Greatest Intercontinental Champions Of All Time: For the longest time, the Intercontinental Championship has been considered a step into the main event in the WWE. The belt was the first price for a lot of stars who would go on to become world champions. A ‘stepping-stone’ belt for many, winning it has not only been a great honour on its own but a sign that the company sees massive potential in you.
But that is not the reason that the IC title is a beloved championship in the eyes of the WWE fans. This belt has not been called the ‘workhorse’ title for nothing. While several future world champions have won it, it is also won by a lot of technical maestros. This belt, throughout its history, has provided the fans with absolute classics. If this title is on the line on a show, chances are it will be the best match on the card.
A lot of legends won this belt before becoming all-time greats. The likes of The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Jeff Hardy might not make this list, but they have had memorable reigns with this belt before becoming some of the most popular wrestlers on the planet.
With all that being said, here are the top five greatest IC Champions of all time.
Top Five Greatest Intercontinental Champions Of All Time
Honourable Mentions
Chris Jericho (most title reigns ever), The Miz, Edge, Jeff Hardy, Razor Ramon, Tito Santana, and The Honky Tonk Man
5) “Mr Perfect” Curt Hennig
In the era of Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior, Mr Perfect emerged as a ‘wrestler’s wrestler’. Real name Curt Henning, he was an absolute beast in the ring and one of the most technically gifted wrestlers of his era. He was also great on the mic and was infinitely cool.
Mr Perfect first won the Intercontinental Championship in April 1990, keeping the belt for 125 days and having a memorable title defence against Tito Santan before losing the title to “The Texas Tornado” Kerry Von Erich, at SummerSlam that year. His next reign was the more memorable one.
Winning the title again later that year, and had absolute classics against the likes of Shawn Michaels, Big Boss Man, Roddy Piper, and the British Bulldog. Holding the tile for 404 days across two reigns, his second and final reigns with the belt ended at SummerSlam 1991, where he dropped the belt to Bret Hart in an all-time classic despite an injured back.
4) Bret Hart
The Excellence of Execution was all about being the best in-ring wrestler of all time. Not only was he technically superior to all his peers, but his story-telling with moves and selling was second to none. Before becoming the face of the then-WWF’s New Generation Era, Bret Hart first proved he could be a singles star by winning the Intercontinental Championship.
Defeating Mr Perfect in an all-time classic to start his first reign, he became the first man to win the King of the Ring while being the IC champ, doing so in 1991. After a few great matches, he unexpectedly lost the title to Jacques Rougeau at a house show, who was a transitional champion and lost to Roddy Piper just days later.
Bret’s second title reign started with arguably the greatest IC title match in WrestleMania history, as Bret Hart defeated Roddy Piper at ‘Mania 8 in 1992. This reign had some absolute classics in it, like defeating Shawn Michaels. But it was how this reign showcased and prepared him for becoming a future WWF Champion.
The way his second reign was bookended was special. While he won the title at WrestleMania, he lost it at SummerSlam 1992 in arguably the greatest WWE match of all time. In a packed Wembley Stadium in London, Bret lost the title to the British Bulldog in an all-time classic. He held the belt for 288 days across two reigns.
3) “Macho Man” Randy Savage
The Macho Man, alongside Hulk Hogan, is the most iconic superstar of the Golden Generation Era of the WWE. While Hulk ruled the roost as the WWR Champion, Randy Savage was the king of the midcard, competing for the IC title and putting on the best matches of the night.
His only Intercontinental Championship reign is considered by many among the greatest of all time. He won the title from Tito Santana in early 1986. His first major feud with the title was a memorable one against George “The Animal” Steele. But it was his feud against Ricky Steamboat that not only propelled him but the title itself to new heights.
After a heated feud, the two competed at WrestleMania 3 for the IC title in 1987. This is considered by many, especially the old school fans, to be the greatest WrestleMania match of all time. Savage and Steamboat put on a clinic, at the end of which Ricky ended Randy’s only reign with the Intercontinental Championship at 413 days.
2) Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels is in the conversation of being the greatest WWE wrestler of all time. With an unreal combination of charisma and in-ring prowess, the Heartbreak Kid has essentially had two different spells as a wrestler in WWE, both enough on their own to be a Hall of Fame career.
In his first stint in the 1990s, Shawn turned from a popular tag team wrestler to becoming a yet beloved singles star. His first of three reigns with the Intercontinental Championship started in October 1992, when he defeated the British Bulldog. In this 200-day+ reign, he had classics with the likes of his former tag partner Marty Jennetty and Razor Ramon. He even lost the title to Jennetty for 20 days before winning it back.
In September 1993, he vacated the title after being suspended for steroid use. But then came his golden hour with the IC title. When he returned to TV, Shawn claimed to still be the IC champion, which irked the interim champion Razor Ramon. The two then had one of the best and most influential WWE matches of all time, the IC title ladder match at WrestleMania 10, which Ramon won.
Shawn Michaels had a third title reign with the Intercontinental Championship in 1995. This was a small one and saw him defeat Jeff Jarrett and lose the title after relinquishing it after being attacked outside a nightclub.
1) Gunther
Earlier in this piece, we discussed that the Intercontinental Championship is a stepping stone towards the main event and is a workhorse title. No one exemplified both of these traits more than when Gunther held the title for over 20 months recently.
He first won the title in June 2022, defeating Richochet on SmackDown; this was the start of the greatest IC title reign of all time. It only helped that only days into his reign, the WWE top brass changed and Triple H took charge as the Chief Content Officer (COO). His defence against Sheamus at Clash at the Castle 2022 is a modern-day classic and showcased how hard-hitting yet elegant Gunther is in the ring.
His triple threat against Sheamus and Dre McIntyre at Wrestlemania 39 was considered the best match at an all-time great show. Be it his defences against Matt Riddle at Money in the Bank 2023 or his multiple matches against Chad Gable on RAW, he was showcasing that he was the next big thing.
In the 2023 Royal Rumble match, he became the wrestler with the longest stay at a Rumble match. He was in the match for over 71 minutes and finished second behind winner Cody Rhodes. Later that year, he also surpassed the Honky Tonk Man’s 454-day title reign to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time.
His reign ended at 666 days at the hands of Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 40 in another classic match. But he immediately went after a world title. He won the 2024 King of the Ring and then defeated Damien Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2024, thus transitioning into the main event.
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