Luke Harper IC Title: Just for Suvivor Series or something more?

[No Count Pup]

Luke Harper is the new Intercontinental Champion. With the WWE World Heavyweight Championship off TV, the IC Title has become very important. What does this win mean for Harper?

Is this a test run for bigger things? Or is this just a way to lend Harper credibility for Sunday? After all, before Raw Harper seemed like a weak addition to Team Authority.

 

[mikefabs]

harper gives the title back to dolph after he joins team authority the following night via a finger poke of doom type thing

 

[Reflection]

Serves both purposes, in my opinion.
Survivor Series wise- to teach Dolph Ziggler a lesson yet again for joining Team Cena, and finally succeeding in taking the title off him. Making a statement for the other candidates of the team. Team Authority has both the IC title and the US title now.
Post Survivor Series- Luke Harper has proven his ability inside the ring time and time again, for the last year or so. He can move really fast for someone his size, he has some cool moves like the powerbomb that he uses as a counter attack, the superkick, the spinning sideways slam and the suicide dive. He'll be a an interesting champion to watch and one that will be hard to beat. He might become the man Bray Wyatt couldn't be.

 

[Mudlup50]

As some people on here will point out, Barrett is due back in December right? And you figure within 3 weeks Barrett will be back. Ziggler is face and Barrett will most likely return as a face. I think that's the point of this.

Plus it does legitimize Harper, funny to think Harper got a belt before Bray. Plus it would allow Ziggler to advance up the card?

 

[Navi]

I think this will be an interesting title run, especially with Rowan on team Cena now. Love to see Harper and Rowan square off, that should be quite good.

 

[L@RISANO]

Making Rowan into a Babyface and putting him into this match made perfect sense, as that was the only way Rowan would be relevant.

As for the topic of Harper and the IC title. I'd say he fights Ziggler at TLC also and keeps it, with BNB lurking for a chance at the title he never lost after that.

 

[rbv13]

Haper was/is the most talented of the Wyatt Family. It was nice to see him strike gold before the others. Look for him to shine at Survivor Series with a few very nice spots.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

I'm glad he got a belt, but this has gotta be some of the dumbest booking in recent memory. You've got this guy, who is a dirty, unstable, backwoods, kind of loose cannon, he's been gone for a while with all these strange vignettes about how he's been "set free", which should make you think he'll be even crazier than before, if what were seeing was his restrained version, but instead on his return you have him join the corporate team and proclaim himself a team player, WTF?!

Then you have Rowan acting like he's Lenny from of Mice and Men, his vignettes show a pregnant woman, Bray says he's "just a child", he goes around looking for some woman and sniffing Renee's hair a week ago, and now all of a sudden he has a beef with Harper and is on the baby face team. Again, WTF?

These two should probably be the farthest removed from this whole storyline, as anyone on the card. They don't fit here, at all.

As for what to do with Harper…eventually when this stupid Authority/Team Cena angle blows off, hopefully he can get wrapped up in a feud with a solid worker and have some quality matches for the IC title. Maybe Orton, Barrett, Big E, etc.

 

[kadroan]

I think the run is legit. It's a new face in the IC title division. Harper is underrated and here's their chance to make the most of him.

It's interesting how he reacted when he saw Rowan join Team Cena which shows a potential storyline they could pursue if they let him and Ziggler face off again.

Like Mudlup 50 said, Barrett is coming back. He technically never lost the title. Personally, I'd rather for Barrett not to pursue the IC Championship anymore he's peaked in the mid card.

 

[kumarjtk]

i think this title change is made for story purpose. The authority threatens team cena.
Actually i think we see a new gm on next week raw. They made rematch and ziggler wins with the interference of rowan.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

gonna be a ladder match at WM31 for the title between Ziggler and Harper

 

[Bone For Tuna]

Just an idea but I think it would be pretty cool if now Erick Rowan instead of going into the obvious feud with Luke Harper for the IC title, was the one to beat Rusev in somewhat of a huge upset handing him his first loss and also winning the US title in the process. He is Merican after all, that’d probably go over well and then after he wins a rematch or two against Rusev, Rowan and Harper do serious battle, possibly having a unification match for the titles at Mania.

 

[Josh16]

Luke Harper deserves a title run. WWE had big men in the past as IC champions. It would be interesting to see other big men like Ryback, The Bigshow, Mark Henry clashing again Harper for the title.

