10 Most Prestigious Titles In American Wrestling Right Now
4. WWE Intercontinental Championship
In January 2022, the wrestling world was up in arms about another needless name change. When the Austrian wrestling machine, WALTER, declared his new name to be GUNTHER,WWE were faced with a Lord Tensai situation all over again.
Matt Bloom, a man heavily respected in the industry, tried a ridiculous new repackage and had his entire aura stripped away when the fans chanted 'ALBERT!' throughout his "debut". The same thing happened to GUNTHER on Smackdown!, where the crowd chanted his former name.
Were WWE, not for the first time, about to ruin a main roster run of one of the best wrestlers in the world?
The answer, surprisingly is no, and thankfully, Triple H took the reins before Vince McMahon was reportedly set to bury 'Der Ring General' after being unhappy with his performance. GUNTHER himself, should get the most credit. Despite the pearl clutching, the former NXT UK Champion shredded his body into a ripped weapon and his ascension to becoming the WWE Intercontinental Champion has been electric.
Tremendous TV matches, coinciding with Triple H offering a plethora of contendership bouts, has made the belt feel, for the first time in years, like the IC Title of old. The belt that belongs around the waist of the best wrestler in the company and one that guarantees, in the words of Sheamus, banger after banger after banger. Their match at Clash at the Castle is a contender for match of the year.
The WWE Intercontinental Championship hasn't felt this prestigious in nearly two decades.