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The WWE Intercontinental Championship is the second oldest active title in WWE today. The WWE Championship, currently held by AJ Styles remains the oldest.
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The Intercontinental Title came into existence on September 1st, 1979 when Pat Patterson became the inaugural Champion by winning a fictitious tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The then-World Wide Wrestling Federation wanted another singles Championship to augment the World Title on its live events.
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An entertaining worker, the veteran, Patterson was the ideal choice to be the first Champion of a belt that would become known as the "workhorse" title, with more athletic contests than the Heavyweight Championship matches of the time.
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It was widely viewed as a stepping stone, almost an audition for the WWWF/WWF World Championship.
Many IC Champions would go on to win the big one. This countdown looks at the five greatest IC Champions of all time who made the belt a memorable and worthy title.
#5 Shawn Michaels
It's easy to forget now but back in the early 1990's, Shawn Michaels struggled to gain the acceptance of wrestling fans as a true singles star.
Despite his incredible athleticism and strong microphone skills, his showman persona diminished his presentation as a tough, credible wrestler.
The then-WWF installed legendary heat machine, Sherri Martel as his manager in the hopes that her heat would transfer to her young charge.
To further put Michaels over as a legitimate star, he was given the Intercontinental Title. Michaels's first title win came in October 1992 versus The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. The result was a shocker coming just two months after Smith's famous IC Title victory over Bret "Hitman" Hart at Summerslam 1992 at Wembley Stadium.
Michaels kept hold of the strap until May of 1993 when he dropped it to his former tag team partner, Marty Jannetty.
Michaels soon regained the title and then vacated it due to injury. Upon his return, he claimed to still be the rightful champion and scolded the IC title holder, Razor Ramon as a fake. The two clashed in the first ever (televised) Ladder Match at Wrestlemania X in what was then the greatest match in company history.
The allure of the IC title endured and Michaels's reputation was enhanced, despite being on the losing side. Michaels would win his third and final IC title in a stunning match with Jeff Jarrett in July 1995 and subsequently gained a measure of revenge by defeating Razor in a Ladder re-match at Summerslam 1995 to retain the belt.
Michaels vacated the title due to injury two months later after he was assaulted for real outside a bar by a group of intoxicated marines.
When Michaels was fit to return he won the 1996 Royal Rumble and World Title at Wrestlemania XII. The IC belt had made him a star.
#4 Macho Man Randy Savage
Macho Man Randy Savage reigned as Intercontinental Champion for an incredible 414 days, the second longest in history at that point.
He memorably defended the title against George "The Animal" Steele in a featured match at Wrestlemania 2 wherein Steele who had developed an innocent obsession with Savage's valet, Miss Elizabeth challenged unsuccessfully when Savage used the ropes for leverage and pinned Steele.
Savage defended the belt throughout 1986 before entering into one of the most famous programmes of his career with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. In the best match of the night at Wrestlemania III on March 29, 1987, Steamboat defeated Savage with a roll-up pin after 14 minutes of breathless action.
Steele would come back to haunt Savage as his distraction aided Steamboat in his victory. The match is widely regarded as one of the best of the 1980's and this encounter more than any other on the most famous card of all time made the title an extremely important accolade. That is Savage's legacy as Intercontinental Champion.
#3 Honky Tonk Man
The greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time is the way The Honky Tonk Man frequently referred to himself when he reigned as Champion and for every day after.
While that point is debatable, what is unquestionable fact is that Honky, two decades after his title loss remains the longest reigning IC title holder of all time.
Honky won the title from Ricky Steamboat on June 2, 1987, and held it until August 29,1988, when he dropped it in memorable and double-quick fashion to the Ultimate Warrior.
For 454 days, Honky was a heat magnet as he used every trick in the book to hold onto the title, becoming a major drawing card in the process. Honky's title matches main-evented countless live events as fans flocked to see their heroes dethrone the hated Champion.
Warrior would be the only man to be successful in this quest. Honky only reigned as Champion once but his legacy as Champion has endured for 20 years.
#2 The Rock
The People's Champion, The Rock is no doubt more famous for his 10 World title reigns but he was actually a more successful defending Champion with the Intercontinental Title.
The Rock's first ever WWE title was the IC strap which he won just three months after his debut when he upended Triple H on an episode of Raw, which at the time was a colossal upset. However, fans resented the babyface Rock being placed in such a prominent spot so soon and began to vociferously boo him. He would drop the title to Owen Hart two months later.
Rock's second IC reign began in auspicious fashion when he was simply awarded the belt by defending Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. Stone Cold wanted to focus all his energies on winning the Royal Rumble and WWF Championship instead.
However, Rock would defend the title successfully for over seven months and his second IC reign would propel him to super-stardom.
Rock defended the belt in memorable encounters with Ken Shamrock, Faarooq and Triple H, before dropping the strap to Triple H in a thrilling Ladder Match at Summerslam 1998.
The only reason Rock and the IC Championship parted ways was because WWE felt he was now ready to the main event.
The Rock would win the WWF Championship just three months later and would never look back. One of the best examples of the IC title fulfilling its role perfectly.
#1 Chris Jericho
No one has won more Intercontinental Championships than Chris Jericho.
The title is synonymous with him and likewise, he is synonymous with it.
The first of Jericho's title victories came way back in December 1999 when he ended the reign of the first and only female IC Champion in history, Chyna after he forced her to submit to the Walls of Jericho.
The most memorable IC title feud of Jericho's early Federation career came against Chris Benoit.
The pair traded the belt throughout the year 2000 in increasingly inventive and entertaining matches before a line was finally drawn in their feud when Y2J defeated Benoit in a Ladder Match at the 2001 Royal Rumble to win his fourth IC belt.
After a brief period as a headliner and World Champion, Jericho returned to the mid-card and won his fifth title in September 2002. His reign lasted a fortnight before he was defeated by Kane.
On October 28, 2003, Jericho won and lost the IC Championship from and to Rob Van Dam on a memorable episode of Raw.
Jericho's final IC Championship reign occurred in 2009, when he defeated Rey Mysterio in an incredible No Holds Barred Match at Extreme Rules. He dropped the title in an even more thrilling Mask vs Hair match at The Bash on June 28.
Although Jericho has not held the WWE Intercontinental Championship for nearly a decade, he is currently the New Japan Pro Wrestling Intercontinental Champion after defeating Tetsuya Naito.
