WWE Crowns New Intercontinental Champion On SmackDown
Say hello to your new Intercontinental Champion! WWE crowned him on Friday's SmackDown.
Ricochet is the new WWE Intercontinental Champion.
The high-flyer beat Sami Zayn on Friday's episode of SmackDown when the now ex-champ's foe Johnny Knoxville caused a distraction. Fans popped big for Rico's win, which is an encouraging sign for him, but it remains to be seen if WWE will really get behind the babyface and give him a proper run with the belt.
One need only look at Shinsuke Nakamura's recent reign to see that the company tends to forget all about the title when they can't be bothered to come up with feuds or interesting scenarios for it. Fingers crossed Ricochet's time with the thing turns out worthwhile then.
That response from the live crowd in Miami is certainly promising.
Rico also deserves a moment like this after years of treading water in the WWE system but consistently delivering fun matches when he's actually given some time in the ring. He fits the mould of the classic "workhorse" tag fans traditionally associate with the Intercontinental Championship, at least.
Again, fingers and toes crossed that this leads to a WrestleMania spot for Ricochet in the short-term and big successes long-term.