Step Up: The Intercontinental Championship
I’m as big a fan of Bad News Barrett as the next guy, and I was gutted to hear the news of his injury, and the title being stripped of him. But I think WWE has actually handled a terrible situation as well as possible. Of course, the Barrett fans will never be fully satisfied until he is back in the ring – nor should they be – but Battle Royals are always interesting, and they have done a great job elevating half a dozen names into true contention come WWE Battleground.
I like that Main Event has turned into the mid-card title show. Each and every week we see guys like Sheamus, Cesaro, formerly Barrett, Alberto del Rio and more turning up to fight over the Intercontinental or U.S. Championship. There was an interesting promo by Sheamus on this week’s episode, as he claimed he will win the vacated belt and unify it with his own. Whether or not that happens, just the mention of a possible unification gives BOTH titles a big step up.
There is still another week of Raw, Smackdown and Main Event to get through, but the front-runner to win the title at Battleground seems to be Cesaro. Don’t sleep on Alberto del Rio, or Sheamus making good on his promise though. The Celtic Warrior as Undisputed Champion could be a fun place-holder until Barrett returns to claim a prize bigger than the one he lost.
