WWE News: WWE Quietly Gets Rid Of Longtime Rule That Helped Former Champions

There are many things that change about wrestling and some people never even notice it, but the hardcore fans do. When something simple or subtle changes, the longtime wrestling fans are going to sit up and take notice. Well, WWE has actually decided to quietly change a rule that has been in place for a very long time, but they’ve brought their own attention to it. It’s kind of an odd change, but no longer will former champions get an automatic title rematch.

That’s right, champions who lose their titles will no longer receive an automatic rematch which gave them a shot at taking their title back.

Now, the rule was never actually written in stone, but it was one that was often worked into storylines and used as a way to keep a feud going. A WWE superstar would win a title and on the following Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live, the former champion would come out and demand their rematch.

No timeframe was ever in place for when it needed to happen or anything like that, but it was just understood. If the new champion won the rematch, a new No. 1 contender would be decided upon and a different program would start.

Well, WWE has given up on that whole rematch thing and it may be due to Vince McMahon returning to shake things up. A poll on the official website of WWE actually revealed the rule being done away with and is asking fans how they feel about it.

The poll asks fans, “What do you think of the decision to remove automatic championship rematches?” There are two options for fans to choose from:

• I like it. It helps keep the matchups fresh and forces Superstars to stay hungry.
• I don’t like it. Champions should be given the opportunity to win back their titles.

As of this writing on Tuesday evening, 64 percent of the fans are in favor of getting rid of the automatic rematches. They are happy with the idea of new champions moving onto the next feud and having a new challenger step up and try their chance at winning the title.

It appears as if the majority of the fans are looking forward to what the McMahon family is bringing the WWE Universe after their big announcement on Monday Night Raw. They promised better matches, new faces, and so much more as they look to help ratings go up again and for the fans to be the authority. Included in that is the removal of all automatic championship rematches, and it seems to be something that most are happy about.