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No title in the history of professional wrestling has seen more ups and downs during its period of existence than the WWE Intercontinental Title. Once regarded as the Workhorse's Championship, the prestigious title has seen a number of dark phases at various stages, but has successfully emerged out of them in tremendous ways and has managed to establish and preserve a legacy of its own.
However, even though the title has made the careers of a number of WWE superstars since its inception in 1979, the opposite has also been true with a number of superstars. Since the title has fallen from grace quite a few times in the past, WWE has relied on a number of superstars to keep the title relevant and bring it back to importance, which is clearly visible on the quality of matches as well.
The current holder of the title, Seth Rollins, is one of the best superstars on the active roster and has done a good job in making the title feel important by defending the title in stunning encounters on a weekly basis. In the past as well, several superstars have done the same for the Intercontinental Title. Here are 10 such superstars who elevated the prestige of WWE's Workhorse Title.
#10. Pedro Morales
Traditionally, the Intercontinental Title has been seen as the stepping stone to the World Title. Several wrestlers, like The Rock and Triple H, used the Intercontinental Title to catapult themselves to the main event scene. However, there have been a few who won this mid-card title after a successful reign with company's top title, and Pedro Morales was the one who started this trend back in 1981.
During his second run with the company in the 1980's, Morales not only won the Intercontinental Title, but he became the first ever superstar to win it twice. Due to his status as a former World Champion, the Intercontinental Title gained prominence during the first half of 1980. His feuds with the likes of Ken Patera, Don Muraco and Greg Valentine produced some of the best matches during that period.
His second reign of 425 days was the longest individual reign before the Honky Tonk Man overtook him in 1988, and his cumulative total of 616 days as champion is still a record in the WWE. As the first ever superstar to hold every active title in WWE, Morales gave the Intercontinental Title that first push that it needed during his early days.
#9. Randy 'Macho Man' Savage
After the end of Morales' second reign in 1983, WWE had a string of wrestlers such as Don Muraco, Tito Santana and Greg Valentine carry the title for lengthy reigns and played a major part in keeping the title's importance during that period. The arrival of Randy Savage in the Intercontinental Title scene in 1986, however, just skyrocketed the stock of the title to a whole new level.
Even though Savage held the title only once, his impeccable in-ring work during his title reign has led to him being regarded as the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time and as the wrestler who actually put the title on the page. It was during his feuds with the likes of Tito Santana, Bruno Sammartino and George Steele that the title gained the infamous tagline of being a 'Workhorse's Title'.
Savage's legendary feud with Ricky Steamboat in 1986 and 1987 is often regarded as the high point of the title. Their clash at WrestleMania III is not just regarded as the greatest Intercontinental Title match in history, but also one of the best matches that has ever taken place under the WWE banner. Savage became a megastar after his reign, and the Intercontinental Title reached new heights of importance.
#8.The Ultimate Warrior
Savage's ascension to the top coincided with the reign of Honky Tonk Man as the Intercontinental Champion, whose reign of 454-days in the longest reign with the title in the history. Even though HTM was a great character and champion, the title lost some credibility under his title reign, and it wasn't until the arrival of The Ultimate Warrior in 1988 that things started looking promising once again.
In fact, The Ultimate Warrior, during his two reigns as Intercontinental Champion between 1988 and 1990, took the title back to the same level of prestige where Savage had left it a year ago. His 31-second decimation of the Honky Tonk Man at Summerslam 1988 was followed by a string of dominant showings throughout the year. Despite not being an in-ring technician, Warrior's title defences produced some of the best wrestling product at that time.
However, it was his rivalry with Rick Rude that turned his reign into a ravishing one. After his first reign came to an end at WrestleMania V at the hands of Rude, Warrior regained the title 5 months later at Summerslam 1989. As Champion, Warrior became a main event superstar during his second reign, and eventually challenged and defeated WWE Champion Hulk Hogan in the main event of WrestleMania VI to become the first person to hold both titles simultaneously before vacating the title, that was won by......
#7. 'Mr. Perfect' Curt Hennig
The Ultimate Warrior might have vacated the Intercontinental Title after winning the WWF Title in the main event of WrestleMania VI, but the man who succeeded him made sure that the title retained its prestige and importance on his shoulders. As one of the greatest in-ring technicians in the history of professional wrestling, Mr Perfect made sure that the Title never became an afterthought during his twin reign in the early 1990s.
Curt Hennig's heel persona was such a big hit back then that, despite holding the mid-card title, he was considered the biggest heel in the entire company. With Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan as his manager, Mr Perfect continued to defend his title against the likes of Brutus Beefcake and Tito Santana and did so in the perfect heelish ways - either by count out losses or by disqualifications.
Perfect, however, also put over two up-and-coming superstars by letting them end his two reigns on two consecutive Summerslam events. His loss to The Texas Tornado at Summerslam 1990 was indeed the high point of Kerry Von Erich's WWF career. After regaining the title from him and holding it for 280 days for the better part of 1991 against the likes of Big Boss Man and Greg Valentine, Perfect finally dropped the belt to Bret Hart at Summerslam 1991 to kick-start his singles career in WWF. Speaking of Hart......
#6. Bret 'The Hit-Man' Hart
It would be nothing but an insult for the Intercontinental Title and The Hit Man to not include either of them when talking about the other. Even though some Intercontinental Title holders before Hart, such as Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior, used the title to catapult themselves to the main event scene, it was only after Hart's reigns that a series of wrestlers used it as a stepping stone for their WWE main event career.
Already a veteran tag team performer, Hart's singles career in the WWE only began after he defeated Mr Perfect for the Intercontinental Title at Summerslam 1991 in one of the best matches of the year. Later that year, he won the King of the Ring tournament and continued to defend the title throughout the remaining year before dropping the belt to The Mountie in January 1992.
