Top 5 Intercontinental Title matches in WrestleMania history

No man in the WWE presently deserves to hold the Intercontinental Title more than The Miz. Ever since his victory over Zack Ryder on the Raw after WrestleMania 32, barring a few on and off reigns by Ambrose and Ziggler, the Intercontinental Title has been in possession of The A-Lister.

His impeccable in-ring work, coupled with his incomparable mic skills, has made the Intercontinental Title relevant again. However, come April 8th, he faces the uphill task of defending it against two of the best in the business - Seth Rollins and Finn Balor - at 'The Grandest Stage of Them All'.

These three Superstars have a phenomenal in-ring chemistry with each other, as evident from their only other Triple Threat match on Raw last year. If given ample amount of time, these three veterans are capable of producing a clinical masterpiece in the squared circle.

WrestleMania has been home to some of the best Intercontinental Title matches in the history of WWE, some of which have even managed to surpass the World Title match from the same event.

With Miz, Rollins, and Balor looking to join that coveted list, we take a look at the 5 best Intercontinental Title matches in the 33-year history of WrestleMania.

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#5 Kevin Owens(c) vs Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz vs Sami Zayn vs Sin Cara vs Stardust vs Zack Ryder (Ladder Match at WrestleMania 32)

A stunning start to an overall disappointing show

Background:

During the spring of 2016, WWE was probably facing its worst injury hazard in years, with top stars, like John Cena, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins, all on the shelf due to long rehabilitation periods.

Having already promoted talents like Shane McMahon and Dean Ambrose to high billing matches, WWE had to rely on various lower mid-card Superstars like Sin Cara and Zack Ryder to fill the card.

The stage was set for another Intercontinental Title Ladder match to open the 'Grand Spectacle', with 7 bonafide mid-card Superstars looking to set the stage on fire with their work.

Match:

The Owens-Zayn rivalry was the center of focus, with the two coming to blows in the early goings of the match, including Owens back dropping Zayne onto a ladder. Zayn gained control by hitting a splash on a group of Superstars before knocking Owens out with a DDT.

Zayn tried pushing Sin Cara off a ladder, but he bounced off the top rope to hit a senton on the Miz and Ziggler. Ziggler went on a superkick spree, before he was knocked down by Owens.

With Zayn on a ladder, Owens hit him with a frog splash. Ryder killed Miz with an elbow drop from a 20-feet ladder but was, in turn, knocked down by a facebuster by Ziggler. Owens dropped Cara from the top of a ladder onto Stardust, who was placed on a ladder.

Zayn knocked Owens out with an exploder suplex onto a ladder. Zayn tried to unhook the title, but The Miz knocked him from the ladder. In an unexpected moment, Ryder sneaked to throw The Miz off the ladder before unhooking the title to win his first and only Intercontinental Title.

#4 Bad News Barrett(c) vs Daniel Bryan vs Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler vs Stardust vs Luke Harper vs R-Truth (Ladder Match at WrestleMania 31)

One of the best multi-man match of all time

Background:

In early 2015, Bad News Barrett was having a successful run as the Intercontinental Champion, but his title was stolen away by Dean Ambrose, following a disqualification loss at Fastlane.

Over the next few weeks, several other Superstars gained illegal possession of the title, which led to Stephanie booking a 6-man ladder match for the Championship at WrestleMania 31. After losing the #1 contender match at Fastlane, Daniel Bryan also announced his entry in this match, turning this into a 7-man match.

Match:

With the match opening WrestleMania 31, the crowd was pumped for the favorites Ambrose and Bryan from the start of the match. The early goings had various Superstars jumping outside the ring on a group of wrestlers, which ended with Ambrose leaping from the top of the ladder on the other participants.

Barrett took control of the match inside the ring but, he was knocked down by Bryan with a dropkick. Bryan tried to take advantage but he was hit with a ladder by Harper. Harper gained control in the ring by knocking everyone down with a ladder, but R-Truth knocked him out with a Scissors kick on the ladder.

With Stardust on the top of the ladder, Barrett suplexed him down to a huge cheer from the crowd. The most memorable moment of the match came when, Harper powerbombed Ambrose onto a ladder outside the ring, taking him out of the match.

Ziggler hit Harper with a 'zig-zag' from the top rope. Barrett went on a Bull-Hammer spree, but Bryan stopped him with a 'running knee'. Bryan climbed the ladder where he was met with Ziggler. A stunning sequence followed, with both hitting each other with headbutts on the top of the ladder until Bryan knocked Ziggler down and unhooked the title to win the title.

#3 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper(c) vs Bret 'HitMan' Hart (WrestleMania VIII)

The match that made Bret Hart a Superstar

Background:-

Despite being a top tier Superstar in the WWF for almost a decade, Roddy Piper had not won a single's title in the company. His victory over The Mountie at Royal Rumble 1992 finally brought an end to that drought, but he was straight away challenged by the former Champion Bret Hart.

