The WWE Intercontinental Championship is one of the oldest and most significant titles of not just WWE, but the entire wrestling industry. The title has a long history, dating back to 1979, when Pat Patterson was crowned the inaugural Intercontinental Champion. Since then, the title has been held by some of wrestling's biggest names, including The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Randy Savage.
The championship was formed by the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on September 1, 1979, as a result of the WWF North American Heavyweight Championship being merged with a fictitious South American Heavyweight Championship, with Pat Patterson as the inaugural champion. It is the third-oldest championship currently active in WWE, following the WWE Championship (1963) and the United States Championship (1975). Given that the United States Championship was incorporated into WWE following the WCW purchase in 2001, the Intercontinental Championship is also the second-longest tenured championship. Although it is typically contested in the middle of the card at WWE events, it has been defended in the main event of pay-per-views like WrestleMania VI, SummerSlam in 1992, the third and eighth In Your House shows, Backlash in 2001, and Extreme Rules in 2018. Also known as the 'Workhorse Championship', the title has been referred to as a test for those talents on whom WWE is looking to bestow their World Championship on in the future.
List of Champions:
| No | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | |||
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||
| 1 | Pat Patterson | September 1, 1979 | — | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1 | 233 |
| 2 | Ken Patera | April 21, 1980 | WWF on MSG Network | New York, NY | 1 | 231 |
| 3 | Pedro Morales | December 8, 1980 | WWF | New York, NY | 1 | 194 |
| 4 | Don Muraco | June 20, 1981 | WWF on PRISM Network | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 156 |
| 5 | Pedro Morales | November 23, 1981 | WWF on MSG Network | New York, NY | 2 | 425 |
| 6 | Don Muraco | January 22, 1983 | WWF on MSG Network | New York, NY | 2 | 385 |
| 7 | Tito Santana | February 11, 1984 | WWF | Boston, MA | 1 | 226 |
| 8 | Greg Valentine | September 24, 1984 | Maple Leaf Wrestling | London, ON, Canada | 1 | 285 |
| 9 | Tito Santana | July 6, 1985 | House show | Baltimore, MD | 2 | 217 |
| 10 | Randy Savage | February 8, 1986 | WWF on NESN | Boston, MA | 1 | 414 |
| 11 | Ricky Steamboat | March 29, 1987 | WrestleMania III | Pontiac, MI | 1 | 65 |
| 12 | The Honky Tonk Man | June 2, 1987 | Superstars of Wrestling | Buffalo, NY | 1 | 454 |
| 13 | The Ultimate Warrior | August 29, 1988 | SummerSlam | New York, NY | 1 | 216 |
| 14 | Rick Rude | April 2, 1989 | WrestleMania V | Atlantic City, NJ | 1 | 148 |
| 15 | The Ultimate Warrior (Warrior relinquished the title on April 3, 1990 after winning the WWF Championship in order to focus on defending the latter.) | August 28, 1989 | SummerSlam | East Rutherford, NJ | 2 | 218 |
| 16 | Mr. Perfect | April 23, 1990 | Superstars of Wrestling | Austin, TX | 1 | 126 |
| 17 | The Texas Tornado | August 27, 1990 | SummerSlam | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 84 |
| 18 | Mr. Perfect | November 19, 1990 | Superstars of Wrestling | Rochester, NY | 2 | 280 |
| 19 | Bret Hart | August 26, 1991 | SummerSlam | New York, NY | 1 | 144 |
| 20 | The Mountie | January 17, 1992 | House show | Springfield, MA | 1 | 2 |
