John Morrison- Best Intercontinental Champion of the 21st century?

[Blade]

I know alot of people will instantly want to answer 'No'. But think about this one carefully.

Firstly, no one in The Attitude Era had a better title reign. Or at least, in 2000-2001 anyway. The Intercontinental Title was just passed around between various midcarders every month or two. Go on, look at the records, the longest IC title reign was a mere 78 days in the later years of the attidude era. It was just passed around, with Jericho being the only real mainstay.

Between 2002-2009, there haven't been many great IC champions. There have been decent champions, like Ric Flair and Jeff Hardy, and there have been long reigns like Shelton's 244 days. But no single reign that's been as entertaining or has brought as much credibility to the title as Morrison's.

The only reign that can rival Morrison's, is in 2003/2004 when a young Randy Orton got the title. For most of his IC title reign, he was in the midst of a great feud with Mick Foley. He even defeated Foley at Backlash, with the IC title on the line. Orton only successfully defended the title twice during his 7 month reign, but that was during the brand exclusive PPVs. But at the time, Orton's feud with Foley and various legends was more important than the IC title.

Since Morrison has got the IC title, it has been all about the title. He gave a heartfelt speech where he thanked Rey Mysterio thanking him for the opportunity, the feud with Ziggler was all about the IC title and he's a fighting champion in every sense.

So I ask you, Is John Morrison's current reign as Intercontinental champion the best we've seen in the 21st century? Or does your vote go to someone else?

 

[DrFeelgood624]

I would say John Morrison's reign has got to be the best reign of the new millennium. I mean there is only a couple of people you could even argue come close:

Shelton Benjamin: any of his reigns, what did he do? I remember his work with Carlito, and RVD.

Jeff Hardy: His most recent reign, where he beat Umaga and lost to Jericho due to suspension. I think he defended the title vs Carlito in a ladder match on Raw. He had also a couple few token title defenses against Snitsky, where we all knew the title was in no danger. He also defended the title against the WWE champ Randy Orton around their Royal Rumble match. The problem with this reign was it was easy to forget he was Intercontinental champ, because he was more concerned with winning the big one.

I feel another month or so with the title Morrison would be without a doubt the best IC champs of the century. Countless title defenses against Ziggler, he had 1 against Escobar, a good showing at Survivor Series, and he beat a very credible Rey Mysterio for the title. I say if Mysterio uses his rematch and Morriosn retains that would do a lot for Morrison and the IC title. I am really enjoying his reign and think his reign is one step away from without a doubt being the best of the century.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Morrison is bringing a lot of prestige to the title right now, but I don't know if I would call it the best of the 21st century. I so badly want to say William Regal. When William Reagl beat Santino for the title, I was so happy because his win brought respect back to that belt. Before Regal's win, the IC title was being made out to be a joke, but when the title went to a credible wrestler, life was breathed back into it.

I'm going with Orton's. When Orton became IC champ, it was perfect timeing. He was the young stud in Evolution, and like you said, he had a great feud with Foley. Orton also put on a damn good match with Edge at a ppv I forget the name of. Orton's opponets were a lot more stronger than Morrison's, which made him look like a dominat champion.

 

[Big Sexy]

This isn't even close to the best reign of the 21'st century. Shelton had a great reign in 2004 defeating the likes of Chris Jericho and Christian in some great matches. Randy Orton's reign was great as he feuded with Booker T and RVD over the belt. This was also the same time he had his feud with Mick Foley and had a very good hardcore match with him. Ric Flair also had a very good reign a few years ago.

Morrison really hasn't done anything. He has only had the title for 2 months and the only guys he has defended the title against are Dolph Ziggler and last week Eric Escobar. With the exception of the 2 out of 3 falls match none of the matches were anything spectacular.

 

[Coco]

Not even close. Morrison has had a grand total of one credible contender. He has a chance to become the best of the 21st century, but he's nowhere near the top of the list yet.

Orton defended the championship on Raw at least twice, in major main event matches. One of the was against Rob Van Dam about a month after he won the title, the other was in a triple threat against RVD and Booker T. I'm sure if I wasn't just thinking about RVD, I could list more Randy Orton title defenses. So Blade, you'd be wrong about his only defenses being on PPV.

If we can combine people's reigns as IC Champion, RVD did some decent work for the belt. Wins over Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Jeff Hardy (European Championship Unification Ladder match), Tommy Dream (Hardcore Championship Unification match), Chirs Jericho (Cage match), Christain (Ladder match), Shelton Benjamin, and a fatal four way... Sure, he had a lot of individually average reigns, but I think it adds up to some damn decent work, and I can't help but feel he's one of the people most associated with the IC belt this decade.

Morrison has soem work to do.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I'm going to go with Orton as being the best of the 21st century. He defended his title in some good matches against RVD, Booker T, Shelton Benjamin, and Edge. He even feuded with Foley but it never seemed that the IC title wasn't cared about during that feud even though their match was for the title. Nevertheless, it was a good reign and it did pay off for Orton at the end albeit a crappy end. There just aren't that many competitors for Morrison on SD now that Mysterio's injured and Ziggler has had his chances.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Actually.... yes, I think you're right. There have been so many Intercontinental championship reigns in the 21st century and few of them stand out because few of them lasted long and even fewer had good feuds with good matches.

He has had the title for a while now, longer than any reign for the past year. Jericho had it for 111 days in 2008, although that reign wasn't that great. I had forgotten about it, but had checked wikipedia to see how Morrison's current reign compares to the more recent ones before it. Same goes for Jeff Hardy's 190 day reign right before Jericho's 111 day one. All I remember about Jeff in 2007-2008 was when he feuded with Orton, and that was for the WWE title, not the IC title. Aside from those two reigns, Morrison's is the longest since when he had the title in 2006 as Johnny Nitro, and in a few days it will be longer than that too. So we've got length of the title run covered.

He has also had fantastic matches during this run. During his 2006 IC title reign it was mainly just Jeff Hardy that he faced. In this one he has faced Mysterio (who he won the title from), Ziggler on several occasions, Escobar, and it I'm sure there will be even more great matches to come. I can't wait to see who he will face next.

I will say that John Morrison's current run with the IC title is indeed the best of the 21st century.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Pretty sure that John Morrison hasn't even had the best IC title reign this year, let alone this decade. And while the Rey Mysterio reign might've produced a couple of good matches, even that wasn't a great reign. After all, half of it was him having some pretty average matches with Dolph Ziggler.

I wasn't even under the impression that John Morrison had done anything of note since winning the title. He won it in a good match and he's had lots of average ones since. This reign is no different than the one that he had three years ago. I'd even say that his feud with Jeff Hardy over the IC title is better than anything he's done with the belt this time round.

 

[SavageTaker]

John Morrison has been a good IC champion so far but as far as being the best of the 21st century, I have to disagree. Sure, he’s had some pretty good matches throughout his various reigns, but for the most part his reigns have been pretty forgettable.

I’m guessing you want to know who I think is the best IC champion of this century if I don’t think it’s Morrison, right? Well that’s a very simple choice for me. It’s Rob Van Dam.

He held the IC title for the first time when he defeated William Regal at WM18. But to be honest, I don’t really remember if that match was good or not…and it’s probably because it wasn’t very memorable. However, Van Dam has had a lot of memorable matches for the title whilst he held it 6 times.

First memorable match that comes to mind is him vs. Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match. I remember the match being pretty good and me liking it, which after is what matters to me. Now, John Morrison has had some good matches while he was IC champion, but I don’t think none or many of them were as good as some of the matches RVD had with the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Christian, and others.

Also, Van Dam was a bigger star than Morrison when he was holding the IC title. Van Dam could have been big and held a world title a long time ago, but it never happened for whatever reason. He was given numerous world title shots and no one come here and say that he obviously didn’t win the big one because he wasn’t good enough. He was damn well good enough and was over with the fans…way more over than Morrison.

Van Dam has been a more memorable champion than Morrison and I think he’s produced better matches. Also, he’s been way more popular than Morrison and I think he is not only a better IC champion than Morrison, but he’s also the best the 21st century has seen so far.

 

[klunderbunker]

No, not even close. I think I know what's causing this.

Morrison is having a decent reign as champion and is the perfect fit for the IC Title. he's a young guy that has a lot of potential but isn't ready for the main event yet. That's what the IC Title was supposed to be for: giving people something to get them over to the next level with. The problem is that the belt has sunk so low that it meant very little anymore. Morrison is slowly rebuilding the title's credibility so you automatically think it's a great reign. It's a fine reign, but it's not even close to the best of this decade. It's not really even in the argument.

 

[Dagger Dias]

John Morrison is has been a good IC champion so far but as far as being the best of the 21st century, I have to disagree. Sure, he’s had some pretty good matches throughout his various reigns, but for the most part his reigns have been pretty forgettable.

