Top 10 WWE Intercontinental Championship Matches of All Time

The Intercontinental Championship used to mean something.  It was once a title that the WWF/WWE would put on a superstar that it wanted to push to the main event scene.  It was used as a stepping stone to the Heavyweight Championship.  Now it has become useless.

Superstars such as Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels, HHH, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin are just a few huge names in the industry to hold the title.  Now you have guys like Ezekiel Jackson holding the title and it meaning almost nothing.

Even recently when Dolph Ziggler, John Morrison and Kofi Kingston have held the title, it has had little to no meaning.  It was not used to elevate any of these superstars.  It was just a prop for them to have and bring to the ring.

I made this list for people to remember the great matches that the Intercontinental Championship has brought us.

Maybe one day it will return to relevance...

Special thanks to fellow Bleacher Report writer Michael Solano for helping with this list

No. 10: Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper: WrestleMania VIII

It was one of the few face vs. face matches that the WWF had back in the day.

Roddy Piper had beaten The Mountie for the Intercontinental Championship and Bret Hart wanted his title back that he had lost to the Mountie just three months earlier.

Bret Hart was busted wide open in this match at a time when blood was outlawed in the WWF.

At one point in the match Piper had the opportunity to smash Hart with the ringside bell.  Bobby Heenan was yelling for Piper to use the bell on Hart, but Piper had a change of heart and put the bell down.

Bret won the match when Piper had him in a sleeper hold and he used his feet to push off the turnbuckle and pin him.

No. 9: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon: SummerSlam 1995

The second ladder match between the two and it did not disappoint.

These two put their bodies on the line once again and put on a classic match at an otherwise dreadful show.

HBK won the match after Razor attempted a Razor's Edge and got flipped over the ropes onto the floor.  Shawn then climbed the ladder and attempted to snatch the belt down but fell.  He then climbed the ladder one more time and pulled the belt down.

HBK and Razor then showed each other respect and hugged in the middle of the ring.

No. 8: Randy Orton vs. Edge: Vengeance 2004

Up until this match Randy Orton had held the Intercontinental Championship title for almost seven months.  His reign brought credibility back to the title for not jumping back and forth way too frequently.

The crowd was split throughout this match as Orton's character was really catching on at this point.

The end of the match was fantastic as there were many near finishes with Edge ultimately winning after throwing Randy Orton into the exposed turnbuckle and hitting him with the spear.

In reality Orton should have kept the title in this match as he was not ready at this point to be World Champion, which he ended up doing the next month after defeating Chris Benoit at SummerSlam.

No. 7: Randy Orton vs. Cactus Jack: Backlash 2004

This is the match that propelled Randy Orton's career.

These two beat the bloody hell out of each other throughout the entire match.  While it is more of a Hardcore match then an IC title match, it still does not take away from the fact that it is one of the most entertaining and brutal matches in history.

At one point in the match Randy Orton pours thumbtacks on the floor and attempts to RKO Cactus onto them.  Cactus pushes him away and Orton falls on the thumbtacks and is writhing in pain.

Orton won the match by performing an RKO to Cactus that saw his head land on a barbed wire bat.

Simply amazing.

No. 6: Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith "The British Bulldog": SummerSlam 1992

This match took place from The British Bulldog's home country of England in the famous Wembley Stadium

Bret told Vince McMahon before the event that if they went on last that they would steal the show.  Vince agreed, and he for sure did not regret it.

A lot of people say that Bret carried Davey Boy throughout this match, but I do not believe that to be the case.  Davey Boy was a talented individual and he showed us what he could do if the effort was put in.

The match ended when Bret ran off the ropes and attempted a sunset flip on Davey Boy.  The Bulldog countered and hooked the legs for the win.  The crowd exploded.

This was one of the biggest pops I have ever heard in wrestling, if not the biggest.

No. 5: Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect: SummerSlam 1991

This match was a technical classic.

