The WWE Intercontinental Championship might be considered as a secondary championship, but it has always been considered as a stepping stone for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The title has a prestigious history, with the legendary Pat Patterson being the first holder of the belt way back in 1979. He won it in a tournament in Rio de Janeiro when he unified the WWF North American Championship and the South American Championship ro create the championship.
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Over the years, there have been 76 different Intercontinental Champions with Chris Jericho holding the title for a record 9 times and the longest uninterrupted title reign going to The Honky Tonk man for his 454 day run.
Over the last few years, WWE’s 50/50 booking of Intercontinental Champions has really hurt the standing of the belt in the eyes of fans. Especially when you compare it to the NJPW’s Intercontinental Championship which is held in regard to almost the same level as their Heavyweight Championship, which has even been in the main events of Wrestle Kingdom – NJPW’s version of WrestleMania.
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Currently, The Miz is the WWE Intercontinental Champion, a belt he’s held since the Raw after WrestleMania. With his wife Maryse at his side, their act although entertaining is doing nothing to help raise the prestige of the belt. At a point last year, Daniel Bryan was the Intercontinental Champion at the same time when John Cena was US Champion. That on the other hand, helped.
In this article I look at 5 wrestlers who deserve a shot at The Miz’s Intercontinental Championship. I looked at wrestlers who could help take the belt to a new level as champion.
Note: I haven’t considered Kevin Owens for this as he’s clearly already destined to jump to the next level.
5: Neville
Anyone remember the WWE World Heavyweight Championship open challenge match between Neville and Seth Rollins? Probably not. It was in the middle of a really dull Raw. But, the that match itself was spectacular. Neville took Rollins to the limit and showed that he could hang with the best.
Before Neville’s injury, he was chiseled in as a part of the ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship with his spot going to eventual winner Zack Ryder. When Neville finally makes his comeback, he definitely deserves the shot at the championship that he unfortunately missed.
The Man That Gravity Forgot is a very talented performer and definitely deserves a run with the belt. His run as NXT Champion was really good. He had a string of great matches and helped elevate that championship to newer heights. Let’s hope he can do the same with the Intercontinental Championship.
4: Big E
Big E has been a cornerstone in WWE programming for the last year or so. The New Day are one of the most popular acts in the entire WWE right now and Big E has been an integral part of it. The trio have held the WWE Tag Team Championships on the free bird rule since SummerSlam last year and their popularity is ever increasing. The highlight of it being The New Day’s merchandise being the highest selling on WrestleMania weekend.
Big E has improved in the ring consistently since his main roster debut as Dolph Ziggler’s bodyguard and is already a former Intercontinental Champion. Whether New Day retains the tag team titles against The Club or not, Big E deserves a shot at a singles title. With Rusev revitalized with his latest run as US Champion, the Intercontinental Championship is a good option.
Big E has become a very good in-ring performer. Armed with excellent mic skills, he could have a very successful run as IC Champion. And with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston behind him it would be entertaining as hell.
3: Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose was hot in the lead up to WrestleMania with many even calling for him to beat Triple H at WWE Roadblock. However, with his underwhelming loss to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania and a bland feud with Chris Jericho in the months since, Ambrose is once again at crossroads. Clearly, the higher ups in WWE don’t see him as a main eventer right now,.
But Ambrose needs to be kept strong considering that he is one of the most popular babyfaces on the roster, regardless what the creative team might think of him. Let’s not forget that Ambrose was never pinned when he lost the IC title during the 5-man match at Raw on the road to WrestleMania.
Ambrose could easily challenge The Miz for a shot at the belt he lost. Ambrose is one hell of a performer when given the right storyline and he could elevate the belt to the standard that it deserves.
2: Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens’ feud has shown what kind of performers they are. Sami Zayn can go toe to toe with anyone in the squared circle and get a good match out of them. He proved that at TakeOver: Dallas against the debuting Shinsuke Nakamura. They tore the house down that night.
Sami Zayn was a superstar on the independent scene before he signed with WWE. His run in NXT saw him become one of the most popular NXT champions of all time, before a shoulder injury sidelined him for months. Since his return, he is back to where he left off having a string of excellent matches with a variety of opponents.
With the right kind of booking we could see Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens headline WrestleMania someday. That all depends on how they’re booked. All this begins with Sami Zayn getting a match for the Intercontinental Championship, having not been pinned in the fatal-4-way match.
1: AJ Styles
AJ Styles has been red hot since his ‘surprise’ debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble. His match at Extreme Rules with Roman Reigns was, no pun intended, phenomenal. Now with The Club by his side and a feud with John Cena looming, AJ Styles looks destined for great things. But wouldn’t AJ Styles with a belt around his waist and a title to defend with everything he has be greater?
AJ is one of the best in the world today. He has won championships everywhere he has wrestled, from winning championships in TNA and ROH to winning the prestigious IWGP Heavyweight Championship at New Japan. He’s also a former IWGP Intercontinental Champion, a prestigious belt in its own right. If anyone can take the WWE Intercontinental Championship back to its glory days, it’s the Phenomenal One.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson facing New Day soon for the tag-team belts. If all three of them become champions, AJ being IC Champion and Gallows & Anderson being tag team champions, it would show that The Club is a force to be reckoned with.
