Intercontinental Contender

[TheAbsolute1]

With Kofi out of the title picture(Finally because it was beginning to be a drag) who will step up as No. 1 contender? Although Ziggler won clean without cheating at NOC, Vicky is still his girflfriend which means he will be playing heel.

Possible Contenders
Chavo Guerrero(Maybe he gets jealous of the attention being shown to Dolph by Vicky, he has been playing face as of late.)

Kaval(He can use his PPV title shot on Ziggler. My sources have told me when he will use it but there might have been a change.

Matt Hardy(Maybe WWE officials will offer him this shot to secure his contract.)

MVP(If he's not feuding with Swagger.)

Kofi(Maybe they'll keep the rivalry going)

That's all I can think of but who do you think WILL be next in line and who do you think DESERVES to be next?

 

[EdgeHead504]

If Christian wouldn'ta gotten hurt, I would put him in the running. IF MATT FRICKIN HARDY is worthy for an IC match, Christian definitely coulda done it. He was a contendor when Kofi last won.

He hasn't held a title since ECW ended and that's too long. To not even have Captain Charisma in the title picture was a joke.

It really would have helped the IC title picture to have a veteran at least in the contender spot. Instead of it being a title to put people over, they should remember that the IC title used to be held to the same prestige as the WWE title if not more like back in the days when HBK had it.

However I digress, it's pointless to argue this because HE'S HURT!

Kaval: Way too soon to throw a belt on him.

Kofi: He's already held the belt twice. If anything he should move up to the world title picture once the kane/taker feud is over. Perhaps when Mysterio gets back.

Swagger: Not if his next reign is as lackluster as his last one. It was easily forgettable even with him cashing in MiTB over Y2J.


My pick: Mcintyre or Cody Rhodes. I know it's funny because their the current tag-team champs, but I think either of those 2 will be the ones to take Dolph's title. Now, I don't think he'll drop it anytime soon. But either once they drop the tag team titles or they try to put them over even more, maybe they'll throw the IC title on one of them. Mcintyre just has the look of a champion, which is why I was glad they got the Tag belt on him. I'm very suprised Cody Rhodes didn't burn out after Legacy similar to what's happened to Dibiasse. I thought the opposite was going to happen. I'd be curious to see what kind of Champion he'll be.

 

[I_Am_Electro_Boy]

I would really like Chavo Guerero to feud with Ziggler for the belt. I think Chavo could say something about Vickie's his aunt so she should be supporting him not Ziggler, I think Chavo is pretty decent as a face and he's been playing a face role as of late anyway. Also I think he deserves the title he's been nothing but loyal to WWE and has even jobbed for Hornswoggle so I really want Chavo to feud with Ziggler for the title and win it. He's a decent wrestler anyway so why not.

 

[Dum Dum Dudley]

If, as you believe OP, that Kofi isn't going to be in the IC reckoning then you only have two relevant faces that can go up against Ziggler; Kaval and MVP.

For Kaval, I think it's a step too far. He barely gets any wrestling time on Smackdown which I think is a big factor. Knock MVP all you want but he is on Smackdown in some capacity most of the time. Recently he has had a mini-feud with Swagger and I think he is the logical choice to up against Ziggler. With no Kofi, Christian, Rey and soon Hardy, there's very little options for Ziggler than to feud with MVP whilst Kaval gains some exposure, perhaps in the tag division against McIntyre/Rhodes with Kofi or JTG.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I agree with a majority here. I'm hoping the Kofi feud ends. I am starting to LOVE Dolph. I'm gonna make a Dolph-fan sign when they make the round to Topeka. The Kofi was getting WAY TOO dragged out. I do wish Christian wouldn't have gotten injured. I think that would have been a GREAT angle to take. But without Christian in the mix, I would say that I'd want to first throw Chavo in the mix. With some of the times he's seemingly been screwed over by Vickie when its come to Ziggler and championship gold times, I think he'd be the great face in this battle. You could see the look of when he was screwed out of his chance for the MITB match during the 3 way match of Ziggler, someone else, and Chavo, and Vickie helped Ziggles get the win. Another good thought, but it could be too soon, maybe DelRio, although he's got a good thing going but only his few matches, not sure if that qualifies him just yet, but this could be a springboard for Ziggler to maybe ditch Vickie if he loses and she then finds DelRio attractive and a better suitor as someone with $$$ and power, then Ziggler could maybe help Kaitlyn in the long run.

 

[The Holy One]

I think Kaval will be the next challenger. He's the only one with a gurantee title shot and is a face without a current fued. I would welcome a fued b/w Ziggler and Kaval too as Ziggler has already had some good matches with wrestlers that work Kaval style in Mysterio and Kofi. I can already imagine some promos b/w Vickie and Laycool over which of their arm toys is better.