| 21 | Roddy Piper | January 19, 1992 | Royal Rumble | Albany, NY | 1 | 77 |
| 22 | Bret Hart | April 5, 1992 | WrestleMania VIII | Indianapolis, IN | 2 | 146 |
| 23 | The British Bulldog | August 29, 1992 | SummerSlam | London, England | 1 | 59 |
| 24 | Shawn Michaels | October 27, 1992 | Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI | Terre Haute, IN | 1 | 202 |
| 25 | Marty Jannetty | May 17, 1993 | Raw | New York, NY | 1 | 20 |
| 26 | Shawn Michaels (Shawn Michaels was stripped of the title on September 27, 1993 for failing to defend it within 30 days (in kayfabe). Actually, Michaels was suspended for use of steroids) | June 6, 1993 | House show | Albany, NY | 2 | 113 |
| 27 | Razor Ramon | September 27, 1993 | Raw | New Haven, CT | 1 | 198 |
| 28 | Diesel | April 13, 1994 | Superstars | Rochester, NY | 1 | 138 |
| 29 | Razor Ramon | August 29, 1994 | SummerSlam | Chicago, IL | 2 | 146 |
| 30 | Jeff Jarrett (A controversial finish in a match against Bob Holly led to title being vacated) | January 22, 1995 | Royal Rumble | Tampa, FL | 1 | 94 |
| 31 | Jeff Jarrett | April 26, 1995 | Action Zone | Moline, IL | 2 | 23 |
| 32 | Razor Ramon | May 19, 1995 | House show | Montreal QC, Canada | 3 | 2 |
| 33 | Jeff Jarrett | May 21, 1995 | House show | Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada | 3 | 63 |
| 34 | Shawn Michaels | July 23, 1995 | In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks | Nashville, TN | 3 | 91 |
| 35 | Dean Douglas | October 22, 1995 | In Your House 4: Great White North | Winnipeg, MB, Canada | 1 | <1 |
| 36 | Razor Ramon | October 22, 1995 | In Your House 4: Great White North | Winnipeg, MB, Canada | 4 | 91 |
| 37 | Goldust (Title was vacated when a match against Savio Vega ended in a no contest) | January 21, 1996 | Royal Rumble | Fresno, CA | 1 | 71 |
| 38 | Goldust | April 1, 1996 | Raw | San Bernardino, CA | 2 | 83 |
| 39 | Ahmed Johnson (Following an attack by the debuting Faarooq, Ahmed Johnson forfeited the championship) | June 23, 1996 | King of the Ring | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | 50 |
| 40 | Marc Mero | September 23, 1996 | Raw | Hershey, PA | 1 | 28 |
| 41 | Hunter Hearst Helmsley | October 21, 1996 | Raw | Fort Wayne, IN | 1 | 115 |
| 42 | Rocky Maivia | February 13, 1997 | Raw | Lowell, MA | 1 | 74 |
| 43 | Owen Hart | April 28, 1997 | Raw | Omaha, NE | 1 | 97 |
| 44 | Stone Cold Steve Austin (Vacated due to Steve Austin suffering a neck injury) | August 3, 1997 | SummerSlam | East Rutherford, NJ | 1 | 36 |
| 45 | Owen Hart | October 5, 1997 | Badd Blood: In Your House | St. Louis, MO | 2 | 35 |
| 46 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | November 9, 1997 | Survivor Series | Montreal, QC, Canada | 2 | 29 |
| 47 | The Rock | December 8, 1997 | Raw | Portland, ME | 2 | 265 |
| 48 | Triple H (Vacated due to Injury) | August 30, 1998 | SummerSlam | New York, NY | 2 | 40 |
| 49 | Ken Shamrock | October 12, 1998 | Raw | Uniondale, NY | 1 | 125 |
| 50 | Val Venis | February 14, 1999 | St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House | Memphis, TN | 1 | 29 |
| 51 | Road Dogg | March 15, 1999 | Raw | San Jose, CA | 1 | 14 |
| 52 | Goldust | March 29, 1999 | Raw | East Rutherford, NJ | 3 | 14 |
| 53 | The Godfather | April 12, 1999 | Raw | Detroit, MI | 1 | 43 |
| 54 | Jeff Jarrett | May 25, 1999 | Raw | Moline, IL | 4 | 60 |
| 55 | Edge | July 24, 1999 | House show | Toronto, ON, Canada | 1 | 1 |
| 56 | Jeff Jarrett | July 25, 1999 | Fully Loaded | Buffalo, NY | 5 | 2 |
