Benoit as Raw champ

[Unknown]

pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_8860.shtml

Basically everything I've been saying about his title run. Benoit has been pushed as just another superstar instead of the World Champ. It would be sad if they have HHH win the belt back at Vengeance or SS because it would really prove that HHH still knows how to "play the game". He put it best saying that Benoit will be best known as the guy holding the belt while the big boys settled their differences. Raw should revolve around him now that he is champ. That is one of the major faults in his run with the belt.

[badbilly3d]

The way things are on RAW right now, everyone on RAW, except Eugene, is portrayed as a step or two below Evolution. The belts are meaningless right now. There is no rhyme or reason to the feuds IMO. Win or lose, Evolution is still Evolution and the pecking order hasn't changed at all. You win and still chase, it doesn't make any sense.

I never get the feeling that Benoit is champ, which is a shame, he feels more like someone CHASING the title to me.

[Chazz]

Benoit has worked his entire career to win the World Heavyweight title, and it finally paid off at WM20. He is nearing four months that he has kept the title, and I am very dissappointed with how his title run has gone. I won't say anything else because my feelings are like most others. Benoit deserves better than what he has gotten.

[Unknown]

I think the one major problem with the WWE is that they have little to no confidence in Benoit's drawing power. Since becoming the champ he hasn't gotten a chance to prove if he can draw. His feud going into WM wasn't even focused on him but another way to further the HHH/HBK rivalry. They made his win at WM look like a fluke when he didn't cheat or use a roll up pin to get the victory. Both triple threat matches had HBK and HHH cancelling each other out so that he could get the victory. When he was finally getting a chance to prove if he could draw not only did his feud with Kane get the proper time to develop into something must see but Kane was involved in something else which made him seem as if Benoit was top priority and the HHH/HBK feud overshadowed this one. The World title match wasn't even the main event which is sort of understandable but it wasn't even built as an equal main event to the HIAC. They even pushed it further by playing up Kane not tapping out to Benoit which IMO was a big mistake if they weren't going to build it going into a PPV. Now today Benoit is made to look like a chump. Bischoff threatening to fire him if he doesn't help split HHH and HBK up and Bisch threatening to throw him out if he gets in his way. They are also trying too hard to make him look as he is a credible champ. Stacking the deck and having him come out every time just makes it look as if they feel they have to force the fans to believe that he is "for real". To make matters worse he gets limited time on Raw when the champ should be the focal point of the show. The Eugene/HHH angle along with the Lita pregnancy thing are being built as if they are so much more important then him. The guy isn't the best on the mic but he can do an ok job. Look at Brock, he started off with limited to no mic skills but he developed adequate enough skills over time when they gave him the chance to speak. I wouldn't like to see Benoit lose the belt at Vengeance. If he has to lose it then have him lose it at Summerslam because he has yet to get his chance to have the light shine on him. The one thing that I can say about Chris is that he has made the most of his opportunity still giving it his all in the ring and putting out 4 star to 5 star performances out each and every night and for that I think despite of his title run being pushed as one of the focal points of Raw he is the best champ Raw has had since the brand extension and maybe even one of the best overall champs for both brands.

[Mr. Business]

I actually think that Chris Benoit is a great champion. The guy defends it and always manages to get a clean pin. He's beat Kane, HHH, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Batista, and as a matter a fact, he's made them all tap out as well. The fact is, the WWE is doing a great job with Chris Benoit right now, and his hard work finally paid off.

If Benoit were to lose against HHH at Vengeance, I will be mad, but oh well. I'm pretty confident that Benoit will regain the title back at SummerSlam, so I won't worry.

People need to stop complaning and actually be happy that Chris Benoit is finally the World Heavyweight Champ!

[Unknown]

You kinda missed the point of the thread. No one is debating if he is a good champ or not as you can see by my post and Chazz's post. It's just the fact that he has yet to have his chance to shine and be the focal point of Raw which is what the champ should be. Benoit is one of the best champs they've had in years but they don't still book him as the guy who has to defy the odds and as the underdog when IMO if you're champ, your challenger is the underdog. The only flaw in his run is that it is booked as an afterthought compared to other angles on the show.

[Chazz]

I wish Benoit would come out on Raw and just start kicking the **** out of evryone! I mean, in all honesty, that would make me mark out big time. I am happy he is the champ, because I said last year that I didn't think he would ever be the champ. When he won at WM20 and he held that belt in his hands, I stood up in my living and clapped because finally the WWE recognized Benoit. Now, his title reign has turned into a crapfest, and outside of him facing Kane lately, Benoit has only had HHH and HBK as his rivals. That is just bad booking and it has hurt Benoit.

[Mr. Business]

Benoit is one of the best champs they've had in years but they don't still book him as the guy who has to defy the odds and as the underdog when IMO if you're champ, your challenger is the underdog.

Oh, no. I got the point of the thread; and if you look at my first post in this thread, I said this:

"People need to stop complaning and actually be happy that Chris Benoit is finally the World Heavyweight Champ!"

And I mean it. I mean, people were complaning and crying, saying that Chris Benoir deserved the World Title. Then, finally at WrestleMania XX, it happened! Instead of us being happy, and actually try and be positive about Chris Benoit being World Champ, what do we do? We still complain!

I mean really, who cares if Benoit is still the underdog? I mean, the fact is, the man wins CLEANLY. Benoit has beaten people like HHH, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Batista, Kane, and hell Benoit ever made the so called "monster" Kane, TAP OUT. Don't you think that makes him look strong? But yet, people are still complaning?

I for one am happy that Chris Benoit is champ, and thats that.

[Madhatter1]

Siding with Chazz, I as well as many believe that Chris Benoit is a great champ. Benoit all along had the tools to carry the title and now with the key victories against Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Kane to name a few can elevate him in the Hart/Backlund territory as great champions but I one question with that though, is Benoit eliminating competition too quicky? Raw has great talent but some of the talent isn't over or isn't getting pushed and this is causing repetition in storylines and matches.

I believe Benoit a great champ but he need more superstars to feud with other than Kane, Triple H, and Michaels.