 

[The Crock]

It's gonna be Kaval. He has that title shot, and I think he'd be perfect to work with Ziggler. Kaval has great in ring ability, the fans love him, and he'd be a great fit for this feud. I'm not saying Kaval has to win it right away, but he does seem to be the only one who deserves it in my mind. MVP could get it, but it'd be a huge step right now, unless he goes over Swagger.

Another thing, I don't know why people are hating on the Kofi - Dolph feud. It has been fairly good, not perfect, but good. Ziggler is gettig much better and Kofi is staying relevant. You can't ask few much more than that, and they've been putting on decent matches. Better than most of the other stuff we've seen in Smackdown lately. They're just two young stars working their asses off. Props to them.

 

[TheAbsolute1]

Another good thought, but it could be too soon, maybe DelRio, although he's got a good thing going but only his few matches, not sure if that qualifies him just yet, but this could be a springboard for Ziggler to maybe ditch Vickie if he loses and she then finds DelRio attractive and a better suitor as someone with $$$ and power, then Ziggler could maybe help Kaitlyn in the long run.

Wow, what a bright idea. I've been seeing this love triangle between Vickie Kaitlyn and Zig begin to brew over the weeks but the only problem is that when you see Smackdown! today you will know that Del Rio will not be going for the IC. But brilliant idea.

 

[Dum Dum Dudley]

Another thing, I don't know why people are hating on the Kofi - Dolph feud. It has been fairly good, not perfect, but good. Ziggler is gettig much better and Kofi is staying relevant. You can't ask few much more than that, and they've been putting on decent matches. Better than most of the other stuff we've seen in Smackdown lately. They're just two young stars working their asses off. Props to them.

Couldn't agree more. Kofi/Ziggler has been entertaining and has been a bit different than Kofi/McIntyre. The addition of Guerrero to the mix really made this feud stand out and really made me hate Ziggler for having to use her to win. They're two young guys who were given a chance to prove themselves; something which (sadly) other guys have not been given including Shelton Benjamin's last U.S title reign. He just held the belt for aaaaaaaaages before dropping it to MVP.

 

[TheAbsolute1]

Another thing, I don't know why people are hating on the Kofi - Dolph feud. It has been fairly good, not perfect, but good. Ziggler is gettig much better and Kofi is staying relevant. You can't ask few much more than that, and they've been putting on decent matches. Better than most of the other stuff we've seen in Smackdown lately. They're just two young stars working their asses off. Props to them.

Yes they do deserve props but I personally think that Ziggler started winning by Dq's and countouts to frequently, that's what made it drag on. But he did prove at the PPV, where it was Kofi taking the cheap shot and Zig with a face win of sorts, that he can hang with the top mid-carders.

 

[Dum Dum Dudley]

Yes they do deserve props but I personally think that Ziggler started winning by Dq's and countouts to frequently, that's what made it drag on. But he did prove at the PPV, where it was Kofi taking the cheap shot and Zig with a face win of sorts, that he can hang with the top mid-carders.

The DQ and count-outs were supposed to help Ziggler gain heel heat, just as how having Vicki Guerrero as a manager was supposed to get the audience to boo him. And i personally don't feel that this feud has dragged on as long as McInyre/Kofi did which spanned many a PPV.

Back on topic, if the fued ran long enough i.e a good 2-3 months, i wouldn't have a problem with Kaval having the title shot because he could face Ziggler in tag matches or other heels like Swagger to look good or at least credible. Its just if creative plan on having Kaval face him at HIAC and then bring back Kofi or Rey into the mix, i would have a problem. Kaval doesn't need to win the belt to look credible; he just needs to look like he can hang with the midcarders by feuding with Ziggler for a few months.

 

[TheAbsolute1]

The DQ and count-outs were supposed to help Ziggler gain heel heat, just as how having Vicki Guerrero as a manager was supposed to get the audience to boo him.

I obviously know why they did it, I just didn't like the way they did it. You just knew what to expect when the match was over which would be a match ending without a pinfall or submission.

 

[¡Roján!]

I dont see Ziggler losing the title anytime soon. Especially with this Vickie Katiyln angle which seems to be starting.

 

[¡Roján!]

Ziggler wont hang on to the Intercontinental Championship much longer IMHO. I can see Vickie turning on him in the near future and screwing him over, turning Ziggler face.

 

[The People's Peep]

The Kofi-Ziggler feud has been good, but I'm starting to get tired of it. So I hope it ends soon. If Ziggler holds on to the belt, it looks like MVP is up next. In my opinion, I would rather see anyone else feud with him. I never really liked MVP, but with the lack of faces on Smackdown, is there really anyone else.

I would say Kaval. I like him a lot and he has showed vast improvement on his mic skills since the beginning of NXT. His ring work has always been there and he has what he need to be a champion. But, I dont think he is ready. Its too soon. Maybe if Ziggler holds to the belt past his next feud, Kaval will be ready then.

Two more guys that are long shots are Matt Hardy and Big Show. I dont see it being Hardy because of his ongoing situation and I dont see Big Show dropping down to the midcard just two months removed from the Main Event. So I would put my money on MVP.