Post by sungod2020 on Mar 5, 2022 13:12:48 GMT -5
The Intercontinental Championship was once regarded as one of the WWF's most prestigious championships. Coming off the heels of a tournament nobody saw, Pat Patterson declared himself inaugural holder by unifying the South American Championship with the North American Championship on September 1, 1979 on a hot night in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
At the turn of the 1980s and into the 90s, legends and future Hall of Famers such as Don Muraco, Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, and Roddy Piper helped give it's reputation as the "workhouse" title while serving as a stepping stone for future World Champions such as Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and several others.
Honky Tonk Man made the fans really give a damn about it as they wanted to see the Elvis Impersonator silenced, which after 15 months of keeping it by the skin of his teeth, got when Ultimate Warrior exposed him for the unqualified goof that he was.
Unfortunately for many others, not everybody can get a turn with the gold. That being said, who do you wish held the belt at least once?
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka - Yes, I am aware it's now universally taboo to give the Fiji native positive accolades and I myself have questioned his Hall of Fame induction for that very reason, so that's not up for debate. However, based on his popularity and what the audience knew at the time, it wouldn't hurt to see the high flyer get a crack at the gold. The inspiration for getting Mick Foley into the square circle, that night would've been more memorable if he won the championship from Don Muraco on October 17th, 1983. While the match itself was an afterthought(Muraco won after being thrown out of the cage), the most memorable spot was when Snuka did his splash on top of the cage. Future WWF/E stars such as Mick Foley, The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, and Bubba Ray Dudley were there to witness it.
If he didn't have the issues he did, I would've gladly had him win that night only to lose it to Greg Valentine or Roddy Piper sometime in 1984(Tito Santana could've waited until July 1985 then the timeline can resume as normal.)
Junkyard Dog - Fresh off a successful run in Mid-South(where he helped sell out the Louisiana Superdome), the charismatic superstar's popularity followed him into the World Wrestling Federation. Maybe not your typical in-ring technician, I doubt many would be offended to throw this dog a bone. He could've been the first African-American IC champion a decade before Ahmed Johnson would claim that distinction. Since he would've been a safer choice than Snuka, in this timeline, I would've had him win the IC belt from Greg "The Hammer" Valentine at the first Wrestlemania breaking down racial barriers like Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson did a year and a half earlier with the tag team belts.
He can lose it back to Valentine around the summertime(June/July), who'd lose it to Tito Santana in the fall, just in time for Randy "Macho Man" Savage to get it when he did in February 1986, or if you want to stretch out Santana's reign a bit more since belts weren't normally passed around that quickly back then, have him lose it to Savage at Wrestlemania 2.
Rick "The Model" Martel - He's a guy I'm surprised never had a run with the gold since he seemed like an archetype for it. Him during his model phase would've drawn heat for it. The problem is, since he's taken time off with his real estate business every summer, it would be hard to find an opening for an IC run, and there were other big name heels(such as Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect) who helped fill in that void nicely. Maybe he could've had a short "thank you" run in 1993 after Shawn Michaels vacated the belt due to not defending it(in reality it was because he failed a drug test). He could then lose it to Razor Ramon in December 1993/January 1994.
I'm sure I can think of more, but those are the first three names that come to mind. Who are your picks?
At the turn of the 1980s and into the 90s, legends and future Hall of Famers such as Don Muraco, Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, and Roddy Piper helped give it's reputation as the "workhouse" title while serving as a stepping stone for future World Champions such as Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and several others.
Honky Tonk Man made the fans really give a damn about it as they wanted to see the Elvis Impersonator silenced, which after 15 months of keeping it by the skin of his teeth, got when Ultimate Warrior exposed him for the unqualified goof that he was.
Unfortunately for many others, not everybody can get a turn with the gold. That being said, who do you wish held the belt at least once?
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka - Yes, I am aware it's now universally taboo to give the Fiji native positive accolades and I myself have questioned his Hall of Fame induction for that very reason, so that's not up for debate. However, based on his popularity and what the audience knew at the time, it wouldn't hurt to see the high flyer get a crack at the gold. The inspiration for getting Mick Foley into the square circle, that night would've been more memorable if he won the championship from Don Muraco on October 17th, 1983. While the match itself was an afterthought(Muraco won after being thrown out of the cage), the most memorable spot was when Snuka did his splash on top of the cage. Future WWF/E stars such as Mick Foley, The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, and Bubba Ray Dudley were there to witness it.
If he didn't have the issues he did, I would've gladly had him win that night only to lose it to Greg Valentine or Roddy Piper sometime in 1984(Tito Santana could've waited until July 1985 then the timeline can resume as normal.)
Junkyard Dog - Fresh off a successful run in Mid-South(where he helped sell out the Louisiana Superdome), the charismatic superstar's popularity followed him into the World Wrestling Federation. Maybe not your typical in-ring technician, I doubt many would be offended to throw this dog a bone. He could've been the first African-American IC champion a decade before Ahmed Johnson would claim that distinction. Since he would've been a safer choice than Snuka, in this timeline, I would've had him win the IC belt from Greg "The Hammer" Valentine at the first Wrestlemania breaking down racial barriers like Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson did a year and a half earlier with the tag team belts.
He can lose it back to Valentine around the summertime(June/July), who'd lose it to Tito Santana in the fall, just in time for Randy "Macho Man" Savage to get it when he did in February 1986, or if you want to stretch out Santana's reign a bit more since belts weren't normally passed around that quickly back then, have him lose it to Savage at Wrestlemania 2.
Rick "The Model" Martel - He's a guy I'm surprised never had a run with the gold since he seemed like an archetype for it. Him during his model phase would've drawn heat for it. The problem is, since he's taken time off with his real estate business every summer, it would be hard to find an opening for an IC run, and there were other big name heels(such as Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect) who helped fill in that void nicely. Maybe he could've had a short "thank you" run in 1993 after Shawn Michaels vacated the belt due to not defending it(in reality it was because he failed a drug test). He could then lose it to Razor Ramon in December 1993/January 1994.
I'm sure I can think of more, but those are the first three names that come to mind. Who are your picks?