Hart regained the title in an acclaimed match at WrestleMania VIII from 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper to begin one of the best title reigns in WWE history. In one of their first ever meetings, Hart defended the title against Shawn Michaels in the first ever Ladder Match under WWF banner. However, Hart saved the best match of his last ever defence as he lost the title to Davey Boy Smith at Summerslam 1992 in London, in what is regarded as the best Intercontinental Title match in Summerslam history, and started his climb to the main event scene soon afterwards.
#5. Shawn Michaels
Although Davey Boy Smith's victory over Bret Hart at Summerslam 1992 is still considered a milestone moment in WWE history, the same cannot be said about his reign. Smith was nothing more than a transitional champion and lost the title after only two months. The man who dispatched him as the champion, however, became the new leader of that division, and the man was none other than 'The Heart Break Kid' Shawn Michaels.
Starting his singles career in late 1991, Michaels won his first Intercontinental Title less than a year later and continued to hold it for more than 200 days. His feud with former partner Marty Jannetty and their match on Raw in 1993 where Michaels dropped the belt to him, are considered among the best that the company has ever produced.
Michaels' second reign began merely days later, and he again held the title for 113 days before he was suspended and stripped off the title. After a long rivalry with Razor Ramon(more on that later) and a run in the tag team and main event scene, Michaels held the title for one last time in 1995. While his reign lasted only 3 months, Michaels match with Ramon at Summerslam 1995 stands as one of the best Summerslam defence for the title. And now onto.....
#4. Razor Ramon
How can you not include this guy on any positive list regarding the Intercontinental Championship? I mean, no man is more synonymous with the Intercontinental Title than The Bad Guy. One of the greatest superstars to never have held a World Title in WWF/WWE, Ramon made up for that deficit by proudly holding the Intercontinental Title four-times and making it feel as important as the WWF Championship.
His first title win in 1993 produced one of the greatest feuds for the title between him and Shawn Michaels. Their Ladder Match for the title at WrestleMania X was the first WWE match to ever get a 5-star rating and is considered an era ushering match. After successfully tackling Michaels' challenge, he dropped the belt to his bodyguard Diesel. Razor continued to feud with the two throughout the year and won the title back at Summerslam 1995.
Throughout the first half of 1995, Ramon was embroiled in a memorable feud with Jeff Jarrett and the two were involved in 5 title changes during that period, giving Ramon another title reign. Ramon's last title reign came in late 1995, and he lost the title merely 3 months later to Goldust in January 1996. Combining his then record 4-reigns, Ramon was the holder of the title for a good 438 days over a period of just 30 months.
#3. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho arrived in WWE at a time when, despite possessing a plethora of mid-card talent, WWE lacked a leader of the mid-card scene. He was straight away projected as a star of the Intercontinental Division, and the rest, as we all know, is history. Over the next 10 years, Jericho didn't only become the most prolific Intercontinental Champion, but, despite now being a certified main eventer, continued to elevate its importance with his presence.
Jericho didn't have the best start as an Intercontinental Champion, as his first two title reigns came during that underwhelming feud with Chyna in late 1999. Even his third reign was a short one, with Jericho only holding the title for 6 days. However, it was his 4th reign that brought out his best, with his matches against Chris Benoit and Triple H standing out during that period. Despite making it to the main event scene in 2001, Jericho continued to appear in the IC Title scene, winning the title 3 more times before 2005.
Upon his return in 2007, Jericho again graced the division with his presence and won the title for the eighth time and held it for 111 days, his longest individual reign. His feud with Rey Mysterio during the post-WrestleMania season in 2009, where the duo wrestled in 3 all-time classics on three consecutive pay per views for the title and Jericho won the title for the ninth time, is often rated as the highest point of the title in this century.
#2. Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam is a name that is often ignored or forgotten when one counts the best Intercontinental Champions of all time. Yes, he did not hold the title for as long as guys like Razor Ramon or The Ultimate Warrior, and neither did he have as many breath-taking title defences like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had. However, RVD was the only shining light during one of the darkest periods for the title and did his best to maintain the title's importance.
After a couple of runs with Hardcore Champion during his first year with the company, RVD became a staple of the Intercontinental Championship for the next few years when he won the title from William Regal at WrestleMania X-8. During his first three reigns, RVD had a string of stunning title defences against the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Jeff Hardy and Chris Jericho.
When the title was reinstated after a period of inactivity, Van Dam continued to wrestle tremendous title matches with the likes of Christian and Chris Jericho and held the title for two more times. It was him whose reign Randy Orton ended to begin his memorable title reign in 2003. After a couple of years on Smackdown, RVD returned to the title scene in 2006 and won the title for the sixth time while simultaneously holding the MITB Contract.
#1. The Miz
No man has done more for the Intercontinental Title more in recent times than The Miz. While most of the others wrestlers in the last 5 years wrestled only to win the World Champions, The Miz worked his ass off to bring back the prestige back to the title that was lost during the reigns of the likes of Ezekiel Jackson, Curtis Axel and Ryback. He again turned the title into the Workhorse's title that it was famous as in the past.
Before he was moved to Smackdown earlier this year and separated from the title, The Miz held the title eight times in the past 6 years, which is the second most in WWE history, for a cumulative total of 599 days, also the second most in history. His maiden title win came at the historic Raw 1000 episode in 2012 and he held the title 3 more times over the next two years, albeit with minimal success.
However, his fifth reign in 2016 began a whole new resurgence period for the title. His matches with the likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro and his highly acclaimed with feud with Dolph Ziggler in the same year and with Dean Ambrose next year produced some of the best in-ring as well as promo work in the division for years. His feuds with Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Finn Balor during the first quarter of 2018 once again brought the Workhorse name for the title.
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