Top 5 Contenders for Curtis Axel's Intercontinental Championship

Curtis Axel awaits the next challenger to try and pry his Intercontinental Championship from off his waist.

The WWE roster has both comedy characters and powerhouses in line to attempt to dethrone him. While the top-tier stars fight over the company's major titles, it's the Superstars residing in the midcard who are likely to face Axel.

Who among those midcarders will be thrust forward by momentum and circumstance?

The following contenders are ranked based on the number of wins they've had in the last month-and-a-half and the quality of those wins. Bonus points are given if there is a ready-made story between challenger and champion.

Heels are included on this list since 1) who knows who will go from bad to good on any given night, and 2) it's not as if villains haven't battled villains before. It was a heel who Axel defeated for the championship in the first place.

5. Kofi Kingston

Recent wins:

• Big E. Langston, SmackDown (Oct. 4)
• Drew McIntyre, Superstars (Sept. 19)

Kofi Kingston will likely hover around the midcard title scene for the duration of his career. He has won the United States Championship three times, the Intercontinental Championship four times and chances are he'll win both belts again.

He's already had a title shot against Curtis Axel, a surprise bout at Night of Champions.

A few recent wins and a lack of competition has slid him onto the list of Axel's top challengers. If Justin Gabriel or Sin Cara were on TV more and refreshing themselves as to what victory tastes like, perhaps they'd overtake Kingston.

Instead, a win over Langston is enough to get Kingston consideration above those guys.

4. R-Truth

Recent wins:

• Curtis Axel, Raw (Sept. 30)
• Curtis Axel and Ryback (with CM Punk), Raw (Oct. 7)

The window to win the Intercontinental Championship may have already shut on R-Truth's fingers. He had two title shots against Axel and failed to walk away champion both times.

A win on Raw against the champ earned him a championship match at Battleground, but after his title bouts, he's begun to see his momentum deflate like a punctured tire. R-Truth lost to Damien Sandow on Wednesday's Main Event and been Ryback's victim several times over, including losing in just over five minutes on Monday's Raw.

It's only his recent history with Axel that earns him a spot here.

WWE can tell the story of R-Truth finally breaking through against the champ after a number of failures. In an interview hyping Battleground, R-Truth talked about his frustrations and hopes, an emotional angle that hasn't been fully capitalized on. 

3. Santino Marella

Recent Wins:

• Antonio Cesaro, Raw (Sept. 30)
• Heath Slater, SmackDown (Sept. 27)
• Jack Swagger, SmackDown (Sept. 20)
• JTG, Superstars (Sept. 19)
• Damien Sandow, SmackDown (Sept. 13)

In terms of story, Santino Marella isn't the best option. The last thing Curtis Axel needs is to be in a feud with a comic-relief character. The champ needs a rival that will push him to his limits instead.

Based on his recent record, though, there's a strong argument for the man who wields a snake sock puppet to get a title shot.

Wins against JTG and Slater aren't career defining by any stretch, but beating a former world champ in Swagger and the current holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase coupled with the large number of victories puts Santino in the running, as unexcited as some fans may be by that prospect.

2. Big E. Langston

Recent Wins:

• Zack Ryder, Main Event (Oct. 9)
• Justin Gabriel, Superstars (Oct. 11)
• R-Truth, Main Event (Sept. 11)

Before one dismisses Big E. Langston here, don't forget about his long-rumored babyface turn.

Langston switching teams would put him in contention for the Intercontinental Championship right away. His intimidating physical presence can make up for some of his losses, as it's not hard to imagine him overpowering Curtis Axel en route to a title win.

Most of Langston's wins have been against the company's bottom-feeders, but a win over Axel's recent challenger is something WWE can refer back to. 

Even with less wins as of late than Santino Marella, Langston overtakes him because of how much more exciting of a story is possible between Big E. and Axel. Santino winning the IC title is something fans have already seen, while a newly turned Langston going after his first championship is easier to get invested in.

1. Fandango

Recent wins:  

• Santino Marella, Raw (Oct. 14)
• Zack Ryder, Raw (Oct. 7)
• Santino Marella, Raw (Sept. 23)
• R-Truth, Raw (Sept. 16)
• Justin Gabriel, Main Event (Sept. 4)

Curtis Axel wouldn't have had a chance to pin Wade Barrett at Payback had Fandango not suffered a concussion in June. It was set to be a Triple Threat match between Fandango, The Miz and Barrett.

Axel was the replacement who took full advantage of his opportunity.

So even though both Axel and Fandango are heels, there's ample reason to pit them against each other. Fandango is the type of heel that even the bad guys don't like anyway.

Wins against R-Truth, who just had two title shots, and another top contender in Santino have the ballroom dancer firmly in the Intercontinental Championship discussion. Having never won the championship makes him a more exciting prospect than Santino or Kofi Kingston as well.