Best Feuds for Big E Langston to Restore Importance to Intercontinental Title

The Intercontinental Championship was, at one time, the stepping stone to the main event and the WWE Championship. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage, Steve Austin, Edge, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle are all Superstars who have captured the once-prestigious title and gone on to reach the top of the professional wrestling industry.

Over the last five years, however, the title has been devalued to the point that it is more comparable to the defunct European Championship. It has regularly been given to any midcard talent who has nothing else better to do than to deliver solid matches on the undercard.

Early in his push, it looked as though Curtis Axel may be the guy to help restore legitimacy to the title. He was managed by Paul Heyman, had wrestled Triple H and John Cena in Raw main events and was a third-generation Superstar in a day and age where the company loves to tout them.

Unfortunately, Axel never really clicked with the audience and on the November 18 episode of Raw, his five month title reign came to an end at the hands of Big E. Langston.

Langston is a charismatic performer who blends a massive physique with speed and agility. The few occasions that he has been allowed showcase his microphone abilities, he has been hit or miss but once glance at his Twitter account indicates that there is a lot of untapped potential when it comes to his ability to communicate with an audience.

A more complete performer than Axel, Langston is a legitimate contender to break out and excel at the next level of competition. He has the opportunity, while he climbs up the proverbial ladder, to restore prestige to a title that not only is responsible for some of the greatest matches in WWE history but also for making future main event stars.

A champion is only as strong as his challengers and luckily for Langston, he has a plethora of potential opponents waiting for their shot at the title.

Curtis Axel

Yes, Axel failed to restore prestige and legitimacy to the Intercontinental Championship, but he is a very solid wrestler who exhibited good chemistry with Langston on Monday night's Raw.

At the heart of the greatest Intercontinental Championship rivalries has been exceptional wrestling. While the match on Raw was slightly above average, there is plenty of room and opportunity for improvement, beginning this Sunday night at the Survivor Series.

Axel is a solid, if unspectacular, hand whose wrestling skills should keep him in position to receive television exposure in the weeks and months to come. Why not utilize him in a strong program with Langston over the title that would elevate both Superstars and the title all at the same time?

Fandango

Beyond the flashy entrance, the leggy Summer Rae and the ballroom dancer gimmick is a very good professional wrestler who has been stuck in the abyss that is the comedy midcard, partaking in matches against Santino Marella and Great Khali in recent weeks.

Fandango would be the perfect foil for Langston in that there are no two polar opposite performers in the WWE midcard than the two of them. Langston is the big, strong, fast bruiser while Fandango is the finesse wrestler who is a better technical wrestler than fans have been led to believe.

The idea of Fandango tormenting Langston, constantly outsmarting him and cheating his way to non-title and tag team wins, only for Langston to finally get his hands on him in the official title match and beating him from pillar-to-post as payback is an intriguing one. It could make for a very hot title match if done correctly.

At this point, however, the stink from working with Khali and Santino may make it impossible for fans to consider Fandango a legitimate threat to any title.

Ryback

With his recent string of losses, any shot that Ryback may have at returning to the main event scene any time in the near future seems to be nonexistent at this point.

One way for him to regain some momentum would be for him to challenge Langston for the Intercontinental Championship, a title Ryback has never really targeted but one that may better suit him at this point in time in his career.

The physiques of the two men alone would make the match feel like a major heavyweight battle.

The fact that Ryback has spent so much time involved in matches and feuds with top stars such as John Cena, CM Punk, Mark Henry and The Shield carries with it an enhanced star power that could benefit Langston in the long run.

To be able to hang with someone perceived to be a top star in the company would not only enhance him in the eyes of the fans, it would also elevate the title as a result.

Like him or not, Ryback is one of the company's most marketed and merchandised stars and enjoys heavy television exposure.

Facing and beating him would do only good for Langston, who is essentially the same guy, just a better, more athletic worker.

Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro is a star waiting to breakout in World Wrestling Entertainment. He is tall, muscular and nearly unrivaled in strength. He is a perfect physical specimen, the type of which Vince McMahon typically gets his hands on and pushes to the moon.

His only weakness is his lack of charisma. To be honest, he may never be charismatic enough to be WWE Champion or to sustain a main event push.

What Cesaro can be is the workhorse that carries the Intercontinental Championship and, as a result, the midcard for years to come. He can be what Mr. Perfect was for WWE over the course of three years in that he delivers workrate and helps change the perception of the midcard title.

Langston would benefit greatly from working with Cesaro, who is one of the finest in-ring workers in the sport and could help continue Langston's growth as a performer.

Watching them go power hold-for-power hold would be immensely entertaining, as well.

Conclusion

There are any number of Superstars on the roster that could work with Langston to help rejuvenate the Intercontinental Championship picture and restore prestige to one of the most respected titles in the sport.

But truth be told, no feud can restore prestige or legitimize the title if the company does not get behind it and put greater emphasis on developing stories and treating the the championship better than the second-rate prop it has been become over the last half-decade.

Langston is a worthy champion who has the potential to make WWE a lot of money in the years that come. He is the perfect Superstar to drag the title out of the doldrums it is currently in.

Unless the company takes a vested interest in the title and restoring its value, that will never happen.