WWE Battleground Predictions: Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal

At WWE Battleground, a 20-man Battle Royal will take place to crown a new Intercontinental Champion.

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On the SmackDown before Money in the Bank, Bad News Barrett suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to give up the title. It was later announced that the injury was severe enough to take Barrett of injury for a couple of months, meaning that he would have to give his championship up.

Unfortunately, this means that we now get a thrown together battle royal for a title that finally seemed to be building momentum, alongside a Superstar who seemed to be doing the same.

There’s not much else to say about this one, so let’s get to the predictions from Michael Dunlap, Lance Augustine, Jordan Campbell, Marcus Hagness, Matt Perri, Benjamin Raven, and myself, Mike Smith. Be sure to give us your predictions in the comment section below.

Michael’s Take: Though I fear it’s going to be Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio, I’m going to go off the beaten path a bit and say it’s Cesaro’s time. It would be great for him to win two battle royal’s in a row, then win the Royal Rumble. Let’s make that happen.

Lance’s Take: Just when Barrett started getting on a roll, he loses his spot to injury once again. Hence the Vacancy of his title. I could see a lot of guys getting the win here, hopefully to restore an order to the title once held so dearly. Del Rio and Sheamus are two guys that probably have a good chance of winning if the WWE wants to take an easy route. I feel like someone else might get a shot at the belt though when it’s all said and done. Two names stick out with who I could see winning; Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler. I would love to see a Ziggler win here, but I have a feeling Cesaro might come out on top.  I’ll go with Cesaro eliminating Shemaus after a semi-entertaining match.

Jordan’s Take: I feel like Antonio Cesaro post-Wrestlemania has been a disappointment. The run with Paul Heyman was nice at the start, but the initial excitement of that pairing has faded. With Heyman joining forces once again with Brock Lesnar, Cesaro needs something to keep him in the spotlight. Therefore, Cesaro will be the one raising the intercontinental championship when Battle Royal has concluded.

Marcus’ Take: I originally thought that Sheamus would win this so they could unify the US and IC titles but now I’m thinking that it’ll be Cesaro winning the Battle Royal and set up a unification match at Summerslam with Sheamus. Look for him to eliminate Khali by himself similar to WM 30 when he eliminated Big Show.

Matt’s Take: This comes down to four guys: Sheamus, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, and Bo Dallas. I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say that Ziggler isn’t gonna win because it’s Dolph Ziggler and the company hates him. It’s not gonna be Cesaro because I have a feeling that he’s gonna be in World Title picture pretty soon. So, we’re looking at Sheamus and Bo Dallas. Bo Dallas has had a bunch of 2-minute matches against the cheap wine of WWE. I REALLY don’t think he deserves to be champion yet unless WWE is trying to push him hard and fast. I wouldn’t put it past them. I think he’ll have his shot in the future — just not yet. I have a feeling Sheamus wins the thing and — boom — just like the Big Gold Belt, buh-bye U.S. Championship. Of course, Bo Dallas could win the IC Title AND the US Title on Raw and the same thing could happen. But it’s Sheamus.

Benjamin’s Take: I think Sheamus wins the battle royal to unify the Intercontinental and United States Championships. These types of matches are usually really fun so I expect this match to get some serious time. I’m going with Cesaro and Miz as my two darkhorse picks though. Miz has seemed to get a semi-push with the return of his heel character, and Cesaro is Cesaro.

Mike’s Take: I want one of two things from this match, a Sheamus win to get rid of one of the useless midcard titles, hopefully giving the other a shot to regain some prestige. Or, a Cesaro win to give him some sort of direction moving forward, without Paul Heyman, who will be occupied by a returning Brock Lesnar. In my mind, those two guys are the favorites. It’s a tough call, but I’ll pick Sheamus.

More Battleground predictions are still to come, including the main event, so stick with Daily DDT. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.