NJPW: Remembering the top 5 IWGP Intercontinental Champions as we say goodbye to the white belt

2. Tetsuya Naito and the journey to caring about the title

When the IWGP Intercontinental Championship earned the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 8, that also meant the IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match between Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada would be robbed of that spot. It was a huge opportunity for Naito, and he ended the night without the main event or the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

There’s no doubt this contributed to Naito’s disdain and apathy towards the IWGP Intercontinental Championship when he first won it at NJPW Destruction in Kobe on September 25, 2016. We would often see Naito drag the belt to the ring, throwing it with reckless abandon so often that he actually broke it.

Over time, and a record-breaking six different reigns as IWGP Intercontinental Champion for a combined 814 days, Naito came to have a reverence and respect for the belt despite his previous apathy. Someone had to take the mantle when Nakamura left, and while Naito began that journey in anger, he eventually carried it with pride.

1. Shinsuke Nakamura, forever the greatest IWGP Intercontinental Champion of all time

Without a doubt, there is not a single choice that could compare to the greatest IWGP Intercontinental Champion of all time. When NJPW created the title in 2011, Shinsuke Nakamura was already a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and had won awards from both Tokyo Sports and Nikkan Sports.

However, we didn’t really get to see Nakamura at his peak, oozing with charisma as “The King of Strong Style”, until after most of those accolades. The Shinsuke Nakamura that became the talk of the industry, and eventually caught the eye of WWE, is the Shinsuke Nakamura that put the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on the map.

He was the fourth man to capture the title, defeating Hirooki Goto and Kizuna Road on July 22, 2012 to take it for his first reign. That reign lasted 313 days, still the longest IWGP Intercontinental Championship reign of all time.

Over the next four years, four other men took the title from Nakamura, but none of them could keep it. Each would eventually lose the title back to Nakamura, who accumulated five reigns in total before leaving NJPW to sign with WWE in January of 2016.

Nakamura, his dedication to the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, and his desire to make it as important as the IWGP Heavyweight Championship are ultimately what took the title to the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 8 against Hiroshi Tanahashi.

He made it the prize it became through his record 901 combined days as champion. While there have been many great IWGP Intercontinental Champions, none were quite as great as “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura.