King of the Ring vs. Intercontinental Title

[123NewChamp]

Greetings all,

I haven't ben on here in a few months, an thought of an interesting question that may spark an interesting debate. My Question is Which was the key component in helping propel WWE Mid-Carders to the main event pictures or great success they had throughout their careers? The King Of The Ring or The Intercontinental Title?

To begin, both were key components to catapulting WWE Mid-Carder to the upper stages of their career. The King Of The Ring was a 16 man Tournament that in which the last person left standing without being pinned throughout the series of matches wins the tournament and sometimes earning a WWE Title Shot. Some notable winners includes Bret Hart, Owen Hart, King Mabel, Stone Cold, Triple H, Billy Gunn, Billy Gunn, Brock Lesnar, Edge, and William Regal.

While the IC Title was a Mid-Card Title that I have noticed throughout the years have propelled some great IC Champs into even more greater success. Such Superstars includes: Mr. Perfect, Dolph Ziggler, RVD, Y2J, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, The Rock. And some who were also crowned as great intercontinental Champions like the Ultimate Warrior, The Honky Tonk Man, and Rick Martel. As well Bret Hart, Stone Cold, Owen Hart, and Triple H, who all won the title after winning King Of The Ring Tournament.

So which so you consider a the better transition to success? The way through the King Of The Ring Tournament, or the Reign as Intercontinental Champion? And Why?

 

[Slash-LN]

It kind of varies from person to person.

For example when Bret won it in 91 it wasn't a big deal. He went on to win the IC title and that kind of propelled him. I would think the only reason he won it in 93 was to help his feud with Jerry Lawler.

Owen winning in 94 was to help his feud with Bret but it also gave him the King of Hearts moniker. That was a pretty good change for him. The IC title came later but I'd say in his case the King of the Ring had more impact on his career and helped him more than being IC champion did.

Had it not been for Austin winning the King of the Ring we may have never heard the phrase Austin 3:16 and Austin may not have become as big of a star. That being said Austin's feud with The Rock over the IC title really helped his career.

Mabel won the tournament and then entered into the feud with Diesel but if we're being honest he was a failure as a king. I don't think the IC title would have helped him any either.

For Triple H the intercontinental title was probably a bigger deal for him. Him being King of the Ring wasn't a huge deal.

Edge would probably be the same as Hunter. Him being Intercontinental champion probably had a bigger impact on his career than being King of the Ring.

For Brock he was going to get a mega push no matter what and probably would have been in the same position even if he wasn't ever in the tournament. It might have helped him slightly to go over someone like RVD but really he would have been okay without the KOTR.

Booker T probably benefited from the KOTR because he had a whole gimmick based around it.

For guys with the Intercontinental title like Perfect, Rude and Honky Tonk Man it really allowed them to cement their place in history because they won the title when it actually meant something.

For Shawn, Warrior and Bret it was a really good transition and again they held the title when it meant something. Same with Savage who also won a King of the Ring tournament.

If I had to pick one or the other though I'd say the Intercontinental title has meant more in the history of the company than the King of the Ring.

Measuring up who has won each "title" and the Intercontinental title would be more impressive.

 

[Ubermensch]

Basically the KOTR is once a year, whereas the IC title is always changing hands so I would say the IC title has been a better catalyst.

Remember, Austin went from the KOTR>IC Title>Heavyweight title.

I would say at the end of the day, even considering the King of the Ring as measure of success for the individual winner, the Intercontinental title is almost always a prerequisite for the WWE championship in the careers of a wrestlers where the King of the Ring has not been. I think even some King of the Ring winners have not even won the IC title.

 

[thebarber]

depends on how it is booked.
King of the Ring early on didnt lead to successful Main Event title runs or even long main event longevity(Owen Hart, Mabel, Shamrock, Bully Gunn) to name a few.
The IC Title was nearly a lay down walk up start to the main event (Savage, Warrior, Hart, Michaels, Austin) but was also put on the great in-ring technicians who were warming up the number 2 heel for their run with Hogan.
Neither guarantees a solid main event run, it all falls back on how the booking team do their job to get stories and talent over