10: European Title

The European Title was introduced to WWE in 1997, and it was a way to build interest in the product in European markets, as well as give WWE another mid-card title that could be defended across TV, live events, and PPVs.

For the first two-years or so of the title’s existence, the title was booked well with names such as Val Venis, X-Pac, and D-Lo Brown being excellent champions, and their reigns helped give credibility to the title. During these two years, the title acted as a great stepping stone for either the WWE Title or the Intercontinental Title, and due to how deep the Attitude Era audience was, this was a smart move on WWE’s part.

As WWE pushed towards the end of the Attitude Era, the European Title became a burden for WWE to book, as there wasn’t a single memorable reign between 2001-2002. When the title was retired in 2002, it was seen as a long time coming, and it was about time that WWE put the title out of its misery.

9: 24/7 Title

The 24/7 Title was always going to have a tough task of getting over with the audience. From the moment the infamous title was introduced by Mick Foley, fans were already loathing the title, yet over-time they gradually came around to the concept.

The primary reason as to why fans started to enjoy the title was thanks to the work of R-Truth and Drake Maverick. Both names put a ton of effort into making the title mean something, and their antics were some of the stand-out moments of the title’s run in the company.

Unfortunately, when Truth or Maverick weren’t in possession of the title, it completely fell apart. The title was treated like an utter joke, and if a wrestler was seen chasing the title, it was a sign that WWE creative had nothing for that specific wrestler, and that they considered them a lower-card talent.

8: Tag Team Titles

WWE, specifically Vince McMahon has had a love/hate relationship with the Tag Titles over the years. In the Attitude Era, the Tag Titles were presented incredibly well, and this was down to the Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian, as all six men re-ignited the tag division.

Whilst some iconic teams were present in the Ruthless Aggression Era, the Tag Titles’ legitimacy dwindled, and this was despite there now being two sets of Tag Titles for each respective brand.

When WWE pushed forward into the PG Era, the presentation of the Tag Titles would receive vast yet fair criticism. The tag division would be virtually non-existent, and most of the reigns would be from two names thrown together, and WWE would refuse to create any substantial, long-term teams.

Thankfully, due to legendary teams such as New Day, The Bar, and of course, The Usos, the Tag Titles over the past few years have been presented somewhat well, as the aforementioned names are legitimate draws for the company, meaning that WWE has no choice but to present these teams, and subsequently the Tag Titles as if they mean something.

7: Women’s Tag Titles

It was a positive step forward when WWE introduced the Women’s Tag Titles in 2019. The titles would give the women something outside of the main title to compete for, and to WWE’s credit, they spent the first few months building a healthy tag-division.

Ultimately, it didn’t take long for the Women’s Titles to be an afterthought, and their treatment was scolded by fans, as well as WWE talent, with the likes of Naomi and Sasha Banks even walking out of the company over how WWE wanted to present them as Tag Team Champions.

Whilst WWE has a number of active tag-teams on the roster, the women’s tag division isn’t exactly exciting, and it’s a rarity to see the Tag Titles defended on a Premium Live Event.

Due to the standing of the titles within the company, there have been calls from fans for WWE to ditch the titles, and introduce a women’s mid-card title, which would be a great step forward.

6: US Title

Since WWE re-introduced the US Title in 2003, the lineage of the title has been up and down with there being some outstanding reigns, and some reigns that fans wish to forget.

In 2015, John Cena won the gold, and Cena embarked on one of the greatest US Title reigns of all time. Cena would debut the US Title open challenge, and Cena had classic after classic each week. Additionally, due to Cena being the face of the entire company, the US Title was given major spotlight across all areas of WWE programming, and some would say that in the summer of 2015, that the US Title was the single most protected and illustrious title in WWE.

When Cena eventually dropped the title, fans hoped that this positive trend of presenting the US Title like it mattered would continue, yet surprise surprise, the moment Cena dropped the title, the title fell off almost immediately. The title would slowly be relegated to the pre-show of PPV events, and the likes of Cena, Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins would no longer be in the running for the title, it was instead lacklustre names such as Alberto Del Rio, Ryback, and Kalisto.

