Jeff Jarrett on the Intercontinental title not being as prestigious
Jeff Jarrett thinks it depends on whether the superstar makes the Intercontinental Championship prestigious.
During his pro-wrestling career, Jarrett became synonymous with the Intercontinental title. Over the years, fans have expressed their frustration that the championship isn't as prestigious as before. One example is when the title wasn't even on the line for this year's WrestleMania.
Speaking on Lucha Libre Online, the former IC Champion was asked about his thoughts on the title losing its prestige. In his reply, Jarrett said this was an issue 20 years ago, too, when WWE took over WCW. Since then, the IC and US titles haven't been viewed as top prizes:
"It's been a roller coaster of a ride ever since but for me, it goes back almost 20 years, when the WWE acquired WCW. There was obviously two world champions, then obviously there was Intercontinental Champion and the US Champion. So, I think, that was the beginning of the Intercontinental Champion not being viewed as a belt that was, you [Mike Dagger, interviewer] use your word as a prestigious title." (from 3:54 to 4:25)
However, Jarrett added that some hold the title with prestige, using an analogy to explain how it's up to the person to carry the title and not the other way around:
"Different times through the last 20 years, there've been gentlemen that've carried that belt with a lot of prestige. So I also like to say that analogy what makes the #1 hit? Is it the song, or the singer? So the song in this instance is the title, the singer is the wrestler, it takes two. So I've to put it on the wrestlers, the talent, or in their case, the WWE Superstars. They're the ones that have to take that title and put some prestige in it." (from 4:27 to 4:55)
Jeff Jarrett says holding the Intercontinental title is one of his biggest accomplishments
Mike Dagger also mentioned, "It's not the title that makes the wrestler, but the wrestler makes the title." Jeff Jarrett agreed immediately and said:
"It's that simple. I mean, that's the easier, best analogy that when you really drill right down to it, the talent, they've gotta rise to the occassion." (from 5:07 to 5:15)
Jarrett listed down the names of previous titleholders like Randy Savage and Razon Ramon. He said the legendary superstars are the reason he viewed the title as one of his greatest achievements:
"When you look at the lineage from Randy Savage, Mr. Perfect, Bret Hart, I mean, we could go all the way down, long line of champions. Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, on and on and on. So, I take it as one of my greatest accomplishments to hold that title six times." (from 5:16 to 5:33)
The new Intercontinental Champion @KingRicochet reflects on capturing the #ICTitle and what the championship represents to him. #SmackDown https://t.co/0T6hu98BgR
The title is currently held by Ricochet, who previously defended it against Shanky during an episode of SmackDown.
With Ricochet the current champion, do you think he'll significantly elevate the title's prestige? Sound off in the comments below!
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