New Intercontinental Champion!

[WrestlingHistorian]

JBL has defeated CM Punk to win the Intercontinental Championship! I repeat, breaking news at this hour, there is a new Intercontinental Champion, JBL pins CM Punk to win the belt and quite possibly will defend it at WrestleMania as the "Big Suprise" by JBL.

More on this situation as it comes in....

EDIT: International Championship Authority confirms the title change and it is 100% official, John Bradshaw Layfield is the new IC Champion.

 

[My$terio_Fan]

Ummm yeah? I wonder where the WWE are going to go with this? Hopefully since JBL is a former maineventer and a good talker the belt get's more airtime and what not, but JBL stinks in the ring and is washed up.

Punk is the second champion in a row to have a horrible waste of a title reign. But hopefully the WWE is able to focus on the title more with JBL as the champion. JBL can get alot of heat and hopefully they use this reign as a way to help one of the younger guys to get a rub from him.

And now I wonder where the WWE is gonna go with the whole "JBL makes history at WM thing". Will he defend the title at WM, and if so who against? At the very least I hope the WWE uses JBL and the IC title well and gives the title more promotion. But I really find JBL laborious in the ring so I can't say I'm to thrilled about this move.

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

For kayfabe and prestige aspect. VVV

International Championship Authority???

I enjoy JBL in the ring, there is just something about him that I enjoy watching, maybe it's the old school feel or whatever, but either way I am excited for his reign and hope he carries it a long time and gives the belt some exposure.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

I think this is a great move personally. Im not quite sure if CM Punk is going to win the MITB match but at this point, its a toss up between him and MVP.
I've always liked JBL and have been waiting for next title reign for a while, does anyone think he'll hold the I.C title for a year like he did with the WWE championship?

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

Fuck.

Another meaningless title reign for Punk, and another shit reign for the IC title.
Maybe JBL can bring it back into the spotlight but honestly, how many bull shit reigns is the title going to have. I'm not really excited about this, i was keen for the Kane/Punk fued that was rumored, that would have been better.

Hip Hip Hoo-fuckin-ray for JBL.

 

[RazorsEdge666]

i hope JBL hold the IC ttile for a good year. he can train some of the new young puppy's on the roster, and at least make some of them descent mid carders. i believe in the next 3 or 4 years a lot of big names will hang up the boots, and a lot of the new pups really suck on the mic. Good move from my eyes. Just wait for JBL to magically make the stock market go up....

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

he can train some of the new young puppy's on the roster, and at least make some of them descent mid carders.

LOL, to bad he always bullies them around though eh?
Either way, im excited for his I.C title reign. I enjoy JBL quite a bit
but I think there are more deserving people out there who can
wear the WWE/World championships.

 

[poconn4]

JBL says he wants to make history. What better way than to go into Wrestlemania than as both the IC champ and the UNITED STATES CHAMPION. I can see him going to Smackdown and taking the strap off of Shelton. That would be history!

 

[justinsayne]

I'm guessing this means JBL will now face Mysterio for the IC title at WM, neither have a match for the big show yet, and supposedly this was how JBL wanted to make history at WM, walking in and out IC champ in his home state, Rey draws too much money for them to leave him off the show while he's healthy (which is rare), so yeah I fully expect to see something along the lines of a JBL/Mysterio IC title match

 

[RazorsEdge666]

He may be an asshole, but thats just tough love. if he can give half of his mic skills to the young pups, raw will have some hope...

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

If JBL works a few programs with a few of the younger guys it could help them out greatly and give the IC title some more prestige in that respect. Give JBL time and I am sure he can raise the stock of the IC title and the men who compete for it.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Well apparently the WWE has an outlook now that the only purpose of the IC title is to simply give it to someone so they can get that title win, and then ignore it until they lose it, giving someone else that title win. Fucking ridiculous.

And what's with their tendency on Raw to beat down the "I want to bring prestige back to the IC title" argument and then book that person to do absolutely nothing with the title, and then lose? Is this some writer's excuse for a shot at the IWC for complaining that the IC title is garbage compared to what it used to be? If that's the case, then that writer needs to learn that he's failing. Its not worth pissing the IWC off to make your product look WORSE in the process. "Oh this will teach those bastards. I'll just fuck it up even more." You don't convince someone that they're wrong about something by doing exactly what they're accusing you of.

And JBL as champion? Come on. Worthless. Him being given the title was a metaphorical "fluff-job" to John Layfield himself to keep his ego and friendship with Vince going, and Creative are the fluffers. JBL was probably promised a title reign when he came out of retirement and complained so they figured they'd give him a Triple Crown notoriety to make up for it, and remember all those reports we were hearing that JBL wanted desperately to be a big part of WrestleMania at least one more time before he retired for good (again)? Yeah, this smells a bit.

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

Well apparently the WWE has an outlook now that the only purpose of the IC title is to simply give it to someone so they can get that title win, and then ignore it until they lose it, giving someone else that title win. Fucking ridiculous.

