Wrestlemania 31- Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match

[Theo Mays]

http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/31/intercontinental-championship-ladder-match-27145665

Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett will defend his title in a multi-Superstar Ladder Match at WrestleMania 31, WWE announced on Facebook during a WrestleMania 31 Tech Tour. Both the number of participants and identity of the challengers will be revealed in coming weeks.

The match announcement adds to the bearer of bad news’ woes recently. Barrett, a five-time Intercontinental Champion, has lost non-title contests to R-Truth and Dolph Ziggler, deepening the pool of potential contenders. Though Barrett dealt Dean Ambrose a loss via disqualification at WWE Fastlane, The Lunatic Fringe absconded with the Intercontinental Championship after the match, leaving Bad News as a champion with no title.

Will any of those threats to the crown find their way into the action at WrestleMania? How many challengers will Bad News Barrett have to contend with? And what will happen at The Showcase of the Immortals when the prestigious Intercontinental Championship is raised high above the ring, with the only means for retrieval being to scale a ladder amid the mayhem of a multi-Superstar brawl?

Check back at WWE.com for more updates on WrestleMania’s huge Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match, and don’t miss WrestleMania 31 when it airs live on WWE Network Sunday, March 29, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Well it's official. The writing was on the wall that a multi man IC title match would be added to the card at Wrestlemania, but I like that they are spicing it up a bit with the element of it being a ladder match. I honestly wouldn't mind this becoming a regular thing, just to get some excitement on the lower end of the card. Definitely the perfect match opening and it could be that replacement for Money in the Bank as the annual Wresltmania tradition (this and the Andre Battle Royal).

I think it is pretty obvious that Ambrose, Ziggler, and Truth will be added to the match. I could also see Daniel Bryan and someone else (maybe Sheamus) added to even it out at 6 participants.

Lets speculate who else will join Barrett here. Should be a fun little diddy.

 

[TheICChampion]

Good, finally some excitement added to the midcard. Potential show-stealer for sure. I see Barrett somehow retaining, either him or Ambrose. That's the only downside to this kind of match, when it's obvious who will win.

 

[HurriKane]

A ladder match at Wrestlemania for the I.C title?

With BNB, Ziggler, Ambrose,R-Truth, and maybe even Daniel Bryan, and Sheamus.

I'm marking out already. I'm all for it. I don't mind Bryan and Sheamus being in it, as it makes this match that more important.

Well regardless of who is in it I see Ambrose or Bryan (if's he in it) winning.

Though I hope they go with the shock win and have BNB retain.

 

[BrutalBarrett]

For how poorly they hAve booked barrett he deserves to retain. Don't know if he will but since his returned he has jobbed to everyone he has faced. I really think the best outcome is Barrett to keep his title past Wrestlemania...

 

[L@RISANO]

I actually enjoyed SmackDown! tonight, given it built the midcards feud well and I thought it refreshing to say the least, as that is exactly what SmackDown! should always be, whilst RAW then, can be used as the show building the main stories(World title, "Top" Stars,etc.) instead of having so much unneccessary filler as it usually does.


With regards to the ladder match; whilst we can say that alongwith Barrett, probably Truth and Ambrose are certain for it given how things have gone thus far. There will probably be 3/4 more guys added. I can also see Ziggler, and hopefully given Bryan being the 'focus' of SmackDown! since his return to TV, hopefully he can be added and this IC storyline can become the main focus for the SmackDown! show going into Mania and hopefully beyond that as well.

 

[rbv13]

Perfect spot for the Raw/SD! Roster debut of Adrian Neville. What an incredible addition he would be to this gimmick match.

I'd love to see Bryan walk with the strap and finally elevate the title. Bryan with the title could headline major events.

