WWE TLC 2012: WWE Intercontinental Championship - Kofi Kingston (c) VS Wade Barrett

[Jack-Hammer]

Barrett himself announced this match on commentary last night during the Kofi vs. Tensai match. They delivered a strong match on Raw last week and, right now, it's good use of Barrett in my eyes. Barrett's a star, that's obvious, so having him feud with Kofi for the IC title can do good things for everyone involved.

Over the next few weeks, Kofi needs to get some mic time because he's in danger of slipping back into the mold of just some guy that's holding the IC title for a while. The feud needs to be evened up some on a verbal level.

I think Kofi will retain the title at TLC to even things up, maybe setting up one final match between them for the title at the Royal Rumble in January.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I think you are probably correct. I see Kofi Kingston defeating Wade Barrett at the next PPV, setting up the rubber match at the Royal Rumble. And at this PPV, the Barrett Barrage will likely go over Kofi, making him the new Intercontinental Champion. I see Barrett carrying this mid card title all the way to Wrestlemania, where he will defend it against Sheamus, with possibly some involvement of William Regal in the mix.

I think it is possible that Barrett could be elevated into the main event scene in 2013, whereas I never see Kofi Kingston going beyond where he has thus far. I think he has peaked and will be a perennial mid carder or tag team guy, which is nothing to be ashamed of by the way.

Barrett has potential and a tremendous upside, but I think the WWE has to shit or get off the pot with him. Time to give him a shot, or let him fade back into mid card obscurity again. And how better to give him a shot than a match at Wrestlemania with the former WWE and WHC Champion? But it all begins with this program with Kofi, which persists until RR, meaning Kofi is likely the guy at TLC.

 

[sanefan_har]

Like someones else said, I think Kofi will win this match, before he loses to Barrett at the Rumble. Given Kofi's spot monkey reputation, they'll probably make it a ladders match. Its high time the IC title got a feud like this between two future superstars. They've got a lot of momentum going, but I believe this match and their feud will elevate them further.

 

[IHW]

I think this should be a ladder match first off. I know Kingston can provide, and I'd like to see more of what Barret can do in these different environments. Barret's good, but WWE obviously don't see him as a main event player yet. He has held the IC title before, and I don't think winning it here will help him at all. So, let the match be a good one. Extend the feud a few more weeks if you need to, and then move Barret to the next phase. Don't let him get held up by the IC Title.

IHW Prediction- Kingston retains

 

[blindman]

Yeah it should be a ladder match, if it is I don't see Kofi losing 1 on 1. be interesting so see if Barrett works om the eyes of Kofi cant climb if you cant see.

Also like to see a wasteland from the top of the ladder, if angled right Kofi could hit a few rungs on the way down. All in all this will be a great match but think Kofi has the edge in a ladder match.

Kofi wins if ladder match.

 

[Pedigree1]

I am excited for this match! Kofi really has worked his ass off and is very exciting to watch in the ring. But Unfortunately this is as far as Kofi will go in his career. Which by the way,is not half bad. This should be a ladder match and if its so,then Kofi wins.

Wade Is just a beast. Dude has Championship material written all over him. He will headline WM30 IMO! Yah im throwing that out there. Wade should go over Kofi at the Royal Rumble and hold on to the IC title past mania. This match has alot of momentum and the proper story line heading into TLC! I am looking forward to this

 

[Wolf Pac]

I don't think Barrett will win here nor do I think he needs it. Barrett's already defeated Kofi for the IC Title once before, he beat him at Survivor Series and on the RAW the day after, it's time Kofi got a victory back, and if anything Kofi needs to keep the IC Title more than Wade needs to win it to build momentum for him if they wanna try and elevate him to a main eventer. I also agree that he needs to get more mic time if they ever want him to make it. Barrett can easily get over as a main eventer on his dominance alone. Just keep him dominating in matches on RAW & Smackdown and have him go into the Royal Rumble match next month dominating left & right, eliminating the most competitors and lasting the most amount of time in the match. Whatever happens though, this should be an interesting match.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

With all the hype with Punk/Rock, Cena/Ziggler and Show/Sheamus, Barret has nothing to do right now so this is it. Kofi is IC Champ, but it is as far as he goes. He would probably never elevate himself further than midcard so this is it for him. Barret however has that chance and he could be good World Champion someday. Kofi will probably win this, but ultimatly feud will go to Barret and he will be new IC Champ in time for Wrestlemania. If it wasn't for that injury, he would probably be World Heavyweight Champion by now, but right now, they have nowhere to put him except in midcard...

