Two Time World Champion - Will It Happen Again?

[DXvsNWO1994]

As everyone knows, the ROH World Title has over the years become one of the most prestigious championships in all of wrestling. A unique element of the ROH World Title it that it has proven seemingly impossible for someone to hold the title more than once. Try as they might, former World Champions could never reclaim ROH's most coveted prize. Austin Aries is the only man in ROH History to have ever achieved this feat, with his title wins occurring in 2005 & 2009.

My question to everyone is if anyone thinks we will ever see another Two Time World Champion, or will Austin Aries forever be "the only one"?

I personally think that we won't. ROH World Championship reigns tend to be very long, thus if someone were to win the belt a second time, it would be a long time (as the case with Austin Aries). Another factor is that talent is constantly leaving the promotion while new talent is simultaneously entering. People who were World Champion once will leave the company over time, for various reasons. Even if they were to stay, new talent who people view as "Future World Champs" (I'd say Michael Elgin & Adam Cole are the most recent examples of this) take precedent over former World Champions and their chances of winning it again.

If I could pick anyone in ROH currently who I could see becoming a Two Time Champion, I'd put my money on Kevin Steen. He seems like a guy who can do no wrong and will never fall out of the fan's favor. Behind him I'd say Edwards or Strong, but only if they were apart of the Dojo Bros (which could be possible should Richards leave when his contract expires in the fall) but I see this as very unlikely since if the Dojo Bros did come to ROH, Adam Cole would likely be the leader (and thus champion) with Edwards & Strong as the "Tag Team" of the group.

[classic-cabana]

I can definately see Steen winning the belt again, cant see anyone else on the current roster winning again except maybe Roderick Strong as a long shot as a transitional champ if they ever need one.

Its always difficult because as you say the best talent will inevitably move on to bigger things.

I would love to see multiple World champs in ROH, without it becoming a hot potato.

[Kikuchiyo]

Steen. The guy knows how to get over and stay over with an indy crowd better than anyone else.

[Lone Wolf]

It would be nice if this happened every now and then. Its hard to buy into former champions winning the title again when they get a shot. The product needs to be unpredictable.So this needs to happen as i said every now and again but not all the time as ROH is about the future,and there is nothing worse then hot potato reigns which wwe likes to do.

[classic-cabana]

I'd also like to see the World title go back and forth between two guys. The belt doesnt have to stay on one guy forever to stay respected. ROH World title matches are for the most part too predictable, having a belt go from (for example) Richards-Edwards-Richards would not cause any harm. Building up to the big title change like Danielson-Homicide, Aries-Black and Richards-Steen takes something away from pretty much every title defense up until that match. As great as the builds were/are, the belt is too protected at times.

Im all for the lengthy reigns. Joe's, Danielson's and McGuinness' title runs were phenomenal and no ROH fan will ever forget them but sometimes things need to mixed up a bit. Jay winning was a shock, so hopefully things are changing slightly and we get a few more moments like that.

[AndyDiaz]

If he stays for a while, I could maybe see Adam Cole having a face and heel title run. Both versions of him are great and i could easily see this happen.

[Yugiohnoonoo]

To me there has to be a few multiple time World Champions. The "hot-potato" reigns should be kept to a minimum for all titles but if they feel compelled to do it atleast keep it to the lower tier titles (Tv titles e.t.c.)

[donkitrk99]

I think Roddy will be a two time champion. And Steen, perhaps, depending on health/oppurtunities.

[BlackLesnar]

Aries was given a second reign because he totally reinvented himself. The ROH World Title might only have been held by 17 different men, but it was still held by 18 different personas. That's the requirement for a second reign in ROH; give us a different to the first time.

With that in mind, Steen is the one with the best shot. Eddie/Roddy/Davey don't have much capacity for innovation of character, whereas he's already changing things up in terms of his persona, and is talking about changing his physique to boot. I find the mental image of a hoss babyface Steen as champion, possibly back in the singlet, trying to uphold ROH instead of ravage it, strangely appealing.

If he stays for a while, I could maybe see Adam Cole having a face and heel title run. Both versions of him are great and i could easily see this happen.

