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WWE introduced the Intercontinental Championship in late 1979, with Pat Patterson being the inaugural titleholder. Since its inception, there have been 89 superstars who have held the title, with a total of 183 reigns to date.
The current Intercontinental Champion is Gunther. He recently surpassed The Honky Man as the longest-reigning champion in its 40-plus-year history. As of this writing, Gunther has been the WWE Intercontinental Champion for over 450 days.
With Gunther's current reign being as historic as it has been, many feel that he should be considered one of the greatest to ever hold the Intercontinental Championship. Not only has Gunther held the belt for a record-breaking number of days, but he has also been a fighting champion, defending his title often.
With that said, a long list of legendary names have been associated with the title. Here is our list of four former WWE Intercontinental Championship reigns that were better than Gunthers' 450-plus-day run.
#4 - 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Razor Ramon
Scott Hall returned to the WWF in 1992, which is when he debuted the Razor Ramon character. Razor was sort of a play on the popular film Scarface. The gimmick was a slimy, villainous thug from South Beach with an ego that oozed machismo.
During the October 4, 1993 episode of Monday Night RAW, there was a battle royal that took place in which the final two superstars remaining would face one another for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. The match ended with Razor Ramon and Rick Martel being the final two participants. The following week, Razor defeated Martel to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
During his first of four reigns as Intercontinental Champion, Razor had a historic feud with Shawn Michaels, which culminated with a ladder match at WrestleMania 10. Razor defeated The Heartbreak Kid to retain his title in what is considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time.
#3 - 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig was a second-generation wrestler who made his professional debut in 1980. Mr. Perfect was a cocky, ego-driven persona who could seemingly do nothing less than "perfect."
During episodes of WWF TV, the company aired short segments that showed Mr. Perfect excelling at various sports-related feats that otherwise seemed impossible. He also enjoyed an in-ring undefeated streak that spanned over an entire year.
Mr. Perfect captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first of two reigns during an episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling in mid-1990. Perfect lost the title to The Texas Tornado at SummerSlam 1990, but he won the title back later in the year. Mr. Perfect held the title for 280 days before losing to Bret Hart at the 1991 SummerSlam pay-per-view.
#2 - 2-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion Macho Man Randy Savage
Macho Man Randy Savage will forever be remembered as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. During the Golden Era, Savage was one of the key components to the massive success of that era. Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Andre The Giant, and Randy Savage were four of the most vital stars of this time in WWE history.
In 1985, Randy Savage began a feud with then-Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana. After a series of unsuccessful attempts at winning the title, Savage finally defeated Santana, capturing the elusive Intercontinental Championship. Savage held the title for well over a year when he started a historic feud against Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat got the best of Savage at WrestleMania 3, ending Macho Man's 414-day title reign.
After dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Steamboat, Randy Savage was elevated to main-event status. The company pushed Savage to the top of the roster, ultimately resulting in Savage becoming the WWE Champion. He held the world title twice during his Hall of Fame run with the company. Sadly, Savage passed away in May of 2011 at the age of 58.
#1 - 2nd longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion of all time, The Honky Tonk Man
Sadly, our #1 Intercontinental Championship reign was held by the only person on this list who is still alive - The Honky Tonk Man. The Honky Tonk Man was a persona heavily inspired by a musical style from the 50s known as rockabilly. People also often compared him to Elvis Presley.
The Honky Tonk Man was an over-the-top egotistical heel who was easily hated by all. Dressed in his rhinestone-studded gear, HTM usually made his entrance accompanied by his guitar, which was often used as a weapon during his matches.
The Honky Tonk Man rose to prominence in mid-1987 when he defeated Ricky Steamboat for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Becoming champion only fueled his already bloated ego, creating a much more entertaining villain for the fans to loathe. HTM was eventually defeated by The Ultimate Warrior at the 1988 SummerSlam pay-per-view event when Warrior replaced Brutus Beefcake as the challenger in the match.
For a record-setting 454 days, The Honky Tonk Man held the Intercontinental Championship. As of this writing, Gunther currently holds the title, and with no defenses set in the coming days, Gunther will be the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history.
