The WWE Global Territory System
I actually wrote this several years ago on Facebook, but I THOUGHT I'd posted it here as well. Apparently not. Well, with rumors of an NXT Japan on the horizon, I thought this would be a good time to share it:
The WWE Territory System
I realize I’m not the first to have the idea of WWE essentially creating their own territory system on a global level. There was a lot of this talk during the UK tournament a month or two ago. I’ve thought a lot about this, and I thought I’d chart out exactly how I imagine this works.
The territories
The United States will always be WWE’s home turf. That’s not going to change. With the establishment of the UK title, they’ve laid the groundwork for their next territory. The other two places I think would be the obvious choices for WWE territories would be WWE Mexico and WWE Japan. Both countries with very distinct, very legendary wrestling legacies.
The titles.
Each territory would have its own championships. The WWE UK title, the WWE Japan title, and the WWE Mexico title. The US, meanwhile, would have the US RAW and the US Smackdown! Title. Conspicuous by it’s absence of course is…
The WWE World Heavyweight Title
Want to really leave no doubt in anyone’s mind what the most prestigious title in the world is? Want to make the title really fit its name? Here’s how you do it. Just like in the NWA or AWA territory days, you’d have ONE world champion. A TRUE world champion. A TRAVELING champion. The world title would be defended 13 times every year. 3 scheduled title defenses for each territory. When the World Heavyweight Champion comes to defend his title in your territory, it’s a big deal. Particularly because if your territory’s top guy can’t get it done, you’re going to have to wait another four whole months, as it cycles through the other territories before you see it again. This gives you plenty of time to build up a challenger, but you don’t end up with a situation similar to when Lesnar was champ, where there’s no big title defense at your monthly PPV’s, because you still have your territory’s top title. And, of course, the world title is defended every single month; just not in the same territory.
The World Series of Wrestling
You may have noticed I said the world title would be defended 13 times a year, with 3 scheduled times per territory. Believe it or not, I’m actually pretty good at math. So how did I get 13? Because, for the first time ever, WWE would have an event that would rival even Wrestlemania in prestige: The World Series of Wrestling. 2 representatives would be sent from every territory. 1 night, 8 men, 7 matches, in a bracket-formatted single-elimination tournament. The winner gets a WWE World Heavyweight Title at a future event of their choosing (this isn’t Money In The Bank, they have declare it ahead of time).
The International Package
Every territory’s events would be viewable in their territory on TV, as well as on The WWE Network. Additionally, every WWE World Heavyweight Title match would be visible to everyone on The WWE Network, regardless of location. But what if you’re a wrestling super-fan? What if you live in America, but you want to see Japanese Strong Style? Simple. For a few extra bucks a month, you get full coverage of every territory. Basically, if you have a full-time job, you’d pretty much never run out of new content to watch.
I'd love to hear your thoughts!