 

[Scrotie McBoogerballs]

Hopefully Harper keeps it for a bit. He is far and away my favourite thing in WWE right now. I see people on other forums saying it is too soon. He has been around for about a year and a half now and should have been a tag champion on multiple occasions. The WWE need a credible big man heel to take over from Kane and Harper wrestles like a a guy half his size but with the power of a hoss.

People say the IC title needs to be credible again and throughou history it was usually held for long periods by heels. Mr Perfect, The Honky Tonk Man, Shawn Michaels. It should be held by a dominant heel as a prize for a fighting face to overcome and claim. Ziggler holding the belt for years would mean nothing to the title. Same goes for any title really. Heels should hold it most of the time to give us the epic mania moments of a big pay off. Swapping the title back between Ziggler and Miz on a weekly basis is just weak booking.

So yeah, hopefully Harper holds it to at least mania before dropping it to a hot prospect, hopefully Finn Balor or Sami Zayn. Which is a big mistake I think WE made in the past is giving new wrestlers a world title too soon then have nowhere to go to keep momentum afterwards. I think in 95% of cases a potential champ should have a IC tester run before being given the world title to run with. A few names who went this route, The Rock, Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart. It just makes sense, it builds up momentum over a few years, not here is the world title, by the way you are dropping it next month for the next guy coming in from the indies so NOW you can feud over the IC title, always backwards booking.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

It used to be that when the product sucked I would still get enjoyment of talking about it despite the fact I'm hating the show, but that's actually changed.

I have been posting here less and less for the past few months because I've sincerely been losing enjoyment in even talking about wrestling. This on-the-fly booking is painful.

I'm happy for Luke Harper. He's won a midcard title and will be getting the push of his career which will hopefully lead to some other bigger pushes down the line. That being said, there was absolutely no setup to this. We know nothing about Luke Harper. Dolph has been a fighting champion since the hot potato stuff with Miz was over. Losing the title unceremoniously against a guy who was a jobber just a few weeks ago is awful booking. And the icing on the cake is that Erick Rowan comes out randomly as part of Team Cena... When did these two even break up?

Man, I don't know. I didn't actually watch the show, only the clips on YouTube after it happened. I first read the new card on a dirtsheet, and thought Erick Rowan was a typo. It wasn't. It's just more of this "let's make shit up" writing that I can't STAND. I hated it in "True Blood", hated in "Glee", hated it in "Homeland", and I hate it in WWE.

Wrestling has been a PART of me for a long time, but I think I can officially say that shit like this has lost my enjoyment. It's funny how I can endure so much crap and it's something as seemingly innocent as this that breaks the camel's back for me. But that's just how it is. They've turned me into one of those assholes who thinks wrestling is a lesser form of entertainment and rolls their eyes when it's on-screen. I can't fucking stand those people and WWE turned me into one.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm sort of on the fence on the whole situation.

On one hand, I'm glad to see Harper win a championship. He's a great big man that's proven himself inside the ring time & time again. I like the storyline of Ziggler consistently being "punished" by The Authority and this fits in. At the same time, it's kind of a bummer to see Ziggler drop the title now after having some great matches and having some stability brought to the title after the mess of a program he had with The Miz.

As for Harper being on Team Authority, his participation after tossing Ziggler at The Authority's feet last week definitely came out of left field. On the surface, he doesn't seem like the type to fit in with The Authority, but it might only be temporary until after Survivor Series. Otherwise, I think it's possible that Harper's presence will with them could start to wear thin over time, so we'll have to see.

Erick Rowan joining Team Cena was even more out of left field. I agree that it's hot shot booking and it could be something that turns out pretty lame. At the same time, look at how often some fans complain about how predictable things are, so throwing a curve ball like this every so often to shake things up a bit can be a good thing sometimes, as long as it doesn't happen every time you turn around.

I can see both the potential good & bad in the whole situation. It could turn out that Rowan's face turn, Harper's affiliation with The Authority and Harper's title run could be a complete clusterfuck. On the other hand, the entire situation could be something we look back on 6 months from now that was entertaining and ultimately a good thing to take place.

 

[Scrotie McBoogerballs]

Harper doesn't have to join the Authority. he did them a favour taking out Ziggler and they help him get the IC title in return. It is an allegiance of convenience. It really doesn't have to go on after SS. Just acting as a mercenary for the Authority and the IC title is payment.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I still think this is part of the plan to get Bray to be the next "big bad"... Harper on one side, Rowan on the other could easily work within the "Bringing The Machine Down From The Inside" mantra used barely a year ago... Rowan ends up either Sole Survivor or Destroys Cena once they've won... Bray laughs as he now has the Big Red Machine, IC Champion, Rowan and the Authority is no more... It'd be a BIG power play, big enough to kick start the next phase.

