by Hanley! » May 14, '18, 2:05 pm
Overexposure is a problem, but it's not the real reason that they can't make long title reigns work. It's generally just bad booking and shitty priorities.
Punk's reign sucked because he wasn't given main events and because he didn't beat a lot of the company's top names as the company were more concerned with protecting them than him. Overexposure wasn't really behind either of those problems. He wouldn't have burned through opponents so quickly if he was around less, so I guess overexposure contributed to that issue. But it was still easily avoidable, had they just positioned Punk on top and prioritised his opponents over those of Cena, etc.
Lesnar's title reign has sucked because he's over-pushed and under-exposed. He beats everyone he faces, and is held up on a pedestal above everybody else, even though his matches are mostly bad. He also barely shows up, which kinda makes him feel more special, but considering how long he's been doing this and how lackluster his appearances generally are, it also makes him incredibly dull. It doesn't help that the company hasn't been doing enough to create viable opponents for him.
That's what made the New Day's long run so rough towards the end: they just ran out of opponents. But they had to keep the titles anyway to take a record away from Demolition. Because, you know, McMahon priorities.
The company has a bad track record when it comes to building depth in general, which makes it hard for a champion to have a year long reign where it doesn't feel like they're treading water for large periods. If you want someone to have an engaging title run, they need a variety of credible opponents. Not the same couple of guys over and over again, or a parade of midcard nobodies that the fans don't believe in.
Okada has held the IWGP Championship for almost two years now, and has had a fantastic run. One of the best ever. And it would be wrong to credit his success to less televised appearances. The reign has worked because New Japan have built a lot of depth in their main event scene, giving Okada a number of big time opponents. He works the main event of every big show, he has a great match, he wins clean, then moves on to the next guy. But despite his dominance there are at least three guys there at the moment who feel like they could realistically take the belt from him.
This kind of booking is simple, but it works. And there's no reason that WWE couldn't do it; their priorities just lie elsewhere.