WWE Raw 12/31/12: Your new Intercontinental Champion

Wade Barrett def. Kofi Kingston

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Old acquaintance was far from forgot on 2012’s final Raw when Kofi Kingston granted longtime rival Wade Barrett a rematch for the Intercontinental Title in the final Champion’s Choice bout of the evening. Although “The Wildcat” fended off the Englishman’s assault at WWE TLC, Barrett barreled his way to victory in Washington and brought his monthslong pursuit of Kofi’s title to fruition.

Kofi seemed to have Barrett’s number at first, dodging the Brit’s bruising strikes with his trademark agility and reversing Wade’s momentum into offense of his own. For the majority of the contest, Barrett seemed to have no answer for The Boom Squad General’s game plan, but the Englishman dug deep and tapped into his old-school fighting roots by targeting Kofi’s torso. Wade used his fists, feet, knees and even the ring posts as weapons in his dismantling of The Dreadlocked Dynamo, finally persevering through a late-game rally by the champion and felling him with the Bull Hammer elbow to claim his second Intercontinental Championship.