So, Dolph Ziggler is the *NEW* Intercontinental Champion

[CyberPunk]

Yes, it happened. Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz to win the IC championship at No Mercy. This is his 5th IC title reign. How do you feel about it?

I've thoroughly enjoyed this feud between Ziggler and Miz, but somewhere I feel there could've been more in the Miz's reign. It was an amazing reign that ended a little too soon. I was really hoping for his title reign to go all the way to Royal Rumble or even Wrestlemania. But, now that Ziggler is champion, what next? Ziggler has been a solid hand in the midcard and upper midcard for quite sometime, but his stocks have fallen greatly since his Survivor Series heroics in 2013. On the other hand, Miz made something out of a nothing situation with his 5th title reign. The best thing Miz has done is to make IC title relevant and seem important again. Can Ziggler continue that?

What do you expect from this title reign of Ziggler? We know there would be a rematch some time in near future, but what after that? Where does the Miz go from here?

 

[Aquaman6686]

This is good for The Miz, who I expect will be challenging for the WWE World Championship fairly soon.

For Ziggler, it really doesn't matter. He's been buried far too deeply for this to pull him out of the hole he's in. Once you spend 6 months jobbing to rookie nobodies on the kickoff show, it's over. Vince will just find another way to humiliate and bury Ziggler. Hell, he'll probably drop the title to some nobody like Apollo Crews or Baron Corbin on SmackDown.

 

[Dave]

I really hope, first and foremost, that they forego the almost obligatory rematch between the two. Yes, the match was a good encounter. But this needs to be the last time that The Miz and Dolph Ziggler share the ring. For some reason, it feels as though these two men have faced off more times than anyone else. And at this point, it has become boring. Dolph has finally got the win over The Miz and won the IC Championship. I really hope this doesn't drag on any longer.

The Miz has shown some of the same potential that took him all the way to the top of the business a little while ago. I am with everyone else that echoes the sentiment that The Miz ought to be further up the card going forward. I don't think it is the time for him to be going up against AJ Styles but I definitely feel that the IC Championship has been holding him back from unleashing his true potential. Now that he has dropped the title, the sky is the limit for the guy. If he can continue to be as entertaining as he has been lately, then I'm more than happy he's no longer Champion.

In terms of the new Champion. Dolph needed that. Dolph has always struck me as a guy who likes being Champion more than he likes to chase it and beating him always seems like a scalp for whoever manages it. I fully expect Dolph to keep the Championship until the turn of the year and then hand it off to someone who is deserving of it.

Like I said, the only thing I am hoping for is them missing out a rematch. Do that and I'll be over the moon.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In some ways, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it.

On one hand, Miz has done a helluva job during his 5th run as Intercontinental Champion and the last 6 months have been some of the best for the title in a good many years. As a result, I wouldn't have minded at all if Miz had retained last night and had an even longer run as champion. On the other hand, as I said in the Miz vs. Ziggler thread for No Mercy, the babyface almost always comes out on top in these sorts of matches and, generally speaking, that's probably the way it should be. What I'm ultimately hoping for is that Ziggler gets the sort of strong treatment as champion that Miz has otherwise they'd have just been better off keeping Miz as champion and not even going for the title vs. career bit in the first place.

From an overall perspective, this has been a classic, old school face vs. heel feud that culminated in the babyface's triumph and the heel getting what he deserves. I thought this was the match of the night last night due in no small part to the storytelling as fans were hanging on every single thing that went down from bell to bell. Given how the show was set up last night, in that the main event ultimately kicked off the show due to the 2nd Presidential Debate, this match really should have closed the show.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

This is good for The Miz, who I expect will be challenging for the WWE World Championship fairly soon.

For Ziggler, it really doesn't matter. He's been buried far too deeply for this to pull him out of the hole he's in. Once you spend 6 months jobbing to rookie nobodies on the kickoff show, it's over. Vince will just find another way to humiliate and bury Ziggler. Hell, he'll probably drop the title to some nobody like Apollo Crews or Baron Corbin on SmackDown.

This is only half true. DZ will surely be sent into the abyss. It's rare midcard championships are kept as interesting as Miz has kept the IC Title for the year. And DZ is as interesting when carrying a feud as his Spirit Squad buddies were. Oh wait. In your lingo: as interesting as Braun Strowman.

The part your wrong on is Miz. By no means is he bad. He's actually got a fairly strong following, on here at least. Of course you'll probably disagree with that because in your world one disagreement means everyone disagrees. But no, Miz will be buried for one reason: you. There is no end to VKM's conspiratorial ways. He's out to get you, Aquaman. In a way, you should feel special.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

I think Ziggler will get a lengthy title reign with the IC Title belt but Miz I see him being moved into the WWE World Title picture

 

[ramblinroy682]

I am a big fan of Ziggler. I thought his work with Vicki was his best, but I've enjoyed much of his career. I always thought he should have been the guy the figure 4 was handed down to by Ric Flair, not the Miz. You can't argue though that Ziggler's career doesn't seem to have aligned to what his talent suggests. I still think he's miscast as a babyface. I think he could be way more over as a chicken-sh!t heel.

Anyhow, he had to win last night. Looking at Smackdown's roster, who are the babyfaces that are over? Cena - not going full-time these days. Orton - doesn't seem like he's wanting to be a full-timer. Ambrose - starting to get booed and acting more like a tweener. After that, who is there really? You've got Swagger, Crews and Ziggler. Smackdown live can't afford to lose the one baby face who's over with the crowd.

