Wrestlemania XXXII: WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match

[Jack-Hammer]

Stephanie McMahon made it official last night that Kevin Owens will defend the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania in a ladder match, marking the 2nd year in a row the title's fate has been up for grabs in this particular match, with Owens' opponents consist of Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, Stardust, Zack Ryder and Sin Cara.

The triple threat that was implied last night on Raw suggested that we might be seeing a singles match for the title, which would've been against Sami Zayn. I really enjoy Zayn, but I'm not of the opinion he should be given a singles IC title match for WrestleMania just a few weeks after hitting the main roster; I wouldn't have been dead set against it, but I think it's too soon to go that route. Of the opponents, the only one who has any real, viable shot of beating Owens is Zayn, but I don't think it happens so soon and especially not in a multi-man match. I would have preferred the match be just between Owens, Zayn, Miz & Ziggler but, all in all, I've got no real problem with the addition of Stardust, Ryder and Sin Cara. It's obvious that they don't have a remote chance but that doesn't mean that they can't help deliver a quality ladder match.

I see Owens retaining at WrestleMania before ultimately moving into a singles feud with Zayn for the title.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

This match would've been watered down with the inclusion of Miz and Ziggler, nevermind the other three.

Multi-man ladder matches are entertaining but I'm invested in Zayn vs. Owens and that alone.

I predict one of the three nobodies win. Just because.

 

[kadroan]

Owens should win, establishing himself as a dominant champion. I wonder will they go with Zayn vs. Owens right away or have him face the winner of Jericho/AJ.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I'm guessing that the main feuds coming out of wrestlemania wil be miz vs ziggler and owens vs zayn. Will the zayn/owens feud be over the ic title, we will see because et face it, wwe loves to do swerved for swerved sake and we could see somebody like zack ryder or stardust win the belt just for the sake of a swerve and have them beat owens in the rematch on raw. So who knows with that match, it's going to a great opening match like he was last year and will see how this one booked and what feud comes out of this one.

 

[King Patrick Star]

My picks to win the Intercontinental Championship Title Ladder match at WrestleMania 32, in this order, are:

Sin Cara
Sami Zayn
Zack Ryder
Stardust
Dolph Ziggler
The Miz
Kevin Owens

I would love to see Sin Cara as the InterContinental Champion, Kalisto as the United States Champion, and then have them both join the League Of Nations. I’d then have Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio go after the WWE World Tag Team Championship Titles and have Rusev go after the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Title. Now that’s how you build a Championship Stable in the WWE!!

 

[George Steele's Barber]

This may turn out to be one of the most exciting matches on the card if given the time. Think of how important this match is to guys like Zayn, Ryder, and Sin Cara. Think of how willing Ziggler is going to be killing himself. Think of the spots Zayn and Owens are going to work out. Even Miz and Stardust may add some humor and possibly a nice spot or two.

But really think of Zack Ryder. The guy is getting a huge opportunity to feel relevant again. I expect he will take advantage of it by doing things that will put him in a wheel chair again for Kane to push off the stage.

If I'm wrong who cares, this will probably share the pre-show with the AtGBR and Paige.

 

[laodaron]

1) I hate multi-man gimmick matches, because they involve some combination of 5 guys sleeping outside of the ring for about 90% of the match.

2) Owens v. Zayn ladder match is going to be possibly the most liked match on the card, based on their history together putting on ladder spotfests.

3) Ladder matches are disgusting spot fests that generally shorten the careers of the superstars involved, and rarely actually elevate anyone. There are a few exceptions, but primarily, this is going to serve to hurt someone.

My pick is that Owens retains, but the story from the match will probably be Owens v. Zayn to continue on as a feud. I would love to see Ryder and someone like Miz start up a feud, bring Ryder onto the main roster, and give him a moderate push.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

This will be a fun match to watch. Wrestlemania needs gimmicky matches. It also gives room for the Owens vs Zayn feud to grow even more, in the casual fan's eyes. I think Ownes is going to win. He's doing wonders for the IC belt and the IC belt is doing wonders for his career. He somehow feels different from the previous IC champions and in different, I mean that he's not irrelevant.

