Wade Barrett is the *NEW* WWE Intercontinental Champion

[Jack-Hammer]

On last night's Raw, Wade Barrett faced Kofi Kingston in a "Champion's Choice" match for the title and successfully took the title from him. Last night's Raw was taped and if you've been anywhere near a wrestling website the past few days, there was no way to avoid the spoilers for this match. Even if you didn't read the spoilers for Raw, like me, there were other articles & stories making it clear that the IC title had changed hands just with their name alone.

I think Barrett will be in the main event picture before too long, but I've no problem if WWE gives him a strong run run as a heel IC champ. Barrett has the ability, that's obvious. WWE gave him a lame duck run with the title back in 2011 so I'm hoping that they've wised up. With Triple H having more power & influence, it's unlikely that Barrett's run will be a throwaway.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Wade Barrett's had a pretty lackluster career for me. He started out with Nexus, which did very well during most of its run. But Corre was awful. He started building up some momentum while he was feuding with Orton, but then he got injured. When he came back I was actually very anticipated to see where they were going to take his "open for business" storyline. But then they dropped it out of the blue. Since then he's just been floundering in my opinion. He hasn't dropped on the card, but he hasn't done anything that's impressed either.

Maybe winning the IC Title will change that and he'll have some good feuds over the next few months with it. Being the Road To WM29, maybe he'll even get a WM moment. I see a lot of potential with him, but not a whole lot has materialized. I wish him good luck.

He's got to get past Kofi soon though, because their little feud hasn't been that interesting so far. Who I think might be a good feud after Kofi is, is a returning Christian. Would be some good matches and Christian wouldn't have a problem jobbing to Barrett. The sad thing is I'm having trouble thinking of another midcard face that he could feud with. It's not so much that the WWE couldn't write a feud between someone like Gabriel, Kidd or anyone along those lines. It's that I'm not sure the feud could interest anyone since a lot of the face jobbers can't cut a promo worth a damn. They could always try and bring Miz into the picture.

Anyways, good for Barrett. I hope he can make something of this chance finally.

 

[Pedigree1]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh yes thank you Wade Barrett thank you!! Its not that Kofi was a bad IC champion he was just not memorable. Wade will bring legitimacy to the IC title. Much like cody did with his run Wade i think will hold on to the title till at least summerslam time.

Wade was primed for big things last year until his elbow was destroyed and that derailed him big time. I like wade alot. He has the look of a WHC the swagger of a WHC and can talk on the stick pretty well. With Trips now in charge i think Wade will have his first WM this year and many more to come.

I expect this year to be Wade's year. Dude is legit and can wrestle pretty well.

 

[DethMetal]

I'm a huge fan of both Kofi and Barrett. Therefore, I was glad that Wade finally got some steam since his return, but at the same time, I don't want to see Kingston get lost in the shuffle again.

Hopefully, Barrett can cement himself as a prime time heel once again with an IC Title reign, and could possibly even bring it back to the point that Cody Rhodes brought it back to. It's kind of sad, because Nexus was going great for a while, and then it got messed up. The Corre looked like it had potential, at least when they were feuding with the New Nexus, and the ball got dropped again. Wade's feud with Orton was pretty good, but injuries came into play. Since Wade Barrett came back, he hasn't really done anything of value in my eyes until this. His feud with Kofi hasn't been great, but we've gotten some good matches out of the deal, so it's alright. Once that ends, there are a bunch of midcard guys that he could feud with. Hopefully, Barrett can stick with this, because his whole run in the WWE seems like it's been nothing but throwaway after throwaway.

 

[#MrScissorsKick]

I'm slowly becoming a Kingston fan and to be honest I don't know where this takes him. Granted, Barrett has a big fan base so many are happy with him winning the IC title. I thought Barrett was going to be pushed towards the main event scene. I'll be honest though by saying Kingston's title reign wasn't that solid or memorable but I didnt think the WWE should've cut his reign so quickly. However it's a new year so hopefully the WWE has something in mind for kofi and for barrett. I would like to see kofi be pushed into the WHC scene although I don't think that will happen. Good start to the new year for Barrett hopefully he can add some prestige to the IC title

 

[f_roEDGE]

This title change makes sense.

I think WWE is pushing Kingston to the WWE Title picture now. He has championed the mid-card.....there is absolutely no reason for him to stay there. Alot of people are becoming Kofi fans now....he's got the WWE Universe slapping their hands together and shouting "BOOM BOOM" (only "FEED ME MORE", "REALLY??" and "YES!!" are heard more).

