Should have been Intercontinental Champion

[CelticCorey]

I'll go with ten for this. There was a time when the IC belt itself meant a lot and since there was a thread on people who should've been WWF champion, I'll do a poll on who you think should've been IC Champion.

Multiple choice IS allowed. IF there is anybody who you don't see from this list that you think should've been IC champion, feel free to post so down below.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Personally I would have loved to see Bam Bam Bigelow as Intercontinental Champion, but since he's not up there and assuming that he probably wouldn't be a popular choice among old WWF fans, I choose Jake "The Snake" Roberts. It baffles me to this day why he has never won a single WWF title, let alone the Intercontinental Championship. He was in tons of remarkable feuds and has been a consistent Main Event player for years. He had so many classic moments and pops up in my head when I think of all of the WWF superstars with personality and charisma. I also don't understand why someone like Rick "The Model" Martel has never won the Intercontinental Championship either. Here's a cocky and arrogant heel that was the prime example of Champion material. I remember gritting my teeth every time I saw him win or get the better of Tito Santana. He was always that guy I hated so much. Being Intercontinental Champion would have excelled him as one of the top five heels of his time.

 

[zman21]

wow so many to choose from but i would say superfly he is such a legend and a shame he never held the i.c. tittle. jerry lawler should be in this poll cause he also should of had and i.c. tittle run

 

[wrestler36]

I'd throw Earthquake into the mix. He jumped straight into main event status in a blink of an eye. After his feud with Hogan, he and Typhoon were dominant tag champs. He was a big dude who was intimidating, decent on the mic, moved ok for his size, had Jimmy Hart. He could've dominated the upper midcard and make the IC title look almost unattainable.

 

[Danny84]

id say million dollar man he never held it i dont recall
i.r.s he should have been giving a singles title run
big boss man dint hold any title apart from hardcore but deserved more
crush back in his surfer crush days
bam bam i agree with
tatanka dont think he ever won it and should have during his undefited streak at some point
undertaker cause its the only main title if you dont count the u.s title that he dint win
savio vega great matches should have won it
jim nighthart

and a few others

but my main one would have been BRUTUS THE BARBER BEEFCAKE dont think he ever held a title in the wwe did he apart from 1 tag title with greg valentine ?

 

[THEpapachamp]

I voted for Vader & Lex Luger

Vader for one becuase he was the biggest name in the world in Japan and early WCW until he went to the WWE. He filled a major gap at the time being there was no super villians on WWE television and why he never even got a WWE Title run let alone Intercontinental was beyond me. He was in the WWE was TWO YEARS!!! 96 to 98' and was a huge name. He should of been I.C Champion during his last run instead of teaming with the Mankinds and Kanes.

& Luger..

having held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the WWA World Heavyweight Championship once; a record-tying five-time NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Champion, and the longest-reigning champion in history; and the 1994 WWF Royal Rumble winner (with Bret Hart). Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated voted Luger the Most Popular Wrestler of the Year 1993. Touring around the country in the Lex Express. The Allied Powers team with British Bulldog..

Why this man NEVER won a WWE title is the most ridiculous thing in professional Wrestling..

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Personally speaking I'd have enjoyed a reign from IRS, just to see what he could do with is, as nearly all of his storylines would come back to his gimmick. Rotundo achieved a pretty credible name for himself off not winning many Championships though, quite the achievment.

And I also voted for "The Model" Rick Martel. He had the look, he has the energy in the ring, I mean coming off the back of his feud with Michaels, an IC Championship push could and to some maybe should have came. Of course, Shawn actually got it, but I digress.

For me, it was IRS and Rick Martel.

 

[asiatic7]

Call me crazy, but I think Mr. Kennedy would have been a great IC Champion! I think he would have brought back a lot of prestige to the title. he should have held it around 2007 when Umaga and Jeff Hardy were dropping it to each other because they were both taking turn breaking the wellness policy! Mr. Kennedy has the mic skill to talk the Intercontinental title back to relevance. A feud eith either hardy for the title would have been epic! I don't agree with people saying Jake Roberts. Jake was an exceptional phenomenon who mastered ring phsycology and a fluid move set to go along with his sinister gimmick. He didn't need titles to get him over. He was that damn good and that damn beliveable! Lex Luger with his narssissist gimmick would have been a good IC champ. Luger had Bobby Heenan for a mouthpiece and that million dollar body. He would have made for an exceptional heel. JYD would have been a great champ! In his time, he was like a working mans athlete and the kids adored him (I know I did!). But for my money, Ken Kennedy would have gave the title the attention it had in the late 80's and early 90;s!!!

