Dean Ambrose taunts Bad News Barrett with the IC belt. / Photo: wwe.com
[dropcap]I[/dropcap] keep going back and forth on the whole Intercontinental Belt situation. Monday night’s match on RAW did get me very pumped.
Originally, I was going to address this last month after Fast Lane with a rant on how Ambrose is being treated. But then I watched Raw the next night, and became intrigued.
So I waited.
I held off week after week as I watched most of the midcard play hot potato with the IC belt, cocked my head in curiosity as WWE tried to quickly inject some interest into a title that once held high prestige because if you never had any other singles belt before this, it meant that you were getting ready to be shot to the top. I don’t know if this was the right way to go about getting people interested in the IC battle again, but it’s certainly been the most entertaining.
The list of contenders continued to astound me as they basically brushed off Stardust’s feud like it never existed and randomly added in R-Truth as some comic relief. But the list of contenders stacking up made sense.
Until they started playing at Daniel Bryan possibly being involved. We all saw this coming a mile away. When it was finally confirmed, a whirlwind of conflict rose in my chest.
I feel, and maybe this is just me, that Daniel Bryan doesn’t need this belt and that putting it on him will hurt the division more than help.
Yes, he’s main evented one of the most captivating Wrestlemania main events in the company’s history; he had a Cinderella story for the pro wrestling ages. He’s held that gold, albeit not for very long. Eventually, he should be chasing down those belts again to get the run he so rightly deserves.
That said, I see where people, especially the brass, can get the idea that having a main eventer hold the IC Belt can give it credibility and help the fans take it seriously. Perhaps it actually can. It could also be a lazy attempt by WWE to pacify the Daniel Bryan marks by giving him anything to hold onto, which would in turn make them happy and get them off Creative’s back, if only for a little bit.
I also cringe inwardly at his involvement in this match in general because WWE had no intentions of putting him in the running for the WWE Championship belt due to wanting to get Roman Reigns on the road to being the next face of the company, but also, I can see them not wanting to take any risks because of his neck injury. Yet they put him right into a ladder match, which could be prove even more dangerous. Yeah, I can’t figure that one out either.
Moving on…
I also see how this can be a huge spit in the face of the entire mid-card division. Especially to those in this match who clearly are cut out for main event runs and are at the top of the division, one title run away from breaking that glass ceiling.
In it’s own way, it’s also saying to the fans, “We don’t think any of the guys in this match has the capability of carrying this title in a successful run, so we’re going to defer to someone who can.”
Despite all the blood, sweat and tears that have been poured forth from the contenders. Mind you, these are but a couple examples, but look at Dolph. He was handpicked to defeat The Authority at Survivor Series. He’s been a WWE Champ before. He’s more than credible. But he keeps getting delegated to the midcard, which he seems to be fine with. Yet they keep taking the belt off him for no given reason.
Bad News Barrett is a tremendous talent who does in fact need more time to have a good run with the belt. He’s a beast in the ring and his character remains heelish while still providing chuckles, which is a great balance.
Then, there’s Dean Ambrose. I will state now that my opinions of him will be entirely biased as he is currently my favorite active talent on the roster for many reasons, which I may touch on in another piece.
His rise to overdom (yes, I’m making that a word) was insane.
From the moment The Shield hit the main roster, they never faded into the background and were involved in all high profile angles which didn’t stop come the break up. He was thrust right into the the hottest and longest feud of 2014 (we’re not counting the Bryan/Authority angle as that started prior to the start of last year).
But since the break up, it’s been major loss after major loss. At first, it was understandable. He’s a good worker and can make anyone look like a million bucks. They had to get Seth Rollins over as a top heel. Dean did the job well. They had to get Bray Wyatt over as someone who may be capable of beating The Undertaker.
Dean did just that. Now…well I can’t say I can speak for the fans. However, I think Ambrose did a good job of channeling and venting our frustration here after his match against BNB at Fast Lane. He’s not wrong. It is entirely frustrating to see one of the hottest acts on the roster get treated like a jobber; it’s becoming detrimental to his credibility. If anyone involved in this Intercontinental Belt ladder match needs this belt, it’s him, and desperately so. Not Daniel Bryan, like many are predicting, since it really does appear it may be in the bag for him.
However, a recent poll result on the WWE App stated that fans believe that the odds of Ambrose walking out with the belt are 2 to 1 over Bryan.
This is the conundrum: both these men are the top contenders to be the winner. Both are some of the highest ranking fan favorites, in different ways, and they’re being pit against each other. Bryan is the perky, tenacious, perpetual underdog that can’t be brought down and is always fighting the odds. Ambrose is the anti-hero that everyone can live through vicariously and you can never predict, which makes him exciting.
One of these men may have to go heel after this.
With the way that Daniel Bryan rose to the top and got over as a super babyface, turning him heel may not work. The fanbase may reject it and we’d have last year all over again. Not to mention, he’s an okay heel but a better babyface, because it comes natural to him.
Dean may have to make the turn we all anticipated last year. It really is the only credible way I can think of for him to win that belt, gain some long lost momentum, not cause WWE to have to potentially damage Bryan’s character, and still give the midcard that needed boost without having to rely on a main carder to hold the belt.
He’s a great face but an even better heel, and personally, I think he can take it one step further. Reign in the loose cannon shtick which seeks to fight for the sake of fighting to the point that he’s constantly screwing himself over and turn more sadistic and methodical. We already got a hint of animosity towards Bryan by him coming out and talking crap to Bryan on Smackdown back on the 13th. If a feud is to start between these men, one of them has to be the bad guy, and I don’t see Daniel donning that.
Mind you, this is just my ramblings, and I’m not saying this is gonna happen. For all we know, Barrett could retain and finally get a decent run with that belt (provided Jack Swagger stays far, far away from him). Bryan could still win and that could cause a heel turn by Ambrose, or maybe even Ziggler, either or going after what they believe belongs to them.
I’m actually going to be in attendance for this match. Regardless of how frenetic this entire build to the match has been, it’s going to be captivating. But I’m also apprehensive as to what the fallout may be. Dean Ambrose cannot afford this loss. But I don’t know if Daniel Bryan can, either.
A huge reaction is guaranteed. Godspeed, WWE. Let’s hope it’s a good one.
