5 Wrestlers who will forever be associated with the Intercontinental Championship

As one of the oldest professional wrestling titles in the history, the Intercontinental Title is treated with a lot of respect by both wrestlers and their fans. Often regarded as the stepping stone to the World Title, the IC Title has been held by some of the biggest names that are or have been part of the industry in the past.

Throughout its 40 year history, the title has seen more ups and downs than a roller coaster ride. While the magnificent work by champions like Randy Savage and Bret Hart earned it the nickname of the Workhorse's Title, others like Santino Marella only devalued the prestige of the title.

Having been held by 80 different superstars, the title has been associated with a lot of wrestlers in the past and has catapulted several superstars to the main event scene, such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Chris Jericho. Here are 5 such wrestlers who will be associated with WWE Intercontinental Title.

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#5 Pat Patterson

The inaugural WWE Intercontinental Champion.

If you are the first ever holder of a professional wrestling title, then there is a good chance that you might get associated with it throughout your lifetime. Just go ask Finn Balor. Well, maybe not every time.

Anyway, as the first ever holder of the Intercontinental Champion, WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson has ensured that his name will be taken every time the title is defended on a major show. As the biggest heel of his time, Patterson helped solidify the Intercontinental Title during its early days with his solitary reign of 233 days.

Even after his retirement, WWE has made sure to remember Patterson's contribution towards the title by occasionally bringing him to award the title to the winner when the title is vacated following an injury, hence keeping him aligned with his biggest prize.

#4 The Honky Tonk Man

HTM hold the record for the longest Intercontinental Title reign.

Just like Pat Patterson, you can not talk about the history of the Intercontinental Title without taking the name of WWE's Original Rock Star in The Honky Tonk Man. Despite the weird character that he played in the WWE, HTM was a more than a handy in-ring competitor and was the perfect holder of the title once Randy Savage moved to the main event scene.

His only reign of 454-days, which started with his victory over Ricky Steamboat in 1987, stands as the longest reign in the history of the title, 31 days more than Pedro Morales' only reign. His matches with the likes of Steamboat, Bruno Sammartino, George Steele, Randy Savage and Brutus Beefcake helped retain the prestige of the title.

The way he lost the title also added to his association with the title. After holding the title for the record reign, The Honky Tonk Man lost the title to Ultimate Warrior at Summerslam 1988 in just 31 seconds, bringing a sorry end to a memorable reign.

#3 Jeff Jarrett

Jarrett was the first ever 6-Time Intercontinental Champion.

Before Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz started playing those cocky, Hollywood characters in their WWE careers, Jeff Jarrett made a name for himself in the WWE by specializing that character. Even though neither of his two runs with the company gave him a World Title, he was a permanent fixture of the Intercontinental Title scene throughout his runs.

While neither of his reigns were of much significant, they did produce some tremendous rivalries with the likes of Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels and D'Lo Brown. Winning his first title in 1995, Double J had two more reigns in the same year before he departed from the company.

Even after his return in 1998, Jarrett stayed in the Intercontinental Title scene, winning the championship three more times and even becoming the second Eurocontinental Champion. By the time Jarrett left the company in 1999, he was the most prolific Intercontinental Champion with six reigns.

#2 The Miz

The man who brought the long-lost prestige back to the Intercontinental Title.

No superstar has done more for the prestige of the Intercontinental Title in recent times than The Miz. Despite being a former WWE Champion, a United States Champion and a multiple times tag team champion, it is for his reigns as the Intercontinental Champion that the A-Lister is, and forever will be, remembered by wrestling fans.

The Miz entered the Intercontinental Title with his victory over the then Intercontinental Champion Christian on the historic Raw 1000 and stayed in that division till WrestleMania 34 this year. His feuds with the likes of Wade Barrett and Dolph Ziggler were the highlights of his reigns, with the 2016 rivalry with Ziggler bringing some real legitimacy to the title for the first time in years.

With eight reigns with the prestigious title, The Miz is just one short of Chris Jericho's record of nine. Even though he is currently on Smackdown and the Intercontinental Title is on Raw, it won't be long before The Miz acclaims his place as the most prolific Intercontinental Champion of all time.

#1 Razor Ramon

The Bad Guy made the Title feel special during the 1990s

In late 1992, with Bret Hart moving to the World Title picture, WWE needed someone solid to carry on the prestige of the Workhorse's Title. In Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon, the company found two sensational performers who carried the title proudly over their shoulder for the next few years. Even when Shawn Michaels made the jump to the World Title scene, Ramon continued to make the Intercontinental Title feel special.

Since he is one of those well-known superstars who never held the World Title in WWE, Razor spent most of his WWE bringing legitimacy to the Intercontinental Title. With a then-record of four reigns of 438 cumulative days as Champion over a period of three years, Ramon became the de-facto face of WWE mid-card division.

Despite portraying an anti-hero character, people cheered for him due to his charisma and talent. His rivalries with the likes of Jeff Jarrett, Diesel and Shawn Michaels were treated as important as the WWF Title rivalries. And who can forget that iconic image of Razor holding the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania X. Razor might not be the greatest champion, but he certainly is the one with whom the title is most closely associated with.