Unified World Titles Have Improved and Elevated Intercontinental Title's Stature

Just as I'd hoped, WWE's unification to one world title has elevated the Intercontinental title.

Last week on Raw, Big E. Langston defended the title against Fandango. The match actually mattered.

The format usually used for world title matches was applied to this one too. The official entrances for both men by the ring announcer was given after both entered the ring. The match was given multiple segments on the show with a commercial break and was an entertaining contest.

When the match was over, I felt that both men were better than they were when they entered. I felt like the IC title was more important than when the match started.

A story was told both via the champion versus challenger and via the body part. In this case, the body part was Big E. Langston's left leg. Logical indeed. He's a big man, so attacking the lower body is old school.

There was spot where Langston gave a belly-to-belly suplex to Fandango, who was standing on the apron. The wrestlers sold it, the commentators sold it and the audience reacted. When I watched it I had a moment come over me, telling me this was a mid-card match we're seeing at the end of 2013 that, in due time, could be seen as a world title match when the two participants both reach the main event level.

And that's what it's all about.

The cry surrounding the IC title is the lack of foreshadowing it does for future talent. There used to be a time when you would see Steve Austin versus The Rock for the IC title or The Rock versus Triple H and an elevated match of importance for the world title was less than two years after it. It gave a great balance of relevance.

Then we moved into this phase of Wade Barrett, Kofi Kingston or Curtis Axel holding the IC title and losing continuous televised matches that were non-title stipulations. The prestige dwindled.

But how much of a surprise could it be?

What was once the second most important title had dropped to the third once WWE went with two world titles. The distance between the two world titles was great enough, so that didn't mean much for how far down the totem pole it left the third most important title.

After unification at WWE's TLC pay-per-view, just weeks later we're seeing the IC title rise again to prominent stature.

Wow, I guess this really is the season of miracles.

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