Longest 10s Reign So Far: Cody Rhodes (236 days)
Shortest 10s Reign So Far: Cody Rhodes (21 days)
Most Reigns: Chris Jericho (nine-time champion)
Longest Overall Title Reign: The Honky Tonk Man (454 days)
Longest Combined Title Reign: Pedro Morales (two reigns totaling 619 days)
Shortest Overall Title Reign: Dean Douglas (11 minutes)
The WWE Intercontinental Championship has a long and rich history. It has seen more than a dozen superstars elevated to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, including the likes of Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, the Rock, Steve Austin, Edge and Chris Jericho.
The title would also see 14 future inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame, including Pat Patterson, Don Muraco, Tito Santana, Ricky Steamboat and Mr. Perfect.
This title was once a great stepping stone to the top of the mountain, but it has lost its meaning over the years.
If memory serves me correct, the last time the WWE Intercontinental Championship elevated anyone to the World Heavyweight Championship was the 2003-2004 reign of Randy Orton. I suppose you could count Dolph Ziggler, who held the World Heavyweight Championship for the span of an episode of SmackDown seven months after winning this title, but since he was handed the title and didn’t have a real reign as champion, I personally don’t count it.
While former holders of the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship have also held this title after Orton, the fact remains that they were already in the main event. The intercontinental title took Orton from the midcard and shot him to the main event, a feat that has not been duplicated since.
There is hope, though. The title seems to be gaining some of its meaning back with Wade Barrett as champion. He has been competing in main-event-level matches, and it seems like WWE is building him up for a spot on top.
For the first time in years, the WWE Intercontinental Championship looks to be elevating a superstar to the main event, and it could be happening soon!
Thanks for reading!
Next up, Ring of Honor will get the spotlight in the series! Next week will see the history of the ROH World Tag Team Championship, and I may include the Television Championship in there as well since the title has a short history. I haven’t decided about that yet, though.
Previous Installments
WWE Divas│TNA Knockouts│TNA Knockouts Tag│WWE Tag│TNA Tag│Shimmer│WWE US 1│WWE US 2│TNA TV│TNA X-Division│ WWE IC 1│WWE IC 2│WWE IC 3
Abandoned Series
WWE Women’s│WWE European│ECW Television│WCW Hardcore│WCW US Tag Team│WWF Martial Arts│WWF International│WCW Women’s│ECW World│WWE Cruiserweight│WWF Light Weight│ECW Tag Team│FTW World│WCW 6-Man Tag Team│Million Dollar│WWF Junior│WWF Women’s Tag Team│WCW International│ WCW TV pt.1│WCW TV pt. 2│WWE Hardcore │WCW Tag Team pt. 1│WCW Tag Team pt. 2│World Tag Team pt. 1│World Tag Team pt. 2│ World Tag Team pt. 3│World Tag Team pt. 4│WWWF USA
Sources
http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/intercontinental
http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WWE_Intercontinental_Champions
Information on wrestler title histories provided by Wikipedia
Title "Wrestling Gold" thought up by Jeff D. Gorman
Don’t forget to hit me up on Twitter, where I always follow back fellow wrestling fans and usually tweet during the shows!
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