Why's that? His reign(s) in 2006 when he was feuding with Jeff Hardy and a few others were good too, and I feel that this one is even better. He has put on great matches.

I’m guessing you want to know who I think is the best IC champion of this century if I don’t think it’s Morrison, right? Well that’s a very simple choice for me. It’s Rob Van Dam.

He held the IC title for the first time when he defeated William Regal at WM18. But to be honest, I don’t really remember if that match was good or not…and it’s probably because it wasn’t very memorable. However, Van Dam has had a lot of memorable matches for the title whilst he held it 6 times.

I don't really remember that match either, it was during the Post-War Era and that was the timeframe that I watched WWE the least.

First memorable match that comes to mind is him vs. Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match. I remember the match being pretty good and me liking it, which after is what matters to me. Now, John Morrison has had some good matches while he was IC champion, but I don’t think none or many of them were as good as some of the matches RVD had with the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Christian, and others.

It's been a while, I may have to look a couple up on youtube to refresh my memory. Morrison's matches during this IC reign have been incredible though, you gotta admit that.

Also, Van Dam was a bigger star than Morrison when he was holding the IC title. Van Dam could have been big and held a world title a long time ago, but it never happened for whatever reason. He was given numerous world title shots and no one come here and say that he obviously didn’t win the big one because he wasn’t good enough. He was damn well good enough and was over with the fans…way more over than Morrison.

At the time, yes. I'll give you that one. Morrison is on the path to becoming one of the top faces and the future of the company. He'll be ten times more over soon, perhaps even at this time next year. That hasn't happened yet though, so I'll give you that one too.

Van Dam has been a more memorable champion than Morrison and I think he’s produced better matches. Also, he’s been way more popular than Morrison and I think he is not only a better IC champion than Morrison, but he’s also the best the 21st century has seen so far.

If Morrison's reign ends sometime soon, you may be right.... but if it continues, I think it has the chance to be one of the greatest ever and definitely the best of this century.

 

[SavageTaker]

Why's that? His reign(s) in 2006 when he was feuding with Jeff Hardy and a few others were good too, and I feel that this one is even better. He has put on great matches.

Him facing Jeff Hardy and Umaga are probably the only matches I remember from Morrison’s previous reigns. They were good at the time but nothing good enough for me to remember a few years later. Hence why they were pretty forgettable.

I don't really remember that match either, it was during the Post-War Era and that was the timeframe that I watched WWE the least.

I’m sure the reason the match isn’t remember by either you or me is because his other matches while holding the IC title were much better. Although, I may have to watch the match sometime. Regal is a good worker and Van Dam has always been entertaining so it might have been a decent match that overshadowed by much bigger matches like Rock vs. Austin.

It's been a while, I may have to look a couple up on youtube to refresh my memory.

You should. It’s been a while for me since watching some of RVD’s matches so I might have to search them too.

Morrison's matches during this IC reign have been incredible though, you gotta admit that.

I’ll admit that he has had some pretty damn good matches with wrestlers like Jeff Hardy, Umaga, and Rey Mysterio not to long ago. However, overall there are few matches that I’ll remember in a few years…or even a few months. It’s the complete opposite with RVD. There are matches that he was in from years ago that I remember. I just think RVD has been a much more memorable and entertaining champion that John Morrison has been so far with his reigns.

At the time, yes. I'll give you that one. Morrison is on the path to becoming one of the top faces and the future of the company. He'll be ten times more over soon, perhaps even at this time next year. That hasn't happened yet though, so I'll give you that one too.

It is possible that he’ll end up being more popular than RVD…but we won’t really know that until we actually see it happen. So we should keep this debate on what they did/have done when they held the title. Not what could be the future.

If Morrison's reign ends sometime soon, you may be right.... but if it continues, I think it has the chance to be one of the greatest ever and definitely the best of this century.

Like I said, it’s possible. Anything is possible in the world of pro-wrestling. But let’s not focus on things we don’t know for sure because we haven’t seen them happen. Let’s focus on things we do know…which is RVD being a much better IC champion than Morrison and being the best of the 21st century so far.

 

[The Best At What I Do]

Also, Van Dam was a bigger star than Morrison when he was holding the IC title. Van Dam could have been big and held a world title a long time ago, but it never happened for whatever reason.

