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At the recent WWE Live Event inside the iconic Madison Square Garden arena, Andrade won his first championship defeating Rey Mysterio and captured the WWE United States Championship in shocking fashion.
Andrade now joins a very elite list of superstars who have captured the WWE US Title and New Japan Pro Wrestling's IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
The IWGP IC Championship was first established in the year 2011 and since then the title has been held by the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, and Minoru Suzuki among other notable Japanese wrestling legends. Notable gaijin stars in the form of Kenny Omega, Michael Elgin, and current champ Jay White have also held the IWGP IC Title throughout the years.
On the other hand, the WWE US Championship has been held by some of the biggest names in the Pro Wrestling business including the likes of John Cena, Bret Hart, Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens among other notable names.
In this list we'll take an in-depth look at an elite list of superstars who have won both the WWE United States and IWGP Intercontinental Championship throughout their Pro Wrestling career.
#4 Andrade
One of the hottest superstars in CMLL history, Andrade AKA La Sombra made his mark in New Japan Pro Wrestling as well. In January 2013, La Sombra along with other big names from CMLL took part in the three-day Fantastica Mania event and on night two, he unsuccessfully challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
However, almost four months later, La Sombra faced Nakamura once again for the IWGP IC Championship, this time in Mexico City and eventually defeated 'The King of Strong Style' to win the title belt. In doing so, La Sombra also became the first Mexican superstar to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
At last night's WWE Live Event at The Garden, Andrade also captured the WWE US Championship, which was his first ever title win on the WWE main roster.
#3 Shinsuke Nakamura
Now, speaking of Shinsuke Nakamura and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, 'The King of Strong Style' has won the IWGP IC Title on a total of 5 different occasions and throughout his 5 reigns as IC Champion, Nakamura has defended the title on 17 occasions and has held the title for a total of 901 days.
Nakamura last held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in 2016 before vacating the title due to him signing with WWE. On the other hand, 'The Artist', who is rather the current WWE Intercontinental Champion, won the WWE United States Championship in 2018, marking his first title win on the main roster, as well.
'The Artist' eventually went on to become a two-time WWE United States Champion but if there's anything Nakamura is well-known for then it's his reigns as IWGP IC Champion, a title belt that he made prestigious over in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
#2 MVP
During his tenure with WWE, Montel Vontavious Porter (better known as MVP) captured the WWE United States Championship 2007, beating Chris Benoit to mark his first title win.
Also a former two-time WWE US Champion, MVP made history in 2011 when he took part in the Invasion Tour 2011 and entered the tournament to crown the first-ever IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Defeating Kazuchika Okada in the first-round, MVP went on to defeat Tetsuya Naito and Toru Yano in the final to become the inaugural IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
In his first and only reign as IWGP IC Champion, MVP defended the title twice against Yano before being attacked by the latter's CHAOS stablemate Masato Tanaka, who went on to challenge the former for his IC Title.
MVP would eventually lose the title to Tanaka, who ended the former's reign at 148 days, however, it doesnt't change the fact that Montel Vontavious Porter was the first superstar to win both the WWE US and IWGP IC Championships.
#1 Chris Jericho
In 2017, Chris Jericho shocked the entire Pro Wrestling world when he made his re-debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling and challenged Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 for the IWGP US Championship. Jericho, who as we all know is a former two-time WWE United States Champion, failed to capture New Japan's US Title but turned his attention towards the IWGP IC Title, shortly afterward.
The following year, Jericho captured his first-ever championship in NJPW when he defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship by defeating Tetsuya Naito at Dominion 6.9 and following a title defense against EVIL, 'The Alpha' ended up losing the title back to the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
Chris Jericho's last run as WWE US Champion also occurred in 2016 when he formed an outstanding alliance with Kevin Owens, as the duo held the WWE US and the Universal Championships, respectively.