 

[HBsam31]

I am also looking forward to this match. lofi is the best he has been, and Wade is a future WWE champ in my book. I think this match will go a bit, and Kofi will retain, and like others have said set up a rubber match at the Rumble where Barrett finally takes the IC belt. Should be a great match.

 

[The Crock]

I'm actually looking forward to this match, though I'm a little bummed we won't be seeing Kofi flying around in a ladders match. Though, I like both guys a lot and I think this will be one of the better matches on the card, regardless of the stipulation, truth be told. I think this is a nice holdover feud for both men until they can figure out what to do with them down the line, so I don't see Barrett taking the Intercontinental Championship away from Kofi just yet. The Royal Rumble is likely where Barrett would win the belt if WWE was sold on him taking it, but I don't think they're going to go down that route with him again. I could see him having a nice showing in the Rumble, then maybe getting another feud with Orton or perhaps even getting a real feud (not just a few matches here or there) with Sheamus.

Kofi's been a good champion and has been improving quite a bit over the last few months, I think. It looked like Kofi was going to be stuck in tag team purgatory for a while there, but he's transitioned into the midcard again, and I wouldn't be surprised if a win over Barrett -- like the win over Miz -- is being used to help him build some momentum and maybe see if he can go a bit further up the card after the WrestleMania season. Then again, Barrett hasn't done much since his return, so I could be overrating the value of beating him, but I think he's a viable contender and someone that would do wonders in putting Kofi over.

Kofi retains here, if only because I think this is a holdover feud.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Kof Retains here, but if anything, a feud for the IC title will give Barrett something meaningful to do. As usual, Kofi is having a solid reign as IC Champ, but since his return, Barrett's Barrage hasn't taken off yet. Personally, I wouldn't mind if Barrett won the title, because he could use the boost right now. But at the same time, I have this "too soon" feeling if Kofi loses.

Should be an entertaining match, and Kofi will probably hold on to the gold for a while.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

The need to emphasize the eye "injury" Kofi sustained at the hands of Barrett to build up this feud. If they do, they might actually be able to create some interest in this match at the PPV. The fans seem to like Kofi, and will probably sympathize with him if he really sells the injury, in turn putting heat on Barrett and positioning Kofi as an underdog going into this match. Barrett's work on the mic is also going to be key in putting over Kofi's injury, and making himself seem like a ruthless heel.

If they manage to build enough heat between them in the coming weeks, I say they go for it and make it a ladder match. We've already seen Barrett and Kofi fight in a normal one on one match on RAW anyways, and numerous times before that as well. Most importantly though, the Ladder Match could fit the story, as you would have Barrett using the Ladder as a weapon, attacking Kofi's eye and exploiting the injury. For the finish you could have Kofi make a big comeback and fire up the crowd, but when he reaches the top of the ladder he would have trouble unhooking the belt due to the damage sustained to his eye. This would ultimately cost him as Barrett would recover and be able to tip the Ladder taking Kofi out and allowing Barrett to win.

They have a chance to actually build a story involving two guys fighting over the IC Title, I hope they take advantage of the opportunity.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

Barrett deserves to be in the World Heavyweight Championship picture, not having to fight for the Intercontinental Championship which in my opinion is beneath Barrett anyways because he has already been Intercontinental Champion before and also since he has made his return, he has made enough of an impact already that he should be fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship

But as for the match itself, I see Kofi retaining somehow

 

[Mustang Sally]

All the promos in advance of Barrett's return from injury led me to believe he was in line for a monster push.....and that the next time we saw him lose a match would be in a world title match, either challenging for or defending a belt. That idea fell by the wayside quickly enough.

