Did the 15-person trade kill the Intercontinental Championship scene?

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

We all know that Rey Mysterio is once again the Intercontinental Champion. We also know that Mysterio has always been, and will always be a fighting champion, taking on all-comers. And we all know about the 15-person trade that occured just last night.

Smackdown's mid card lost Shelton Benjamin. Now, we all know who great of a fued Rey and Shelton could have had over the IC Title. But, WWE decides to trade Shelton to ECW. In exchange for him, we get Matt Hardy and Finlay. Two guys who wouldn't really cut it as the Intercontinental Champion.

I'm not saying that Rey doesn't have any worthy challengers, because he does. I'm just a little disappointed that WWE didn't take advantage of having a lengthy fued over the IC Championship, between Rey and Shelton. What do you think WWE should do over the title? What challengers do you feel Rey Mysterio should face?

Any thoughts?

 

[psykohurricane]

My first thought is that shelton is better of on ECW. The fact of the matter is that since losing the U.S. Title to MVP, Shelton has been on a losing streak, he lost to pretty much everybody on the roster so Shelton wouldn'T have gotten a I.C title match let alone a program against REy Mysterio.

But with this 15 person trade, it open up the i-c title pictures a little bit more. Smackdown already had a couple of guys that could compete against REy for the title, Guys like Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth and John Morrisson had to that The Hart dynasty, finlay and Matt Hardy and you got alot of guys to challenge for Rey's title.

So i don't thing that the trade hurt the i.c title scene at all, instead the trade made the i.c title scene stronger and i great would it be to have rey in a feud against Tyson Kidd.

 

[Milkyway!]

Sure they could have some decently spotty matches. But I don't think Rey and Shelton could have a great fued, and still top the last one Rey//Jericho were in, and heres why.

Shelton vs Rey would lack any chemestry whatsoever. Rey is a high flyer, that nails his every move, but the key component to his gimmick is the fact that hes so much smaller than everyone else. Now I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Shelton is pretty small himself. This would take away the whole "I'm smaller than you but can still win" factor. It would clash with Rey's gimmick, and Rey really wouldn't have anything to work with when it all came down to it because of this. If were expected to believe Rey can beat a 7' monster in Kane, but can't beat Shelton, then we should just commit suicide.

Shelton is entertaining in the ring, but can't cut a promo worth shit. Another big thing about Reys gimmick is the heel oponent is always knocking him down, rubbing it in his face they are bigger, and we are to truely believe Rey has no chance in hell to win. Rey doesn't back down, just like John Cena, but he isn't really expected to win the fight like Cena. Agaisnt Shelton this would be entirely diffrent.

Now take a man like Finlay, turn him heel, look what we've got there. A man that picks apart his oponents piece by piece until they finnally give up, or he can hit his finisher. Finlay can surely cut a promo telling people how much better he is than him. Finlay can also make us believe at some point theres no chance in hell Rey has at winning the match in the end, but somehow Rey does it. Which is what makes a truely great match when it comes to Rey Mysterio.

 

[Leeds Guy]

Smackdown's mid card lost Shelton Benjamin. Now, we all know who great of a fued Rey and Shelton could have had over the IC Title. But, WWE decides to trade Shelton to ECW. In exchange for him, we get Matt Hardy and Finlay. Two guys who wouldn't really cut it as the Intercontinental Champion

Why wouldn't they cut it as the Intercontinetal Champion? both have held mid cards titles before and have had pretty decent runs with the ECW title and US title respectively. Both these man can work well with Rey Mysterio, Hardy has done before with what was a fantastic feud back in 2003. Finlay can work well with anybody add Rey to the mix and you have an awesome midcard feud ready. The problem is Rey has just come of the back of a steller feud with Jericho which I don't think he will ever top again so whoever he feuds with next has some pretty big shoes to fill.

I'm not saying that Rey doesn't have any worthy challengers, because he does. I'm just a little disappointed that WWE didn't take advantage of having a lengthy fued over the IC Championship, between Rey and Shelton. What do you think WWE should do over the title? What challengers do you feel Rey Mysterio should face?

Im guessing the problem with Shelton is that the WWE doesnt rate him otherwise he would have been a decent opponent for Rey. But add that to the fact they decided to have an awesome other the IC title for a change and you would see why it makes sense to push for Rey vs Jericho instead of Rey-Shelton. Next up for Rey I think will be Ziggler, Both have just come out of feuds so it is the logical choice. I am however looking on with anticpation over the IC title which can only be a good thing

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I am not, in any way, doubting Matt Hardy or Finlay. I'm sure they can be great champions if booked correctly. But Rey Mysterio as the champion has a better ring to it, due to everyone knowing that he is and will always be the ulitmate underdog. Matt Hardy, in his reign as the ECW Champion, was also and underdog, but Rey Mysterio thrives off of being an underdog, whereas Matt Hardy isn't always classified as an underdog. Finlay, on the other hand was only given one title reign. His United States Championship reign only lasted about a month-and-a-half and I only recall him defending the title, maybe twice. That was three years ago, though. Finlay has really improved in that period of time, added some new moves in his arsenal, and has a bit of a new attitude. So, seeing him as the Intercontinental Champion wouldn't necessarily be a horrible thing, but having Rey as the champ addes a bit more character to him, the opponent(s), and the title itself.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Rumour has it that Low Ki has been hand-picked by Rey Mysterio to feud over the Intercontinental Title. He was known under some weird name in FCW. Can't remember what it was.

