The WWE Intercontinental Championship and the WWE United States Championship are two titles, which have unquestionably seen their ups and down since their respective creations. At their height such legendary names as Harley Race, Randy Savage and Bret Hart have all held one of these championships. Likewise both titles have seen their lowlights through being either deactivated or abandoned.
Fortunately both the WWE Intercontinental Championship and the WWE United States Championship look to be on an upswing. This allows for the midcard to be further raised, which both titles have traditionally worked to do.
In order to fully appreciate the gradual restoration of prestige being given to the titles, three factors must be looked at for each championship, separately. First the title holders of the respective belts over the past year must be identified and analyzed. Second the matches held between those competing for the titles must be discussed. Lastly where the championships look to be going in the future is necessary to mention.
Since November of last year their have been eight WWE Intercontinental Championship reigns with perhaps the worst, being the first. For five months Ric Flair kept the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Though a gifted wrestler, much like his recent run as half of the World Tag Team Champions, Flair did not need this title to prove his worth. In fact Flair overshadowed the championship for several months during his reign. At this point the title took a backseat to Flair’s feud with Triple H.
On February 20, 2006, Shelton Benjamin captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship for his second reign. While not nearly as long as his first, he was given assistance in the promo department from his manager at the time, Mama Benjamin. This allowed for a solid heel transition.
The next title reign to take place would not be as necessary in building up a wrestler as Benjamin’s second run with the belt was. However this reign was also not as frivolous as Flair’s title duration. Rob Van Dam won the belt off of Benjamin at the 2006 incarnation of Backlash. The major problem with this was that Van Dam had already emerged victorious in the 2006 Money in the Bank match earlier in the year. With a world heavyweight title shot in the future a WWE Intercontinental Championship reign seemed completely unneeded.
Less than a month later Benjamin regained the title from Van Dam in an unorthodox fashion as instead of a singles match, Van Dam lost the strap in a two-on-three Texas tornado bout. This deemphasized the importance of the belt as it was overshadowed by the WWE Championship, which was being defended in the same match.
Benjamin’s title reign likewise did not help to give credibility to the title as Mama Benjamin was no longer by his side, which greatly reduced the crowd reactions that Benjamin had received. Though Benjamin maintained his in-ring skills less attention was paid to him until he finally lost the belt to Johnny Nitro the 2006 installment of Vengeance in a triple threat match.
This is where prestige has been gradually building up for the belt ever since. Hardly anyone would label either Nitro or Jeff Hardy as being the best technical wrestlers in the wrestling industry today. However both have proven that they are more than proficient when it comes to drawing a reaction from fans. This has kept the title as a commonly used asset every week on Raw.
Some may argue that the constant shifting of the title between Nitro and Hardy may be hot-shotting the championship. While to some extent this is true, this action at least creates the sense of a one-on-one rivalry exclusively revolving around the title. This is reminiscent of such switches as those between Tito Santana and Greg Valentine or Owen Hart and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Unlike the rivalry between Jeff’s brother Matt Hardy and Gregory Helms, new storyline devices and stipulations help to keep the matches interesting. Nitro’s relationship with Kevin Federline beginning in October gave his competition with Hardy a much needed breather preventing their matches from becoming too stale too soon. The planned ladder match between the two is likely to be beneficial for the rivalry. Hardy has proven himself in ladder matches time and again over the past decade and Nitro’s wrestling style may fit in well with the ladder match format.
In regards to where the WWE Intercontinental Championship is headed, all the prestige being slowly given to the belt could be dispelled quickly enough. The matches between Nitro and Hardy need to be kept interesting, which could be done in a variety of ways. While a number of gimmick matches may be one road to take, this path has been played out in rivalries between the likes of the Undertaker and Mankind as well as John Cena and Edge. Instead, finding a storyline device, which would give some more breathing room between Nitro and Hardy or adding in another opponent to create a three-way rivalry may be more useful in the long run.
Seemingly mirroring the status of the WWE Intercontinental Championship, the WWE United States Championship has also been captured on eight separate occasions since November of last year.
Interestingly enough the first two reigns are attributed to one individual, Booker T. This came about as a result of the title being held up after a controversial ending to a match between Booker and Chris Benoit.
Recreating the best of seven series between the two that took place, years prior in WCW between Booker and Benoit, much attention was given to the WWE United States Championship. However both men have aged since their WCW tenures and while both are still capable athletes along with age there is an increased risk of injury. Such was evident at a live event held on December 26, 2006 in which Booker suffered a knee injury that temporarily sidelined him.
Randy Orton acted as Booker’s substitute and along with a victory over Benoit, Booker once again stood as a champion. This reign was not long however as slightly over a month later, Benoit defeated Booker to hold the WWE United States Championship once again.
Benoit’s reign would be somewhat more fruitful than Booker’s as he would manage to hold onto the title until Wrestlemania 22 at which point John Bradshaw Layfield claimed Benoit’s title on wrestling grandest stage. As often happens however, a midcard title would fall away from the limelight in favor of a world title as JBL went onto feud with World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr.
Upcoming star Bobby Lashley would be the next in line for a run with the strap. Just a few days removed from JBL losing to Mysterio at 2006’s Judgment Day, JBL would again see defeat, this time losing his championship in the process.
Lashley was a young and hungry talent that benefited from the WWE United States Championship as this reign added credibility to his claim as a dominant force in the wrestling industry. Though not nearly as young, Fit Finlay proved to be just as hungry when he defeated Lashley for the gold on a July edition of the Smackdown! program.
The aging Finlay received much fanfare and attention during his brief reign, which ended when Lashley was pinned by Mr. Kennedy during a triple threat match. Kennedy like Lashley was a star on the rise that could greatly benefit from holding a midcard championship. This was not to be however as instead Kennedy was put into a rivalry with the Undertaker during which the WWE United States Championship was ignored.
With Benoit’s recent win over Kennedy, the title looks once again to be on the rise. Benoit, though already holding the championship on four separate occasions had only returned to action a few days before emerging as the new WWE United States Champion. This sudden win breathed new life into the once overlooked title and also helped to create additional interest in Benoit’s return.
Benoit’s first major rivalry during this reign looks to be with Chavo Guerrero. Guerrero, having just come off of an overly drawn out program with Mysterio, optimistically could benefit from matches with Benoit. However looking at this matter another way Guerrero could drag down Benoit’s performance and kill the interest created by Benoit’s long awaited return.
Existing in the neighborhood of about thirty years a piece, the WWE Intercontinental Championship and the WWE United States Championship have endured the worst of times on many occasions. Whatever path they go down in the near future, whether it is one of glory or shame is likely only to form yet another chapter in their longstanding legacies.
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