And what's with their tendency on Raw to beat down the "I want to bring prestige back to the IC title" argument and then book that person to do absolutely nothing with the title, and then lose? Is this some writer's excuse for a shot at the IWC for complaining that the IC title is garbage compared to what it used to be? If that's the case, then that writer needs to learn that he's failing. Its not worth pissing the IWC off to make your product look WORSE in the process. "Oh this will teach those bastards. I'll just fuck it up even more." You don't convince someone that they're wrong about something by doing exactly what they're accusing you of.

And JBL as champion? Come on. Worthless. Him being given the title was a metaphorical "fluff-job" to John Layfield himself to keep his ego and friendship with Vince going, and Creative are the fluffers. JBL was probably promised a title reign when he came out of retirement and complained so they figured they'd give him a Triple Crown notoriety to make up for it, and remember all those reports we were hearing that JBL wanted desperately to be a big part of WrestleMania at least one more time before he retired for good (again)? Yeah, this smells a bit.

Absolutley.

JBL as champ is a joke and completely diminishes Punk's "reign". I'm getting over this bull shit IC title swapping, seriously.

Jericho, yeah he's an 8 time champ but still, didnt do much with the title.
Kofi, um i forget that he's even held it, thats how boring his reign was booked.
Santino, funnily enough, he's probably the only one recently to do anything with the title by trying to defeat Honkey's record.
Regal, boring.
Punk, showed a bit of light that there might be something after mania, the Kane storyline sounded good but ultimatley, his reign was pointless.
JBL, OMG I HATE THIS FUCKER, i really dont like the title being slapped on some wanker wanting one more WM moment or whatever, Jericho should beat the shit out of him for being WORSE than the legends that Jericho talks about.

Fuck it.

 

[Christian Battlez]

Well apparently the WWE has an outlook now that the only purpose of the IC title is to simply give it to someone so they can get that title win, and then ignore it until they lose it, giving someone else that title win. Fucking ridiculous.

And what's with their tendency on Raw to beat down the "I want to bring prestige back to the IC title" argument and then book that person to do absolutely nothing with the title, and then lose? Is this some writer's excuse for a shot at the IWC for complaining that the IC title is garbage compared to what it used to be? If that's the case, then that writer needs to learn that he's failing. Its not worth pissing the IWC off to make your product look WORSE in the process. "Oh this will teach those bastards. I'll just fuck it up even more." You don't convince someone that they're wrong about something by doing exactly what they're accusing you of.

And JBL as champion? Come on. Worthless. Him being given the title was a metaphorical "fluff-job" to John Layfield himself to keep his ego and friendship with Vince going, and Creative are the fluffers. JBL was probably promised a title reign when he came out of retirement and complained so they figured they'd give him a Triple Crown notoriety to make up for it, and remember all those reports we were hearing that JBL wanted desperately to be a big part of WrestleMania at least one more time before he retired for good (again)? Yeah, this smells a bit.

I think giving JBL the gold was a good move. I hate JBL so when I was rooting for him against Punk I was rooting for the belt not him. JBL will be good for the belt because Punk was booked to be bigger than the belt. He will go onto MITB and would have ignored his championship. JBL actually cared when he was WWE Champ and US Champ. He made the belt feel legit. He will care about the IC title. It will get more time on Raw. It will be defended and most importantly will be defended at Wrestlemania. JBL has a good chance of saving the title. Plus on screen JBL wanted so desperately to be a part of the biggest show of the year. When becoming World champ failed he went after Undertaker. When that failed the IC title became his focus. He keeps getting back on his horse and I can't help but respect that.

 

[stingerlegends]

As much as I dislike JBL, he's still a more legit choice than CM Punk. I know most people on here love the guy, but his mic skills are as good as RVD's and his kicks look as good as RVD's punches. (neither of which is saying all that much)

JBL has a lot of cheap heat right now, and that can carry the title a HELL of a lot further than babyfaces could hope to. Good choice WWE.

 

[chief]

If JBL could go on a run similar to his WWE Title run, then the IC title could gain some prestige.
Also, an IC title defense at WM25 would be a huge surprise since it hasn't been defended at a WM in forever.
He needs a good few fueds though before he loses it. Unlike Regal/Punk when we all knew that Punk would eventually win it once the DQ bullsh*t was over.

Hopefully, WWE doesn't drop the ball on this one, but the writers haven't been able to hold the ball in a long time

 

[Y2Jathon]

I do not like JBL, but i love jbl as intercontinental champion, its a perfect situation for the wwe, it takes a great talent like jbl (on mic not in ring) and rewards him, while at the same time helping raw out big time. he pulls his name out of the over crowded main event list that is on raw now. he won't hog time up with people who matter like hbk, taker, hhh or cena and he will get out of the way out of important stories. he can sit and talk about how he is a wrestling god, blah blah blah, feud with mid carder faces (kofi, rey, punk, even cryme tyme) and cheat and win and move the title to a place where when someone beats him it means something.

or he can job to santino and we restart thee honk-o-meter.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

It seems with the IWC, nobody can win. Everyone is complaining about Punk not doing a freaking thing with the IC belt and only having it for such a short period of time...yet, when they give it to someone who actually looks like he's going to do something with it...people still complain.

