6 Best Intercontinental Champions in WWE history

WWE has had its fair share of titles throughout its history. The WWE Championship has always been the standard-bearer and traditionally the most prestigious of all titles.

The Universal Championship has taken the place of the World Heavyweight Championship as another top prize for superstars to strive for. However, the Intercontinental Championship has built its legacy.

The IC Title was originally the workhorse championship that mid-card stars on the rise in WWE would win to see how well they would draw in a prominent position before graduating to the main event scene.

Over the years, it has become less significant but still holds a lot of meaning to the superstars that win the gold.

With such a rich history and a litany of Hall of Famers having held the title, trying to list the best of the best can be a difficult endeavor. In this article, let's take a look at the six best Intercontinental Champions in WWE history.

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#6 WWE Hall Of Famer Honky Tonk Man

The WWE Intercontinental Championship was primarily the workhorse title for a long time in the beginning. However, some individuals broke from the mold. The Honky Tonk Man defeated Ricky Steamboat to win the IC Title by reversing an inside cradle using the ropes for extra leverage and started a reign that was much different from those before him.

The Honky Tonk Man was a cowardly heel that used his intelligence to have unique ways of retaining his WWE Intercontinental Championship. Honky would crawl away with his gold by deliberately losing matches via disqualification or counting out, but he retained the title with those results instead of pinfall or submission.

The Honky Tonk Man had a memorable feud with Macho Man Randy Savage over his claims of being "the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time." The rivalry helped Savage turn babyface after a lengthy run as one of WWE's top heels. It also laid the groundwork for the alliance between Macho Man and Hulk Hogan as The Mega Powers.

Honky Tonk Man held the WWE Intercontinental Championship for 454 days, which still stands as the longest reign in the title's history. He lost to The Ultimate Warrior in just 31 seconds at SummerSlam 1988 in a memorable moment that helped start the Warrior's elevation up the card.

Overall, The Honky Tonk Man set a standard for other heel champions to follow through with his legendary reign.

#5 Current WWE RAW Superstar The Miz

The Miz has already put together a career worthy of induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. For a superstar who was constantly told he wouldn't make it to the main event of WrestleMania, The A-Lister has made the most of every single opportunity put in front of him, including elevating the Intercontinental Championship.

The Miz defeated Christian at RAW 1000 to win his first WWE Intercontinental Championship. His first reign ended just three months later, but he regained the gold on the WrestleMania 29 pre-show from Wade Barrett before dropping it back to him the following night. The Miz won his third IC Title in a Battle Royal at Battleground 2014 before losing it the following month to Dolph Ziggler.

His fourth reign was another short-lived one, which was a pattern for his initial runs. However, things changed with his fifth run with the title, which kicked off on the RAW after WrestleMania 32 when The Miz defeated Zack Ryder with the help of his wife, Maryse.

The Miz and Maryse became the power couple of WWE and allowed the A-Lister to make a memorable run.

After the brand split, The Miz gave a star-making performance on Talking Smack as Intercontinental Champion when he cut down then-SmackDown General Manager, Daniel Bryan. His incredible feud with Dolph Ziggler followed with the two men trading the gold over several months.

Whether on RAW or SmackDown, The Miz elevated the Intercontinental Championship to par with the top prizes on either WWE's leading roster brand. The Miz put on good-to-great matches with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins during this time.

He sits at second all-time with eight reigns as the Intercontinental Champion and may have broken the record when he retires.

#4 WWE Hall Of Famer "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig

Mr. Perfect is one of the iconic characters of the Golden Age of WWE. Curt Hennig is an exceptional worker who used his technical ability to become a world-renowned performer. He started his run with WWE on a lengthy undefeated streak before losing to The Ultimate Warrior at Madison Square Garden.

Following The Ultimate Warrior relinquishing the WWE Intercontinental Championship after WrestleMania VI, Mr. Perfect defeated Tito Santana in a tournament to determine the new champion.

To complete his act and take it to the next level, Perfect aligned with Bobby Heenan as his "perfect" manager.

Mr. Perfect dropped the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Texas Tornado at SummerSlam 1990, the replacement for Brutus Beefcake. However, he regained the gold in December of that same year. Hennig retained his title against the likes of Texas Tornado and Big Boss Man.

Mr. Perfect's second reign as Intercontinental Champion was marred by a back injury, which played a huge part in his showdown with Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Their clash at SummerSlam 1991 is still regarded as one of the best matches in the event's history.

Mr. Perfect lost to Bret and helped solidify Hart as a star on the rise in WWE. Many fans still remember the WWE Hall Of Famer for his run with the IC Title.

