Who Will be the Next Meaningful IC Champ

[kenfuu]

I think the main thing with the IC tittle is quite simple, there are not feuds for it, its just people fighting each other and not really explained why. I mean back in the day we had Jericho and Benoit feuding with some great promos by Jericho and some solid matches. The Rock and Stone Cold Feud is another one that was really great and Perfect/Hart and Hart/Bulldog, and to answer the question, I wouls say Kennedy like everyone else and maybe Cody Rhodes down the future when he's not as green and learns how to put his knee pads on right.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

As it stands right now, we have a few options that I can see (in no particular order):

Jeff Hardy - I think he should be pushed to main event status, though. He's been very impressive lately, obviously over, and he's the right age to lock him into that title picture. HBK, HHH, Undertaker...they're getting old, sadly, and won't be able to do this too much longer. Hardy may be able to be one of the top men in a year or so, so get him out of the IC championship and start working on a push.

Mr. Kennedy - Another guy who, soon enough, will be WWE championship material. I think a good run as IC champ can really help Kennedy and the Intercontinental scene as he's definitely a crowd bringer. He's a little sloppy in the ring, but the guy's phenomenal on the mic, so a little bit more practice and he'll be gearing up for the top title in no time.

Lashley - I'm not as impressed with him as the WWE seems to be. Frankly, I don't think he deserves to be pushed to the top just yet. The ECW title is about as solid in status as the United States or IC right now, so keep him in this area, possibly as the main feud for Kennedy. Let Lashley develop his mic skills a little and work a little more on his character and he'll do fine in the future.

Cody Rhodes - Much too green for it right now, but he's improving. I wouldn't place the belt on him in 2008 unless something weird happens, but I could definitely see him getting a tag team title or something. Cody's young, but he's got potential, and overall the crowd seems to like him enough to root for the kid.

Shelton Benjamin - Very entertaining but my god man, work on a persona a little bit will you? If I want to see a good match, Benjamin can deliver, but if I want to see a good FEUD, you can't count on this guy at all. He needs to work on getting some mic skills and giving himself something of an attribute more than just the commentators saying he's "arguably the best pure athlete in the WWE...for the past three years..." He and Haas could be a good tag team if they had the microphone down, but Haas is holding him back a little I think.

Carlito - That is, of course, if he is even still here by next week lol. Colon needs an attitude readjustment and he'll do much better, but right now he isn't giving us much in the ring so nobody cares about him. He's certainly not ready for the big push but fits very well in the midcard status.

Lance Cade - Another case of the tag team division holding someone back. He and Murdoch aren't a draw in terms of tag teams, but Cade seems to be gifted and he seems really smooth when he works on the mic as well. He needs to separate himself so people will notice as opposed to sharing the "spotlight" with Murdoch, who is average at best.

Santino Marella - If the guy can pick up some wrestling moves and get comfortable in the ring, he'll have a bright future, cause he's one of their best heels right now. He's ridiculous, but we love it. While he won't be a credible IC champ, and he'd be much better suited as the voice of a tag team between himself and someone who is "the strong, silent type", he'd probably be best to feud with Cody.

Now, that's the Raw roster, but as we all know, people can jump brands without being involved in the draft, so there are other people as well who may find themselves on this particular shelf in the near future, for instance, possibly Elijah Burke.

 

[bige69er]

In my opinion, it will be either Jeff Hardy or Santino Marella. I think Hardy will have it until No Way Out and Santino will beat him for it.

 

[karazmatic]

i honestly think that they are doing good for it now. i mean every one is chasing for the big gold now. so have jeff hardy hold it now until orton drops the title make a triple threat for it between jerico vs orton vs hardy make hardy loose and put him in the main event at backlash or vegence against kennedy for the gold. it would be good. the have a match between wwe champ (kennedy/hardy) and make them vs mid cards like shelton haas and bob holly. then bring triple into the intc belt for about 2 months and bring jericho and hhh back up till the top and make kennedy tag champ and send hardy to ecw/ smackdown and win the us or ecw championship. it works out for every one

 

[undertaker1995]

Snitksy is supposed to be having a huge push from wwe, so maybe he could have it. He is a powerhouse and thats what the ic division needs someone who is powerful not like umaga, someone like snitsky he could have it next.