What a strange thing to say when I remember marking the fuck out when RVD beat SuperCena for the WWE championship. Of course he lost it a couple days later cuz the weed has been so good to him but he did win the big one at 1 point

 

[Dagger Dias]

Him facing Jeff Hardy and Umaga are probably the only matches I remember from Morrison’s previous reigns. They were good at the time but nothing good enough for me to remember a few years later. Hence why they were pretty forgettable.

I've forgotten most of Van Dam's too, since it was a long time ago and also because I missed parts of the Post-War era. The matches between Morrison and Hardy in 2006 were so great at the time, I was a big fan of both at the time. I'm not really a fan of Hardy anymore, but if he came back I would not mind seeing that feud revisited. I enjoyed it almost as much as Morrison's feud this year with Ziggler.

I’m sure the reason the match isn’t remember by either you or me is because his other matches while holding the IC title were much better. Although, I may have to watch the match sometime. Regal is a good worker and Van Dam has always been entertaining so it might have been a decent match that overshadowed by much bigger matches like Rock vs. Austin.

True, Rock VS Austin overshadows everything!

You should. It’s been a while for me since watching some of RVD’s matches so I might have to search them too.

The main ones I remember at this point are his ECW run in 2006 when the third brand was first made.... that and the triple threat against Edge and Cena, which Edge won, that summer.

I’ll admit that he has had some pretty damn good matches with wrestlers like Jeff Hardy, Umaga, and Rey Mysterio not to long ago. However, overall there are few matches that I’ll remember in a few years…or even a few months. It’s the complete opposite with RVD. There are matches that he was in from years ago that I remember. I just think RVD has been a much more memorable and entertaining champion that John Morrison has been so far with his reigns.

Yeah, me forgetting those had more to do with me just being a casual fan since I did not like the product much during that time as much as I did during the attitude era or now. I believe I'll remember this IC run of Morrison's several years from now though.

It is possible that he’ll end up being more popular than RVD…but we won’t really know that until we actually see it happen. So we should keep this debate on what they did/have done when they held the title. Not what could be the future.

That's very doable. I can keep going forever until either I finally am hit by a post that I can't argue anything in, or if my opponent gives up.... lol....

Like I said, it’s possible. Anything is possible in the world of pro-wrestling. But let’s not focus on things we don’t know for sure because we haven’t seen them happen. Let’s focus on things we do know…which is RVD being a much better IC champion than Morrison and being the best of the 21st century so far.

You make a convincing argument, but I still say Morrison's is slightly better. I am excited to see who he faces next.

 

[Big Sexy]

The thread title is kind of misleading. If you look at the original post he was asking who has had the best IC title reign this century, not who has been the best IC champion overall this century.

With that in mind it really comes down to two guys. Randy Orton and Shelton Benjamin.

Orton- He was really the last guy this century who used the IC title as a way to catapult himself into the main event. He won the title from RVD and held the title for more then 7 months. He had some great matches defending the title against RVD, Booker T, and Shelton Benjamin. He also had a great hardcore match with Mick Foley. He finally lost the title to Edge and then went directly to the main event scene.

Benjamin- Shelton's first reign with the title lasted for 8 months. The fans voted him in to face Jericho at Taboo tuesday and they put on a great match. Benjamin defended the title against the likes of Jericho and Christian until finally losing it to Carlito.

I'd say Orton's reign was slightly better, but only because of the aftermath. Orton's reign put him in the main event. Benjamin's reign got him a losing streak and his mom as his manager.

 

[SavageTaker]

What a strange thing to say when I remember marking the fuck out when RVD beat SuperCena for the WWE championship. Of course he lost it a couple days later cuz the weed has been so good to him but he did win the big one at 1 point

Before I continue my debate with Dagger, I’d like to respond to you. Yes, he did get to hold the World Title, but he could have held it a long time ago (before he held it for the first time) if he was given a chance. He was extremely over. People loved him and he was one of the top faces on Raw. But like I mentioned earlier, he was never given a chance for whatever reason.

Anyways…

I've forgotten most of Van Dam's too, since it was a long time ago and also because I missed parts of the Post-War era.

And I think that’s what the problem is with Morrison’s reigns. Sure, he has some good matches but most of them are never anything special enough for me to remember how I entertained I was when I saw them. I think that’s one of the reason why I think an Dam is a better champion. He was able to have better matches that ended up being more memorable.

The matches between Morrison and Hardy in 2006 were so great at the time, I was a big fan of both at the time. I'm not really a fan of Hardy anymore, but if he came back I would not mind seeing that feud revisited. I enjoyed it almost as much as Morrison's feud this year with Ziggler.

