The WrestleMania plans for the IC Title begin to take shape

With WrestleMania 39 less than a month away. However, WWE still has some work to do in terms of finalizing the card for its flagship pay-per-view.

We already know who will challenge for the Undisputed Universal, SmackDown Women’s, and Raw Women’s Championships at “The Showcase of The Immortals”, but the company has yet to name top contenders for the other belts.

On the March 3 episode of SmackDown, the promotion took steps toward addressing that oversight, at least for the Intercontinental Championship.

So, what does WWE have in store for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania?

After issuing the challenge to the current IC Champ, GUNTHER, on The SmackDown LowDown the previous week, Drew McIntyre reiterated his desire to face “The Ring General”. This, however, didn’t sit well with McIntyre’s tag team partner, Sheamus, who interrupted “The Scottish Warrior” and chastised him for going behind the Irishman’s back to get a title shot.

A couple of minutes later, LA Knight came out to make his case for receiving a title match. Then, the New Day walked out to roast Knight, as they did a week prior. If you’ve watched WWE television at any point over the last decade, you’ve probably become accustomed to this rote form of storytelling that the company leans on.

You also probably know how these segments usually end, and this one didn’t fray from that status quo. The quip-fest inevitably devolved into a big brawl that also included Karrion Kross and ended with McIntyre doing his signature dive over the top rope.

Later in the show, Kayla Braxton interviewed GUNTHER, who said that Pearce’s inability to find a WrestleMania opponent for him was disgraceful and wondered if he’d get a worthy challenger in time for the show.

Apparently, Pearce took note of this and scheduled a five-way match between McIntyre, Sheamus, Kross, Knight, and Kofi Kingston to determine who “qualifies” to face GUNTHER.

The wording for the match suggests that WWE plans to book a multi-person match for the IC Title, which is a little disappointing. A scenario where Sheamus gets another match against GUNTHER and finally beats him for the title would be far more satisfying, even while understanding that WWE views this as an easy way to get as many stars on the WrestleMania card as possible without using too many match slots.

Also, the match will still probably be good. Of course, we won’t know for sure until the full list of participants is revealed, and next Friday will give us a clearer answer to that.