Will Curtis Axel legitimize the Intercontinental title?

One of the many complaints that fans have had for a while since the Attitude era took over WWE is the relegation of many titles, that used to matter a lot, to mere afterthoughts. Titles also got added to the pile after WCW folded in which never got the same recognition, but the one title which went from being the no.2 title in the company to no. irrelevant in terms of credibility has been the Intercontinental Championship. And this is not even a import, it’s always been the ‘WWE Intercontinental Championship’. As I had mentioned in one of my previous articles, it’s hard to believe how downhill of a journey has it been for the IC title which, not too long ago was the championship belt you had had to hold before you were even deemed fit for a mention as a prospective WWE Championship contender.

However, all hope isn’t lost…yet! While good wrestlers have held the title in the interim period where the title had lost its sheen, lack of interesting storylines and proper highlight of the champions have been the main reasons for the IC title becoming irrelevant in the eyes of the TV audience. All of that can and should change now that we have Curtis Axel as our new Intercontinental champion. Why you may ask?

It isn’t that hard to think to be honest, because it’s not everyday that a bonafide elite manager such as Paul Heyman, who by the way is also the best promo guy in the company right now, would be pushing for the IC title and it’s place of prominence on the WWE card. Heyman has the ability to hype up a fight like no one else and that’s a skill that the division needs badly, if the matches need to have some sort of significance. Curtis Axel is an apt choice as a young champion as he has the bloodline of one of the best Intercontinental champions of all time, Curt ‘Mr. Perfect’ Hennig and good in-ring skills to back up all of the ‘Kool-aid’ that Paulie is sure to sell, when selling his latest client.

The talent-pool in the division seems to be quite deep with possible challengers in The Miz, Fandango, Wade Barrett etc. Stars such as Ryback, Rey Mysterio (when he returns) would make good additions to the list of people trying to get the title away from Axel. With more and more fans getting ‘smart’, it’s the right time to blood a talent like Axel who has the ability to put on great matches.

While the recent trend hasn’t required the WWE title contenders to be former IC champs (it seems to be working in reverse…Miz anyone?), we could hope for the trend to change with talent putting on their work-rate on display in the IC duels and thereby getting the WWE universe to give the thumbs-up for a shot at the company’s premier titles.

In the present scenario, The Miz seems to be the next opponent for the title, which should set the right tone for things to come. Both men have interesting styles and the mic-skills department would also be ably manned. But the real feud that could elevate the title would be of the likes of a Randy ‘Macho Man’ – Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat from the late 80s’ or a Rock – Triple H from the 90s’.

The reason why I also feel that Curtis Axel would make a difference is because of his style, which meshes well with all types of wrestlers, be it high-fliers like a Sin Cara or a mat specialist like Antonio Cesaro. That is a rare quality in today’s wrestlers, but something that could set him apart from the Wade Barretts and put him in the same league as a Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart or Chris Jericho. But with all the potential, how far does he go with the title remains to be seen.