Who Would You Like To See Challenge Cody Rhodes For The IC Title?

[80's were better]

Simple question who would you like to see go after the IC title and fued with Cody?
After looking over the current Smackdown roster it seems to be heel heavy in the midcard roster. The only faces that are at the level now would be Big Zeke and Daniel Bryan. We already saw Zeke and Rhodes and I feel DB should be elavated past the IC belt now that he has the MITB breifcase.
Most likely they will end up turning Dibiase on Rhodes which is Boring and predictable.
I would rather see them turn Justin Gabriel face and have him go on a decent win streak and then challenge Rhodes for the title. They could put on some very good matches with Rhodes carrying most of the mic work to push the feud.
What are your thought on who 3hodes should feud with?

 

[The Dragon Saga]

DBD doesn't need the Intercontinental Championship right now, with the Money in The Bank briefcase and all, It'd be a waste handing him two accolades. Sure It'd probably push him further and all but the Intercontinental Championship suits Cody Rhodes better than it does anyone else on the brand.

Also Justin Gabriel is face, he turned already. He'd be my pick as well actually, Gabriel and Rhodes are similar in body defintion, they're both pretty talented in the ring. Wouldn't mind seeing a couple matches between the two. I'd imagine that Sin Cara will eventually be pushed towards the IC Championship once WWE see fit.

Right now if I could choose anybody, I'd pick Trent Baretta. Sounds odd as he rarely appears on television and when he does he usually gets dropped within two-tenths of a second, even though he has more talent than most who dominate the guy, but he deserves some kind of decent program again. WWE probably won't do it but I'd like to see them have Baretta vs. Rhodes and have Trent sneak a win, gaining a shot at the IC Championship.

Turn Tyson Kidd face and you've a pretty good in-ring feud right off the bat, but WWE won't do that because Tyson is having such a high-profile feud on NXT with Yoshi Tatsu and all. But I expect them to have Rhodes defend the belt against Jackson again, maybe even Sheamus, before eventually DiBiase will turn and enter a program for the IC Championship.

I'm actually looking forward to a DiBiase turn. Seen him for long enough as a heel, let me broaden the horizons a little bit.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

The direction I would go with Cody Rhodes and the IC title would be to have a face Ted Dibiase face him eventually. I would book Cody as a cowardly champion who hides behind Dibiase. Cody would face a number of challengers and would win each and every single time with Dibiase's help. Dibiase would eventually realize that Cody is using him and Cody is really nothing without him and he would then turn on Cody.

In the interim, I think that almost any face can be a good option to feud with Cody. Cody's getting some great heat now and almost any midcard face would benefit from feuding with him. Gabriel would be a good option, Ezekiel cannot be too bad as a challenger and Sin Cara will get better and get there eventually. But I do believe that Cody's endgame for now should be a face Dibiase. I would like to see them curtain jerk the Mania card for this year.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I do actually like the idea of Gabriel feuding with Rhodes, I think that he has alot of potential and one day he'll be wearing that title. However he is not ready for it yet, I think that they could have a great feud but Rhodes would come out on top. I would love to see these two in a ladder match for the title, I think that could be one of the best matches of the year, and could really put JG on the map. So my vote is Justin Gabriel, this should be the feud that really takes him to the next level in his young WWE career.

 

[ctln4rko]

I would say Justin Gabriel., Sin Cara, or as above poster said, Ted Dibiase.
Gabriel- Very talented high flier, put on some good matches with Tyson Kidd on NXT and Superstars. I would like this to be a feud, if Gabriel were to challenge for the IC title, so it is a steady TV slot for Justin and it gives him a chance to talk.
Cara- Could be a great clash of in ring styles. Even though he can't talk, it could just be a sequence of matches.
I agree with what an above poster said about Rhodes feuding with Dibiase.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I think either Justin Gabriel, Sin Cara or a Face Ted Dibiase could challenge Cody for the IC Title. Either one of the three could have some great bouts with Rhodes IMO. Kinda wouldn't mind seeing a 4-Way at Night Of Champions with them for the IC Title.

 

[legendkillerbsal]

Cody should have a few rivalries from now until WM28 and then have a face Dibiase take the belt at WM. They can take their time developing Ted from now until WM and give him some room to do big things. Dream Street at WM28 is how the IC Belt will change hands.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I think that either Gabriel or Sin Cara could put on great matches with Cody. They could have Gabriel challenge him first, lose, and then have Sin Cara go after the belt next. Dibiase will likely get booked to turn on Cody only to get lost in the shuffle again right afterwards. Zeke just lost the belt to Cody so having them feud again would be a waste of time. Bryan needs to be pushed beyond the midcard titles. There really are no other options other than Gabriel or Sin Cara before the inevitable feud with Dibiase. I just hope they do not do that first because Cody needs to get some title defences in to add more credibility to both himself and Dibiase.

