Ten Churches In Rome

In the first and second century there were as many as ten titular churches around Rome. We don't see any reason to think one congregation was superior to another, all seem to have Elders or Bishops. So the area at that time did not have Cardinals, they were introduced after the Papacy was born. They actually had to choose one congregation to create a list of Bishops or Popes, and now they bring in people from outside Rome to be Pope. Not really a Bishop for Rome at all. A world-wide Bishop. Then they bring in Cardinals from Bishops across the globe. So Rome doesn't have a true Bishop from the area serving their needs.

It is possible the papacy started from bringing in outside Bishops to start a congregagion that wasn't indiginous to Rome, or what we would call a Church plant. Not the original congregation started by apostles, thus the practice of bringing in outside cardinals and Popes from foreign countries.

In the first and second century it seems there was no superior basillica for most were not built yet. There was also no main elder/bishop, each served their own congregation. When Rome chooses a list of Popes they do so using only one congregation and leave others out.

Any of these other nine could have been the true church. Since Peter's chair and monument wasn't built at the time, no major basillicas were constructed yet, there is no way to prove the Papacy went back to the first or second century. Peter's chair where the Pope sits was a later invention.