 

[GOOZEKING]

Idk how I feel about this situation... Kind of worried what vince will do when bryan goes for the mid card title.. Knowing him he would be like see mid card perfect little spot for you now be a good little worker and perform great matches but I am done with you in the main event... You know what they say once you are in the mid card and holding the title it is hard to get out that's why sheAmus and dolph havent been in any world title matches and know that they held mid card gold and vince sees you in that certain light it will be hard for him to change

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Called this shit as soon as they started setting up the "fatal 4 way", it was blatantly obvious that more people would be added to the mix. Bryan and probably the returning Sheamus will be in the match, and I could see Luke Harper as a good addition based know his performance against Ziggler at TLC. Honestly as much as I'd love to see Ambrose get a big win I think it should probably go to Barrett. The build up to the match has literally been everyone beating Barrett to earn a spot so wrestling logic dictates that he should go over.

 

[CyberPunk]

Ziggler, Ambrose and R-truth are for sure part of this match. I can see Bryan being added to this after SD. As many have said, probably Sheamus may also be part of this.

This could be a showstealer. And I won't mind adding people like Luke Harper. This can be the most relevant IC title match in many years. They did a good job of advancing the IC title story. As for the winner, I am not so sure and that adds to this match.

The most important thing would be how they take this forward from Mania. This gives them a great opportunity to make IC title more important. Consistent booking from here can make the midcard very interesting in coming months.

Cena vs Rusev for the US title and this for IC title? Midcard titles receiving spotlight at Mania? Times in the midcard are changing for good?

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

This is why you unify the WWE and WHC titles. I like the way Wrestlemania is shaping up this year.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As of last night, it's all but written in the stars that Daniel Bryan will be part of this match. The addition of Sheamus is a possibility as well and could lead to a program with Daniel Bryan, if officials want to have a feud between them. I could also see Kane or Big Show added to this match as a means of representing The Authority's interest, there's usually at least one 300+ pound wrestler in these matches. As there's still a month to go until WrestleMania, they could always add more to it but, personally, I'd rather the field be limited to a total of 6 guys comprised of Barrett, Ambrose, Ziggler, R-Truth, Bryan and maybe Sheamus.

In my opinion, I think Bryan could be the best choice to win the title. Barrett gains nothing by remaining champion since being Intercontinental Champion has hindered his career more than helped it. I've been a fan of Barrett since the early days of NXT and he's deserved better as Intercontinental Champion. However, it's become painful to watch him flounder in one awful reign after another. There's no excitement left for Barrett as champion, WWE's booking of him as Intercontinental Champion has obliterated that permanently so the best thing to do is to take the title off him. R-Truth is irrelevant, has been for most of his time in WWE and there's little to no excitement in him becoming champion, Ziggler's also had multiple runs with the title and I don't see another run helping him, Ambrose winning the title could be interesting and I'd have no real problems with him coming out on top. If Sheamus returns to be part of the match, I don't think he should win as he needs time to reestablish himself after being out for so long. If someone like Kane, Big Show or both participate, there's very little interest there in either as champion and both have reached a point in their careers where their best use is putting over other guys. As far as Daniel Bryan, he's still the most over babyface on the WWE roster and whether some agree or disagree with him as being in the main event, it can't be denied that he's a very valuable asset to WWE. I feel there's a much better chance of Bryan being booked as a strong, relevant champion than anyone likely to be added to this match in the next several weeks and that's something the Intercontinental Championship sorely needs right now.

 

[GOOZEKING]

I see a lot of people here are defending the WWE's booking decisions here by saying that even though Bryan defeated Triple H, Batista and Orton in the same night last year, and being the most over wrestler, it's good that he's going back down to the midcard because it will elevate the IC title.

Let me put it this way: Imagine that after WrestleMania 21, John Cena, newly crowned babyface, goes back to the MitB ladder match at WrestleMania 22. Or next year, after Reigns defeats Lesnar, at WrestleMania 32, he enters the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

It just doesn't make any sense, does it?

Sure, main-eventers have gone from closing the show one year to not being *the* main-event the next, but they have been moved to featured feuds instead that make sense from a storyline standpoint - meaning they are not going after the title because they've got their hands full with something else.

The point is if you want to keep your stars looking like stars, you have plans for them.

