike became the SWCW Hardcore Champion
  • 09-13 2014 J. R. Orullian & Running Wolf became the NAW Tag Team Champions
  • 09-13 2014 The Trenchcoat Mafia (Ryan Reed & Billy Ray [1st]) def. J. R. Orullian & Running Wolf for the NAW Tag Team Titles
  • 09-13 2014 The Trenchcoat Mafia (Ryan Reed & Running Wolf) became the NAW Tag Team Champions
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  • 09-13 2026 Max Leon def. Lunchador for the WAH Hunger Dojo Title
  • 09-14 2007 Dane Griffin def. Montego Seeka for the UWF06 Light Heavyweight Title
  • 09-14 2007 Dane Griffin became the UWF06 Texhoma Champion
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  • 09-15 1969 The Medics (Medic #1 & Medic #2) def. Alberto Torres & Ramon Torres for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
  • 09-15 1980 Junkyard Dog & Terry Orndorff def. The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts) for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 09-15 1986 Black Bart def. Chris Adams for the WCCW World Title
  • 09-15 2007 Sudden Impact (Sudden Impact 1 & Sudden Impact 2) def. Texas, Inc. (Bernard Funk & Tim Rockwell) for the ComPro Tag Team Titles
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  • 09-15 2012 Double D def. Aaron Neil for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 09-15 2018 Chavo Guerrero, Jr. def. MVP for the WCR Heavyweight Title
  • 09-15 2019 Chaz Sharpe def. James Southard for the ASP Inter-County Title
  • 09-15 2023 Jastin Taylor def. Sam Stackhouse for the BCW Heavyweight Title
  • 09-16 1975 John Tolos def. Al Madril for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
  • 09-16 1988 Michael Hayes & Steve Cox def. The Samoan SWAT Team (Fatu & Samu) for the WCCW World Tag Team Titles
  • 09-16 2005 Lily McKenzie def. Chiquita Suzuki for the SRPW Womens Title
  • 09-16 2006 Michael Barry def. Aaron Neil for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 09-16 2006 Ryan Davidson became the IZW Impact Division Champion
  • 09-16 2017 Paige Turner def. Erica for the IZW Womens Title
  • 09-16 2017 Skyler Fayden def. Riker for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 09-16 2017 Big Smooth & Zakk Sinizter became the UWE Tag Team Champions
  • 09-16 2022 Shane Taylor def. Johnny Bedlam for the TexPro Heavyweight Title
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  • 09-17 1979 The Spoiler & Mark Lewin def. Kerry Von Erich & Bruiser Brody for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Titles
  • 09-17 2004 Bobby Dalton def. Shane Morbid for the SRPW Hardcore Title
  • 09-17 2008 Michael Faith became the TCB Heavyweight Champion
  • 09-17 2008 High Society (Al Farat & Thomas Trump) became the TCB Dual Kombat Champion
  • 09-17 2008 Michael Faith became the TCBW Heavyweight Champion
  • 09-17 2008 High Society (Al Farat & Thomas Trump) became the TCBW Dual Kombat Champion
  • 09-17 2010 Dane Griffin def. Cody Jones for the NWA-OK Texoma Title
  • 09-17 2010 Aerial Assault (Ky-ote Joe & Montego Seeka) became the NWA-OK Oklahoma Tag Team Champions
  • 09-17 2010 Michael Faith def. Dane Griffin for the NWA-OK Oklahoma Heavyweight Title
  • 09-17 2016 Mr. Nasty def. Brian Breaker for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 09-17 2026 T. J. Spade became the ASP WTF Champion
  • 09-18 1967 Chati Yokouchi & Togo Shikuma def. Danny Hodge & Skandar Akbar for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
  • 09-18 2005 Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch def. The Hurricane & Rosey for the WWE RAW World Tag Team Titles
  • 09-18 2005 Ric Flair def. Carlito for the WWE Intercontinental Title
  • 09-18 2015 Sons of Texas (Moonshine Mantell & Killer McKenzie) def. The Imperialists (Charlie Haas & Griffin) for the NWA-TXO Tag Team Titles
  • 09-18 2021 Thrash def. Jermaine Johnson for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
  • 09-18 2021 Reed def. Thrash for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
  • 09-18 2022 Fuel def. Koko for the UWE Heavyweight Title
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  • 09-19 1979 Mike Sharpe, Jr. def. Mike George for the MSW Mississippi Title
  • 09-19 1982 David Von Erich def. Bill Irwin for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
  • 09-19 1988 The Samoan SWAT Team (Samu & Fatu) def. Michael Hayes & Steve Cox for the WCCW World Tag Team Titles
  • 09-19 2014 Simply Irresistible (Matthew Palmer & James Johnson) def. The Dark Circle (Mace Malone & Apoc) for the NWA-TXO Tag Team Titles
  • 09-19 2015 Loaded Guns (Jon Cross & Brandon Walker) def. The Rising (Riker & Abel) for the UWE Tag Team Titles
  • 09-19 2015 Brian Breaker def. Clint Cassidy for the UWE United States Title
  • 09-19 2015 Zakk Sinizter def. Anarchy [2nd] for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 09-19 2015 Jon Cross became the WFC Heavyweight Champion
  • 09-19 2019 MVP became the WCR Imperial Champion
  • 09-19 2020 Pastor Brent became the WAH Heavyweight Champion
  • 09-19 2021 Maui Mike def. Thrash for the ASP Mid-American Title
  • 09-19 2021 Brixton Barricade def. Brandon Barricade for the ASP All Time Title
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