#3 Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is a first ballot Hall of Famer for an amazing career that spanned NJPW, ECW and WCW before coming to WWE. His debut is considered among the best arrivals of all-time in company history. Although he had a slow start in the first few months of his run, Jericho quickly found his footing and settled into a feud with then-Intercontinental Champion, Chyna.

Chris Jericho defeated Chyna to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon 1999. Jericho and Chyna were briefly co-champions after a controversial finish, but he won a Triple Threat match at Royal Rumble 2000 to become the sole champion.

Following losing the title to Kurt Angle, Jericho regained the gold by defeating Chris Benoit on the May 4th, 2000 SmackDown.

Jericho and Benoit were in a long rivalry over the WWE Intercontinental Championship, trading the title over the course of several months. Chris Jericho won his fourth title by beating Benoit in a classic Ladder Match at Royal Rumble 2001.

Chris Jericho has had several other phenomenal feuds over the Intercontinental Championship with Christian, Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio.

He also helped put over new stars like Kofi Kingston in losing the title. Jericho holds the record with nine reigns as WWE Intercontinental Champion.

He went almost a full decade being a mainstay of the title and has to be considered one of the great champions.

#2 WWE Hall Of Famer Macho Man Randy Savage

Macho Man Randy Savage came into WWE and made an immediate impact. Many wanted him as a client, but he chose Miss Elizabeth to be his manager and went on a run of significant victories before starting a feud with Intercontinental Champion, Tito Santana.

Savage and Santana put on a rivalry that spanned multiple cities and events WWE before Macho Man picked up the IC Title in February of 1986 on Prime Time Wrestling.

While holding the gold, Savage picked up three consecutive countout victories over WWE Champion Hulk Hogan, which was unprecedented for the time.

Macho Man became a headliner on events for the WWE when Hulk Hogan was working other events in different markets. This elevated the Intercontinental Championship and made it the main event-level title. He had high-profile feuds with Bruno Sammartino and George 'The Animal' Steele.

This eventually led to the defining feud between Macho Man's WWE Intercontinental Championship reign with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Savage broke the larynx of Steamboat with the ring bell, which took The Dragon out of action for weeks. This set the stage for a rematch between the two at WrestleMania III. Their bout is considered the first Mania classic.

After 19 two counts, Steamboat defeated Savage to win the Intercontinental Championship. The success that Savage gained with that lengthy title reign resulted in his WWE Championship win a year after his loss at Mania III. Macho Man's reign has set the standard for future champions to follow for years to come.

#1 WWE Hall Of Famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart

If Macho Man Randy Savage set the standard for WWE Intercontinental Champions, Bret "The Hitman" Hart pushed the bar up with his runs.

Bret is one of the all-time greats and widely considered the greatest technical wrestler to ever grace the squared circle. He made a name for himself in the Hart Foundation tag team with Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart before going into the singles competition.

Hart defeated Mr. Perfect in a classic at SummerSlam 1991 that felt like a passing of a torch from one great technician to another. Holding the IC Title, Bret Hart won the 1991 King of the Ring tournament, further elevating his place in the WWE.

He then went into a rivalry with the Mountie over the gold. The Mountie defeated Hart on the January 17th, 1992 house show ahead of the Royal Rumble.

Rowdy Roddy Piper beat The Mountie two days later at Royal Rumble 1992, which set the stage for a showdown between Piper and Hart. The two men faced off at WrestleMania VIII.

Piper and The Hitman put on a physically intense, bloody battle that stole the show on the Grandest Stage Of Them All. Bret defeated Roddy with an excellent reversal of Piper's sleeper.

The run proved to be just as good or even better than Bret's first reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion. Bret Hart put on the first ladder match in WWE history against Shawn Michaels in July 1992.

This was a ground-breaking encounter that would set the tone for what Michaels and Razor Ramon would achieve at WrestleMania two years later.

From there, Bret Hart started a rivalry against his brother-in-law The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. The two men locked horns at SummerSlam 1992 in London's Wembley Stadium. This marked the first time that the WWE Intercontinental Championship was on the line in the main event of a major pay-per-view for the promotion.

Bret Hart and The British Bulldog put on a phenomenal wrestling clinic that further elevated the title and both men. Bulldog defeated Hart in front of a capacity crowd in a memorable moment.

The bout proved that Bret could be a headliner and would lead to his WWE Championship win just two months later. That's why Bret "The Hitman" Hart is the best Intercontinental Champion in WWE history.