I would have thought this had Adam won the belt off of Steen at Border Wars, only to lose it near-immediately to Elgin. Doesn't seem as viable now ,and he already seems to be teasing a heel turn.

I'd also like to see the World title go back and forth between two guys.

I was hoping they'd do that with Steen & Generico, before it became apparent that Generico was moving onto greener pastures. It's the kind of thing you'd do because it'd be inspirational to see them win it, not necessarily interesting to see them reign. Maybe they'll throw someone like Whitmer or Cabana a bone like that in the future, in recognition of they're contributions to ROH.

[Northwoods_Nightmare]

It's bound to happen sooner or later. I would like to see Steen as champ again. I could see Strong, Edwards, or Richards regaining it as well. I think it would need to be a different character/type of reign to keep it interesting with any of these guys (similar to the two different Aries reigns).
If it does happen, I'd like to see them wait a year or so until some of the younger talent that has been signed recently is at strong world title contender level. That way we can get a repeat champion, but a whole batch of fresh and intriguing match ups.

Going back and forth between people could be interesting if the story is right. Hotshotting it back and forth should be avoided. I'm guessing this probably won't be a problem.

[Silentpoisin]

If he stays for a while, I could maybe see Adam Cole having a face and heel title run. Both versions of him are great and i could easily see this happen.

I prefer to see jus an Adam Cole heel title run. He plays a generic face, which isnt bad its jus not what he's best at. If Cole is gonna be world champion i want to see him at his best and thats him playing a badass heel.

Have Cole join SCUM and SCUM finds a way to screw Elgin out of the title picture and makin Cole their world champion, thus giving Elgin more reason to go after the world title. U could even add Steen to the mix u could have a 3 way feud for the world title

[The Dragon Saga]

I'd say either Steen or Richards right now.

Steen due to the fact he is, well, Kevin Steen and he had one of the more entertaining title runs in history, it's just that the run was badly booked until about October/November where anyone could seemingly get a title shot and it was constantly under hardcore/no DQ rules. I'd like to see Steen get a run once hes lost some of the weight, he'll be healthier and his body will be able to take more punishment, so a run based around more wrestling matches and less hardcore shit would be great.

If Davey stays on past August and re-signs (with him you really never know) then I could see him getting another chance to make up for his horrible run and booking during the dark days of Cornette. Another plus would be if he gets the belt a second time around he doesn't go off to Japan.

[Yugiohnoonoo]

I'd like to see Steen be the next 2-time World Champ

[BlackLesnar]

I prefer to see jus an Adam Cole heel title run. He plays a generic face, which isnt bad its jus not what he's best at. If Cole is gonna be world champion i want to see him at his best and thats him playing a badass heel.

Cole's face character is great. He's tame & mild-mannered on the surface, but that only masks a wealth of ferocity and passion bubbling underneath. Which he'll let erupt out when he has to, like in the Hybrid Rules match. I'm still rather irate that we didn't get Cole vs Steen as undefeated monster heel world champion at Border Wars. it would have been simply beautiful to watch Steen bully, throw around & berate him throughout the match, only to eventually push him over the threshold and have to face that same berserk rage.

And there's nothing badass about heel Cole. he's the typical conniving narcissist that all heels his size play, nothing special. Done well, but not done differently.

And am I the only one who thinks that "Adam Cole turns heel" and "Adam Cole joins SCUM" are mutually exclusive? He's perfectly capable of turning heel all on his own. He should give Corino's group the finger for trying to manipulate him.

[classic-cabana]

I prefer to see jus an Adam Cole heel title run. He plays a generic face, which isnt bad its jus not what he's best at. If Cole is gonna be world champion i want to see him at his best and thats him playing a badass heel.

Cole's face character is great. He's tame & mild-mannered on the surface, but that only masks a wealth of ferocity and passion bubbling underneath. Which he'll let erupt out when he has to, like in the Hybrid Rules match. I'm still rather irate that we didn't get Cole vs Steen as undefeated monster heel world champion at Border Wars. it would have been simply beautiful to watch Steen bully, throw around & berate him throughout the match, only to eventually push him over the threshold and have to face that same berserk rage.