Mr. Perfect actually wrestled this match with a bad back, which just goes to show you how dedicated and skilled a performer he really was.

The match was back and forth throughout the beginning and everyone thought that it was over when Perfect performed the Perfect Plex on Bret. One...two...WOW Bret kicked out of a move of which no one thought could be kicked out.

The match ended with Perfect trying to get Bret in a leg lock, only for Bret to reverse it into a sharpshooter and Perfect submitting almost immediately.

One of the best SummerSlam matches of all time.

No. 4: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon: WrestleMania X

The first ever ladder match the WWF had on a televised event.

This match is an innovative and revolutionary match that is still talked about to this day whenever anyone mentions the greatest matches in the history of WrestleMania.

Shawn Michaels had been suspended by the WWF and Razor Ramon had won the title while he was gone.  Shawn came back and claimed he was still the real Intercontinental Champion as he had never lost it in the first place.

The stage was set.  A ladder match with both belts suspended above the ring was set for the biggest stage of them all, WrestleMania.

At the time most people though the ladder was just going to be used to climb and grab the title belts.  Boy were they wrong.  Fans were surprised at one point in the match when Shawn used the ladder as a weapon on the Bad Guy.  Now the fun was starting.

During one point in the match Michaels hit an elbow off the ladder onto Razor.  He then body slammed him on the canvas onto his bad back and went up for one of the most famous visuals in wrestling history.  Michaels flew off the ladder and performed a splash into Razor!

The match ended when Shawn set up the ladder and proceeded to climb it, he was just inches away from victory.  Razor pushed the ladder over and Shawn fell crotch first onto the top turnbuckle.  His foot then got caught in the ropes and that gave Razor the opportunity to climb the ladder and win the match.

No. 3: The Rock vs. HHH: SummerSlam 1998

This match essentially launched the careers of two of the biggest superstars the WWE has ever seen.

The Rock was starting to get a lot of fans at this point even though he was supposed to be a heel.  His promos were too hilarious to not be cheered for at this point.

One of the big stories of the match was HHH's knee.  On Sunday Night Heat The Rock hit it with the IC title a bunch of times to further injure it and make it even harder for HHH to compete in the match.

The match started with a bunch of great ring psychology and the ladder was brought into the fold almost immediately. 

At one point The Rock was all alone with the ladder set up in the middle of the ring. Rock took his time as Trips then climbed to the top of the turnbuckle from the outside and then dove off and hit Rock off. However, the ladder fell on top of Triple H.

The Rock took advantage of HHH's knee troubles and picked up one leg and kicked him in the groin. Rock drove an elbow into HHH's quad, attempting to put more pain in the knee. A "Let's Go Rocky" chant broke out followed by "Rocky Sucks" but it's not acknowledged by the commentators and Rock looks to the fans at Madison Square Garden and is sort of surprised by their reactions.

The tension was growing in the building when both of them were going at it up there near the IC Title.  Rock pushed Trips over and he fell face first into the horizontal ladder on top of the turnbuckle and JR screamed "CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?" as HHH pushed The Rock off on his way down.  I really, really do miss JR.  HHH then beat the hell out of the ladder that was on top of The Rock with a steel chair as MSG went nuts.

The match neared its end when The Rock hit a People's Elbow to HHH while Trips was on top of the ladder.  This got a huge pop from the MSG crowd.  HHH then got Rock Bottomed and Rock started to climb the ladder slowly while HHH was on the canvas in pain.  Out of no where HHH got up and grabbed the Rock from the ladder.

Both guys were down and Mark Henry threw powder into HHH's eyes.  Both guys then were climbing the ladder and slapping at each other.  HHH fell off the ladder, but then Chyna came in and did a low blow to The Rock.

HHH then climbed the ladder and the crowd at MSG exploded for one of the best IC title matches of all time.

No. 2: Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho: Royal Rumble 2001

The best match in the history of the Royal Rumble, period.

Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit wasted absolutely no time getting things going as both men gave each other shots in the middle of the ring.

At one point Jericho leaped up to the top turnbuckle and leaped off trying to knock Benoit off the apron but he caught nobody as Benoit resourcefully ducked right in time and Jericho landed hard on the floor after jumping from the top turnbuckle.

A crazy spot during the match was when Benoit did a suicide dive and Jericho caught him with a chair shot as he flew between the ropes.

The pace at which this match was going was incredible.  That is one of the things that make it so great.  They kept an amazing pace up for the entire match and never stopped going.

Benoit placed the ladder in the corner and sat it up there and went to ram Jericho into the ladder, but Jericho dropped to his feet and pushed Benoit into it and hit a dropkick.  Jericho now placed the ladder in the corner and gave Benoit a shot to the head and then Jericho placed one leg of Benoit over the rung of the middle ladder. Jericho then fell backwards and you can see the pain on Benoit's face.

After more hard fighting Benoit climbed the ladder slowly and Jericho just got back in the ring but Benoit kicked him off. Chris Jericho reached Benoit and pulled back with a ton of force. A version of the Walls of Jericho to Benoit on top of the ladder.  How can anyone not love this match?

The match just kept going and going and everyone could not figure out how both men could handle any more punishment.  Then it was time to decide a winner.

Benoit climbed the ladder but Jericho caught him and took shots to his spine with a chair. Benoit kicked Jericho off the ladder and he bounced off the side ropes and he knocked Benoit off the ladder to the outside of the ring.

Jericho took advantage of this opportunity and climbed the ladder and grabbed the title to become the new Intercontinental Champion.

No. 1: "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat: WrestleMania 3

The greatest Intercontinental Championship match of all time, and in my opinion, the greatest WrestleMania match of all time

The lead up to this match is something that the current WWE creative writers should look at and take notes from.  Macho Man reportedly mapped this match out move by move beforehand and would have it no other way.

Randy Savage had injured Ricky Steamboat's throat when he double ax handled his throat from the top rope onto the steel railing.  The Dragon got carted off and looked to be in considerable pain. 

Randy Savage went for a sneak attack but Steamboat turned around in time and then Randy Savage put his arm in the air signalling for a test of strength.  This was the start of one of the best matches ever.

There was perfect storytelling going on throughout this match.

At one point Ricky Steamboat hung onto the bottom rope on the apron as Savage ruthlessly dropped knee shots into the high back of Ricky Steamboat. Savage was intense and dedicated to doing whatever he had to on the biggest stage of them all.

A kneedrop and Savage wasted no time hooking him after these recent offensive attack! The Macho Man only got a two count and picked Steamboat by the hair, went to hit him in the top of the buckle but the Champ rammed Savage head first.

Ricky Steamboat got Detroit behind him yet again and he throw a hard forearm shot to Savage, everything on the line and Savage got tied up in the ropes. This was Ricky Steamboat's chance. Savage tied up and then with Ricky Steamboat charging towards him The Macho Man was able to lift up his right leg and kick Steamboat on the mid-section buying him time to get out of the ropes. Savage was motivated to staying in the upperhand but The Dragon pulled out the armdrag

The match continued to be fast paced and the storytelling and ring psychology never let up at any point in the match.

One of the defining moments of the match was when Macho Man performed his patented elbow drop from the top rope in front of the huge Silverdome crowd as cameras went off.  The referee was out and there was no count done.

Savage was exhausted and slapped some life into him. Macho then resorted to grabbing the ringbell, the same bell that he put the Dragon out of commission with. The Animal snatched the bell but Savage hilariously kicks him in the head.

Savage grabbed the bell and was about to leap off the top but The Animal pushed him off the top and the bell rammed Savage in the head this time! Savage slowly got to his feet but The Macho Man was taken over by a small package by The Dragon.

An end to one of the best matches in the history of wrestling!