Instead, we still don't know what they're going to do with him. Wade has looked less than terrifying, a quality I thought they had in mind for him after all the "fight club" sequences trumpeting his return. Maybe they still see the main event in his future; he has the look and the ability to carry it. Of all the guys in the original Nexus, they chose him as the leader....and they chose correctly.

Kofi? I figured we were just seeing another in a series of mini-pushes he gets every so often. He's a good soldier and hangs around the mid-card, seemingly waiting for another shot at a push, which inevitably comes.....and then goes as quickly as it arrived. I don't know what WWE sees in his future, but I would guess it's more of the same. I can't see him ever winning the world title; his presence just isn't commanding enough to warrant it.

I'll pick Wade to win the belt, if for no other reason than a title is expected to change hands at a pay-per-view, no? If Punk and Big Show are expected to retain, somebody's gotta lose his title.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

This is going to be a right proper fucking, regardless of who wins. Either kofi has yet ANOTHER short lived push and utterly meaningless IC title reign, or Barretts return momentum is totally murdered. Knowing how they seem to feel about both guys, ill say barret takes this. Hopefully to go on to a meaningful title reign, putting both himself and the title over.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kofi Kingston with the IC title is the new Chris Jericho with the IC title. He hold it, he does nothing with it. Kofi is WWE's default campion and it shows.

The winner is irrelevant, Barrett did nothing with his previous IC reign as well. Whoever wins, nobody will remember. I really wish WWE would just invest properly in Barrett or drop him. If he wins he could do worse than forming an alliance with Antonio Cesaro. Something about European domination, bollocks like that.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I think Kofi can still establish himself as a legit main event guy. He has been improving his mic skills, and while he will never be a John Cena or CM Punk on the stick he is getting to a point where his skills are acceptable.

Barret is a guy who I used to think was a future star but each time I see him come back with a new theme or new finisher I think that less and less.

Because of that I'm not sure who will win. My heart says Kofi, but I think they may take the belt off him and allow him to build some momentum going into the RR, then give him a good showing there, continuing his push up the ladder.

On the other hand I think if they want to push Barret into the main event scene then he needs to feud with a certified main eventer, and holding the IC title won't really allow that.

 

[El Rev sXe]

I'm not sure how this match is going to be, I mean they did have this match before and well... I don't remember shit about it. I'm not expecting to be a great match, for me is just a filler. Don't get me wrong, is really good to see the IC defended in every PPV, but as far the quality of this match, well I don't have high hopes...

Who's going to walk out with the title? I think it's too soon for Kofi for him to drop it, plus he is doing a good job being the champ. On the other hand, while Barrett hasn't had an amazing run since his return, I still do think that he is a top talent in the E and for him to win the IC championship, a midcard title, is a step back for him.

However like Norcal said:

This is going to be a right proper fucking, regardless of who wins. Either kofi has yet ANOTHER short lived push and utterly meaningless IC title reign, or Barretts return momentum is totally murdered.

Anyway, Kofi retains.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I honestly wish I could be more interested in this match, but I'm just not. I'm a big fan of both guys. To me this reign has been no different than Kofi's other midcard title reigns. I'm glad that he's Intercontinental Champion although I really wish that he could get a chance to do something different this time around to help him get past where he is at. He seems stuck at midcard status and is capable of being further up the card.

Barrett is better than this too. He led two factions and has challenged for the WWE Championship before, so when he returned with this fighting gimmick to restart the Barrett Barrage I thought he would be climbing further up the card, especially after that feud he had with Orton. The match itself should be decent and might open the show. It will likely go on early in the evening if it is not first.

The best option would be for Kofi to retain but with Barrett still looking very strong in the process. That way Kofi gets a chance to eventually (hopefully anyway) do something different with his title reign and Barrett can move on to better things. The feud will probably end here regardless of who wins.

DAGGER'S PREDICTION
Kofi Kingston will retain the Intercontinental Championship.