The 5 Greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time

#2 The Rock

The Rock's first ever WWE title was the IC strap which he won just three months after his debut

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.