 

[whoopin' ass]

i vote for taker simply because i don't think anyone should be wwf/wwe champ without being ic champ first. not to say every IC champ should go on to win the big one but if you can't win the IC title at least once, why would I believe you as the world champ? there are exceptions but they are few and far between.

 

[Mr_billy]

JYD, he was the second most over face in the WWE during his period.He would have been probably the most over IC champ ever. In his prime everybody loved him. The only person more deserving of any WWE title run would have been Paul Orndorff, who was just awesome and had a great heel program with hogan, as well as a side kick run.

 

[JJ15776]

i vote for taker simply because i don't think anyone should be wwf/wwe champ without being ic champ first. not to say every IC champ should go on to win the big one but if you can't win the IC title at least once, why would I believe you as the world champ? there are exceptions but they are few and far between.

I agree with the last part of this. Undertaker is definitely one of those few and far between exceptions. He was a main eventer from the first time he showed up. It would've been a waste of time for him to hold the IC title.

I voted for Jake The Snake, because he's the best wrestler that's never held a title in the WWE by far. He would've made a great IC champion and could've had some epic fueds with it.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I voted for Jake Roberts and Lex Luger

Why these men never held a single title belt in the WWE is beyond me (especially Luger, when you see Vince's well-known hard-on for big muscular men!).

Roberts was a great performer, a great talker and had a great gimmick. He had many memorable matches and feuds, but perhaps didnt have the look of a World Champion when the main guys around were monsters like Hogan and Warrior. BUT, he could certainly have made a great Intercontinental Champion, as he had the talent to make the title mean something and could have feuded with multiple big-names over the belt. People like Hart and Hennig could have been great opponents for The Snake.

Now Luger...just look at the guy. Sure, he was not one of the great in-ring performers but he had the million-dollar look and name me many others who looked more like a "champion" than Luger. How many wrestlers with his level of talent have held belts before or since??? If he was around today he would be World Champion without a doubt, and he more than deserved at least an IC reign in the WWE. It really puzzles me why he didnt, especially after his big "Lex Express" push. It didnt get him over as a main eventer, but you would have thought after all Vince put into it, that he would have thrown at least the IC belt on Luger, to get some pay-off for the push.

 

[wrestling89]

Interesting thread. I think I actually like just looking at the belt on TV more than anything else. That belt (the 86 -98) version had to have been the best looking title belt of all time. Anyway.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts - I think Jake was so over, that he didn't need any titles. I think he wouldn't have even cared about it if he won it. Like the Million $ Belt, he would have just stuck it in his bag the entire time, not even wearing it. Jake was so good that nobody in WCW or WWF cared if he had a belt or not, people just wanted to hear him talk and see the snake.

Vader - He was too big of a monster to hold the IC belt. Also he was such a dominant WCW Champion, that being the IC champ would have been an insult. He was like Hogan, anything less than the World Belt would have not fit Vader.

Lex Luger - See Vader.

The Big Bossman - Would have loved to seen the Bossman get a belt, but not as a face, I never really liked him in the WWF after he dumped Slick. When he had the ball and chain and the night stick, taking Hogan out, that's when they should have put the strap on him.

"The Model" Rick Martel - This was my vote. I was always a fan of "The Model." He was hilarious, with his accent, the arrogance, his button, etc. He still has the greatest one liner of all time.........."I saw Tatanka in the parking lot, SCALPING tickets!!!!" I would have loved to have seen a Tito-Martel fued for the IC belt. Man I miss Tito, he was great.

I.R.S. - Another good candidate. He would have brought a lot to the table with a run with the belt. Especially when Razor was champ. I would have loved to seen IRS seize all of Razor's gold over an audit or something, and the IC belt would have been one of the possesions. I think they never really did all they could have with IRS. Rotunda was a great heel, he could piss you off so well, and never really was a household name.

