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The Intercontinental Championship has always been one of the most popular belts amongst long-time wrestling fans, perhaps even above the World Championship at times.
It is usually seen as the championship for the more technically gifted or hard-working talents on the roster, while World Title was for the showmen in WWE, such as Hulk Hogan or John Cena, the Intercontinental Championship featured slicker in-ring performers.
Not only that, but it was also often seen as a milestone on a superstar’s ascension to the main event scene, at least it used to be. It has to be said that the Championship has lost a lot of its prestige over the last decade or so.
It has seen a slight resurgence during The Miz’s current reign, but it is nowhere the level it was back in the late 80s or early 90s.
Speaking of The Miz, he has recently surpassed The Honky Tonk Man in terms of combined days as Intercontinental Champion, but where does he stand overall?
Here are the 10 longest combined reigns in the history of the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
#=9 - Mr Perfect (406 days)
As mentioned earlier, the Intercontinental Championship often showcased the more technically skilled superstars in WWE, and when it came to technical wrestling, there were not many better than ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions in history after not just one, but two significant runs with the belt.
Hennig’s first reign began in May 1990 after he won a tournament for the then-vacant Championship. Shortly after winning the title, he quickly aligned himself with legendary wrestling manager Bobby Heenan.
Arguably the most memorable moment of Mr Perfect’s Intercontinental title reigns came when he dropped the belt to Bret Hart in a classic match at SummerSlam 1991. Despite Hennig nursing a number of significant injuries at the time, he and Hart produced a fantastic bout which is considered one of the best Intercontinental title matches ever.
#=9 Shawn Michaels (406 days)
Speaking of highly rated matches, Shawn Michaels is no stranger to them and he had a number of tremendous bouts involving the Intercontinental Championship.
None more so than his historic ladder match for the title against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X. This groundbreaking encounter earned a 5-star rating from respected wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer and was also voted ‘Match of the Year’ in 1994.
It is widely regarded as one of the most significant matches in WWE history and has influenced a number of other classic matches in the company, including the TLC and triangle ladder matches involving Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz.
Shawn Michaels’ three reigns as Intercontinental Champion were a significant stepping stone on his journey to becoming one of the all-time great performers in WWE.
#8 Randy Savage (414 days)
Despite only having one reign as Champion, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage is often listed amongst the greatest ever Intercontinental Champions for his 414-day reign between 1986 and 1987.
Savage feuded with the likes of Bruno Sammartino and George Steele during his tenure with the belt, but undoubtedly the highlight of his Intercontinental Championship run came in yet another classic match at WrestleMania III.
Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat at the third edition of the Showcase of the Immortals is a favourite amongst fans of that era and the match stole the show, even though a Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant match was also on the card. Savage vs. Steamboat was named ‘Match of the Year’ in 1987.
This title reign put Savage on the map in WWE and it is another example of the Intercontinental Championship setting up a superstar for a Hall of Fame career, and ‘Macho Man’ certainly had that.
#7 The Ultimate Warrior (432 days)
Although he wasn’t as technically skilled as some of the other Intercontinental Champions on this list, The Ultimate Warrior still had some iconic moments with the belt in the early days of his WWE tenure and helped sustain the prestige of the championship.
Warrior’s first reign began after he memorably ended the Honky Tonk Man’s historic Intercontinental Title run in half a minute at SummerSlam ’88, this was after Warrior came out as a surprise replacement for the injured Brutus Beefcake, who was originally scheduled to face Honky Tonk Man.
After winning the Intercontinental Championship, Warrior went on to become one the WWE’s biggest stars and never actually lost the title during his second reign. Instead, he would vacate the title after he became the World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI.
#6 Razor Ramon (438 days)
As mentioned earlier in this article, Razor Ramon’s most significant contribution to the legacy of the Intercontinental Championship came at WrestleMania X in the legendary ladder match against Shawn Michaels, but that was just the beginning of Razor’s affiliation with the belt.
