5 greatest Intercontinental champions of all time

There were many WWE wrestlers who have won the Intercontinental Title

WWE is doing its best to make the mid-card titles an important part of programming again.

For years, the Intercontinental Championship had become a forgotten title. Once thought of as the second most important “trophy” in WWF and later in the company the McMahons have their fingerprints all over, the title had all but disappeared.

When Daniel Bryan made the announcement that he had drafted The Miz to the SmackDown Live brand, it wasn’t as much about bringing the performer over to the blue brand as much as it was bringing the belt, full of tradition and history, over to Tuesday nights.

Huge title win for Finn Balor? Click here for more

According to lore, WWF North American Heavyweight Champion Pat Patterson became the inaugural champion on September 1, 1979. It was said he had unified his title with the South American Heavyweight Championship, in a tournament in Rio de Janeiro, although both the tournament and South American Championship were entirely fictional. That’s the business and kayfabe at its best.

There have been 78 different champions. Chris Jericho has the most reigns with nine. Pedro Morales held the championship for a record total of 619 days and The Honkytonk Man had the longest uninterrupted reign at 454 days, from June 2, 1987, until August 29, 1988.

Dean Douglas had the shortest reign after he held the title for just 13 minutes 52 seconds. Chyna is the only woman in WWE history to win the title. The youngest champion was Jeff Hardy, who won the championship at 23 years old, while the oldest champion was Ric Flair.

The Miz has an uphill battle on Sunday at No Mercy when he faces Dolph Ziggler once again with the title on the line. This time, Ziggler is putting his career on the line. We all know how this should play out – which means there will be another title run added to Ziggler’s storied career.

Where both The Miz and Ziggler fall in terms of great champions is still under review. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the five greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time.


#5 Pedro Morales

Pedro Morales held the Intercontinental Title longer than anyone in his two title runs

Morales was almost as big a star as Bruno Sammartino and first WWF star to win the Triple Crown in the promotion. He was a two-time Intercontinental Champion, with his title runs of 624 days combined. Morales beat Ken Patera in 1980 and held the belt for 194 days.

In his second run with the belt, he beat Don Muraco, for 425 days. The first Latino to hold a world heavyweight championship, Morales' combined reign as WWWF Heavyweight Champion remains among the longest in history.

#4 Honkytonk Man

Honkytonk Man held the title for 454 days

The Elvis impersonator was more than just a man who looked like the King, carrying a guitar to the ring that proved to be a weapon on more than one occasion. In 1987, he defeated Ricky Steamboat to claim his first major title in the WWF.

He holds the record for longest Intercontinental Title reign of all time at an amazing 454 days. The character played by Wayne Farris lost the belt to The Ultimate Warrior at the inaugural SummerSlam.

#3 Ultimate Warrior

Ultimate Warrior held the Intercontinental Title on two occasions

The man from parts unknown. Warrior was as much a hero at one point in the promotion as Hulk Hogan in the mid-1980s. Ironically, Warrior won his first title at the very first SummerSlam in an amazing 31 seconds.

Talk about squash matches. He held the title for 216 days with each title run. The second time he won the title, he had to vacate it when he defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Title at WrestleMania VI. Warrior lost his first title to Rick Rude. He beat Rude a year later at SummerSlam to grab his second belt.

#2 Randy Savage

Oh Yeah! The Macho Man held the title for 400 days

Oh Yeah! Savage had the right gimmick at the right time. He was one of the greatest performers to ever step in a WWF/E wrestling ring. His resume includes the greatest wrestling match ever between himself and Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III, where he lost the belt.

For more than 400 days, Savage held on to the championship in the face of challengers like Jake "The Snake" Roberts and George "The Animal" Steele. With Elizabeth by his side, they formed the first real power couple in WWF.

#1 Chris Jericho

Nine Intercontinental Title runs for Chris Jericho

Was there anyone else who could have made the top of this list?

Jericho, a six-time WWE World Champion, is also a nine-time Intercontinental Champion. He first won the championship from Chyna in the winter of 1999, Jericho went on to defeat everyone from Jeff Hardy to Rob Van Dam to capture a staggering nine titles over the next decade.

Jericho is known for his ability in the ring as one of the greatest performers of all time as much as he is for setting title records. Jericho’s last title run was in 2009 when he defeated Rey Mysterio at Extreme Rules.

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Edited by Staff Editor
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