You also have to worry about how vince will see you... If you are in the Midcard it is hard for him to start to see you in the main event that's why sheAmus and ziggler haven't had any world title matches because vince doesn't see you that way anymore since you are in the Midcard and "it's a nice little spot for you""now be a good little worker and perform great matches"

 

[Johnny Scumm]

This is great, because not only is it going to be an IC Title match, but the WWE are saying to us "Here's your alternative to MiTB, enjoy it!" in the best way possible. Not only will the match be great, but if Bryan & Sheamus(maybe) don't have their own matches and end up in this one, this could easily be match of the night. I'm looking at these participants now;

Ambrose
R-Truth
Bryan
Ziggler
Barrett

HOWEVER, with there being 4 more episodes of Raw, I think every week, there should be a qualifying match for the title shot.
Ambrose vs Big Show
Ziggler vs Swagger
R-Truth vs Adam Rose/Fandango
Bryan vs Kane

Give it a twist, so that there's more to it than "EVERYONE GETS A SHOT!" & that old shit. Make them earn it.

 

[rge2010]

This is a great idea. Ladder matches are always good to watch and this will get at least 6 superstars on the card. Coupled with the Andre Memorial there won't be too many who miss out.

Looks like 5 spaces are already taken in Barrett, R-Truth, Ambrose, Ziggler and Bryan. They will add at least 1 more, possibly 2 more.

1) I would love to see an NXT 'wildcard' enter this match. Someone like Adrian Neville would be perfect.

2) A surprise entrant would be cool. Who better than RVD to up the stakes.

With Daniel Bryan in the IC match and John Cena in the US match that would be a huge scoop for both these titles to have baby face 1 and 2 holding them.

 

[Dave]

It seems strange to me that they are going down the route of having a ladder match. I'm not saying that I don't like the idea. But given that we will already have the Andre the Giant Battle Royal for a multi-man gimmick match. Still, a ladder match should be interesting if they can get the right people involved. Ambrose, Barrett, Ziggler and Truth seem like absolute certainties to be involved in the match, with the added bonus of Daniel Bryan perhaps? 5 people seems like a strange number to me so I wouldn't be surprised if Bryan doesn't make the match, or someone else is added to it... Maybe Sheamus?

Still, this could be an interesting match and one that I am very excited about if the WWE handles it correctly. And I will say this for Barrett and Ambrose; they have shown me that they can have a good feud and can handle a big match like they are surely going to be involved in come WrestleMania. I have every faith that the WWE will keep this interesting over the next few weeks and Ambrose really seems to be hitting his stride lately. With that in mind, I have every faith that he will leave with the Intercontinental Championship. This time having won it.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Poor Wade!

Have you ever seen such an undistinguished IC title reign? You wonder why they gave him the belt so early after his return from injury. Hell, why don't they put Sin Cara in there,too? He's beaten Wade since the big return, no?

But I also like the idea of adding a match with a gimmick to the midcard. This is a good way to get a bunch of people involved who might not even have been on the WM31 card.....and don't we always get a kick from watching people tip over ladders with people on 'em? (Joey Mercury might not agree).

In this case, I kind of hope Wade loses the title. Otherwise, we presumably go back to the same old thing we've gotten since he won it. Maybe he'll get more respect if he's chasing the title rather than holding it.

To paraphrase Dear Abby: 'Tis better to have won the Intercontinental Title and lost every match..... than never to have won it at all."

 

[L@RISANO]

It seems strange to me that they are going down the route of having a ladder match. I'm not saying that I don't like the idea. But given that we will already have the Andre the Giant Battle Royal for a multi-man gimmick match. Still, a ladder match should be interesting if they can get the right people involved. Ambrose, Barrett, Ziggler and Truth seem like absolute certainties to be involved in the match, with the added bonus of Daniel Bryan perhaps? 5 people seems like a strange number to me so I wouldn't be surprised if Bryan doesn't make the match, or someone else is added to it... Maybe Sheamus?

