Ringside Review: Savage best I-C champ ever
The Intercontinental Championship belt is back in the WWE.
Christian won the belt last Sunday night. He, like all the rest, said he would be the best I-C champ of all time. Seems like only yesterday that the belt was tossed in the river by “Stone Cold.”
Will Christian become the best of all time? I don’t think so. He will lose the title next month to Booker T at the first all “Raw” pay-per-view.
Here are my picks for the top 10 I-C champs of all time.
10. Mr. Perfect — Curt Henning had great mic skills, and better mat skills than most.
9. Tito Santana — had he been bigger, he would have been a good Heavyweight champ. But at 220 pounds he was just the right size for the I-C title.
8. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine — The belt meant something to him! After his loss to Santana, he chose to destroy it rather than see it on Tito.
7. Chris Jericho — only because he has held it five times.
6. Pedro Morales — you have to go a ways back to remember Pedro, but if you saw him you do remember him. Great mat wrestler!
5. The Honky Tonk Man — The second-rate Elvis impersonator was a first-rate “heel.” The fans couldn’t wait for him to lose the I-C belt.
4. The Rock — He was Rocky Maivia then. Once he donned the belt he became “The People’s Champ.”
3. Shawn Michaels — again, his size did make a difference. But HBK was the “Showstopper” and his in-ring work was superb.
2. Bret Hart — Bret didn’t get the nickname “The Excellence of Execution” for nothing. His pay-per-view matches with Mr. Perfect, the British Bulldog and Rowdy Roddy Piper were better than the main events.
1. Randy Savage — Much the same way Michaels revolutionized the way Intercontinental title matches were fought, Randy revolutionized what it meant to be the I-C champion. Prior to Savage’s run, the title was for upper mid-card wrestlers. Randy got it to a place where if you were I-C champ, you were next in line for the world title.
Randy held the title at the same time Hogan’s “Hulkamania” was running wild, but Savage was still a star. “Macho Man” was almost as big as “Hulk.”
• Rock’s dad, Rocky Johnson, was released by the WWE last week. He had served as a trainer for the past year.
Eric Angle was also released last week, that’s the bad news for him. The good news for Kurt’s brother is Nidia said yes to his marriage proposal.
• Wrestling returns to Jake’s tonight. Torch vs. GQ starts the night off, with Slade with Miss Harley taking on Kilo next. This match will come down to Miss Harley, and how well the referee can keep her out of the ring.
Payne and Shawn Williams will get it on next. These two men will give it their all. Last week at Pacesetters, Williams really did give his blood, sweat and tears for the fans.
The Legends match is next and look for Gypsy Joe and Moondog to have the fans standing for most of the bout. They may have a few years on the other guys, but for my money they are still great.
Vicious Vandy may be in big trouble in the two out of three falls tag-team match. His partner, Outlaw Lee Condry, can and has turned on other partners. Vandy and Condry will have their hands full with Chase Stevens and Mystery Player without worrying about each other.
Bell time is set for 8 p.m.
Dandy Dave is brought to you by Advance America. Call them at 473-9390.