It would be pretty mental.

 

[Nev]

Finlay isn't as entertaining as Shelton Benjamin in my opinion.

But Damn, I`ll deal with it.

Smackdown still is the better brand of the three.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

Rumour has it that Low Ki has been hand-picked by Rey Mysterio to feud over the Intercontinental Title. He was known under some weird name in FCW. Can't remember what it was.

It would be pretty mental.

On FCW, I believe Low-Ki's name was Kawal or Kaval or something. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's one of the two.

 

[tLight]

Ill put money on the fact that Douph Ziggler is a furture IC Champion.

Smackdown still has Haas, Knox, R-Truth, Jimmy Wang Yang, Curt Hawkins and Ricky Ortiz to round out their middle card. Then you have Kane, who has always been a go to guy in the IC Title picture when they need him.

Then add they fact that they just got Tyson Kidd and DM Smith. Although I see them going for Tag Gold first, they will keep pushing them as dominate singles wrestlers (I think Kidd will get a bigger push)

So I dont think the IC Title picture will lose a step at all, Smackdown has a lot of great young guys who just need the right push.

 

[Coco]

No. The answer to your question is no.

Shelton has proven to not have the goods. In exchange for green spot worker Shelton we've gotten Shelton as boring wrestler that's not over and not special #67865b. He wouldn't be any help to the IC title chase at this point. However, Matt Hardy has promise as a heel when he's healthy and has proven to be great in the ring. Finlay has the ability to make anyone look good (you're seriously underrating him) but won't be contending for the world title so a feud with Rey is perfect for him. The Harts could easily become new opposition for Rey. Dolph is getting a push. R-Truth is mega move. Knox could get the call to start working TV again in a big way any time they want and he would fit right in.

So no, Shelton going to a different brand doesn't hurt SmackDown's midcard. That midcard is fucking plush.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

The trade did not kill the IC title scene at all, I'd love to see a Morrison/Rey feud or a Finaly/Rey feud, I think those programs could work very well. I think the trade opened up a lot of oppurtunity for all the titles, especially the IC title. If you want the underdog match-up, a small speedy Rey, versus the new, but powerful and technical Ziggler would be good. Or I'd love to see a Tyson Kidd/Rey feud. So this will be good for the IC Title.

 

[phemom]

Rumour has it that Low Ki has been hand-picked by Rey Mysterio to feud over the Intercontinental Title. He was known under some weird name in FCW. Can't remember what it was.

It would be pretty mental.

I hope this happens sooner than later. Low Ki has been a great worker for years, so another run in WWE w/Rey would equal some damn good matches.

As it's been said earlier in the thread there's more than enough heels for the IC tittle. They really can't lose w/whoever gets a shot next.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

I think quite the contrary, actually. I was really looking forward to Rey/Shelton, but now we get Christian/Shelton for a higher title. So that's a plus. And now, we've got THREE new IC contenders in Matt Hardy, DH Smith, and Tyson Kidd. Right now, these are the midcard options for Smackdown:

FACES
Rey Mysterio
R-Truth
Finlay
Three Jobbers in Jesse, Jimmy Wang Yang, and Funaki

HEELS:
Matt Hardy
Dolph Ziggler
Mike Knox
Tyson Kidd
DH Smith
Charlie Haas
Two Jobbers in Curt Hawkins and Ricky Ortiz

We've got a lot of options for Mysterio to feud with. I would love to see Mysterio put Ziggler over. We never really did get a feud between Finlay and Knox. R-Truth vs Matt Hardy...despite how I really don't like either of those two AT ALL...could possibly be a feud people care about.

The IC title scene is actually better off right now than it was before this trade, I think.

 

[Black Snow]

This is a very simple answer. Who did SD lose in the trade? They lost Alicia Fox and Shelton Benjamin. That's it. So your real question is, "Did SD losting Shelton Benjamin kill the IC title scene."

Um, no.

How can losing one person kill an entire title picture? It killed one potential feud. That's it. I would have loved to see a prolonged Rey/Benjamin feud but at the end of the day it's just one little feud.