Still, this could be an interesting match and one that I am very excited about if the WWE handles it correctly. And I will say this for Barrett and Ambrose; they have shown me that they can have a good feud and can handle a big match like they are surely going to be involved in come WrestleMania. I have every faith that the WWE will keep this interesting over the next few weeks and Ambrose really seems to be hitting his stride lately. With that in mind, I have every faith that he will leave with the Intercontinental Championship. This time having won it.

It's quite simple really.
Based on how last year went down with Cesaro winning the BR and all, and then becoming a 'jobber' thereafter... coupled with the fact that the Roster does have some quality guys who could miss out or be lost in the shuffle come WrestleMania, I think this IC title Multi-Man match is a way to get some upper-midcarders onto the Mania card, but away from being lost in the shuffle of the AtGBR, which will now most likely be a 'jobbers' match to get the rest of the Roster onto the Mania card, whilst also allowing for the 6/7 storyline feuds to have their 1-on-1.


I still think Mania is a bit of a clusterfuck with not enough time to build any feuds properly(besides HHH-Sting and Cena-Rusev), but the Match Card itself for the Event looks interesting thus far.

 

[MCMG]

I'm excited for the match itself. It might be a little lazy but it should be entertaining. Plus, it puts more focus on the IC title. I completely understand why they did it: it saves time and gets a lot of guys onto the card.

The mix of talent is wonderful. Barrett, Sheamus (probably), Truth, Ziggler, Bryan and Ambrose. That's 6 with Harper, Kane, Show, Rowan and Bo all possible additions. Dare I suggest Adrian Neville - just imagine what he could do in this match.

I'd prefer 6 but they can easily go up to 8. Ultimately I reckon Ambrose wins this. He's been leading the charge for the IC title and obviously has a lot of potential. Having him win that belt won't be like Barrett - Ambrose will win every week. Plus, they have the options of Reigns and Ambrose as champs together which is pretty cool.

Definitely excited about this match. I'm really looking forward to see how Ziggler tries to kill himself because you know he will. Moreover, looking at the other talent there is no-one that stands out to take a crazy, WM spot.

 

[The Brain]

I can't believe I'm saying this but I love this idea. Normally I'm against the clusterfuck multi man match at mania but this seems to fit. It's not my ideal choice for any of these guys but the reality is if matches like this didn't happen there simply wouldn't be enough time to get everyone on mania. I'm a big fan of the early manias that had around 14 matches where everything was either one on one or a regular tag but those days are loooong gone. Even though it's basically the same thing as MITB, which I thought stayed on mania three years too long, there's something refreshing about this being for the IC title. I'm glad it has a big spot at mania for the first time in a long time. I won't get my hopes up about this bringing the IC title back to its glory days. We've been fooled too many times over the years. At least for one night the IC belt will shine again.

As for the match itself I think six guys would be perfect. It seems that there's already five. We need another heel in there. I think Miz would be a good fit but he's already announced for the battle royal. Cesaro would be good but not now that he's a tag champ. People have been mentioning Sheamus but I think he fits in better in the battle royal. Maybe Luke Harper. I think he's also better suited for the battle royal but he could be interesting in the ladder match too.

As for the winner, I'm pulling for Dean Ambrose. Seems like it would be a big moment for him and we could have all three members of the Shield undefeated at mania. That could be useful in the future.

I see a lot of people here are defending the WWE's booking decisions here by saying that even though Bryan defeated Triple H, Batista and Orton in the same night last year, and being the most over wrestler, it's good that he's going back down to the midcard because it will elevate the IC title.

Let me put it this way: Imagine that after WrestleMania 21, John Cena, newly crowned babyface, goes back to the MitB ladder match at WrestleMania 22. Or next year, after Reigns defeats Lesnar, at WrestleMania 32, he enters the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

It just doesn't make any sense, does it?

This is exactly what happened to Chris Benoit at WM20 & WM21. Benoit never did make it back to the top. Hopefully Bryan will. Time will tell.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I'm really looking forward to this match, I reckon it will steal the show!

