WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 - WWE IC Championship: Big E (c) VS Jack Swagger

[Jack-Hammer]

As a result of winning a fourway bout against Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio & Mark Henry on SmackDown! tonight, Jack Swagger is the new #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship.

While there's very little chance of Swagger capturing the title, it still should be a good match and Swagger's a good opponent for Big E. For several weeks, things have kinda cooled down for Big E with all the controversy surrounding CM Punk, Batista winning the Royal Rumble, Daniel Bryan not even being in the match and the upcoming launch of the WWE Network; but this is a good step in the right direction and getting things back on track for Big E.

 

[Softcore Holly]

It's nice to see Swagger pick up a big win after being on the losing end for quite a while, but really all that losing made Swagger seem like a really unworthy opponent for Big E that has no chance in hell of taking the title from him. Which is pretty much my big issue with Big E's title reign, his only title defenses are against heels that rarely win and no one in their right mind thinks they have a actual shot at winning like Axel, Fandango, Sandow, and now Swagger. It's starting to remind me of back in the attitude era when Eric Bischoff would suck up to HHH by giving him joke opponents like Gillberg. Which was fine back then since it was a obvious joke, but so far that's what Big E's title reign feels like. The even sadder part is this joke was already stale months ago when they were doing it with Axel, now it's just sad.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Should be a solid match, but there's no chance of Swagger winning. Big. E will pick up a decisive victory over Swagger, but I don't expect a complete squash.

A part of me wouldn't mind, if Swagger picked up the victory. But Cesaro is the better half of The Real Americans with a brighter future in front of him, so he should receive the strong solo push. Swagger had his chance last year, and he blew it.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I'm praying to the wrestling gods above that Swagger wins this match. Big E Langston is a god-awful wrestler and shouldn't be anywhere near the level he's at. He's already been champion far too long in my book, and a decisive victory for Swagger would benefit WWE more, so they can book Jack Swagger vs. Antonio Cesaro for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania. Hopefully Swagger can end the ungodly boring reign of Big E Langston.

 

[Pedigree1]

Good for Big E that he is starting to become relevant again! Jackhammer brought up a good point. With Batista winning the Royal Rumble,upcoming WWE Network,and CM Punk walking out he has been put on the back burner as of late. Im happy that swagger won the No1 contenders spot i am.. But lets be real here,there is very little chance he gets the victory.

Swagger as of late has been slapped by Zeb,lost focus in the ring,has been the weak link of the RA! But i would love to see swagger get the victory here. It might be the fresh air he needs IMO

 

[enviousdominous]

I'm just stoked that they're actually going to have an IC title match at a PPV. Very rarely am I presented with a match where I don't care who wins, as I'll enjoy the Hell out of the match on its own. I think that Big E and Jack Swagger will take this opportunity very seriously and hopefully they manage to resurrect our fascination with the IC title.

 

[sbattsjr]

If swagger has that ruthless aggression he once showed this could be a heck of a match.

 

[The Eighties]

I hope they get at least 10 minutes for the match, closer to 15 if they are lucky. I think Swagger and Big E are capable of having a very good IC title match, and although it seems obvious that Big E wins I don't think it's impossible that Swagger goes over. If he does and Cesaro fails (obviously he will) in the Chamber it could facilitate a split and an IC title match between the 2 at Mania.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It gets Big E. on PPV at least. Though I have no faith that they'll give him something meaningful going into Mania.

What happened to that pairing with Henry? I know lesnar took him out, but they could've used something else. Big. E & Henry should be teaming on this show which should've led to an eventual match between the two. Maybe they'll put them back together just in time to throw them into a tag match at Mania.

 

[Dirk]

It'll be interesting to see if Big E can do a fifteen minute match. I know he's been in the ring against Reigns, but I can't remember how he works against a guy of similar size. Big E's not a tall guy, muscular as he may be, so he won't look that powerhousey against Swagger, who also comes with an impressive array of moves. What I'm getting at is how is this match going to work?

I'm praying to the wrestling gods above that Swagger wins this match. Big E Langston is a god-awful wrestler and shouldn't be anywhere near the level he's at. He's already been champion far too long in my book, and a decisive victory for Swagger would benefit WWE more, so they can book Jack Swagger vs. Antonio Cesaro for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania. Hopefully Swagger can end the ungodly boring reign of Big E Langston.