I expect Owens to take down Zayn as he's going to climb the ladder and steal the victory.

Miz and Ziggler are there for name value. Sin Cara and Stardust are there to fill the blank. It's a shame that Cesaro won't be there, because if he was, I think he would definately be in the match.

The big surprise is Zack Ryder. Is this really the first time Ryder is going to hear his music at Wrestlemania? Didn't he hear it at Wrestlemania 28? Anyway, Zack Ryder is there because of Neville's injury. That's what I believe. But it's nice to see a guy like Ryder, finally getting a moment to shine at Wrestlemania. Of course he's not going to win, but a good performance, might do wonders for him. This is a big opportunity for Zack Ryder.

 

[laodaron]

The big surprise is Zack Ryder. Is this really the first time Ryder is going to hear his music at Wrestlemania? Didn't he hear it at Wrestlemania 28?

No, he came out to Teddy Long's music.

But, to your point, I'm hoping that Ryder can do something with this.

 

[Gallops77]

This is honestly the perfect time for the WWE to put the Intercontinental Title on Zack Ryder.

He doesn't have to technically "go over" anyone at Wrestlemania. It's just he was the one to grab the title. They can build on the Zayn/Owens feud by having Owens and Ryder on the ladder when Zayn costs Owens the title and the match.

I think Zayn/Owens would be better as a feud without a title. They can trade wins without bouncing the title around too.

Ryder can go on to feud with whoever afterwards. Ziggler, Miz, Sheamus, Rusev, AJ Styles whoever. Turn him heel, keep him face. Doesn't matter.

 

[Sean Valjean]

I'm still furious that this isn't just Zayn vs Owens 1-1 but I digress.

............

Seriously though, WHY THE EFF IS THIS A MULTI-MAN LADDER MATCH?

ANYWAYS, they must be saving Sami/Owens for after Wrestlemania and since everyone else in this match can be labeled as "kind of a loser" or "complete loser", one of those two are leaving Dallas as champ. My guess is Sami, to give him his moment and to provide Owens a reason to chase him the following month. A reason in addition to a year+ of unresolved personal hatred that apparently wasn't good enough to blow off at the biggest show of the year.

 

[@smarkmouth]

I'm still furious that this isn't just Zayn vs Owens 1-1 but I digress.

Had they debuted Sami on the roster full time after the Rumble, this would have worked. Debuting him as close to Mania as they did spoiled this opportunity.

I see this match going one of two ways. Both involve continuing the Sami vs Owens feud, but it depends if the IC title will be on the line. Either Kevin Owens wins at Mania, or Sami costs him the match without winning the championship, himself. Suddenly, Owens' "What I did to Sami Zayn wasn't personal" schtick evolves into something very personal.

Sami and Owens don't need the IC title to keep their feud interesting. It would be a bonus, but not entirely necessary. However, Owens is the only viable winner, by my own estimates.

 

[Sean Valjean]

Had they debuted Sami on the roster full time after the Rumble, this would have worked. Debuting him as close to Mania as they did spoiled this opportunity.

I disagree. They still had several weeks and all they would have to do is show some video packages highlighting Sami's career and his history with Owens to catch up the non-NXT fans. They're doing a good job of this now with Shane McMahon, who also re-debuted pretty recently, so I don't see why it wouldn't have worked here.

Just have the two cut heated promos on each other with KO ducking Sami every chance he gets. Their feud is already established, all they would have to do is fan the flames. It'd literally be the easiest match to book. Plus a 1-1 match for the title would have gone over HUGE with the Wrestlemania crowd – an audience largely made up of hardcore fans. They would have eaten that match up and asked for seconds.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

Or the 7-man match they could just have Owens retain the title beating 6 other guys which would basically put Owens even more over as a heel in terms of heel heat and in the sense of him retaining his title with the odds severely stacked against him it could set up Zayn to face Owens at Payback the next PPV after Mania by having Zayn come so close only to have Owens steal the title right out from under him

 

[Dave]

We all know what this match is going to be. It's going to be like every other multiman match that the WWE has been peddling every other Wrestlemania. But I don't have a problem with that. The fact if the matter is that we all know what we're going to get with matches like these. And the talent involved have nothing to lose. I actually think it is a better field of talent than the mirror match at Wrestlemania last year. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in this match. Owens will very likely come out on top and I am okay with that as long as he puts it to good use over the next few months. But Zayn would be my own personal preference. After everything he has been through, it would be nice to see him get a decent reward.

