All 17 WWE Intercontinental Champions of the 2010’s So Far, Ranked

Credit: WWE.com

7. Drew McIntyre

Although Drew McIntyre did not technically win the Intercontinental Championship in the 2010’s, he at least held the belt into the 2010’s, and that is good enough for me to qualify for this list. After all, it’s my list.

McIntyre burst onto the scene in WWE with quite the push. In fact, Mr. McMahon  came out to say that he personally signed McIntyre, and McIntyre gained the nickname of “The Chosen One.” After some impressive wins, McIntyre finally earned an opportunity at John Morrison’s Intercontinental Championship.

Drew McIntyre defeated Morrison and won the belt, and he became the Intercontinental Champion while being undefeated in the WWE. This instantly brought credibility to both The Chosen One and the Intercontinental Championship.

McIntyre defended the title against both Morrison and Kane, and he even went up against The Undertaker. Although he ended up losing this match, The Undertaker and Intercontinental Championship are not often seen together so this was a huge lift for the belt.

McIntyre’s mean streak ended up getting his title vacated from him by Teddy Long after McIntyre would not relent on his beatdown of Matt Hardy. After the championship was returned to McIntyre by McMahon, Kingston ended up beating Drew for his belt. This ended Drew McIntyre’s reign as Intercontinental Champion at 161 days.

Although McIntyre’s career ended up taking a bit of a fall after his run, the Championship had, in the meantime, gained prestige. By having Mr. McMahon and various other main event players involved in McIntyre’s run as champion, it helped to make the Intercontinental Championship a focal point of WWE programming.

And this is really all you can ask from your Intercontinental Champion, so Drew McIntyre finds himself in the respectable 7 spot on this list.