To be honest, I haven’t been keeping up with that feud lately, but from what I’ve seen the feud is decent but nothing special. Don’t get me wrong though, if they are able to deliver in the ring then I don’t think there is a lot wrong with that.

Yeah, me forgetting those had more to do with me just being a casual fan since I did not like the product much during that time as much as I did during the attitude era or now. I believe I'll remember this IC run of Morrison's several years from now though.

I think the reason why you and other people will remember Morrison’s reign more than RVD’s is because it’s more recent. Still though, for anyone that was watching regularly when RVD was champion will remember that he had better matches and they’ll probably remember his reigns more than they’ll remember Morrison’s…unless his reigns become memorable.

You make a convincing argument,

I try my best.

but I still say Morrison's is slightly better. I am excited to see who he faces next.

I still don’t see how he’s better. Sure, he’s had some good matches here and there but overall, his reigns aren’t better than RVD’s reigns because of the reasons I have already given you.

EDIT:

The thread title is kind of misleading. If you look at the original post he was asking who has had the best IC title reign this century, not who has been the best IC champion overall this century.

I just re-read the OP and I get what you're saying, it's pretty misleading. However, I still stand by my choice that RVD had better reigns. I however wouldn't be able to choose one because I don't remember what # reign he was in when he was being extremely entertaining against some of the guys I previously mentioned.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Big Sexy actually made a good point, let's stick to individual IC title reigns. I've got Morrison's current one. We shouldn't stray off topic.

----------------------------------

And I think that’s what the problem is with Morrison’s reigns. Sure, he has some good matches but most of them are never anything special enough for me to remember how I entertained I was when I saw them. I think that’s one of the reason why I think an Dam is a better champion. He was able to have better matches that ended up being more memorable.

Which one if his reigns are you picking to stick behind as the very best one then? We kind of went off topic a little.

I think the reason why you and other people will remember Morrison’s reign more than RVD’s is because it’s more recent. Still though, for anyone that was watching regularly when RVD was champion will remember that he had better matches and they’ll probably remember his reigns more than they’ll remember Morrison’s…unless his reigns become memorable.

It being recent is a coincidence in this case. I believe that people will remember John Morrison's 2009 IC title run many years from now because of the great matches and feuds he has had.

I still don’t see how he’s better. Sure, he’s had some good matches here and there but overall, his reigns aren’t better than RVD’s reigns because of the reasons I have already given you.

This individual reign itself has been better. You might have me beat but we both forgot that this wasn't about over reigns but individual ones. I slipped up there too, so this round's a draw so that we can get back on topic lol....

 

[Goldlust]

Morrison has had a good reign as champ, but it has definitely not been the best reign of the 21st century. Despite recieving a large amount of praise for his reign as champion just a few months ago, I believe that Rey Mysterio has had the best, as well as the most important, Intercontinental championship reign of the past decade.

Just think about it, the Intercontinental title was for the longest time, the stepping stone to the main event. It was an incredibly prestigious title which tested the waters for potential future main eventers. But for absolutely ages the title had lost a lot of its honour. The title was just passed around between random guys who had nothing else to do, there would be basically no feuds for the title and once a champion had lost the strap they would pretty much be in the exact same position on the card as when they began, it was pretty pointless.

Between the 2nd October 2006 and the 10th March 2008 the title changed hands a total of 7 times. Every single one of those title changes happened on an episode of Raw. And whilst i'm all for providing excitement and titles changing hands on live T.V, when the major titles change hands it should happen for the majority of the time on PPV. The title was being passed around regularly on free T.V and then the champion wasn't even making it onto the PPV card. The Intercontinental title had lost its worth.

Then Rey Mysterio turned up. Now usually I am a not a big of the guy, but his time as IC champion was really something. He turned up at Wrestlemania as a former World Champion who desperatly wanted to the win the IC title, something he did in a very dominating fashion. He went on to have potentially the feud of the year with Jericho over the strap. The fact that two former WWE champions wanted the IC title so badly really helped to add prestige back to the title. Mysterio then went on to feud with the young Dolph Ziggler, providing a very exciting series of matches with the belt on the line.

Rey Mysterio had the best IC title reign of the past decade as he (as well as Jericho and Ziggler) helped make the title mean something again. John Morrison's time as champ has been impressive as it is making him look like a credible future main eventer. However the only reason he is looking so impressive is that Mysterio made the belt Morrison is currently holding actually worth a damn and not just a cheap prop that any wrestler with an ounce of talent can hold if they having nothing better to do.