As for Harper with the IC, it is a very good thing. He's not your usual run of the mill IC champ, he's big, athletic and can have good matchups with a good portion of the midcard. Barrett is back soon, he's guaranteed to be face so it's a good matchup... It's a way to also get Sheamus back into the IC picture.

 

[Navi]

I still think this is part of the plan to get Bray to be the next "big bad"... Harper on one side, Rowan on the other could easily work within the "Bringing The Machine Down From The Inside" mantra used barely a year ago... Rowan ends up either Sole Survivor or Destroys Cena once they've won... Bray laughs as he now has the Big Red Machine, IC Champion, Rowan and the Authority is no more... It'd be a BIG power play, big enough to kick start the next phase.

As for Harper with the IC, it is a very good thing. He's not your usual run of the mill IC champ, he's big, athletic and can have good matchups with a good portion of the midcard. Barrett is back soon, he's guaranteed to be face so it's a good matchup... It's a way to also get Sheamus back into the IC picture.

You keep banging on about this "Bringing down the Machine" by Bray Wyatt. Quite honestly with all his ramblings, I don't even remember it, and if I did would think it was just a phase just like all his other failed attempts to do anything. And the next phase of what? If Wyatt is in charge, I'm going to stop watching, can barely put up with him as it is. Anyway, I haven't heard him say anything like that in quite sometime now. All he talks about is fixing people, which never happens.

Glad to see Harper with the title, just wish he would talk a little more, he seems like he would be quite decent on the mic.

 

[CyberPunk]

I don't know about this move. I like Harper. He's a very capable wrestler and for a man of his size, his movement is exceptional. Having said that, he's just come back. 2 weeks and suddenly, he's holding the title. I am a bit confused about this whole situation. His motivation, at least to me, is unclear.

Hopefully, he'll have a decent run. I am curious to see how it goes from here.

 

[MCMG]

Both. It furthers the storyline for Survivor Series, sure, but it is big for Harper. He has a lot of potential and giving him the belt gives him an instant bit of credibility.

The guy can wrestle. He's big. He has a unique look and an interesting character. There is a lot to work with and giving him the belt ensures (in theory) he can't be reduced to being just another guy. I'd like to see him have a few matches with Ziggler. I think the face/heel dynamic is quite interesting right now but in the long run there are matches with Swagger, Ryback, Sheamus, Sandow, Cesaro (I wish), Zayn and more. This could be very interesting if done right.

 

[MartialHorror]

I think they should've allowed Ziggler to keep it during this storyline. To me, it would've put ZIggler over as a potential main eventer. He conquered the odds, something Ambrose failed to do when put in a similar situation. Then after the Authority dissolved, he could then lose it to Harper.

That would make Harper look more credible as the IC Champion. Instead, Ziggler continues to be a jobber for the main eventers and Harper looks like he needed help to win the belt. No one benefits from this change.

Even the Miz and Ziggler playing hot potato with the belt mattered more.

 

[L@RISANO]

I still think this is part of the plan to get Bray to be the next "big bad"... Harper on one side, Rowan on the other could easily work within the "Bringing The Machine Down From The Inside" mantra used barely a year ago... Rowan ends up either Sole Survivor or Destroys Cena once they've won... Bray laughs as he now has the Big Red Machine, IC Champion, Rowan and the Authority is no more... It'd be a BIG power play, big enough to kick start the next phase.

Like I said the last time, the story with Bray being a Mastermind of sorts and finally getting some sort of sense in all the "Machine" stuff is a brilliant long term story to begin when the Authority finally ends.
I do hope everything is building towards such a story for post-Mania and that really puts Bray where he should be.


However, such a story is at this point, a case of "I'll believe it, when I see it". And I really do hope, we all get to see it, cuz such a story will be epic and the perfect use of Bray Wyatt's Cult Leader character...

 

[ColeMc]

I am so glad to see Rowan and Harper in a PPV main event, both talented wrestlers and in the shadow of Wyatt for too long. As gifted he is on the mic, he was always the weak link in ring skills.

I wouldn't worry about Ziegler, I think he is due a few weeks off and will come back in a couple of months to claim his rematch and win it that night. All the while Harper will be destroying the midcard and establishing his legitimacy as an IC champion.