5: Cruiserweight Title

The Cruiserweight Title was in such a good position on SmackDown in 2003. WWE had the likes of Rey Mysterio and Tajiri stealing the show with the aim of becoming champion, and the formula for success for the Cruiserweight Title was quite simple: give talented wrestlers time to have great matches.

Unfortunately, WWE never fully committed to making the title mean something outside of this brief time period during the Ruthless Aggression Era, and whilst there were some memorable names to hold the title including the two aforementioned, as well as Greggory Helms, when the title was retired in 2007, it was in an abysmal place, and fans were ready for it to go away indefinitely.

It spoke volumes about what WWE thought of the title that Vince McMahon decided that the final champion should be Hornswoggle, which was a massive disservice to the lineage of the championship.

4: Universal Title

WWE introduced the Universal Title in 2016 as RAW’s new World Title. The appearance of the title was instantly questioned, and for the first few-months of the title’s existence, the legitimacy of the title was a hot topic amongst fans. Thankfully, the inaugural champion, Kevin Owens did a decent job in what was a difficult task in establishing a new World Title.

In 2017, the status of the title changed, as Goldberg won the title in a squash match. Goldberg’s reign would be brief, as Brock Lesnar would win the title, and embark on an extended part-time run with the title, which did little to market the title in a positive manner.

Between 2017-2020, the title was seen as a joke by many fans, and it wasn’t until Roman Reigns won the title in the summer of 2020 that the title began to be looked upon as a legitimate and worthwhile World Title.

3: Intercontinental Title

The Intercontinental Title has been one of those titles that WWE has had a weird relationship with. Sometimes, WWE will put considerable effort into making the title mean something, and this is usually when a credible wrestler is given the strap.

The years 2010-2015, were years in which the Intercontinental Title was treated like a joke. Whilst some reigns were decent, the Intercontinental Champion was traditionally booked to lose every single non-title match, and this in-turn frustrated fans, who just wanted to see the title presented well on screen.

In a celebrated move, since taking the reins of WWE, Triple H has put new focus on the title. Gunther became the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in company history, and it was a reign that restored every ounce of credibility back to the title, and ultimately, made it just as valuable as the World Title. This was down to strong, consistent booking, and tremendous work from The Ring General who didn’t have a single bad match during the historic reign.

2: WWE Title

There were times throughout WWE’s history, where a WWE Title reign did a massive disservice to the prestige of supposedly the most important title in the company’s existence. Take for instance in late 1999, the WWE Title was changing hands far too often, and names such as Vince McMahon and Big Show were champions. Whilst Big Show would eventually become a legendary talent, his reign in 1999 was shockingly bad, as he was feuding with lower mid-card names such as Big Boss Man and Prince Albert.

Fast-forward to 2017, and WWE made the controversial call to crown Jinder Mahal as the new WWE Champion. This received unfavourable reviews, as Mahal was a jobber, and he was suddenly now supposed to be taken seriously as WWE’s top guy. Mahal’s lengthy reign was filled with lacklustre title defences, and it without a doubt hindered the status of a once prized possession.

1: World Title

The World Title AKA the Big Gold Belt is considered by many to be the greatest looking wrestling belt of all time. The title looks incredibly prestigious, and when the title was reintroduced on WWE programming in 2002, WWE did a somewhat decent job in presenting the title as on-par with the WWE Title. This was helped thanks to top names such as Triple H and Shawn Michaels competing for the title, yet over-time the way the title was booked drastically altered.

WWE would deliberately present the title as inferior to the WWE Title, and when RAW and SmackDown merged in 2011, the World Title was presented more of a mid-card title. The World Title was placed in the opening matches of PPV events, and in 2013, at WrestleMania 29, the World Title was contested between Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger, which fans hilariously compared to a WWE Superstars match.

Towards the end of the life cycle of the title, the title did surge in relevance, this was thanks to the likes of Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Randy Orton, yet the stain from the horrendous booking from the prior years simply couldn’t be forgotten.

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