| 57 | D'Lo Brown | July 27, 1999 | Raw | Columbus, OH | 1 | 26 |
| 58 | Jeff Jarrett | August 22, 1999 | SummerSlam | Minneapolis, MN | 6 | 56 |
| 59 | Chyna | October 17, 1999 | No Mercy | Cleveland, OH | 1 | 56 |
| 60 | Chris Jericho | December 12, 1999 | Armageddon | Sunrise, FL | 1 | 22 |
| † | Chris Jericho and Chyna (A double pinfall resulted in both being recognized as co-champions) | January 3, 2000 | Raw | Miami, FL | 1 | 20 |
| 61 | Chris Jericho | January 23, 2000 | Royal Rumble | New York, NY | 2 | 35 |
| 62 | Kurt Angle | February 27, 2000 | No Way Out | Hartford, CT | 1 | 35 |
| 63 | Chris Benoit | April 2, 2000 | WrestleMania 2000 | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 30 |
| 64 | Chris Jericho | May 2, 2000 | SmackDown! | Richmond, VA | 3 | 6 |
| 65 | Chris Benoit | May 8, 2000 | Raw | Uniondale, NY | 2 | 43 |
| 66 | Rikishi | June 20, 2000 | SmackDown! | Memphis, TN | 1 | 14 |
| 67 | Val Venis | July 4, 2000 | SmackDown! | Sunrise, FL | 2 | 54 |
| 68 | Chyna | August 27, 2000 | SummerSlam | Raleigh, NC | 2 | 8 |
| 69 | Eddie Guerrero | September 4, 2000 | Raw | Lexington, KY | 1 | 78 |
| 70 | Billy Gunn | November 21, 2000 | SmackDown! | Sunrise, FL | 1 | 19 |
| 71 | Chris Benoit | December 10, 2000 | Armageddon | Birmingham, AL | 3 | 42 |
| 72 | Chris Jericho | January 21, 2001 | Royal Rumble | New Orleans, LA | 4 | 72 |
| 73 | Triple H | April 3, 2001 | SmackDown! | Oklahoma City, OK | 3 | 7 |
| 74 | Jeff Hardy | April 10, 2001 | SmackDown! | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 6 |
| 75 | Triple H | April 16, 2001 | Raw | Knoxville, TN | 4 | 34 |
| 76 | Kane | May 20, 2001 | Judgment Day | Sacramento, CA | 1 | 37 |
| 77 | Albert | June 26, 2001 | SmackDown! | New York, NY | 1 | 27 |
| 78 | Lance Storm | July 23, 2001 | Raw | Buffalo, NY | 1 | 27 |
| 79 | Edge | August 19, 2001 | SummerSlam | San Jose, CA | 2 | 35 |
| 80 | Christian | September 23, 2001 | Unforgiven | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | 28 |
| 81 | Edge | October 21, 2001 | No Mercy | St. Louis, MO | 3 | 15 |
| 82 | Test | November 5, 2001 | Raw | Uniondale, NY | 1 | 13 |
| 83 | Edge | November 18, 2001 | Survivor Series | Greensboro, NC | 4 | 63 |
| 84 | William Regal | January 20, 2002 | Royal Rumble | Atlanta, GA | 1 | 56 |
| 85 | Rob Van Dam | March 17, 2002 | WrestleMania X8 | Toronto, ON, Canada | 1 | 35 |
| 86 | Eddie Guerrero | April 21, 2002 | Backlash | Kansas City, MO | 2 | 36 |
| 87 | Rob Van Dam | May 27, 2002 | Raw | Edmonton, AB, Canada | 2 | 63 |
| 88 | Chris Benoit | July 29, 2002 | Raw | Greensboro, NC | 4 | 27 |
| 89 | Rob Van Dam | August 25, 2002 | SummerSlam | Uniondale, NY | 3 | 22 |
| 90 | Chris Jericho | September 16, 2002 | Raw | Denver, CO | 5 | 14 |
| 91 | Kane | September 30, 2002 | Raw | Houston, TX | 2 | 20 |
| 92 | Triple H (Was deactivated following the title being unified by Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship) | October 20, 2002 | No Mercy | North Little Rock, AR | 5 | <1 |
| 93 | Christian | May 18, 2003 | Judgment Day | Charlotte, NC | 2 | 50 |
| 94 | Booker T | July 7, 2003 | Raw | Montreal, QC, Canada | 1 | 34 |
| 95 | Christian | August 10, 2003 | House show | Des Moines, IA | 3 | 50 |
| 96 | Rob Van Dam | September 29, 2003 | Raw | Rosemont, IL | 4 | 28 |
| 97 | Chris Jericho | October 27, 2003 | Raw | Fayetteville, NC | 6 | <1 |
| 98 | Rob Van Dam | October 27, 2003 | Raw | Fayetteville, NC | 5 | 48 |
| 99 | Randy Orton | December 14, 2003 | Armageddon | Orlando, FL | 1 | 210 |