The Undertaker - The gimmick was too huge in 90 - 91 to make him IC champ. Like Hogan, it would have been insulting for him to have the IC belt and not the world title. Same goes for Yokozuna.

Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka - Never saw him in his prime, but in his second run in the WWF, he was too old for anything.

Big John Studd - He was kind of like the Undertaker in his time. He was only put up against the giants and was seen as an immovable force. Well except against Andre and Hogan. Would have loved to seen him in a feud with Bundy though. Same goes here for BJS, he was too big to be the IC champ in his run. I wonder why he never Main Evented against Hogan though (SNME not withstanding.)

Junkyard Dog - Same as Jake. He was so over, he didn't need any gold.

Other people I would have loved to seen holding the IC belt were:

Brutus The Barber Beefcake - As a kid, I was a mark. I really wanted to see him win it once. He got screwed both times by Honky and then the Yacht.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan - He was in the JYD and Jake cattegory of being so over, but I just wanted to see him win just once.

Repo Man - One of my all time favorite gimmicks. I knew he wasn't going to last, I just wanted to see him with the belt so that he could have stuck around a bit longer.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Jake Roberts - Great performer, great promo men, great gimmick. He was the total package and definitely deserved to win a title but I agree with Naitch when he says not the World Title, just the IC Title.

 

[ringjobber1]

I chose undertaker because it would of made his legend even bigger being the U.S and IC titles so he can be a triple crown champion or grandslam champion

 

[The Crock]

Easily Jake "The Snake" Roberts. For a short time there, he could have really been an excellent candidate for the belt. He had it all, unique look, in ring ability, promo ability, a great performer. Not only that, but the man DESERVED some gold. He had a large fan following, that would have gotten behind the a title reign, for sure.

On the same token, though, that might work against him. He didn't necessarily need a title to get him over, because he really already was a top tier star, but I'm sure he probably could have used it at some point to turn himself into a world title contender.

 

[CelticCorey]

I am not going to vote since it's my poll but I figure I would mention that you could argue all ten guys deserved it.

I just think Rick Martel would've made the PERFECT cocky heel just like how HBK was in 92-93.

I.R.S. and Bossman also would've been good champions.

Jake Roberts obviously sticks out and there is a reason for that. His mic skills and character were pure gold and therefore I think because of that he really could've put the IC belt over.

 

[ashe draven]

great thread btw. all u listed woulda had great IC reigns and added to the belts lineage. ill go in a different direction and say Sid Justice during his 1st tenure in WWE. he was a hot, dominating face, he woulda feuded w/ an ultra hot bret hart during his 1st IC reign. him vs bret at WM 8 instead of piper might have even been better the actual match that happened, given the right build.

 

[steinerscrewdriver]

Ill go with the model Rick Martel, rarely has anyone played that well of an arrogant prick of a heel. Just like you said, 92 would have been a great time to put the strap on him and had him fued with Bret Hart.

 

[All That Jazz]

Jake "The Snake" Roberts

He wouldn't have needed the Intercontinental championship in the slightest way. Everything from the way he talked to the way he walked was so perfectly mastered. His lack of titles in the company only shows that you don't need to be champion if you're already such an over character. And isn't it true? He stayed around the WWF for thirteen years alone. And he didn't gain one of their belts in the process, however he never left because of that. But this poll was never about who was the best, it was about who should have been the Intercontinental champion and Jake didn't need that. Nobody does, when they're that talented.

Vader

This title specifically was one made not for the immovable objects of wrestling. It was always the world title, because that is where you would find the guys who could actually contend with them. Who could've matched Vader's aggressiveness and simply his size? Nobody. There was rarely even people who could accomplish that feat in the high card, so there is not even a point thinking that he would be able to find solid competition in the middle card. There isn't much more to it, and sort of like the man above him, everyone already saw him as one of the hardest people to beat before he even won any championship.

