Has Ziggler Elevated the IC Title?

[pepentorresHHH]

Since for the last 6 months Ziggler has been all over the IC title, challenging Barrett, Winning and Losing the title against The Miz, feuding with Cesaro and ultimately having his title stolen by Harper but got it back after a ladder match, at the sam time having amazing matches against all this opponents and also people like Rollins, Tyson Kidd, Kane, and others....

Ziggler has said on the record that his goal right now is elevating the prestige of the IC title. In the last 6 months he has won the title 3 times, making him a 4 time champ. His stock in WWE has elevated in the last few months as well. His matches against Cesaro and the triple threat at Smackdown are candidates for Match of the Year. He, with the assistance of Sting, ended the Authority at Survivor Series when he was the lone survivor. Also he has had victories over established main eventers and big opponents like Rollins, Kane, Harper among others.

These victories and a continued focus on the title, IMO, has made the IC title seem more relevant and important than it has been in year, especially now that the WWE Title is missing.

People might say that he has failed in this task as well, he lacks a long dominant reign with the belt, the title has been a hot potato for the last few months and even with the WWE Title gone, the IC still doesn't get the main events...

What side are you on? Has Ziggler`s presence as the face of the IC title division being a plus or a negative?

 

[TheICChampion]

Definitely can't hurt it. I think I need to see Ziggler hold onto it a few months before I can decide whether it's been a good thing or not. The question is have WWE damaged the prestige of the IC title so much that it doesn't matter who holds it? I think Ziggler's one of the best candidates to improve the value of the championship, but again I'm still not sure.

 

[L@RISANO]

I think we can make an accurate analaysis come Mania time, when hopefully still has it.

Personally, I still hope that a unification can happen and we can have the one MidCard Champion instead of 2. The US title continues to be an afterthought even though there are loads of possibilities with Rusev holding it.

At least, the IC title has been having some good matches in recent times with the likes of Harper, Cesaro and even Kidd in the mix. I think having Good Matches for the IC title is a great way to go for the elevation of the title, and Ziggler is a good guy with whom to do it with.

Last night on LIVE SD!, he beat Rollins, so at least he isn't being jobbed out to the Main Guys thus far as that has been a booking problem for the majority of IC Champions whoever they maybe.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Good question, but I can't really answer at the moment.

He has definitely seen his stock rise but the titles are all fucked really. It is about moments and the last time I thought the title really mattered was when Bryan won it at Mania. Ziggler/IC, it's been alright so far; I dunno what it will take for it to be elevated though, like seriously elevated.

 

[MartialHorror]

I don't believe so simply because his reign has been unstable. He keeps losing it and then winning it back, which I think is fine for an angle, but it doesn't make Ziggler credible enough as a champion.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

The Intercontinental Championship has a different value to me now and that reason is not Dolph Ziggler, at least not alone. I think that Brock Lesnar has a lot to do with it, and the fact that the Intercontinental Championship Match could have closed the WWE TLC PPV just makes it look a lot bigger than what in reality is. The title is closing SmackDown, when was the last time that happened?

If the WWE stays committed on elevating Dolph Ziggler and protecting him booking wise and is able to give him good opponents and good storylines for him to evolve and get bigger, then for all means, I'll take my hat of to management, just because I do see Ziggler has a guy with all the tools to make the championship mean something. He's very decent inside the ring and he's very decent with a mic in his hands - he's not the best in the world and he does not even need to be pushed like that, fans decide that, not the WWE, so just give him fresh feuds and good opponents and we'll be riding on the Ziggler bandwagon until WWE fucks it up.

If my predictions are correct, we'll see - Luke Harper, Bad News Barrett, Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, Tyson Kidd, The Miz all in the Intercontinental Title picture in 2015 and this means a lot of great talent, that can capitalize on that ten minute match that we usually get on a TV show, and if the crowd's happy, then the title just looks that damn good.

My say on this is - Brock Lesnar is the one to make the title mean something, mainly because he's the main attraction and isn't there. Also, because of Ziggler because he's been bringing it when management finally decides to give him an opening of some sorts.

 

[Softcore Holly]

I don't believe so simply because his reign has been unstable. He keeps losing it and then winning it back, which I think is fine for an angle, but it doesn't make Ziggler credible enough as a champion.

The title has been hot potatoed quite a bit this year but Dolph never looked bad whenever he dropped it. They protected him pretty well as it was always the heels cheating to win it off him and he always looked good getting back, with the cherry on top being he always made it look hard taking it from him in the first place. For example the last time he lost it was a brutal sneak attack from the Authority beforehand yet it still took a lot of effort from Harper to eventually win the title off him. For a while there I thought Dolph was actually going to somehow retain despite all the odds, that's how strong he looked in that match. Of course we all know that didn't happen but there's not much better ways to lose a title while still looking "credible". Granted giving Miz a 24 hour title reign was really dumb but in the end it didn't do much of anything to Dolph.

Also if the whole drop/win it back formula can do wonders for Edge I think Dolph should be just fine.

More on topic he has certainly elevated it from the low, low place it was not that long ago. Does anyone remember last year's IC champ? (Big E, to say he wasn't ready is putting it extremely mildly) And before him(Axel ) and before him it was Miz/Barrett who were pretty much where Cesaro is now despite being IC champ. Low bar I know but I would certainly call it a upgrade, although not to the level everyone's hoping it'll be.