On the flipside we can now have Rey vs. Matt, Rey vs. Finlay, Rey vs. Tyson Kidd and Rey vs. DH Smith. Shelton's a great guy but SD won big. If anything the trade made a great IC title picture even greater.

 

[nthomas504]

No it didn't. It actually helped it out. I believe the next will be Rey and Matt, or Rey and Ziggler. Nobody is expecting the next feud to be better than Chris Jericho's feud with Rey. But I think that Ziggler and Matt can be ok follow-ups. Matt has better Mic-Skills than I originally thought, and Ziggler can cut a few promos himself, and Heel Promos are a must in a Rey Mysterio feud. This whole Trade was to put more life in the Mid-Card level feuds. Expect to see Finley around there some time.

 

[Total Impact]

There are a lot of people Rey could feud with over the I.C. title, you have R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler, John Morrison, and Kane. So the mid-card is ok, plus adding Finaly & Matt Hardy is a good as you get too proven veteran wrestlers that is what smackdown is all about, that is wrestling. I think it has been proven that since the brand extension that Matt Hardy does better and gets over better on Smackdown. I can see him in the main event on Smackdown while I could see him doing that on Raw. As for Finlay, he is just there to put over talent, no big deal.

 

[lilchucky93]

I think that the ic title pic on smackdown has actually gotten better..now I know that shelton is a great talen and I know it sucks to see hime leave but its good cause now he can go finnaly win a world title..but I think that there are some awesome possible matches..I think that there could be a rey vs dolph fued which could be nice or a rey vs haas fued...but now it opens up a little with matt and finlay who could at least make for some good sd matches...I could aslo see r truth a part of somepretty good matches with all of theese guys...

 

[Hacksaw Highway]

We all know that Rey Mysterio is once again the Intercontinental Champion. We also know that Mysterio has always been, and will always be a fighting champion, taking on all-comers. And we all know about the 15-person trade that occured just last night.

Smackdown's mid card lost Shelton Benjamin. Now, we all know who great of a fued Rey and Shelton could have had over the IC Title. But, WWE decides to trade Shelton to ECW. In exchange for him, we get Matt Hardy and Finlay. Two guys who wouldn't really cut it as the Intercontinental Champion.

I'm not saying that Rey doesn't have any worthy challengers, because he does. I'm just a little disappointed that WWE didn't take advantage of having a lengthy fued over the IC Championship, between Rey and Shelton. What do you think WWE should do over the title? What challengers do you feel Rey Mysterio should face?

Any thoughts?

How would they not cut it? Both guys are 100x more over than Shelton, and both are former US champs and therefore have shown they can run with the belt. Granted, Finlay's run was very short and uneventful and Hardy chasing the belt was much better than his actual reign, but not much can be said about Shelton's numerous midcard reigns either. Hardy and Finlay are both upper midcarders who can keep the prestige of the IC belt up through feuds with Ray, whereas Shelton is somewhat beneath Rey. I think Hardy and Finlay are both solid competitors who will be an addition to the IC scene, not detractions.

 

[TSG]

Now, I didn't read through them that well, and I won't spoil any results for anyone who didn't read them, but the spoilers for SD! mentioned a match between Kane and Rey Mysterio. Could this be a fued between the two? Now, as much as I hate to see these towo work, I'm psyched because Kane may be the next IC champion. Yet the thing is I saw Khali get ivolved after the end of the match up, so may a 3 way fued between Khali, Kane, and Rey? That would truly be horrific, but that could be the next fued. Either that or Morrison, as I notice Morrison has seemingly been getting a push lately, yet he is a face so that's unlikely, but the second best choice. That's all I can see, as I don't think they're going to throw Ziggler in there quite yet, Matt Hardy is out on injury, The Hart Trilogy/Dynasty/Foundation are probably tagging it out, hass is basically nothing to the E, Hawkins and Ortiz are jobbers, Knox is just someone to fill in and dominate, R-Truth and Finlay are both faces, who else is left?

 

[Razor]

We all know that Rey Mysterio is once again the Intercontinental Champion. We also know that Mysterio has always been, and will always be a fighting champion, taking on all-comers. And we all know about the 15-person trade that occured just last night.

Yep! Raw got Swagger!!! I'm really rather excited. I missed ECW almost as much as I caught it, but now I get Mr. All-American American every Monday, kicking shit up with the faces. Score.

Smackdown's mid card lost Shelton Benjamin. Now, we all know who great of a fued Rey and Shelton could have had over the IC Title. But, WWE decides to trade Shelton to ECW. In exchange for him, we get Matt Hardy and Finlay. Two guys who wouldn't really cut it as the Intercontinental Champion.

A Mysterio vs. Benjamin feud would have been shit. Because no one gives a shit about Benjamin. Half a feud is the crowd reaction. What happens during a match when the crowd just sits there? Exactly. And that's what they'll be doing when Mysterio can't even get the crowd to hate a Benjamin that's been heel for years. And Mysterio is an incredible face.