Santino M - Yeah this guy needs to get some good wrestling moves for himself and perform them well. His mic skills are great i think, he makes the crowd boo him, coz thats what the wwe wants.

Shelton Benjamin - This guy is great but... the thing is wwe is not using him, he is one of the best athletic starts in wwe.

D.H Smith - He has HUGE potential he is 260 - 275 lbs and he dropkicked a guy and it was a great dropkick (same level as ortons dropkick) and he has a lot of power. He has the combination of size, speed, strength and athletic ability i think he should be next ic champion.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Jeff Hardy is a meaningful Intercontinental Champion.

Think about it. First, as a mid-card star, Jeff has the ability and excitement to get a crowd riled up as a curtain-jerker. That was a role that Chris Jericho held proudly for years - get the crowd warmed up for the show.

Jeff Hardy also seems to be the only remaining link on the WWE roster other than Edge with a connection to the old WWE philosophy of letting performers become stars as a tag team before splitting them up and letting them become singles stars. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Christian, etc all became top stars be going from tag team to Intercontinental to World. You can't fight Mike Tyson unless you get past King Hippo and Bald Bull!

As far as AFTER Jeff goes, I can think of two. The title will bounce around a bit, and Ken Kennedy will be an impactful champ. He has the heel charisma to make people notice the division and make people WANT to see him beat. Yes, he has some of the Rock's characteristics.

I also feel Lance Cade is the future of the Intercontinental Title. He has so much in-ring talent, is cutting his teeth as a tag team champion and doing a damn nice job. He has a great look and cuts fair promos. He is trained by Shawn Michaels. Honestly, I'd be shocked if Cade isn't a major player for the Intercontinental Title by Wrestlemania 25.

 

[HBK#1fan]

I have to say either Hardy or Kenedy for IC champ. I don't like Mr kenedy, but he is a good competitor. Hardy better watch out. DH Smith shouldn't be counted out though.

 

[SneakyGoblin]

Ken Kennedy - I say that he's slightly under main-event status since joining RAW, and he should be involved in a feud with someone like HHH or Shawn Michaels to get his credability up for competing for the main events rather than having the IC Title which seems to keep potential World Champions away from a higher level.

Jeff Hardy - Get the belt away from him so he can also build up Main-Event status. He's hugely over with fans and has been impressive lately.

Cody Rhodes - Too green for me, but his current storyline with Bob Holly doesn't cut it for me so I'd have him compete after this angle is over, but I wouldn't give him the belt.

Shelton Benjamin - What Benjamin needs is a manager with mic skills that can propel him to a big push. We all know the story with Shelton and hopefully WWE can finally give him the push he deserves.

Val Venis - This'd give me a reason to watch RAW. Val has been a fantastic worker for years, gets a huge pop and has mic skill to boot. He's getting older now, so all the more reason to give him some cred that he deserves. he would also give the belt some real status.

Carlito - if he improves his attitude and manages to stay (which I really hope he does), he's got the mic skill, is capable of getting major heat from the crowd, and when he puts his mind to it, he's good in ring too. This could potentially get him back on track for challenging for the major gold.

Elijah B - He's my top choice. Get him away from jobbing to Punk. He's in a bad position right now on ECW, especially since Cor Von was released and Thorn is disappearing thanks to bothing a move on KC. He's got in-ring ability aswell as mic skills.

Other than the contenders, I believe that what needs to be done is to start a proper feud over the IC title. We've seen some good matches involving Shelton, Kennedy, Jeff and more in the last few months but they all seem meaningless.