 

[stingray11214]

Come back to me around May 1, 2015. If he still has the title, or lost it looking good at WM, I will then have a definitive answer for you. In the meantime, just pray the Titan Towers Gang do not drop the ball.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Put it this way: at the end of the match at TLC, I was surprised that Ziggler was being announced as having won the title......because I thought he already had it.

This is how unimportant the IC belt has become. When you consider the days of Ultimate Warrior holding it and giving it up after beating world champion Hulk Hogan, one realizes how far the prestige of this title has fallen. Personally, I don't see that prestige being helped (or hurt) by the likes of Dolph Ziggler, who is a good performer, but whose style as a human pinball alternately bounces him in & out of title contention.

It's not Dolph's fault; it's just that the IC belt means zippo. If they're ever going to bring some "oomph" back to the title, it will take someone a lot more charismatic than Dolph.....in fact, it will take two or more people to feud and get fans excited about the guy who wins the title. Perhaps a couple of main event players who drop down temporarily to battle specifically over the IC belt.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

While Ziggler's IC title situation hasn't been perfect, I do think he's helped to elevate the prestige of the title. We most certainly could have done without Ziggler & Miz playing hot potato with it and I don't necessarily think it was vital for Ziggler to drop the title to Harper in order to get the most out of the story. There's still work to be done, a good deal of it in fact, but the title's in better shape now than it was shortly after Barrett had to vacate it due to injury.

Little things like Ziggler repeatedly saying how much the title means to him and the great matches he's put up while either defending it or trying to regain it have had a greater impact. As I said in another thread about Ziggler, however, it's difficult to let myself get hugely invested in the IC title situation right now because we've seen him in this situation before as he's been the subject of many stop & go pushes or suffered injuries that've derailed his momentum. There's still that little spark of optimism and hope that this will be the strong run as IC champ that I've been hoping for, but it's tempered by Vince's past booking decisions that've stopped Ziggler cold.

 

[Planet_Velvet]

I don't think that Dolph has elevated the prestige of the Intercontinental championship simply because he hasn't held it that long. He's a hell of a performer and I could see him doing so in time. The I-C title has long been tossed around like nothing for a number of years. Dolph could definitely be the one to bring that prestige back. There's not really in WWE who is truly dominant in any sense like there have been in decades past. Everyone in the Universe is trying to find and establish themselves. Dolph being champion gives him somewhat of an advantage in doing so. A series of great defenses or a program that sees him come away as champion can increase the stock of both Ziggs and the championship.

 

[hollowpoint]

My opinion is the prestige has been elevated, but I don't think Ziggler is the main reason for it. He puts on great matches with pretty much anyone and the fact that he has performed while in the IC Title picture makes his matches and the IC Title mean something. The main reason the IC Title mean more now than it ever has is simply due to the lack of WWE World Heavyweight Championship defenses and or appearances since Night of the Champions. One of main things I always love watching while tuning in to WWE programming is watching the champions compete and more importantly, seeing the championship belt. Before Brock walked out with it on Monday like a vulture, I almost forgot that they changed the look of it. That being said, Ziggler needs that memorable IC Title match at WM to culminate a huge rebound year for both him, and the IC Title division. As long as he remains healthy, the sky is the limit.

 

[kadroan]

Since for the last 6 months Ziggler has been all over the IC title, challenging Barrett, Winning and Losing the title against The Miz, feuding with Cesaro and ultimately having his title stolen by Harper but got it back after a ladder match, at the sam time having amazing matches against all this opponents and also people like Rollins, Tyson Kidd, Kane, and others....

Ziggler has said on the record that his goal right now is elevating the prestige of the IC title. In the last 6 months he has won the title 3 times, making him a 4 time champ. His stock in WWE has elevated in the last few months as well. His matches against Cesaro and the triple threat at Smackdown are candidates for Match of the Year. He, with the assistance of Sting, ended the Authority at Survivor Series when he was the lone survivor. Also he has had victories over established main eventers and big opponents like Rollins, Kane, Harper among others.

These victories and a continued focus on the title, IMO, has made the IC title seem more relevant and important than it has been in year, especially now that the WWE Title is missing.

People might say that he has failed in this task as well, he lacks a long dominant reign with the belt, the title has been a hot potato for the last few months and even with the WWE Title gone, the IC still doesn't get the main events...

What side are you on? Has Ziggler`s presence as the face of the IC title division being a plus or a negative?

I don't think he's doing anything with the title. It's not his fault. It's the writers' fault. The IC title should have took the place of the WWE WHC while Brock was gone.

They should have build the shows around the IC Champion. For example, Ziggler shouldn't have been the opening match at HIAC. He should have been in the main event. Meanwhile, Orton and Cena could have still fought over who gets a future title shot against Brock and go forth with the Team Cena vs. Team Authority storyline at Survivor Series. At TLC, Ziggler's match should have closed the show, since his feud with Harper is a small part of the bigger storyline of The Authority vs. Cena.

Until the day comes where the title is being held in higher regard, it doesn't matter who is champion.