Piper and Hart were two of the biggest babyfaces in the world in the year 1992 and, the stage was set perfectly for the two to settle their differences in the ring at 'The Grandest Stage of Them All'. It wasn't about ego or jealousy, it was just about respect.

Match:

With both being great in-ring technicians, the match started off with takedowns and chops. Piper, being the master manipulator, played the heel role perfectly well and constantly provoked and belittled Hart. In a vintage heel move, Piper knocked Hart with a punch to gain the control of the match.

Piper stayed in control for a while with punches and knee strikes to Hart's face, busting Hart open, until 'Hitman' fought back with a flying forearm to knock 'Hot Rod' out of the ring.

A double clothesline knocked down both the Superstars. Knocking Piper down from the top rope, Hart retaliated by hitting some of his signature moves. With the referee down on the mat, Piper brought the ring bell to the ring to a lot of cheers but decided to not use it.

He locked Hart in the sleeper hold, but Hart catapulted off the turnbuckle to reverse the sleeper into a pinfall to win a classic contest. With Piper himself putting the belt on Hart, this match was the official passing of the torch between the two Superstars.

#2 Razor Ramon(c) vs Shawn Michaels(c) (Ladder Match at WrestleMania X)

The first WWE match to receive a 5-star rating

Background:

Shawn Michaels was in the midst of a memorable run as a cocky Intercontinental Champion in 1993, when he was suspended by WWF due to allegations of steroid use. In the storyline, President Jack Tunney had stripped Michaels off the title due to his inability to defend it.

With Michaels suspended, Razor Ramon won a Battle Royal and a singles match against Rick Martel to become the new Intercontinental Champion. However, after he returned, Michaels refused to accept the title change and claimed that he was the true Champion.

With two Superstars laying their claim on one title, the stage was set for a classic ladder match to determine the Undisputed Intercontinental Champion at WrestleMania X.

Match:

Both men tried to gain control early on. Diesel, who was in Michaels' corner, knocked Ramon down but was immediately thrown out of the arena. The two tried to bring the ladder, with Michaels finally succeeding after kicking the ladder into Ramon.

He rammed Ramon with the ladder before climbing it. He then intervened and removed Michaels' gear to unveil his bottom in an embarrassing moment, but Michaels' retaliated with an elbow drop and a splash from the ladder.

Razor knocked Michaels' off the ladder and then, hit him with a running elbow. A sequence of inactivity was followed by Ramon hurling Michaels into the ladder twice. With Michaels' thrown out of the ring, Ramon tried climbing the ladder but Michaels retaliated with a flying punch.

Both tried to climb the ladder, but Ramon suplexed Michaels' and then fell off the ladder. Michaels hit Ramon with a piledriver and a ladder. He tried climbing the ladder, but Razor knocked him down on the ropes. With Shawn strangled in the ropes, Razor climbed the ladder to unhook the title and become the Undisputed Intercontinental Champion.

#1 'Macho Man' Randy Savage (c) vs Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat (WrestleMania III)

A match that ushered a new era of technical wrestling

Background:

In 1986, Randy Savage was arguably the biggest heel in the wrestling industry. His reign as the Intercontinental Champion catapulted him into superstardom. Ricky Steamboat, on the other hand, was the perennial babyface whose popularity was second only to Hulk Hogan.

During the fall of 1986, Savage attacked Steamboat after one of their matches, injuring his larynx by ramming it into the guardrail and then dropping the ring bell onto his throat from the top rope. Once Steamboat recovered, he was hell-bent on taking revenge from Savage, which led to a grudge match between the two for the title at WrestleMania III.

Match:

With the crowd firmly behind him, Steamboat started the match with arm drags and a high neck choke on Savage. Savage retaliated but missed a corner attack, injuring his left elbow. Steamboat targeted his elbow, but Savage fought back with an elbow shot and threw Steamboat outside the ring.

A shot from Steamboat ended with Savage getting entangled in the ropes. A sequence of reversals, shoulder blocks and close pinfalls followed, which ended with Savage knocking Steamboat down with a high knee to the back of the neck and then throwing him over the top rope.

Savage controlled the next part of the match, hitting Steamboat with ax-handles and shoulder blocks before 'The Dragon' backdropped him outside the ring. Steamboat catapulted Savage into the ring post, but he fought back by sending him into the ring post. With the referee down, 'Macho Man' hit an elbow drop.

He tried again, this time with the ring bell, but George 'The Animal' Steele pushed him down. As Savage recovered, Steamboat rolled him up with a small package to win the match and the title. On the night which is famous for the body drop heard around the world, Savage and Steamboat produced an in-ring classic that ushered a new era of technical wrestling.