Lex Luger

This may be weird, but I'm voting for him here. Bobby Heenan billed him "Beyond Perfection" many years ago and it really was true. He was never given a run with the WWF title itself, so wouldn't this be a good secondary option at that moment in time? Because he would continue to do things absolutely astonishing like bodyslamming Yokozuna, but he would never even win a middle card title like this one. And I've seen the argument come up that he's under the same category as guys like Vader and Jake The Snake, but that's far from true. He was built as the guy who could do anything, who could basically beat anyone that he was given. And wouldn't it have only made this more true if he held onto the Intercontinental championship and defended it for a while before winning that and the major WWF championship? Can you imagine that? But he is the only person in that list who would have benefited from something like that so much, if only it wasn't for Bischoff and World Championship Wrestling.

The Big Bossman

I was never a fan. Do you even think he would have been able to support a run with really any singles title? There were times when he didn't look bad, but much more than half the time, he was with some sort of partner. And when he wasn't? He got to work off these huge players like Hogan and Dibiase. He never showed that he could do well when he was the one who had to carry something, because he never had to. And with the Intercontinental championship being a middle card belt, he wouldn't be getting a Hogan every single night. And with so very little personality, he had nothing to make up for it.

"The Model" Rick Martel

In a champion, you need the full package. He should be able to go on the mic and then perform just as well in the ring. But it was never liked that with Martel, he got around usually, solely on his mic skills. And the middle card was just too packed for him in his time. Don't get me wrong, I loved his whole gimmick and some of the feuds he started. But when did he ever out wrestle a guy like Lex Luger? His moveset was so simple, and so bland, it really hurts him and I feel that is really what made him a tag team wrestler. As he could talk as much as he wanted to, and his partner could pick up his slack on the wrestling side of things. And like Bossman, he doesn't have that partner when he's battling and defending a title.

I.R.S

I wouldn't have minded if he won it and then lost it back within a week, but a full time reign? No. His gimmick is something you never see pulled off or even attempted in this day and age, but it is something that could get old very fast as well. Seeing him as a mainstay champion would make that process even faster, sticking him in the spotlight and leaving him there. It didn't help that he had so little wrestling knowledge either, not even having enough to take away from recycled mic work or anything. Rotundo as a person, I would love to see get his hands on it, but not as this character. It just isn't right, and he just wasn't material.

The Undertaker

Why is everyone voting for him? He has never needed this title and he doesn't need it now. The fact is, from the start of his career, he was always superbly dominant. So much that you know nobody would come close to beating him realistically and that he didn't need any minor belt to prove this true. Everyone already knew this from one good look at him, and seeing him crush middle card superstars would probably make more people dislike him in the end. Everyone seems to say that he needs to hold every single title and that is their big excuse, but again, he is one of those people whose gimmick alone proved how big and how powerful he really was. No more questions asked, that's that.

Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka

He had too much competition by the time any of these other guys were even heard of in the wrestling world. People were so much younger than himself, too fast and able to do so much more than he could ever dream of. He would have been much weaker than he would've been in his prime, and would have been beaten or destroyed by everyone on this list except for maybe Junkyard Dog. There's nothing more to say, just not his time, it was quite some while ago.

Big John Studd

See Vader.

Junkyard Dog

He was so over, but he was a different kind of wrestler. He relied on comedic acts, on making the audience laugh their heads off. But this wouldn't get him far as an Intercontinental champion. No man would ever take it easy on him, just because he had very limited wrestling skills, they'd just take advantage of it. He sort of falls under the fact that he didn't need a championship, because he had perfected the role he was supposed to play. He was never supposed to be dominant or totally in the spotlight, he was just expected to be comic relief and he became just that, he just took it farther than anybody had before or after him.

 

[byrnside]

I gotta go with either Jake the Snake or Rick Martel.

Jake The Snake's psychological talent both in and out of the ring is unrivaled by anyone. Period. He had some awesome feuds with Steamboat, Rick Rude, Martel, and the list goes on. As some have said he didn't have the look of perhaps a World champion, so why not the IC title? It was the "Work-horse" title at the time anyway.

If we're looking at Martel specifically as "The Model" he would've made an incredible cocky heel and probably could've held the belt for a long time very similiar to Honky Tonk Man's reign. If we're looking at Martel's overall WWE career then he absolutely deserved it even before his time as "The Model." A fond memory of mine as a kid was renting old WWF tapes and watching Strike Force [Martel and Tito Santana] they were a great team and won the tag championship a couple of times. That momentum should've easily carried Martel over to a run with the IC title.