WWE No Way Out 2012: Christian (c) VS Cody Rhodes [Intercontinental Championship]

[Jack-Hammer]

This match has gotten overlooked a bit. It's gotten pretty decent hype but it's definitely been overshadowed by the two World Championship & the steel cage matches at the ppv. Still, this should be a highly entertaining match as both men can go. Cody Rhodes is one of the hot young stars to watch and Christian is one of those few that can seem to have a great match with just about anybody.

I'm expecting Christian to retain the title, it's what I'm hoping actually because I don't want to see WWE going back to playing hot potato with the title.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I don't think that its gotten overlooked, truth be told I wasn't sure if It'd been officially announced yet, I know they've referenced it but there hasn't been much promotion or advertisement of it even though truly, this has been one of if not the most well built angle going into No Way Out. They've traded insults, both sat on commentary during one another's matches, taunted each other, it's old school build but its effective.

I see Christian picking up the win after a good, solid match. It's Christian so, no matter who is opponent, whether it be Cody Rhodes or a broomstick, the match is going to be acclaimed critically, it's just how Christian rolls. I like Rhodes, even though he isn't as entertaining as he once was, but he is a good in-ring wrestler, with good speaking ability and a lot of promise. Much like you Jack, I don't want to see new holders in quick succession, especially considering Christian is the perfect holder for the Intercontinental title.

My expectation is for a "Captain Charisma" victory, much better than that "Instant Classic" guy, whoever he is.

 

[Martin Gabriel]

We should really get a top notch match between Christian & Cody Rhodes. Probably the best match on this card. Two consummate in-ring professionals at work here. It should be a clinic.

Christian will retain.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

This match has the potential to steal the show if they can get a good 12-15 minutes or more. The triple threat should be good but this has potential to be even better if they give it time. The last three IC title matches have gotten 5, 4, and 7 minutes at Mania, Extreme Rules, and OTL respectively.

I think Christian will retain, and I hope he does as well. I'm not 100% sold on Cody as a legit future superstar(I'm about 95%) but they have to do something with him to push him to that status. When he was IC champion he started off strong but fell off fast. He defended the title like 3 times over his entire run and the belt was just an accessory after a short while. Putting the belt back on him won't help him at this point and if they want to keep Christian as a face for the time being he will be better served as the IC champ as opposed to challenging for the main titles since both champs are currently faces and both will likely get a rematch at MITB they do both lose soon.

 

[LSN80]

Other then the two major title matches, this is the match I'm looking forward to most. It seems their match at Over The Limit was simply(and hopefully) about giving fans what to expect in a longer match between the two. It never really got out of that first gear until the very end, and the fans weren't sure how to react to Christian, as he had been a heel for so long.

Christian is now firmly re-established as a babyface, with no further evidence needed then the four-way match on Monday. The fans were fully invested in each near-fall, and Christian has been wrestling like a babyface since that point. Couple that with the fact that Christian will sell like crazy for Cody if his offense is believable, and this could indeed be a great match.

I don't see them taking the title off of Christian just yet. Unless the plan is to move him into the main event scene once again, then he needs a credible victory here in his first title defense. Yes, it comes at the expense of Cody Rhodes, but it seems as if WWE isn't quite sure what to do with him right now, or he's simply being de-pushed. Either way, we've seen Cody have a long run with the IC title, and he did very little with it other then changing its design. He had several non-title feuds or one-off matches for the title that while it established him as a single's guy, it also made him a poor champion for the most part.

In contrast, Christian has been wrestling every week since his return, and has looked fairly dominant until he was pinned by Ziggler on Monday. I find his matches to be of a higher quality then Rhodes, he has a better connection with the fans, and he's the perfect title-holder for any up and coming heels not ready for the main event to try and make their name off of, much like when Rey Mysterio held the belt back in 2009. So what exactly would the logic be for taking the title off of him?

There's little. Christian wins with the Killswitch and the Frogsplash in perhaps the match of the night.
With Christian, you have a babyface who is wrestling

 

[2Sweet_4Life]

With only 4 matches on the card it should go for 30 minutes and steal the show... But it won't it will be a typical mid-card match on PPV a 10-minute decent match were the crowd just isn't connected to the match. If they built this match up properly (Like they used to do for mid-carders but instead they'll give cena vs big show 25 mins for about the 100th time) it could be brilliannt with the crowd wanting cody to get a battering then after a 30minute match cody rolls up Christian and grabs the ropes to get heat, then they have a rematch at MITB and Cody goes over clean. Then cody faces Sheamus at ss for WHC and holds the WHC & IC title at same time.

 

[The Crock]

I'm actually really excited for this match. I'm a big fan of both Christian and Cody Rhodes and I firmly believe that they can put on a great match -- maybe even the match of the night. The result of the match isn't going to be much of a surprise, I think. I just can't see any scenario where Christian loses to Cody Rhodes here, nor should he. Christian seemingly isn't going to be back in the main event in the foreseeable future, as we saw from his loss to Ziggler, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Christian can be a great veteran, main event caliber gatekeeper. He can carry the Intercontinental Championship, adding some credibility to it, offering great matches, until he finally drops it to a younger guy and helps him rise up the card. That's really what a veteran of Christian's caliber should be doing anyway, until they need him in the main event again, that is.

So, while the decision of this match is (hopefully) set in stone, I still see it being a very good contest. Losses to Christian -- while they obviously wouldn't do what wins would -- won't necessarily hurt Cody Rhodes. He seems primed for a move up the card very soon, but the WWE are (to their credit) taking their time in pushing Cody Rhodes -- right now, though, they're seemingly just trying to separate him from the Intercontinental Championship scene, so they can't slot him into some upper midcard feuds, not concerning the championship. With that, I just can't see Christian losing here.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Eh, I really don't care about this match. I have a hunch this and the WWE Championship match are linked together. I don't see Cody winning this match but if Bryan wins the title, then I see Cody moving up to the main event. Problem is, I don't see a lot of credible midcard heels to feud with Christian so they may drag this out until Summerslam.

 

[Spear]

This will be the best match on the card and Christian will retain, because Cody Rhodes is slated to move up into the main event soon. A loss to a two time World Champ won't hurt in that rise.

 

[HBsam31]

Could be one of if not the best match on the card. I expect and hope Christian retains here as I don't want them to start playing hot potato with the IC belt.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This will probably open the show, as so many other Intercontinental Championship matches have. Christian only just recently got the belt, so why give it back to Rhodes when he is ready to move on to bigger and better things? Christian can feud with all sorts of other heels after this feud ends. He will also make Cody look great during this match, putting him over. I'd like to hope that WWE have made smarter choices regarding the booking and will have Christian retain here. Rhodes is a favorite to win Money In the Bank, so a midcard title would hold him back at this point. Should be a fun match as the opener or another early spot in the evening.

DAGGER'S PREDICTION
Christian will retain the Intercontinental Championship.

 

[Arashi]

This will be an incredible match, should be intense with Christian retaining after a hard fight in which Rhodes will give it everything he has and just barely come up short. I see this as a possible MOTN possibility.