A spot fest but an entertaining match for sure on a card that might disappoint. Owens wins though.

 

[ShinChan]

I think that Kevin Owens needs to win this match to retain the IC Title. It would be too soon to make him lose this title.

Plus it puts over Owens as a cunning heel who knows ways to survive.

Multi-man match can ensure that we can get Owens VS Sami at Summerslam this year.

Ryder, Stardust, Ziggler, Sincara and Miz are just there as fillers and shoudn't and needn't win.

 

[rerun406]

agreed, something stood out to me during Michael Cole's interview with Kevin Owens

Cole said something to the effect of it's been 18 years since the Intercontinental title was successfully defended at Wrestlemania (at WM 14 Rock beat Shamrock by DQ to keep his title, after Shamrock refused to release his ankle lock)

So if Kevin Owens retains, it not only plays up his cunning heel character, but to be the first IC champ to come out of Mania still champ, in close to 20 years gives him incredible bragging rights.

 

[El Rev sXe]

This could be a potentially very entertaining match.

It is true that the main story here is Zayn vs Owens, but it didn't had a proper build up because since Sami Zayn's debut, it's been a month I think, a very short period of time to make a rivalry worthy of Mania (even if they had their feud back in NXT). Plus, Wretlemania needs to show all of the WWE talents.

On the other hand, it is very nice to see some names involved such as Ziggler, Miz, Stardust and boy, oh boy, Zack Ryder. I don't think he is a great wrestler but it's nice to see him to be on the main card of Wrestlemania and even more, being part of a championship match, even if he definitely is NOT going to win.

However, as I said before, the main story here is Zayn vs Owens, so it will culminate with them. I can see probably Sami about to win but Owens interferes, retains the title and this way setting up the feud between ONLY them.

Kevin Owens retains.

 

[The Warlord]

The injury bug has hurt the WWE during the most important time of year. So what do they do?

Throw the rest of the roster into the most dangerous match there is.

 

[Dave]

This was one of the matches that really lit up WrestleMania this year. Truthfully, I really enjoyed this match from start to finish. The spots, which we have come to expect from Ladder Matches at WrestleMania were just as good as any I have seen in any other Ladder Match if not better. And the result was something that no one expected a week ago. Honestly, this was one of the things that the WWE got right on the night and you have to give them a little bit of credit for that.

I was gutted that Sami Zayn wasn't the one heading home with the IC Championship but his time will come. At least the WWE knows that there is money in a potential feud between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and are willing to give it to us. With Zayn being responsible for really killing off Owens' chance in the ladder match, I fully expect these two to be feuding heading into the Payback PPV. Again, this is something that the WWE got right on the night.

There were more things in this match that I particularly enjoyed. I don't think Stardust gets enough credit for the work he does but he was a solid part of the match last night. The tributes to Dusty were fitting and nostalgic. The bump with Sin Cara through the ladder on the outside was a personal highlight outside of the overall result. Zack Ryder deserved that win and I fully expect him to make it his own. If the WWE give him some time, then he could end up being one of the most over people in the entire company. I have a horrible feeling that he loses it on tonight's edition of Raw though. Fingers crossed that the WWE have a little faith in him. Quality match with a good winner. No complaints.

 

[HBK-aholic]

I wasn't looking forward to this; I'm not usually a fan of this multi-man ladder match, and I wanted Zayn/Owens. What do you have to do in order to have SIX other men down long enough to be able to climb the ladder and get the title?

I am, however, very happy to have been wrong about this. This match was the perfect way to start the show, it was legitimately so much fun. The energy in the arena was great and they got in some good spots. The crowd popped when Ryder won, and while we all know how that has since worked out, it was a good moment to give the fans to start the show. WWE got it right here.