Intercontinental Championship: Top Ten Superstars Who Defined The Title

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

The ten men that have defined what the WWE Intercontinental Championship means to the wrestling world.

On June 19th, 1979, Pat Patterson defeated Ted DiBiase to capture the WWF North American Heavyweight Championship in Allentown, Pennsylvania. A short time later Patterson would travel to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and win a tournament, defeating Johnny Rodz in the finals, capturing the South American Heavyweight Championship. The details on that event, however, are bit murky.

Why, you ask? Well, because it never happened. The tournament was fake, as was the South American Heavyweight Championship. But it created the illusion that the two championships from North and South America were unified, thus forming an “Intercontinental Championship”.

Patterson, a now member of the WWE Hall of Fame, was a strong champion. His inaugural 233 day title reign set the bar for every man after him to hold the IC belt. Over the years, the IC title has become a bit of a stepping stone for future WWE World Champions. In the 38 years that this belt has been existence, 21 WWE superstars captured it before ever winning World Championships. The likes of The Rock, Triple H, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and Randy Orton were all Intercontinental champions before every climbing the mountain to the biggest title in the company.

All in all, 78 men and one woman (Chyna) have had the honor of being IC champ. But who are the best of the best? The ten men that comprise this list either made it for how many times they won the belt, the amount of time spent with it, the number of title defenses, their level of competition, and their importance to it.

Ahead we name the top 10 WWE Intercontinental Champions of all time.