| 100 | Edge (Vacated due to injury) | July 11, 2004 | Vengeance | Hartford, CT | 5 | 57 |
| 101 | Chris Jericho | September 12, 2004 | Unforgiven | Portland, OR | 7 | 37 |
| 102 | Shelton Benjamin | October 19, 2004 | Taboo Tuesday | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | 244 |
| 103 | Carlito | June 20, 2005 | Raw | Phoenix, AZ | 1 | 90 |
| 104 | Ric Flair | September 18, 2005 | Unforgiven | Oklahoma City, OK | 1 | 155 |
| 105 | Shelton Benjamin | February 20, 2006 | Raw | Trenton, NJ | 2 | 69 |
| 106 | Rob Van Dam | April 30, 2006 | Backlash | Lexington, KY | 6 | 15 |
| 107 | Shelton Benjamin | May 15, 2006 | Raw | Lubbock, TX | 3 | 41 |
| 108 | Johnny Nitro | June 25, 2006 | Vengeance | Charlotte, NC | 1 | 99 |
| 109 | Jeff Hardy | October 2, 2006 | Raw | Topeka, KS | 2 | 35 |
| 110 | Johnny Nitro | November 6, 2006 | Raw | Columbus, OH | 2 | 7 |
| 111 | Jeff Hardy | November 13, 2006 | Raw | Manchester, England | 3 | 98 |
| 112 | Umaga | February 19, 2007 | Raw | Bakersfield, CA | 1 | 56 |
| 113 | Santino Marella | April 16, 2007 | Raw | Milan, Italy | 1 | 77 |
| 114 | Umaga | July 2, 2007 | Raw | Dallas, TX | 2 | 62 |
| 115 | Jeff Hardy | September 2, 2007 | Raw | Columbus, OH | 4 | 190 |
| 116 | Chris Jericho | March 10, 2008 | Raw | Milwaukee, WI | 8 | 111 |
| 117 | Kofi Kingston | June 29, 2008 | Night of Champions | Dallas, TX | 1 | 49 |
| 118 | Santino Marella | August 17, 2008 | SummerSlam | Indianapolis, IN | 2 | 85 |
| 119 | William Regal | November 10, 2008 | Raw | Manchester, England | 2 | 70 |
| 120 | CM Punk | January 19, 2009 | Raw | Rosemont, IL | 1 | 49 |
| 121 | John "Bradshaw" Layfield | March 9, 2009 | Raw | Jacksonville, FL | 1 | 27 |
| 122 | Rey Mysterio | April 5, 2009 | WrestleMania 25 | Houston, TX | 1 | 63 |
| 123 | Chris Jericho | June 7, 2009 | Extreme Rules | New Orleans, LA | 9 | 21 |
| 124 | Rey Mysterio | June 28, 2009 | The Bash | Sacramento, CA | 2 | 65 |
| 125 | John Morrison | September 1, 2009 | SmackDown | Cleveland, OH | 3 | 103 |
| 126 | Drew McIntyre | December 13, 2009 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | San Antonio, TX | 1 | 161 |
| 127 | Kofi Kingston | May 23, 2010 | Over the Limit | Detroit, MI | 2 | 66 |
| 128 | Dolph Ziggler | July 28, 2010 | SmackDown | Laredo, TX | 1 | 160 |
| 129 | Kofi Kingston | January 4, 2011 | SmackDown | Tucson, AZ | 3 | 77 |
| 130 | Wade Barrett | March 22, 2011 | SmackDown | Columbus, OH | 1 | 89 |
| 131 | Ezekiel Jackson | June 19, 2011 | Capitol Punishment | Washington, D.C. | 1 | 51 |
| 132 | Cody Rhodes | August 9, 2011 | SmackDown | Sacramento, CA | 1 | 236 |
| 133 | Big Show | April 1, 2012 | WrestleMania XXVIII | Miami Gardens, FL | 1 | 28 |
| 134 | Cody Rhodes | April 29, 2012 | Extreme Rules | Rosemont, IL | 2 | 21 |
| 135 | Christian | May 20, 2012 | Over the Limit | Raleigh, NC | 4 | 64 |
| 136 | The Miz | July 23, 2012 | Raw 1000 | St. Louis, MO | 1 | 85 |
| 137 | Kofi Kingston | October 16, 2012 | Main Event | Memphis, TN | 4 | 74 |
| 138 | Wade Barrett | December 29, 2012 | Raw | Washington, D.C. | 2 | 99 |
| 139 | The Miz | April 7, 2013 | WrestleMania 29 Pre-Show | East Rutherford, NJ | 2 | 1 |
| 140 | Wade Barrett | April 8, 2013 | Raw | East Rutherford, NJ | 3 | 69 |
| 141 | Curtis Axel | June 16, 2013 | Payback | Rosemont, IL | 1 | 155 |
| 142 | Big E Langston | November 18, 2013 | Raw | Nashville, TN | 1 | 167 |
| 143 | Bad News Barrett (Vacated on June 30, 2014 due to a shoulder injury) | May 4, 2014 | Extreme Rules | East Rutherford, NJ | 4 | 57 |