Ramon would feud over the Intercontinental Championship with a number of superstars during his WWE tenure, most notably Diesel and Jeff Jarrett. When Ramon regained the title from Jarrett in May of 1995, he would become the first man in history to win the championship three times.
He would go on to have a total of four Intercontinental Championship reigns before infamously leaving the company to join WCW in 1996. This spelt the end of the ‘Razor Ramon’ character as he would go on to compete under his birth name, Scott Hall, for the remainder of his career.
But Razor Ramon is still fondly remembered by fans for his mid-90s WWE run, largely due to his work with the Intercontinental Title.
#5 Tito Santana (443 days)
There aren’t many superstars that have been associated with WWE for as long as Tito Santana was. He competed for the company on and off from the late 70s up to the mid-90s and accomplished a lot during his tenure.
However, he is arguably most fondly remembered for being one of the most popular Intercontinental Champions in WWE history. His battles for the belt against rivals Don Muraco and Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine made Santana a fan favourite in the mid-80s and he remained a well-liked superstar into the 90s.
The two-time Intercontinental Champion and 1989 King of the Ring winner was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 by Shawn Michaels.
#4 The Honky Tonk Man (454 days)
You can’t talk about all-time great Intercontinental Champions without mentioning The Honky Tonk Man, who held the title for a record 454 days from June 1987 to August 1988.
After defeating Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat to capture the title, Honky, along with his manager Jimmy Hart, would use every cheap trick in the book to hold on to the championship and see if a number of challengers, including Brutus Beefcake and Randy Savage.
As referenced earlier in this article, The Honky Tonk Man’s luck would finally run out at the inaugural SummerSlam in 1998, when Ultimate Warrior would defeat him in under a minute.
Honky has certainly left his mark in the WWE history books and his solitary Intercontinental Championship reign of 454 days is unlikely to ever be surpassed.
#3 The Miz (455 days and counting)
Honky Tonk Man’s record has been beaten, in terms of combined reigns, by the current Intercontinental Champion, The Miz. As of this week, The Miz has now held the title for 455 days.
While Miz’s number is totalled over seven separate reigns as Champion, it is still an outstanding achievement for somebody in the modern era. With more and more content being added and championship changes occurring on an almost monthly basis in WWE nowadays, being able to call yourself Intercontinental Champion for a total of 455 days in the modern era is no small feat.
This number only looks set to increase with The Miz producing some of the best work of his career over the last year or so.
However, he still has a long way to go if he is to exceed the combined totals of the other longest reigning Intercontinental Champions in WWE history.
#2 Don Muraco (541 days)
Don Muraco was one of the most hated villains in WWE in the 80s; his arrogant persona and cheap heel tactics drew the ire of the crowd throughout the decade.
Aligning himself with legendary managers such as the Grand Wizard, Lou Albano and Mr Fuji at different points over his career only led to more underhanded tactics, but ultimately more success.
Muraco had a number of feuds over the course of his WWE career such as with Jimmy Snuka, whom he faced in the infamous cage match that included Snuka’s legendary ’Superfly Splash’ from the top of the cage.
Some of his most memorable opponents during his Intercontinental Championship reigns include Bob Backlund, Tito Santana and Rocky Johnson. However, his greatest rival is arguably the only man that has held the championship for more days than him…
#1 Pedro Morales (619 days)
Pedro Morales had two Intercontinental Championship reigns which add up to a whopping 619 days, the most in WWE history.
This isn’t Morales’ only significant accomplishment in WWE, he also won the World Heavyweight Champion and Tag Team Championships, along with fellow Hall of Famer Bob Backlund, during his tenure.
It was due to his previous achievements that when he captured the Intercontinental Championship in 1980, Morales became the first ever Triple Crown Champion in WWE.
Although holding the distinction of being the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in combined reigns, is an outstanding achievement, his other work does seem to overshadow that. Pedro Morales will be remembered for being one of the most popular champions of all time and is arguably the greatest Puerto Rican wrestler in history.
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