I see your argument and I raise you the Hulkster, bruthurr, as well as Goldberg, Kevin Nash and Batista - all very limited in the ring, but achieved more than the IC title. And Hogan's stint in Japan doesn't count, since he never did that in the company he is best known for.

I understand it can be boring to watch a big bruiser, but if a guy is over, management should capitalise on his popularity.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Swagger as of late has been slapped by Zeb,lost focus in the ring,has been the weak link of the RA!

This is what I also thought.....but then they crossed us up by having Swagger win that strange looking 4-way match on Smackdown last night. I'm not a fan of Swagger, yet the surprise of seeing him come out on top against Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston made me glad to see that WWE can still throw us a curve when they want to. I presumed Mark Henry would win this match and the fact he didn't gave me hope that he wasn't about to again become the terrorizing force he was during his world championship run. His time is past.

But Swagger taking the duke made me wonder if he wasn't being set up as an upset winner against Big E at the PPV. I don't know that management has been particularly happy with Big E as a force and might be looking for a way to get the IC belt away from him.

Normally, I might be tempted to ask: "Why Swagger?".....and my answer would be that the IC title and who holds it is far from a vital issue in WWE......so, why not Swagger?

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

Big E honestly does nothing for me. His character really hasn't had a chance to grow. He's a big powerhouse in the Mark Henry mold. They pretty much just wanted the title off of Axel and to give Big E a mid-card title run. Swagger messed up last year and has continued to take pinfall after pinfall. I was happy to see him win the Fatal 4-Way and I hope this is the beginning of something good for him. WE THE PEOPLE!!!

 

[kadroan]

I like Swagger as his opponent but I would have rather it been Henry since they had history together, mentor/mentee type of relationship.

It would have been neat to see Henry put over Big E, after he didn't have Henry's back when Lesnar beat him up or this past week on RAW when The Shield beat him down, the confrontation with Ambrose could have foreshadowed a potential unification match with Ambrose at Wrestlemania.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

This should a fun and interesting match. When I look at both of them physically and their respective wrestling style I see a lot of potential chemistry. They are capable of delivering a fast paced, hard-hitting match. I'm leaning towards Big E. mostly because he's one of the WWE's potential big stars for the future.

But it does annoy me that the build up to this match will have a week. I mean I'm satisfied that they at least are putting the IC belt in the EC card, but the midcard needs more relevant feuds. Big E. has lost some steam since winning the championship and has lost some credibility by getting pinned by The Shield and Randy Orton cleanly way too many times and he needs a decisive win here, however I don't know what that will mean to Swagger's side of the story.

I've always been a supporter of Jack Swagger, mostly because I love his in-ring work. However last year he blew everything and that really made me sour towards his career, because he's not going to be a main eventer ever again. I could see him getting the strap just because WWE would want to make him go after Cesaro, but that's the only reason. He's not going to use it as a leverage to reach the top. It's not gonna work. Big E. however already connects with the audience. Maybe later this year he can get the Intercontinental Championship. As of right now, I'm just expecting a fun and good bout.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Guessing Langston wins this in a pretty solid match. Someone probably ends up with a bloody nose or lip. Fun, physical 7 minute match.

 

[Randy Orton's Head Blood]

I'm enjoying reading all the "Swagger won't win", "this match will be short" comments, because I think Swagger will win this one. Why? Cesaro needs to move onto something in the future and a breakup and match against Swagger for the IC title seems about right. Swagger would become relevant for a while when he has the title & could possibly put on a few good matches with other contenders before Cesaro might challenge him. Not to mention that Swagger could probably put a decent match on with Big E too, which could make this slightly enjoyable.

Swagger to win, please.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This is probably what will open the show. I can't quite say I'm all that interested in it, but there are in fact other matches on the card that interest me less than this one does. I haven't liked Big E's reign and I'll be glad to see it end here. He never should have been champion in the first place. I just don't see what people like about him. Swagger has been a World Heavyweight Champion before. Say what you wish about his run with that belt, but he would do more for the belt for that reason than Langston has. I'd pick a former World Heavyweight Champion for Intercontinental Champion than a boring guy who sucks any day. Swagger is the better choice and he should get the win here. The match should be alright although I doubt it will be anything special or significant.

DAGGER'S PREDICTION
Jack Swagger wins the Intercontinental Championship.