It’s Time For The IC Title To Rise

Most people that dream of a career in athletics or entertainment aspire to be a world champion or recognized by an academy of their peers as the best. I, on the other hand, had childhood ambitions of becoming the WWE Intercontinental Champion. Sounds kind of odd, right? Someone dreaming of being second best instead of number one is not normal. The thing is, I didn’t look at it that way.

Those who watch professional wrestling enjoy it for one or all of its different facets. I enjoy it for the matches more than anything and to me, the WWE title meant you were the biggest star while the IC title states that you were the best wrestler. That’s what I wanted to be, the best wrestler and tell great stories in the ring like Don Muraco, Ricky Steamboat, and Randy Savage.

Intercontinental title matches were one of, if not, the hottest match on the card. Summer Slam 1991 was a significant moment for me as a wrestling fan. Bret Hart upended Hulk Hogan as my favorite wrestler when he defeated Mr. Perfect for the title. Their match spoke to me in a way that I can barely put into words. It was epic, dramatic on its own accord, and was simply about being the best wrestler.

The IC title was highly regarded and held such prestige. Today, not so much. It’s an afterthought at best. So, I wrote about how WWE could fix that problem for my debut article at What Culture.com where I was invited to join them as a featured columnist. I’m very appreciative of this opportunity and can’t wait to get into the thick of things. Check out 5 Ways WWE Can Make The Intercontinental Title Relevant Again.

WWE Network Recommendations

I crawled into bed late last night to watch TV. Channel after channel, nothing tickled my fancy until I said “Hey, you have the WWE Network.” I logged onto my iPhone and fell asleep watching WrestleMania Rewind chronicling the iconic confrontation between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. When I woke up, I realized I’d just experienced something that my ten year old self could only dream of. Continue reading “WWE Network Recommendations” →

Ten Greatest WWE Champions of All Time

The WWE Championship is the holy grail of professional wrestling. It’s the belt that every aspiring and current wrestler dreams of holding. Having this honor bestowed upon you means you are the best that this business has to offer.

Today, I will rank the top ten WWE Champions of all time.

To say this list was hard to compile would be a colossal understatement—42 wrestlers over 50 years made for several list changes. The thing to remember is that all lists of this type are subjective. You do the best you can with criteria that make sense to you.

For example, Money is extremely important, but being a big draw doesn’t define a wrestler. Iron Man 3 made over four hundred million at the box office, but it’s not winning Best Picture at the Oscars.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

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Undertaker vs. Undertaker: The Gravest Match In Summer Slam History

Column written for gerweck.net

I thought that Undertaker vs. Undertaker was going to be the greatest match of all time. To say I was wrong is a huge understatement. The forgettable encounter at Summer Slam 1994 is remembered as one of the most horrendous main events in wrestling history. As a kid, I ate up anything and everything that wrestling had to offer, but this was a match that can’t be defended.

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Ronda Rousey armbar’s her place in UFC History

Vince McMahon couldn’t have booked a better finish as Ronda Rousey did what many debuting fighters, with a lot of press, fail to do. She lived up to the hype. Rousey’s 7-0 record brings her tally to seven armbar finishes in the first round. Liz Carmouche deserves a ton of credit after having the champion in trouble early and has undoubtedly increased her stock in defeat. Dana White said it best “She will get her kitchen table now.”

Ronda Rousey’s armbar is officially the first finishing move of Mixed Martial Arts. Like Ric Flair’s Figure Four Leg Lock and Bret Hart’s Sharpshooter, you know it’s coming, and you can’t do anything about it. Unlike the worked nature of professional wrestling, Rousey can’t put all of her eggs in the armbar basket and will have to add new weapons to her arsenal. If not, it will be a bad day when someone eventually breaks her grip.

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Five Move’s That No Other Wrestler Should Do

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in professional wrestling. But let’s be honest, there are certain moves that wrestlers just shouldn’t do. Over the years, a particular wrestler has perfected a move with such crisp efficiency that no one will ever come close to mirroring its execution. There are five moves on my list that wrestlers should stay away from because it will never be done as well as their predecessor who brought it into the limelight.

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Ten Greatest WWE Intercontinental Champions Of All Time

The WWE Intercontinental championship is the most revered and perhaps the most respected title belt among professional wrestling fans. For the longest time, it was this championship that produced the most anticipated and exciting matches.

More times than not, those who wore this coveted title were able to elevate their careers as a result. As a kid, I was more excited for the IC title matches than I was for the world title matches. Today I’m going to list the Top 10 Intercontinental Champions of all time. This list is based on tenure as champion and their accomplishments beyond.

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Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart: A Look Inside The Pink & Black Attack

bret_hart_by_ns_designer-d51dh9j — Artwork by NS-Designer

Bret “Hitman” Hart is one of the best technical wrestlers of all time. I don’t even know how anyone could make a list of Bret Hart matches because he never had a bad match. Everyone has their opinion on what matches make a list like this. My list is based on match caliber as compared to career importance. Let’s take a look at the five greatest matches of the excellence of execution.

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My Wrestling Dream Matches

What is your wrestling dream match? Anytime, anywhere and any era. There is no right or wrong answer because it is what you want to see. Whether it’s a match that never happened or a contest that happened at the wrong time, fantasy booking or create a wrestler made on your favorite video game can makes dreams a virtual reality. Here are my seven dream matches and please, share your dream matches in the comment section as well.

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Confessions of a Wrestling Superfan: Chapter 1: The Beginning at the Garden

To say I was a wrestling fan growing up would be an understatement. I’m that superfan who can answer any piece of wrestling trivia you can throw at me. I was hooked from the moment I saw my first episode of WWF Superstars on WLVI 56 Boston. Every wrestling figure of any kind was safely tucked away in my toy chest, and wrestling t-shirts were a normal part of my wardrobe.

Almost all of my friends were closet wrestling fans since it was taboo at the time. The slightest hint of being a wrestling fan came with public ridicule with the most popular remarks consisting of “I can’t believe you watch that stuff” and, of course, the dreaded “Don’t you know wrestling is fake?”.

Continue reading “Confessions of a Wrestling Superfan: Chapter 1: The Beginning at the Garden” →