Frequent Title Defenses Will Be Key to Luke Harper's IC Championship Reign

Luke Harper dragged the Intercontinental Championship into the darkness of the swamp after Monday's Raw. 

Going forward with this reign, WWE needs to repeat what it did with the man he beat for the title—send a gauntlet of challengers at him. Dolph Ziggler emerged from his two-month run with the belt boasting an improved resume and a perception that he's gutsy, resilient, a warrior.

There's an effective pattern to follow there. Consistently having him fend off would-be champs maximizes what the IC title can do for Harper's singles career. 

Too often, the midcard titles seem like a curse.

Champions lose non-title bouts, get forgotten about in terms of storylines and waste away in the background. That's how the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship has worn off over the years. That's why memorable reigns have been so uncommon lately.

After some assistance from Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury on Monday's Raw and a discus clothesline that took Ziggler off his feet, Harper now joins the long list of IC champs.

Fans are unsure if they are getting an Ezekiel Jackson-type reign now or one more like the title had years ago with the likes of Randy Savage and Curt Hennig. Those men made the championship feel like something worth treasuring, something worth fighting for.

Harper can do that as well. He's a fun wrestler to watch, armed with a bear's strength and a defensive end's explosiveness. His monstrous presence and brawling skills point to great potential, too.

While he has the talent to allow him to buck the trend of forgettable reigns, he faces the same pitfall many recent midcard champs have—inactivity.

Dean Ambrose's United States Championship reign should have been more momentous considering that it nearly reached a full year. The trouble is, WWE seemed to forget he was wearing the strap. He defended the title on Oct. 28 of last year against Big E and then didn't do so again until this past February, where he survived against Mark Henry.

That's an unacceptable dry spell.

It signals to the audience that the title isn't important. After all, no challengers are bothering to seek it out.

WWE did better with Sheamus at first, but he went a good two months where he didn't face any contenders. Sheamus didn't put the title on the line once between his match on July 8 against Alberto Del Rio and Night of Champions (Sept. 21), where he faced Cesaro.

Being IC or U.S. champ should catapult one's career. It's hard to do that, though, when the champ is not asked to be a champion for that long.

By contrast, Ziggler had eight title defenses in less than two months.

Date	Event	Opponent(s)
9/26	SmackDown	Cesaro
9/29	Raw	Cesaro, The Miz
10/7	Main Event	Bo Dallas
10/24	SmackDown	Cesaro
10/26	Hell in a Cell	Cesaro
11/3	Raw	Seth Rollins
11/14	SmackDown	Cesaro, Tyson Kidd
11/17	Raw	Luke Harper

As a result, we got to see Ziggler put on a show on a regular basis. Each time that he retained, he looked stronger. He made it through Triple Threat matches, a formidable foe in Cesaro and even earned two consecutive falls against him at Hell in a Cell.

So even with a short reign that featured a good amount of non-title losses, Ziggler is bettered by his time with the belt. Sending barbarians toward the gate he protected boosted him.

WWE needs to go a similar route with Harper.

The more he swats away threats, the more he looks worthy of carrying the title. It keeps him in the crowd's mind and gives him chance after chance to display his brutish artistry in the ring.

Credit: WWE.com

Have him and Erick Rowan battle after Survivor Series. Have him outlast Sheamus in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match. Continue to force him to fight, to impressively knock down his opposition.

By the time he loses the IC title, we should be more in awe of him. He should have a far more robust resume, and dethroning him should be made to look like a Herculean task.

That will be the mark of a successful reign. That will have him charging ahead, a monster with a wealth of momentum.

All match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.