Bottom line...they NEEDED to get the belt off of Regal, right? Yes. Now, not implying that this was their plan from the beginning, but who would tune into a William Regal v. JBL match. That's right...7 people. So, put it on Punk. Face-Heel is now set up.

CM Punk...who has other storylines going besides the IC belt...or JBL...who is a bigger star than Punk but has NO storylines going? Hmmm...seems to me like WWE made to right move here. IC title = in the spotlight now.

 

[thewholedamnshow]

I agree to with all of this i mean i love punk as champ but having JBL(a semi established name in the WWE loving his title win does a lot for that very title) if he can hold it and defend it regularly it will bring that title up to a new level. especially if he lost it to someone of the likes of hbk or undertaker ya know like someone whos beeen around and needs an ic title reign. they could build up a good prestige for this title. they need to get that title back to something thats meaningful to put new younger talents over

 

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

I don't think JBL having the IC title brings anything. I don't think JBL letting younger guys go over him brings anything. I don't buy JBL as a main event talent and I think fans agree so him being a former world champ with the IC title means nothing to me. I could never remember who held the lower level titles recently and this isn't going to help. If it means more TV time for JBL then it means more time for me to do something else or change the channel.

In all reality, if Santino still had the IC belt we would remember it and we would remember when he lost it to someone "worthy" of the belt. No matter, there are still like 96 belts left that other guys can go for...

 

[supergav67]

Internet leaks or not,I cant believe winning the IC was JBLs "big surprise".Theres gotta be more,surely.
Still,without sounding nasty.being Friend Of Vince.JBL & thus the IC title ShoulD start getting a look in on Raw AnD PPVs.If thats what it takes surely EverybodyS happy,,,or did I spoke too soon,,,!

 

[suleman09]

Hate me if you want, i like JBL
he is one hell of a wrestler, he might not look so good compared to the younger and faster talent, but he is a great heavyweight in his own right.
All his accomplishments are not for nothing, he earned it, so respect that at least.
i think JBL as New Intercontinental Champion is a good move for him, he is now a ONE time IC Champion, so he's adding to his list of accomplishments, is that not a "major" thing for him?
I think he will bring the IC Title name up more.

 

[foundation611]

I do not like JBL, but i love jbl as intercontinental champion, its a perfect situation for the wwe, it takes a great talent like jbl (on mic not in ring) and rewards him, while at the same time helping raw out big time. he pulls his name out of the over crowded main event list that is on raw now. he won't hog time up with people who matter like hbk, taker, hhh or cena and he will get out of the way out of important stories. he can sit and talk about how he is a wrestling god, blah blah blah, feud with mid carder faces (kofi, rey, punk, even cryme tyme) and cheat and win and move the title to a place where when someone beats him it means something.

or he can job to santino and we restart thee honk-o-meter.

I totally agree with this. It gets the title back in the spotlight which is great and I was actually rooting for him to win last night against Punk (who I like) just to get the belt back in a match at Mania and bring back some prestige to the belt. I actually watched the Savage/Steamboat match yesterday and they fought as if they were going after the WWF title. It was huge back in the day and had value. JBL will hopefully bring that back to the title. It also does get him out of the crowded Main Event scene which is a great thing. People despise him so much they'll be rooting big time for his opponents just like his WWE title reign so its a good thing indeed.

 

[Savage1]

Honestly I'm pretty fucking pissed that Punk keeps getting shafted with these meaningless title reigns! Punk is legitimate and is over and talented and he deserves a title run to build up the value of the belt and himself. He is a future leader of this group of young stars and I'm sick of WWE totally F'ing up his swagger. Creative or Vince needs to pull thier heads out of thier collective sphincters and get it right when it comes to Punk. I just hope that JBL can do something for the title itself cuz he is torture to watch in the ring! The belt needs a boost but JBL just needs the boot! Maybe they give it to Christian or RVD returns at mania and beats JBL for it...I don't know wats gonna happen but whatever it is it better make up for the Punk debacle and take the belt off JBL eventually and by eventually I mean like 2morrow!

 

[Mjolnir]

I totally agree with everyone who likes this move...

When you think about what a heel is supposed to be, JBL is the real deal. I mean, how many of you pop for Orton, Edge, JERICHO... damn, I even hear people on here talking up The Brian Kendrick! Jiggly-Boobs Layfield (I saw it on a sign in the background of Raw... classic) makes you want to smack the twisted smirk right off his face. When I hear his music, I cringe. I want to see someone come out and whoop his ass.

I think this was a genius booking for the Intercontinental Title. I remember back in the day when this title was far more exciting than the Heavyweight Title when the likes of Mr. Perfect, Honky Tonk Man, Macho Man, etc. were gunning for a chance with this belt. Attitude Era... same story. I think that the heat that JBL has will bring some life to this title chase, and who knows... maybe Joey Styles will come out for a shoot match at WM25 with him and knock his teeth out.

You can say a lot of things about JBL (and I often do), but one thing you can't say is that he doesn't sell his greed for recognition and championship reigns.