And there's nothing badass about heel Cole. he's the typical conniving narcissist that all heels his size play, nothing special. Done well, but not done differently.

And am I the only one who thinks that "Adam Cole turns heel" and "Adam Cole joins SCUM" are mutually exclusive? He's perfectly capable of turning heel all on his own. He should give Corino's group the finger for trying to manipulate him.

Adam Cole is the only real 'white meat babyface' in ROH right now, and its a perfect role for him in ROH.

[Yugiohnoonoo]

I used to think Adam Cole was as boring as a root canal, but when he won the TV Title I began to like him more. I used to call him "No-Charisma" Adam Cole

[BlackLesnar]

Adam Cole is the only real 'white meat babyface' in ROH right now, and its a perfect role for him in ROH.

I think there's a case for Eddie Edwards as well. Lovable, stalwart, and possessing of insane tenacity & resolve if pushed to it. Point being that he's an introvert with a wealth of potential searing away inside, just like Cole. Making Adam his protege was a perfect pairing, as was putting together the more celebrated, extroverted members of either team.

[Kabla]

It's not something I would put money on. ROH isn't in the habit of having repeat champions. There's only been one repeat World Champion, and no repeat champions for either the Pure Championship or TV Championship. Those two both had/have limited runs by comparison, but it still fits the pattern.

There's also only been one team (Briscoes) to have had more than 2 Tag Team Championship runs. I say team because there have been individuals (Whitmer, Jacobs) who have had more than 2 Tag Team title runs with multiple partners.

That said, there's no reason why it couldn't happen. The biggest thing working against it is the number of World Champions that aren't working for WWE, TNA or just long out of that picture. It would almost have to be Edwards, Strong, Richards, Steen or Jay. I don't really see it happening for Strong, Edwards or Richards, unless they just want to give Edwards a stronger run. I think this is Jay's one chance with it. So that pretty much just leaves Steen, which I could see happening, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's likely.

There's also always the wildcard of a former champ leaving one of the larger promotions and coming back for a potential title run. That's entirely a hypothetical scenario, though, and not worth putting too much stock into.

[Six String Samurai]

I'd never say never but with most of them I'd say there is currently little to no chance they have a repeat run as champion.

Ki, Xavier, Gibson, Punk, Danielson, Morishima, McGuinness, Lynn and Black absolutely not as they are all either retired (Gibson and McGuinness) or off doing their thing somewhere else. What would be the point in giving Jay Briscoe, Strong, Joe, Aries, Richards, or Edwards another run? Its been done.

Steen is the only one I can see getting another run and thats a very slim maybe. Perhaps Edwards as a very distant second. Right now I just hope Briscoe's reign plays before they get it on Elgin and give him a good reign. Elgin is ready and as we saw with Tyler Black, waiting to get it on the guy everyone wants it on is a very, very, VERY bad idea.

[Silentpoisin]

I'd never say never but with most of them I'd say there is currently little to no chance they have a repeat run as champion.

Ki, Xavier, Gibson, Punk, Danielson, Morishima, McGuinness, Lynn and Black absolutely not as they are all either retired (Gibson and McGuinness) or off doing their thing somewhere else. What would be the point in giving Jay Briscoe, Strong, Joe, Aries, Richards, or Edwards another run? Its been done.

Steen is the only one I can see getting another run and thats a very slim maybe. Perhaps Edwards as a very distant second. Right now I just hope Briscoe's reign plays before they get it on Elgin and give him a good reign. Elgin is ready and as we saw with Tyler Black, waiting to get it on the guy everyone wants it on is a very, very, VERY bad idea.

The only way i could really see Steen getting another run is if they have nobody else to give the title too. To me Steen is really the only qualified one that deserves another run, even though i would like to see Edwards get another run too. But if guys like Strong, Richards or Edwards get another run they're gonna have to do something different that they didnt do in their 1st run, maybe a heel richards or edwards as champion? The American Wolves were great when they were heels