 

[SteelRevenge]

A lot of people are saying that DB is too high and mighty to take on cody rhodes right now, I disagree completely.

the two have put on amazing matches and the WWE still owes us a PPV bout between these two. they could even see the briefacse go on the line as well to generate more interest. Besides DB needs something to do up until WM assuming that happens, and cody is the top 3 heel on the roster after henry and christian.


Justin gabriel seems to be getting some love here as well as on tv with his promos. Also `he`s african and the whole movement for forign talent is still in full swing. Still I don`t think he`s quite ready for a feud and most certainly not ready to take the belt. If he were to just be named the number one contender right now it would build him up sure, but it would go against building up the IC title which seems like their focus right now. If this were to happen, I`d say have him earn it in a fatal fourway between the rest of corre, then feud with his former and now very jealous stable mates until NofC. he may be able to put on a good show with rhodes, but I won`t him to be taken at least somewhat serriously first and right now he is nowhere near rhodes`league.

the talent pool for rivalries on SD is slim so that leaves guys like DiBiase, Sin Cara, & zeke.

I don`t want to see a premature split between rhodes and DiBiase. I want to see them last until WM, so that`s out of the question.

I`m not very big on SIn Cara with his botching, drug use, inability to speak english, so I hope this wouldn`t happen.

Finally zeke is overdone. The only way this would interest me is if they brought up Zeke being the last ECW champ and had an Extreme fight with rhodes going over to show aggressive dark side.

My overall pick of all those would be DB for the briefcase or zeke in ER. However I would love a champ vs champ match between ziggler and him in the near future. Also looking forward to a speedy recovery from kane so they can feud and remove that mask in a creative way.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

Ted DiBiase would probably the way to go for the moment. However, I am not sure if it would be for the better. Now, I have always been a fan over multi-man feuds for championships. If the WWE was serious about bringing back the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship... why not have a series of men claim that they want a shot at the IC Title? As Cody Rhodes wants to bring the title back the prominence, he'd have to agree, right? You could have DiBiase, Justin Gabriel, Sin Cara, Ezekiel Jackson (if he has nothing better to do), and maybe Jinder Mahal/Great Khali or Johnny Curtis at a later time.

Cody Rhodes would have to be forced to defend the title against different opponents left and right. Also, by having him win most of them, and have a rather lengthy reign as champion... he could be better groomed for bigger and better things.

 

[RIPRKO1005]

Wow. I was sure Zack Ryder marks would over flow this thread going on and on about how he deserves a IC title run. Anyways. . . . .

A Ted DiBiase turn would be cool to see even though its a storyline we've seen alot, its still a simple and basic story line so it wont be amazing, but not too bad.

Other than Ted my pick would be Gabriel as im sure if anything these two could atleast produce some good in ring action.

 

[d3thRoW]

Whoever they throw at him I would like to see him continue winning the matches legitimately. A long reign as IC champ with him actually beating people and not doing the typical coward heel bit would be refreshing and get prestige back to the title. He doesn't have to change his gimmick or anything, but if he goes a while without needing DiBiase's help it could help with their eventual split, with Ted growing tired of being out-shined by a guy he was once on equal footing with...

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

gabriel would get destroyed. He's not very over and wouldn't be able to hold his own on the mic. Ted isn't a microphone fiend by any means, but he has the look and is decently over and it seems they're having him work with Cody to help him learn.

I think Gabriel would be a good choice after Ted.

 

[gamma2008]

I kinda wanna see Jinder Mahal step up. The guy hasn't shown any direction since starting his Smackdown career. He's got Khali wrapped around his finger, so I want to see him show up and say he is in the United States to increase his "fortune" and prove his superiority to others even more, and the Intercontinental title is a way to do that. I'm not suggesting he win it, but they gotta do SOMETHING with the guy, and I think he's solid both in ring and on the mic to learn a lot from working with Rhodes to build up his abilities.

 

[the_mollusk_]

I think Tyson Kidd could go against Rhodes even though it'd be heel vs. heel. But as we've seen from the past few weeks can put on some good matches. Justin Gabriel would be a good contender as well. Con Chapuza (with botches/Sin Cara/Hunico) whichever, could make it if he learns to speak English and gets better in ring.

 

[Jessie Lynn DivaGirl]

Zeke, DB, and Johnny Curtis could be thrown in as maybe's but my real pick is going to sock the crap out of you guys?

Ready?

JUSTIN GABRIEL

Yes, that was a pun.

Seriouslly tho. I can see these two having an awesome fued and having them go back and forth with the title which would be good for both of their title records- am I the only one who noticed that they're both multi-timed tag team champs?

Should Justin get the title? Not right now. Give him some time to win a few matches, make himself known as a threat before making the match. If the WWE plays that card just right it will be an awesome match for the whole family to watch!

Think about it: Crazy, twisted and slightly annoying heel and IC champ Cody Rhodes vs South African sweetheart with a thing for flying Justin Gabriel, one-on-one for the title!