To say that Benjamin would be a good IC champ but Hardy or Finlay wouldn't be is laughable. To start, Hardy and Finlay can work a match without 15 super jumps.

I'm not saying that Rey doesn't have any worthy challengers, because he does. I'm just a little disappointed that WWE didn't take advantage of having a lengthy fued over the IC Championship, between Rey and Shelton. What do you think WWE should do over the title? What challengers do you feel Rey Mysterio should face?

He can feud against any heel mid-carder, really. Mysterio is an upper-mid carder for a reason. He can pull off some feuds with most anyone, he just can't really pull off a WHC or WWE title reign. Tis alright. He's at home in the mid-card.

And, honestly, Benjamin is in the best spot he can be. ECW. He'll feud with Christian or Dreamer, and hopefully they can teach him a thing or two.

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

Shelton vs Rey would lack any chemestry whatsoever. Rey is a high flyer, that nails his every move, but the key component to his gimmick is the fact that hes so much smaller than everyone else. Now I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Shelton is pretty small himself. This would take away the whole "I'm smaller than you but can still win" factor. It would clash with Rey's gimmick, and Rey really wouldn't have anything to work with when it all came down to it because of this. If were expected to believe Rey can beat a 7' monster in Kane, but can't beat Shelton, then we should just commit suicide.

I dont know if YOU'VE noticed, but Rey MYsterio had some great matches with Chris Jericho. A Jericho who is 2 inches shorter than Benjamin. He's billed as 6 feet, and Im not even sure THAT'S true, as apparently he's self concious about his height and wears lifts in his shoes.

Regardless, your argument that it would take away from Rey's "gimmick" is ridiculous and unfounded. Two spotty wrestlers in the ring together would have been very fun.

Shelton is entertaining in the ring, but can't cut a promo worth shit. Another big thing about Reys gimmick is the heel oponent is always knocking him down, rubbing it in his face they are bigger, and we are to truely believe Rey has no chance in hell to win. Rey doesn't back down, just like John Cena, but he isn't really expected to win the fight like Cena. Agaisnt Shelton this would be entirely diffrent.

Shelton Benjamin is the gold standard. He believes he is the bar for everyone else to be compared against. Of course he would rub it in.

Now take a man like Finlay, turn him heel, look what we've got there. A man that picks apart his oponents piece by piece until they finnally give up, or he can hit his finisher. Finlay can surely cut a promo telling people how much better he is than him. Finlay can also make us believe at some point theres no chance in hell Rey has at winning the match in the end, but somehow Rey does it. Which is what makes a truely great match when it comes to Rey Mysterio.

This would all be great if they hadn't feuded throughout 2007. Been there done that. Check out their stretcher match from Cyber Sunday 2007. I enjoyed it, from what I can remember from it.

 

[SpideyWebz15]

It has been said and I will say it again Dolph Ziggler for champ. The guy just has such a charisma in the ring it is hard not to like him. Come on he made that match with Khali look good, that has to be credit enough. Honestly though i hope they will push Dolph to the title picture as i feel he can become World Title material.

 

[Rated_Phenomenal]

Well, personally, I think the move to bring Shelton to ECW is great if it can be done right. He has been in WWE for a while now and I think that with is talents, it might be time for him to have a World title run. So, ECW could be his test run. I wouldnt mind having Dreamer drop the title to someone like Shelton and then have Christian and Shelton feud for that title. It would be great for ECW, and the fans.

As far as the Intercontinental Championship scene. Smackdown still has a lot of superstars that can compete against Mysterio. Morrison, Ziggler, R-Truth are on top of my list of people that can get an IC run and do well with the title. Also look at who Smackdown is bringing in, Matt Hardy. A great heel that can do well with a feud with Mysterio. Or hell, even Finlay. Im a big fan of Smackdown! We dont get the repetitive Cena, HHH crap all the time. So no, I dont think the 15 man trade hurt the IC scene. It probably will help improve it.

 

[darbare]

of course not, it only helped if anything. think about it, edge, jeff and taker will be missing for the next few months most likely. that leaves a huge void. jericho will be back in the main event, rey will hav to become temp main eventer fighting punk. morrison could get elevated and jus fill a role rather than winning a title, although it wood be cool to see him beat cm punk again. seems as though everyone forget he used to hand cm punks ass on a silver plate to him on every ppv and ecw show back in 07, but hey...kane could linger jus in case a face wins the world title.so wats left for the ic title, u know his name... dolph ziggler. he can carry the ic belt, with r truth, finlay, khali, and another heel in mike knox to even it out a lil bit. although for seem odd reason i dont see khali in the midcard, rather doin something with the hart dynasty to help them get over, and of course kane can linger here to if needed