It's about time the Intercontinental Championship got a prestigious, high-profile match at WrestleMania, it's a disgrace how it's been relegated to the pre-show, or left off the card entirely in recent years. At least now with only 1 World Title, it opens up another match on the card so this title gets the attention it deserves.

I'd expect Daniel Bryan to be added to this match, and if he does become a participant then I think it's likely he'll win the belt and get an enormous pop from the crowd, hopefully keeping them onside so that they don't boo Reigns out of the building as badly later on. Personally, I'd be really happy to see Bryan win the belt or Dean Ambrose. Both have the ability to bring some prestige back to the IC title, and Ambrose needs a PPV win!

Whatever the outcome, I expect we'll see some huge bumps (hi Dolph!) and it will be a great match.

 

[GeTiTT]

Think this is a great idea and can't wait to see this match. I dont think there should be more than 6 people in this match. With that said i think everyone in this match should be a believable to actually win the title.

BNB
Dean Ambrose
Dolph Ziggler
Luke Harper
Daniel Bryan
R-Truth???? we all know he has no chance to win.

I think within the next week they confirm these 6 competitors and a week or 2 before WM, Sheamus makes his return takes out R-Truth and enters himself in this match. There is a reason they have the battle royal, so all the jobbers can have a match. That is where R-Truth should be.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Couldn't care less about this. No doubt it'll be entertaining but this makes two matches on the card where they just lump guys together to get them on the card. It reminds me of the MITB days. I don't think there would be much uproar if people like BNB and R-Truth were left off the card. Also, people want something more significant for Bryan and Ziggler or Ambrose winning the battle royal would placate their followers.

 

[Hem]

The WWE has apparently shifted their focus towards the mid card titles quite a bit more this year for WM season which can be viewed to be a great thing. Rusev is getting a big push by probably facing John Cena for the US Title at WM. The IC title will be defended in a multi man ladder match at WM.

The main focus of this thread is the handling of the IC title feud. It seems to me that basically anyone can come out and take the title away from who ever had it last time and get away without any issues. Then go on and insert themselves in the IC Title Ladder match at WM because they want to even though Stephanie told JOHN CENA that he has no right to book matches...if John can't then what makes Ambrose/Ziggler/Truth/Bryan/Harper etc be able to?

The fans seem to see that all these mid card guys are coming out for the title as a good sign and are happy that the title is getting attention. I don't see things that way. I feel the title is still meaningless as it seems to me that a whole bunch of guys without matches at WM and are on a losing streak are coming after a champion who is also on a losing streak.

Why is the match taking place? What has Dolph Ziggler done since being reinstated? What has Bryan done since returning form injury? Apparently winning non-title matches makes people #1 contender after all these years of that rule not being applied...right Ambrose & Truth?

I'd much rather them actually have a triple threat or fatale four way match up for the title with an actual storyline which is more layered then just I want the title because I want to work WM.

But if WWE wants to put all those guys in the match up then why not go with a Championship Scramble match? I think with the given storyline, this match up is the perfect type of match. If you want to play hot potato in storyline then have the match do the same thing.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If last night's episode of SmackDown! is an indicator, Bad News Barrett's opponents for this match are Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Luke Harper, Daniel Bryan and Stardust. I'm thinking there'll probably be one more added to the match to make the match an even 8 participant and, if so, I'm thinking it could be Sheamus. They've been teasing his return for weeks and reports indicate he'll be a heel or will quickly turn heel shortly after arriving. R-Truth's shenanigans aside and Bad News Barrett looking like one limp noodle of a champion, the overall build for this match has been pretty good and anticipation seems high among fans.

 

[mkw1962]

I like what they are doing here with the IC title, push the mid card. Your participants should be BNB ( who will retain ), Dean, Dolph, R-truth, Luke, Stardust and Daniel ( big push for the mid card if he wins ). The wild card is Sheamus, I think he comes back at WM31 and costs Daniel the match, if they want Sheamus back sooner let him and Daniel feud and have there own match at Mania. Than the IC match can be an even 6 participants.