OO Column: Online Onslaught by Rick Scaia (Pro Wrestling News, Analysis, and Commentary... WWE, WWF, WCW, ECW, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Trish Stratus, Lita, Stacy Keibler, Divas, RAW, SmackDown, WrestleMania

ONLINE ONSLAUGHT
NEWSFLASH: InterContinental Title Vacant After McIntyre is "Fired"
May 8, 2010

by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OOWrestling.com

Looks like PyroFalkon picked the wrong week to need a vacation... not only did something genuinely newsworthy happen on SD, but I'm not even in any position to cover for him as the back-up recapper.

Why? Because this weekend is my birthday, dammit, and if you think I'm working on a national holiday, you are wrong, Potsie. So very, very wrong.

And let me guess: none of you parasites got me a gift, right? Right... I give and give and give, and do and do and do, and for what? It's OK, though, OO Nation: you can still make it up to me. PayPal Donations are ALWAYS appropriate (remember, PayPal is OO's official payment processor, but ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS are accepted~!).

Also: I would accept thousands of dollars worth of gift certificates to NewEgg.com. I swear, I make the mistake of going to that site, and I end up feeling like what I PRESUME girls feel like when they waste entire days strolling through the Mall. Oh, NewEgg, the things I would do to you, if only I had adequate funds...

But I digress. You're not here for my birthday. And I'm here doing a NewsFlash instead of a full Recap because supposedly I have better things to be doing with my time...

So let me get to the point: "undefeated" Drew McIntyre was stripped of the InterContinental Title last night on SmackDown. In fact, he was "fired," too, by GM Teddy Long.

A scheduled show-opening match between McIntyre and Matt Hardy turned into a brutal one-sided beating (Hardy was selling the effects of last week's "heinous assault" outside the ring by McIntyre, and never got untracked this week). McIntyre refused to stop beating on Hardy, and the ref disqualified him.

McIntyre STILL refused to let up, leading to Teddy coming to the ring to issue vague threats, which McIntyre dismissed, reminding us that he is Vince McMahon's "Chosen One." So Teddy strippped him of his title and fired him.

McIntyre eventually left the ring, but did so while opining that this wouldn't stand, and his status as "The Chosen One" would save him just as soon as he placed a phone call or two.

Meantime, GM Long had to figure out what to do with the IC Title, so he created a mini-tournament. Christian beat Cody Rhodes, and Kofi Kingston beat Dolph Ziggler. Next week, it's Christian vs. Kofi to fill the now-vacant IC Title.

For the record: when news of this broke out of the Tuesday night tapings/spoilers, there was an instant knee-jerk reaction that this MUST be a Wellness Violation, and McIntyre was being suspended for failing a drug test.

Well, 5 days later, and WWE has not announced any violation (which they are supposed to do, according to their own policy), and frankly, the way it played out on TV, that sure felt like nothing more than Pure Storyline.

Remember, McIntyre's gimmick is that he's "undefeated" in singles competition. But he's lost in multi-way and tag matches, and his claim to "undefeated" status includes several one-on-one losses that were "expunged" from the record books by Vince McMahon himself.

Now, McIntyre's lost the IC Title without being defeated. Seems to fit his profile perfectly, doesn't it?

Let it percolate for a bit, crown a new champ next week, then have Vince get involved (or even just the SUGGESTION of Vince, he doesn't even have to appear on TV, just make it clear that he has made a ruling), and then Drew McIntyre returns to TV still in possession of an IC Title belt: the IC Title recognized by Vince McMahon. All while Kofi or Christian holds the IC Title recognized by GM Teddy Long (and by the fans).

It's been 16 years since Shawn Michaels pulled the old "I never lost the belt"/two-champions-at-once gimmick (leading to the first-ever PPV Ladder Match), so I think the statute of limitations is up, and we could have some fun with two different IC Champs parading around, leading to the inevitable re-unification match.

Just an idea...

Really quickly, the only two other notable items from SD that you should be apprised of: there was a very strong Punk/Rey promo in which Rey was actually the one who got the majority of the mic time, and effectively made the case that Punk's no-drugs MESSAGE was a good one but that the MESSANGER was a cocknozzle... and the #1 Contendership of the newly-lovable babyface Big Show was established, and seems to be going over gangbusters (Show as a likeable babyface is just too fun), and should provide a very compelling short-term feud for World Champ Jack Swagger (whose prickish heel charisma is starting to approach Angle Proportions).

I believe that is all I have for you just now. I may or may not be stepping in on Monday Night to handle RAW, but at this point, I don't really give a shit about that far into the future. I have better stuff to do... BIRTHDAY ME, you leeches~!

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Rick Scaia is a wrestling fan from Dayton, OH. He's been doing this since 1995, but enjoyed it best when the suckers from SportsLine were actually PAYING him to be a fan.