That is the match I'd love to see. We just need to work on getting Justin ready for it tho

 

[frostbite2819]

well seeing as how the roster split is pretty much over with, (i might get blasted for this but whats new lol, opinions were asked and this is mine)
i would love to see dolph and cody feud over who is the best 'mid card' champion. they dont have to unify the belts, just have a non title match, the winner gets a shot at the losers belt, wins it, the loser comes back and gets a shot at the other belt, wins it, im not sure how to end the feud (maybe both getting their original titles back and gain a mutual respect for each other) but they would have some fantastic matches and have both men (not to mention both belts) come out looking stronger in the end.

 

[Johnny Scumm]

For me, it's a mix up between who I want to see face Rhodes for the Title & who I believe will face him for it.

Firstly, I would like to see someone like Justin Gabriel facing him for it. Whether he comes out on top, I believe that the two men would pull off a good match. If not, the face Sin Cara could face Rhodes, in what I would also believe to be a good match. Rhodes should be able to put over both men, whether they were to the win the Title or not.

However, to who I believe will face Rhodes, I think it will be Ted DiBiase. Recently, we've seen Rhodes mistreat him more than usual & he's gradually turned face. I'm pretty sure that eventually, we will see him attempt to exact his revenge on Rhodes, starting by taking the Title from him. Again, I'm not sure whether he will or not, but it will be interesting to see it.

 

[SEXYdex]

Has to be Cara or Gabriel. They would work well with Rhodes style and would put on decent matches against him possibly a match of the year? and for the poster who said Jinder wouldn't you then have to turn one of them faces or make it just a one off match? But of course being the WWE it will be Ted because it's the way they are making the storyline it's inevitable. They are making a new A-ry Miz feud with these two here except DiBiase isn'y as popular as A-Ry and will probably end up on Superstarts again, but that's just what i think.

 

[Blade3000]

I think that Ted DiBiase Jr. should turn face and challenge Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship. That would give Ted the title feud he needs and would make him look better because if he can beat Cody, he would probably be on the same level as Cody is now. Maybe add their fathers into the rivalry and have them be in their corners for a title match.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

I think there are some guys that need to step up right now, I don't see anyone who I think is worthy of usurping Cody right now and that's just a credit to him but not many mid-carders are quite on his level right now, he did open the show with Orton a few weeks ago.

I would like to see a very open IC title scene now. The people I'd throw in would be DiBiase (face), Gabriel (face) and Jinder Mahal (heel). All of these guys need the attention. DiBiase has been rightly overshadowed by his former partner and Gabriel could be a really good backable face, but he hasn't been locked into a feud as of yet to show it off. On Superstars he gets good reactions though and I could see him filling the void left by Sin Cara.

Mahal has looked decent but they haven't really used him right. They aren't sure who they are showcasing when he comes out, is it Khali or him? Right now it seems like it's just a mildly symbiotic relationship with minimal beneficial results, it hasn't lead anywhere. This is a direction and for that reason and that reason alone I think it's the way he should head.

A nice open IC scene where we have some tag matches, some triple threat matches for the title, maybe even a four way to cap off the whole idea. I think that at the end of it either DiBiase or Mahal should come out on top. DiBiase because it would set up a very nice feud tween him and Cody, one that could run for a few PPVs length say until The rumble time whereupon Cody can go onto bigger and better things having a nice standalone match like he did at last mania against another veteran and DiBiase can split off with the belt if they are intent on pushing him still, heaven only knows why. Yeah, I got it all planned out.

Mahal would be a good option also because it would automatically put more focus onto him, he couldn't get lost in the shuffle and have a lack of direction as he'd be forced to feud with new possible challengers. Gabriel, on the other hand, would be too much too soon, he needs to develop that underdog following a lot more before he tries challenging for a title.

One guy I would certainly not like to see in that place again is Zeke. I'm not gonna even explain, I just... pff... no. Not again. Once was enough.

A good wild card is Ryder. If they started to build him up I can see an eventuality where he would make a good opponent. He's a naturally likable guy, all they need to do with him is have him with a little more mic time and he'll get over well as a face on Smackdown.

But as I said, not one obvious choice as I see it right now. The best fit would be DiBiase.

 

[jg_awesome1]

I would love to see a series of competitive 3 way and 4 way matches between Rhodes Dibiase Gabriel and Tyson Kidd. Like Shelton Carlito Jeff Hardy and John Morrison(then Nitro) a few years back.

 

[flawd101]

i think cody is going to be fueding with orton for wm. so he will probably hold the title till then and has decent odds to do well in the rumble.
i want sheamus. they would put on brutal matches. i think it will be similar to the mysterio fued which made me a big cody fan.
cody is going to fued with ted next.
gabriel isnt nearly on his level yet, he needs to beat a real opponent first.
sin cara just went heel and wrestlers arent comfortable with his moves yet so he wont be champ for a while.

 

[asslber]

Is Zack Ryder still on Smackdown? I don't watch Smackdown so I don't really know what his deal is on the show. But I'd love to see a Ryder/Rhodes feud for a the Intercontinental Championship. I'm pretty damn sure Zack Ryder is at least mid-card champion worthy by now. Especially with the diminished prestige the mid-card titles have right now.