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The Intercontinental Championship is the third oldest championship currently active in the WWE and is only behind the WWE Championship and the United States Championship. The Championship dating back to 1979 has been held by many legends in the industry.
The title was held by 79 different superstars in the WWE and has helped to elevate those stars into superstardom.The current champion is the WWE's resident big dog Roman Reigns, enjoying his first reign with the championship.
Over the years the Intercontinental Championship helped to create the stars and legends we know today. Now let's see which five superstars could be next in line to hold the prestigious championship.
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#5 Samoa Joe
It's well-known that Roman Reigns is en route to challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania 34. The question is what will Roman Reigns be going into Wrestlemania with the intercontinental championship? I guess we have the answer for that because it is rumoured that Reigns will be dropping the Intercontinental Championship shortly after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January.
The person who is rumoured to dethrone Reigns is none other but the Samoan submission machine.
Samoa Joe is has won the NXT Championship twice, but he has not yet won any major championship on the main roster. That can all change provided that the rumours turn into reality, Samoa Joe can be walking into his first Wrestlemania as the new Intercontinental Champion.
#4 Jason Jordan
Some might disagree with this choice, but it cannot be denied that his current storyline with Kurt Angle will eventually lead Jason Jordan to his first main roster championship. Jason Jordan is a very talented young man with incredible in-ring skills and that is the sole reason for the push he is receiving today.
He is still in the early stages of his career and that is why WWE is not in a hurry in putting a championship on him. But he has proven that he should not be measured by his young age through his performances against John Cena and Roman Reigns. All he has to do is to improve his mic skills and he will definitely become one of the top stars in the WWE.
It is very clear that WWE sees the potential in the young man and it is a very high possibility that Jason Jordan will be holding the Intercontinental Championship in the coming year.
#3 The Miz
Miz is has held the Intercontinental Championship seven times, ranking only behind Chris Jericho with nine reigns, he is also the third person with the highest combined days with the championship standing in an outstanding 523 days. WWE will look to capitalize on this opportunity and have The Miz become the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time.
The Miz is now busy shooting for The Marine 6 and is expected to return to Raw in time for the Royal Rumble. He will be looking to recapture the title from Roman Reigns, but as said earlier it will be Samoa Joe who will dethrone Reigns. So, expect Miz to be involved in other storylines until the right time for him to win back the championship.
#2 Seth Rollins
The initial plan was to have Dean Ambrose turn heel and start a feud with Seth Rollins leading to a match at Wrestlemania 34. But the plans are now on hold as Ambrose got himself injured during last week's tag team match against The Bar and Samoa Joe. The time frame for his return is still unclear. This could be a blessing in disguise for Rollins as this will open the door for him to shine in singles competition once again.
It's still unclear where Rollins will fit in the road to Wrestlemania because of Dean's untimely injury. WWE creatives will be looking to chalk up a plan for Rollins and try to figure out a decent spot for him for Wrestlemania 34. It will be a good idea to have Rollins come into the Intercontinental Championship scene once Reigns moves on to his Wrestlemania encounter with Brock.
#1 Elias
Elias made his main roster debut this year on the April 10th edition of Monday Night Raw. He was just playing out his character as a drifter musician making random appearances during the matches and other segments. Most people would've thought that WWE is bringing in a new jobber to be fed to their main event players, and it was turning out to be true.
Elias was jobbing to Jason Jordan and was involved in underwhelming matches like the Guitar on a pole match. However, the WWE Universe got to see the real talent in Elias when he answered Roman Reigns' intercontinental championship open challenge on the November 27th episode of Raw. He gave reigns a very tough fight, and to be honest, no one saw it coming from the drifter.
It looks like a strong possibility that Elias has caught the eyes of the WWE higher ups, we can expect him to be booked in a strong fashion in the future. A run with the Intercontinental Championship will do wonders for the drifter as he has all it takes to portray the role of a natural heel champion.