 

[bilgram95]

i think they should make either kennedy or benjamin the champ, and put them in along rivalry together. then whoever doesnt finish the ic champion should go for wwe championship

 

[bbenefi2]

Jeff Hardy has finally moved up the ladder to the point where he can move beyond the IC belt. He has great history and I think that he will be able to move on to a solid singles career above the midcard status. Therefore, he is a waste as the next great IC champ. Kennedy on the other hand is still green but has the potential to become a solid performer, provided he can stay clean and injury free. Cody Rhodes, John Morrison, and CM Punk can also fill that slot given enough time and exposure on the RAW brand. The main thing WWE needs to do is make a new IC belt, or bring back the old one. Make the IC belt important again and then it will start to build champions down the line.

 

[pepsi]

shelton benjamin- i discovered that he has had the intercontinetal belt for both of his money in da bank matches, his move t-bone is amazing and the way he masters the senton moves is pretty impressive

elijah burke- is pretty good he can step toe to toe with some of the best mid card wrestlers and derserves a shot at it because ecw has only 1 title 9ecw is the best and always will be) but i could see him as a ecw tv champ or hardcore champ or sumtin but he derserves a shot, at least at usa champ with the whole merging sthing

snitsky- i hate the dude but he's the best mid-card wrestler on raw hands down.

carlito- he's got skill nough said.

shane o' mac- i like to see him return to the ring he's got good skills for a guy his age he's one reason why the battle of the billionaires was awesome(mostly lashely and scsa) but he's got potential, and he owns half of wwe so he can do watever he basically wants.

 

[Hardinhoff]

I would definitely have to agree with the Elijah (sp?) Burke idea. I haven't heard one bad promo from him and to me, I feel that he is one of the hidden treasures that WWE needs. When Sylvester Terkay was still with the company, I couldn't stand the big oaf but I was still drawn in by Burke's mic skills.

Here's my idea...have MVP lose the U.S. Title to Matt Hardy. MVP should then be able to move up to main event status (I feel he's more than capable). Since there's an SD/ECW merger, have Burke go to SD to challenge Hardy for the title. I feel that there could be some good chemistry and good matches. Maybe move someone like Dykstra to ECW...he's young and he'll be good in time. Anyone?...

 

[UmagaFan2100]

First off, I take offense to the title of the thread. Saying "The Next Meaningful Intercontinental Champ" would imply that the current Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Hardy, is not meaningful. He is; otherwise, he wouldn't be Intercontinental Champion.

That being said, if Jeff Hardy were to lose the IC belt to anyone, I would hope it would be to Umaga. Umaga definitely doesn't get as much credit as he really should. I agree with one of the previous posters, who said Umaga could end up being the next Kane; Umaga definitely has a shot at that.

If Umaga doesn't get another chance at the IC belt, pray that Mr. Kennedy doesn't get it next. I can't stand him...

 

[Riddler Phoenix]

I agree that Mr. Kennedy deserves more of a push. When he was on Smackdown!, he was over big time. He was involved in a World Title match at the Royal Rumble. Not only that, but he's one of the best heels in the WWE. But I think the Intercontinental Championship would be a step down for him. The best way to give him a push would be to put him in a rivalry with an a main eventer like Triple H or Shawn Michaels and let him get the upper hand.

As for Carlito, he asked for his release and it's likely that he'll be leaving.

Ultimately, I think Jeff Hardy IS the next meaningful champion. He beat Umaga for the championship without assistance. That alone is a huge achievement. Not only that, but he had the chance to challenge for the WWE Title at Cyber Sunday, but the fans voted otherwise. And at Survivor Series, he was one of 2 survivors in the Traditional Tag Team match. And HE got the final pin, not HHH. I think it's only a matter of time before he's WWE Champion, or at least Mr. Money in the Bank.

 

[UmagaFan2100]

I think it's only a matter of time before he's WWE Champion, or at least Mr. Money in the Bank.

Jeff Hardy is one of the most deserving people, of the WWE Championship. I think he even has what it takes to beat Randy Orton, considering Orton's recent track record against Shawn Michaels...

