10 Ways WWE Can Make The IC Title White-Hot By WrestleMania 32
10. A Division Of Its Own
Far too often over the last few years, the IC champion has found himself a bit-player in someone else's story. Curtis Axel barely defended the strap because he was too busy getting his skinny buttocks taken to primary school by CM Punk in the over-extended Heyman/Punk feud. During Bad New Barrett's reigns he frequently found himself fighting, and losing, for his authority paymasters. Even Dolph Ziggler, a champion for whom we all had so much hope, found himself embroiled John Cena's quest to take down the Authority, at one point dropping the belt purely to serve the unfolding abuse of power plotline. When the champion finds himself on the outskirts of a storyline, or straddling both the midcard and the main event scene, this often leads to the title going undefended, the champion jobbing out to main event talent, or the belt resembling an unimportant background prop. It's not exactly a secret that Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn are a little, to be polite, wary of putting Daniel Bryan back in the main event scene after his neck surgery, so let this work in the title's favour. Isolate the IC title hunt from all other plotlines, make it an island of ambition and mat skills in a sea of doubles crosses, HHH promos and pastel-coloured t-shirts. The IC champion will not take part in your story, because the champion is the story. Simple as that.