| 144 | The Miz | July 20, 2014 | Battleground | Tampa, FL | 3 | 28 |
| 145 | Dolph Ziggler | August 17, 2014 | SummerSlam | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | 35 |
| 146 | The Miz | September 21, 2014 | Night of Champions | Nashville, TN | 4 | 1 |
| 147 | Dolph Ziggler | September 22, 2014 | Raw | Memphis, TN | 3 | 56 |
| 148 | Luke Harper | November 17, 2014 | Raw | Roanoke, VA | 1 | 27 |
| 149 | Dolph Ziggler | December 14, 2014 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Cleveland, OH | 4 | 22 |
| 150 | Bad News Barrett | January 5, 2015 | Raw | Corpus Christi, TX | 5 | 83 |
| 151 | Daniel Bryan (Vacated on May 11, 2015 due to an injury) | March 29, 2015 | WrestleMania 31 | Santa Clara, CA | 1 | 43 |
| 152 | Ryback | May 31, 2015 | Elimination Chamber | Corpus Christi, TX | 1 | 112 |
| 153 | Kevin Owens | September 20, 2015 | Night of Champions | Houston, TX | 1 | 84 |
| 154 | Dean Ambrose | December 13, 2015 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Boston, MA | 1 | 64 |
| 155 | Kevin Owens | February 15, 2016 | Raw | Anaheim, CA | 2 | 48 |
| 156 | Zack Ryder | April 3, 2016 | WrestleMania 32 | Arlington, TX | 1 | 1 |
| 157 | The Miz | April 4, 2016 | Raw | Dallas, TX | 5 | 188 |
| 158 | Dolph Ziggler | October 9, 2016 | No Mercy | Sacramento, CA | 5 | 37 |
| 159 | The Miz | November 15, 2016 | SmackDown | Wilkes-Barre, PA | 6 | 49 |
| 160 | Dean Ambrose | January 3, 2017 | SmackDown | Jacksonville, FL | 2 | 152 |
| 161 | The Miz | June 4, 2017 | Extreme Rules | Baltimore, MD | 7 | 169 |
| 162 | Roman Reigns | November 20, 2017 | Raw | Houston, TX | 1 | 63 |
| 163 | The Miz | January 22, 2018 | Raw 25 Years | Brooklyn, NY | 8 | 76 |
| 164 | Seth Rollins | April 8, 2018 | WrestleMania 34 | New Orleans, LA | 1 | 71 |
| 165 | Dolph Ziggler | June 18, 2018 | Raw | Grand Rapids, MI | 6 | 62 |
| 166 | Seth Rollins | August 19, 2018 | SummerSlam | Brooklyn, NY | 2 | 119 |
| 167 | Dean Ambrose | December 16, 2018 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | San Jose, CA | 3 | 29 |
| 168 | Bobby Lashley | January 14, 2019 | Raw | Memphis, TN | 1 | 34 |
| 169 | Finn Bálor | February 17, 2019 | Elimination Chamber | Houston, TX | 1 | 22 |
| 170 | Bobby Lashley | March 11, 2019 | Raw | Pittsburgh, PA | 2 | 27 |
| 171 | Finn Bálor | April 7, 2019 | WrestleMania 35 | East Rutherford, NJ | 2 | 98 |
| 172 | Shinsuke Nakamura | July 14, 2019 | Extreme Rules Kickoff | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 201 |
| 173 | Braun Strowman | January 31, 2020 | SmackDown | Tulsa, OK | 1 | 37 |
| 174 | Sami Zayn (Zayn was stripped of the championship for refraining to work during the Global pandemic. Zayn still claimed to be the champion in kayfabe) | March 8, 2020 | Elimination Chamber | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 65 |
| 175 | AJ Styles | June 8, 2020 | SmackDown | Orlando, FL | 1 | 74 |
| 176 | Jeff Hardy | August 21, 2020 | SmackDown | Orlando, FL | 5 | 37 |
| 177 | Sami Zayn | September 27, 2020 | Clash of Champions | Orlando, FL | 2 | 86 |
| 178 | Big E | December 22, 2020 | SmackDown | St. Petersburg, FL | 2 | 110 |
| 179 | Apollo Crews | April 11, 2021 | WrestleMania 37 Night 2 | Tampa, FL | 1 | 124 |
| 180 | King Nakamura | August 13, 2021 | SmackDown | Tulsa, OK | 2 | 182 |
| 181 | Sami Zayn | February 11, 2022 | SmackDown | New Orleans, LA | 3 | 21 |
| 182 | Ricochet | March 4, 2022 | SmackDown | Miami, FL | 1 | 98 |
| 183 | Gunther | June 10, 2022 | SmackDown | Baton Rouge, LA | 1 | 289+ |