With the 30-man Royal Rumble and the 6-man Elimination Chamber coming up, Kofi will definitely be involved in both (unless he wins the rumble, but I see Ryback doing that and fighting Big Show at Wrestlemania).

 

[Fansince1992]

Wade Barrett vs Kofi Kingston on the new years eve edition of Raw really suprised me. I was shocked when Barrett got the pin. Was predicting another win for Kofi. Been really busy over Xmas and the new year so didn't read any spoilers for the taped show. Watched the show as if i watching live.

The IC title does seem a bit below Barrett, but i guess it does make the Title look a bit stronger now. Barrett just seems an ideal World Heavyweight Champion to me. I'd like to see a Champion vs Champion match at a 2013 PPV (a bit like WM6 Hogan vs Warrior) WWE have pushed the Tag Team Champions (Team Hell No) into a main event slot, so why not try it out with the IC title somewhere down the line.

Where does Kofi go from here? he is a great athlete but is always just on the fringe of the main-event. Maybe give Kofi a spot in The Royal Rumble and have him enter early on (perhaps in the first 5) have him be one of the last 4 or something at the end, this could do him some good, and like someone else stated stick him in The Elimination Chamber.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I was just glad to see a title change on a night they were advertising that every champion would be putting up his/her belt. After watching Eve run away from her match and Big Show's contest be subject to the expected outside interference, it was good to see a title switch hands; it elevated Raw above a regular house show in which nothing ever really gets done, as exciting as the action might be.

As for Wade.....I'm happy. It was mysterious the way they advertised his return from injury with those "Fight Club" promos....it really made it seem as if the guy was getting his long awaited mega-push......then immediately downgraded him to losing mid-card matches.

He's got the ability and the look....it's time to bring him up to main event status and the IC belt will surely assist in getting him there. He'll wear the belt with arrogance and downright obnoxiousness, which is just what he should be doing.

 

[Piss Bucket]

I am annoyed that WWE, and even TNA, tends to book English wrestlers as heels! Why can't we have a British face? As for Wade, he's Mancunian, so being from Yorkshire I'm traditionally supposed to hate him anyway, Wars of the Roses and all that (Google and/or Wikipedia is your friend if you don't know what I mean).

 

[King Regal]

Haha, I hear you Rich, we are alway vilified in the WWE, but I don't mind when some of our boys are heading towards the top.
I'm a big fan of Wade, but I'm not sure if he can make the move from IC champ into the Heavyweight title this year which, before his injury, is where I thought he would've been after his feud with Orton.

 

[Dirk]

I think the whole English villain-thing goes all the way back to Hollywood. Posh, English villains are a bit of a stereotype. But I digress...

I'm a bit taken aback by Barrett as IC champ as well, but the thing is, the WWE Championship picture is a bit of a clusterfuck, with the Rock, Punk, Shield, Cena (force of habit?) all in the mix.

Barrett, who has some ability of his own, was not looked upon kindly by the booking gods. Nexus was completely about him and while that sounds like a good thing for him on paper, it means that the faction of nobodies he was in charge of was ultimately shit and that hurt him quite a bit.

With both the Shield and Ryback on a mega-push, Barrett can chill on the IC scene, getting over and better-known, then sometime this year we'll se a better barrage.

I've been a fan of Kofi since day one. He's exciting, over and improving on the mic. Luckily, the roster is stacked with heels, so getting a feud for him wouldn't be that hard. He should keep getting match-and-mic time and he'll eventually get to the main-event scene.

 

[HBsam31]

I have to admit, I am finally warming up to Kofi Kingston. I hope with this IC title loss that he finally gets a chance in the main event picture. I am not convinced that will happen though and I won't believe it until I see it. As far as Wade Barrett goes, I am glad he took the title, and I was happy to see a title change on a night where all the belts were to be defended. Wade had some really cool videos before he made his return, and I thought it was a sure thing that he would enter the main event. I see a strong IC title run for him, and then I think he will finally get the push to the top. I could definitely see him as World Champion sometime in the first half of 2013.

 

[YesSlateYes]

I do like Kofi, maybe he could go on to win this years money in the bank? Just to give him that final push to the main event? Lets just hope Wade brings prestige back to the IC title, maybe get a few people in to the IC picture, give it a bit more competition.

 

[SCP88]

I'm glad that Barrett has the strap, but Kofi is the most over midcard face right now, so Barrett's reign might not catch fire, unless they give Wade plenty of mic time.