I do feel like WWE backed themselves into a bit of a corner though. Miz has made the IC Title feel important. (Strange how that works when you put focus on the title and what it can mean to performers ) How do you keep his heat going. Does he challenge Styles? Does he get a rematch with Ziggler and get the title back on Tuesday? Do you put an enforcer with the Miz who takes out Ziggler costing Miz a disqualification, but getting his heat back? A guy like Corbin. Setting up Corbin vs. Ziggler and allowing Miz to move on to Styles? I don't know, but I am interested in seeing how this plays out.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

After the great match they had at No Mercy there really is no need to have any more matches between these two. It felt like the big finale to a season and that's how it should stay. More matches would be overkill and both can move on and gain from this story. The Miz is really the winner here, he's at the top of his game and made the I.C Title somewhat important again. It's up to Dolph Ziggler to carry that momentum now while The Miz goes a little higher on the card.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

I'm probably one of the few that was extremely happy when Dolph won last night.

This storyline more than any other got me truly invested and hoping the heel will get his comeuppance and the face will get the big win for the title.

non kayfabe though like others I really hope Miz moves up the card. The work he's done as IC champ has been his best work in years and with Cena and Ambrose (maybe) going away for a bit then that leaves the main event scene rather empty.

Now this next part scares me. Dolph has gotten big wins before but he's never really capitalized. Miz did an absolute amazing job of making the Intercontinental Championship means something for the first time in years now Dolph needs to take the momentum he's gotten from this feud with Miz and continue that. Only time will tell if that happens though and I'm excited to find out.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Dolph won and rightfully som because as I said, there was noone left for the Miz. Miz should move upper in the card and feud with Ambrose IMO while Ziggler can have proramms with Crews, Harper, Rowan, maybe even Bray Wyatt.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The status quo for ICICI champs was The Miz, and it continues with Ziggler. It was a really good match but the least interesting outcome. Wade Barrett may as well take the belt next time.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Miz gets it back... it's not rocket science that at Survivor Series, Miz has to put HIS career on the line to get a rematch...

It's kinda perfect for this feud, two more matches, Dolph defends (let's face it we just watched 7 between Cesaro & Sheamus) and riles Miz so badly that he puts his career up. Perhaps some loaded stip where Zig's is again on the line too... but if Miz is now about "one upping" then he has to do what Ziggler did...

What if the first rematch he foolishly put Maryse "up" and lost her as a valet... that would rile him enough to bet his career and win... Especially with Zig's rep with females... storyline wise he's nicked Vicki, Lana, AJ, Summer Rae...so Miz would be "right to be concerned" and rue his mistake.

Where would that leave Ziggler? Well let's face it people were more than fine with the idea of him retiring until last night so losing at Survivor Series to Miz won't be a hardship... He could then do the "go to RAW" thing or as I'm expecting, when there is some kind of feud/fallout with Bryan (to cover paternity time) Zig ends up in the GM slot but "out of the ring" and that all starts with Bryan allowing Miz a rematch.

Miz could move up now but there is more mileage in him winning the IC and either "ditching it" as The Rock did or contending the WWE champ AS #1 contender from the end of November... beating Zig for his career kind of would set that up... Of course Dolph could in theory do the same now against AJ, but that picture is a little crowded...

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Whatever Miz does next, they will continue to fan the flames of the feud with Bryan. Miz has a rematch, but could easily move into the World title scene. Miz has been red hot, and I almost hate to say it, but he kind of deserves it. I'd love to see them drop the "quiet on the set" thing from his entrance, though it does prevent people from popping for the "awesome."

I'm glad that he and Maryse are behaving far less cheesy and the digital ramp effectively removed the ludicrous red carpet. Miz has been far more serious and it's paying off. The only challenge is that Smackdown has a heel World champion and two current challengers, though that could change.

Ziggler and Miz have their obligatory rematch. It would be bad for Ziggler to immediately drop the title back to Miz. As good as this feud has been, how long do we want it to continue and how can they keep it hot now that Ziggler has captured the title?

A lot of this hinges upon what format is chosen for this years Survivor Series. If it's a battle of the brands, then the Ziggler vs Miz rematch most likely goes down on an episode of Smackdown. I doubt they're going to wait two whole months for the rematch.

So either Miz recaptures in December or Ziggler moves onto a new opponent for December. Who does Ziggler face then? I've always liked the idea of Wyatt holding the IC belt, especially considering how hot the strap is. Maybe they'd even let Bray go over Dolph clean?

Other non-Miz heels that could get involved include Corbin, and that's about it. Smackdown's midcard is pretty light these days. I'd love them to turn Apollo heel, he hasn't been connecting as a face at all.

I don't think Ziggler's reign should last through 2016. Let him drop the title at TLC back to Miz or to another heel who can carry it into WrestleMania.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Personally, I think The Miz should have held the Intercontinental title for much longer. He was doing some of his best work in a long time. It was helping him develop into a Main Event calibre heel again. I don't think the title works on Dolph Ziggler since Ziggler hasn't had the proper build-up to be anything special in a long time. It's too bad what happened to Ziggler. I would've believed him to be a threat had they allowed him to keep his Survivor Series momentum, but I don't know how he'd be able to rebound as a believable threat at this point. Perhaps there is one more chance of him getting that somewhere down the line, but if it doesn't amount to anything important...what's the point? The Miz shouldn't have to feud with him any further because it doesn't make sense to win the IC title back when he should have kept it longer in the first place. What a way to set things back. I don't know what's going to happen to The Miz going forward, but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing him enter the WWE World title hunt. Dolph Ziggler is Dolph Ziggler. He'll probably end up dropping the Intercontinental title to someone better than him and it will be the same old story again.