Vince Russo says WWE has 'diminished' the value of titles like the Intercontinental Championship

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently shared his thoughts on how the company is now devaluing titles like the Intercontinental Championship.

WWE initially introduced the Intercontinental and the United States Championships as a stepping stone to elevate mid-card stars to main event status. But that doesn't seem to be the case today.

In Russo's recent interview with Wrestle Buddy, host Andrew Donnelly initially noted that the IC Title has an impressive lineage, with names like Randy Savage, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels holding the belt during their careers.

But it was soon pointed out how things have changed. The host gave the example of Shinsuke Nakamura, who held the title for 144 days and never defended it at a premium live event. Vince Russo then claimed that the midcard titles don't mean anything nowadays.

"Bro, those titles don't mean anything, I couldn't even tell you who the champions are. I honestly couldn't tell you. They've diminished those titles to mean absolutely nothing." [27:17-27:33]

Talking about the reign of United States Champion Theory, Russo revealed more of his doubts about the mid-card titleholders:

"I'm going back to guys like [Randy]Savage, [Mr.] Perfect, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Razor Ramon/Scott Hall. I'm going back to guys like these and I'm looking at today's guys and I'm like 'you're not stars. You haven't been developed as stars.' To me bro, they look like people that had dreams of becoming wreslters and somehow some way they're on prime time television... To me, in my opinion, these are not television stars." (29:08-29:55)

Who are the current WWE Intercontinental and United States Champions?

While Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet's recent Intercontinental Championship reigns did not feature prominently on WWE television, things might change.

Gunther captured the IC Title on the June 10th episode of SmackDown, and a rematch is set for Friday's show. The former NXT UK Champion has only recently arrived on the main roster and is already making a name for himself.

Meanwhile, Theory won the United States Championship from Finn Balor on the April 18th edition of RAW. He retained it against Mustafa Ali and will now defend the title against Bobby Lashey at Money in the Bank.

Theory has been taking some shots at John Cena, who will be returning on the June 27th episode of RAW. It will be interesting to see if John Cena tries to go after the title and bring back the United States Championship Open Challenge.

If the angle comes true, it might restore the old glory of the US Title. Taking a cue from that, the IC Title might also see an open challenge. Fans will have to tune in to WWE programming to see how the storylines involving the titles unfold.

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If you use any quotes from the article, please credit Wrestle Buddy with an h/t to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.