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This year, Gunther broke a long-standing WWE record as he became the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, with his current run with the belt standing at 528 days.
Over the years, many top names have held the belt at the start of their WWE careers before they move up to challenging for a world championship and working in the main event.
Only three superstars' combined reigns with the belt are longer than Gunther's run. Therefore, we are going to take a look at four WWE legends whose combined reigns are shorter than Gunther's single Intercontinental title reign.
#4. The Austin Intercontinental Era did not last long
One performer who is arguably the greatest superstar in WWE history is Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Texas Rattlesnake defined the business for a generation of fans, with him being the face of the company in the late 90s and early 2000s.
In 1997, at SummerSlam, Austin would go on to win the Intercontinental Title in what would be the first of his two reigns with the gold. Over the years, his combined time spent holding the prestigious title would stand at just 93 days.
Despite winning many world titles, the Hall of Famer said on his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, that the Intercontinental Championship is equally important to him as any other belt.
"I've always considered the Intercontinental Championship belt to be really as important as the World Championship belt. You always want to be the World Championship, but, back in the day, the IC belt was typically the guy who could work his ass off. And it was also kind of a training belt for the World Championship belt. Sometimes guys get World belts and never get an IC belt and vice versa, but there was really a whole lot of pride that came out of the guys that carried this particular belt." [H/T Wrestling Inc]
#3. The Rated R Intercontinental Champion
One performer who embodied the spirit of the Intercontinental Championship was The Rated R Superstar Edge.
The Canadian's first-ever championship in WWE was the Intercontinental Title, which he first won at a house show in his hometown of Toronto in 1999.
Edge would hold the prestigious belt on five separate occasions, with his combined reign standing at just 171 days.
Earlier this year, the company celebrated 25 years since he debuted for World Wrestling Entertainment. Edge received a special version of the Intercontinental Championship to commemorate this achievement.
Speaking on WWE's YouTube channel, Edge commented on what the Intercontinental Title means to him.
"The first time I won this was actually here in Toronto at the SkyDome, and I ended up winning it four more times. So it is always very cool, and this is the first championship I won in the WWE. It will always have a special place in my heart. I never thought there would be an Edge version of it, so that is pretty damn cool,". he said. [From 00:13 - 00:25] [H/T Sportskeeda]
#2. The nine-time champ
While his reigns may not have lasted all that long, many consider Chris Jericho to be the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time.
The Canadian holds the record for most times, keeping the belt as he has won it an astonishing nine times, with his combined number of days with the gold at 311.
Another incredible stat about Jericho's time with the Intercontinental Title is the time between his first and last reign, with him capturing the prestigious belt in 1999 at Armageddon and 10 years later at Extreme Rules.
Despite Chris Jericho holding the Intercontinental Title in high esteem, the 53-year-old revealed in an interview with Inside The Ropes that Vince McMahon did not share the same opinion when Jericho pitched him winning it for the 10th time at WrestleMania in 2013.
"I'm a nine-time Intercontinental champion. I could go for my tenth victory," Jericho said. "The record-breaking tenth Intercontinental championship. He goes, 'Oh, nobody cares about the f—ing Intercontinental championship.' And I said, 'But they don't care about Fandango either.' And he goes, 'That's your job, is to make them care.' ...So I hung up on him. I hung up on my billionaire boss because I wasn't happy with what he wanted me to do." [H/T ComicBook]
#1. WWE's Heartbreak Intercontinental Kid
Before he became the showstopper and Mr. WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels was climbing his way up the WWE ladder.
To establish himself as a top singles star after leaving the popular tag team, The Rockers, HBK would aim to win the Intercontinental Championship. His first of three reigns with the title came in 1992 when he defeated the British Bulldog on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. The Hall of Famer's combined days with the workhouse title stands at 403 days.
Now part of WWE management, HBK is still a strong supporter of the belt that kickstarted his singles career as he hyped a title match between Gunther and Sheamus on social media last year.
"The Intercontinental Championship has meant so much to me professionally and personally. I couldn't be more excited to see Sheamus and GUNTHER lay it all on the line tonight at Smackdown," posted Michaels.
Like many that have come before him, Gunther now seems ready to take the next step in his career and go for the world title after the Intercontinental title has helped elevate him to the next level.