 

[Thorpeeswantonbomb]

i think the Hardy and kennedy fued will last for a bit longer but personally i would like to see jeff lose the ic title so he can becoma a main event superstar and become the wwe champ

 

[RMS13]

well i think that Jeff Hardy has been improving drastically and im really glad to see him moving up to the main event status and working with Triple H cause thats only going to bring him higher..anyways as for the IC title is concerned of course he will have to lose it eventually so hopefully they give him a goo feud with Snitsky then have him eventually drop the title to Snitsky and then have him win Money in the Bank at WM24 and go on to win the WWE TITLE!

 

[Tsr79]

I have always been a fan of Hardy and I think it would be awesome to see him as the Champ. I know Triple H is behind Hardy and urging him to be pushed hard into Jericho's spot right now but has anyone gotten Vince's reaction to pushing Hardy all the way to champ?

 

[RMS13]

well im pretty sure that if jeff hardy is getting pushed by hhh and hbk and he gets one of the best crow reactions so im pretty sure vince would agree at putting him at the top pretty soon!

 

[Rusty]

Mr Kennedy shuld be the next meaningful IC champ. While I agree with some ppl that this might be a step back for him, sometime you have to step back, before u can step forward. If he gets IC title for a few months, then he can lose the title and defeat the winner of the Money in the Bank after WM 24. About this time next year I hope to see Kennedy as WWE Champ but Im unsure whether it will happen or not.

 

[BigMike1994]

The last deacent Intercontinetal champion in my opinion was Shelton Benjiman but I've got no problem with Jeff either. when shelton was the champ I found him very Entertaining to watch, He had great in ring ability and he had deacent mic skill to. Actuallt the only problem I have with hardy right now is that he is fueding with Triple H for no apparent reason which really isn't his fault, this story line is possibly going to turn Triple H heel again.

 

[sports_man_10]

This title is very important tot the business and it wouldnt be rite to give someone like santino marella a title shot like they made him beat ummaga, like wtf. guys like HHH, Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Y2J all deserve the title not Carlito or santino.

so i would like to see the title go to a monster like Snitsky so everyone makes a big deal and the title more important again

 

[Italian MVP]

This title is very important tot the business and it wouldnt be rite to give someone like santino marella a title shot like they made him beat ummaga, like wtf. guys like HHH, Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Y2J all deserve the title not Carlito or santino.

so i would like to see the title go to a monster like Snitsky so everyone makes a big deal and the title more important again

Are you Serious? You say guys like Carlito and Santino dont deserve the IC title but you want that big piece of crap Snitsky to win it? You must be on drugs cause Snitsky doesnt deserve anything but a Realease from the WWE. He is awful in the ring and i hope WWE just fires him sooner rather than later.

 

[Cena_sux]

IC title i would like to see Kennedy, Lashley or Carlito hod the IC title so Jeff can move up and be a first time WWE champ in his career.

US title hopefully Matt doesnt have a title reign because everybody should know he is better than Matt and then we could see a finlay/MVP Fued which would be good

 

[BlackHoleStar]

Jeff Hardy is doing fine...maybe DH Smith? Colt Cabana? Finlay? Festus? Stevie Richards? Lou Thez? Lex Luger? "I DON'T KNOW"? Maybe they'll jus put the belt on Hornswaggle? or maybe MVP? Bring back the WOYAH? Former WCW world champion David Arquette?


I don't get what you mean by "Meaningful", do you mean the next guy to use the belt as a stepping stone to the world title, instead of a flash in the pan? Because IMO that's not the point of that belt - It's always been the undercard belt for the more technical guys (Razor, Shawn, Davey Boy) while the "Big" hoss guys held the top gold (I.E, the "Heavyweight" gold...gee that makes sense) and it depends on what you define as being "meaningful". In all honesty, though, I think Cody Rhodes will get the belt soon during his Mega-Push.