80's & 90's: Intercontinental title a world title?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Back in the 80's especially, this title acted like a secondary world title to the wwf champion. i did my research and in the 80's there was only 14 title reigns, those named tito santana, who held it twice, pedro morales, rick rude, greg valentine, randy savage, ricky steamboat and lets forget about honky tonk mans reign..lol..

this title was changed like once a year, with these wrestlers, who added the prestige to the new title at the time.

yes, there was no tv show back then with the exception of superstars of wrestling, but there were live events, and we saw the title change every once a year, and at ppv's.

in the 90's we saw Raw emerge, it was changed hand less than 10 times on Raw, and also again many greats held the title, bret hart, diesel, hbk, razor ramon, mr. perfect, jeff jarret, austin, the rock and many more, however in 1997 - 1999, it started to go a bit downhill and i believe in 1999, it stooped really low, 10 years on, we have now seen 126 different reigns, with only some good wrestlers.

So we all agree, the title isn't what it once used to be, but was it back in the 80's and 90's, as big as the wwf champion??

 

[Killer Kelbo]

I am going to have to agree. I really do wish that the IC title actually meant something like it used to. Back when Steamboat defeated Savage for the title it was huge, and it was considered the highlight of Steamboat's career (when in the WWF at least) and now it has a hit a low. They seem to not be using it for the same purpose as they want to give it strictly to mid card performers who will one day either become championship contenders or jobbers depending on what creative decides to do. I don't get that title anymore to be honest, I mean come on Santino a two time IC champion? Why?

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Back in the 80's especially, this title acted like a secondary world title to the wwf champion. i did my research and in the 80's there was only 14 title reigns, those named tito santana, who held it twice, pedro morales, rick rude, greg valentine, randy savage, ricky steamboat and lets forget about honky tonk mans reign..lol..

this title was changed like once a year, with these wrestlers, who added the prestige to the new title at the time.

yes, there was no tv show back then with the exception of superstars of wrestling, but there were live events, and we saw the title change every once a year, and at ppv's.

in the 90's we saw Raw emerge, it was changed hand less than 10 times on Raw, and also again many greats held the title, bret hart, diesel, hbk, razor ramon, mr. perfect, jeff jarret, austin, the rock and many more, however in 1997 - 1999, it started to go a bit downhill and i believe in 1999, it stooped really low, 10 years on, we have now seen 126 different reigns, with only some good wrestlers.

So we all agree, the title isn't what it once used to be, but was it back in the 80's and 90's, as big as the wwf champion??

I remember from watching wrestling in the 80's that the IC champ wasn't really so much pushed as a midcarder. The champs who had it were main-event quality and really even the announcers would note that the IC champ was really the #1 contender to the WWF title but their IC title commitments kept them from being the champ.

Really though it comes down to the IC champ was more valuable back then because the champions were more legit. The name of the title means jack shit, it's the champion and the matches the champion has that matters. Look at RVD's TV title reign. He was a more legit champ in ECW than the ECW champion most of the time.

 

[Hawkeye]

Sadly, the title means nothing anymore.It may not even be a stepping stone to greatness anymore.People get the title and fade into obscurity.Our latest champion Mr. McIntyre has made sure that we care as little as possible about his title reign.He never boasts about it, holds it up only every so often(that used to be almost mandatory on a champion's entrance), and he hasn't defended it since EC if i'm not mistaken.It gets no solid feud,other than this 'Tweeted Fury' which is totally one sided,so it's hard to care about the IC title anymore

 

[Killer Kelbo]

Sadly, the title means nothing anymore.It may not even be a stepping stone to greatness anymore.People get the title and fade into obscurity.Our latest champion Mr. McIntyre has made sure that we care as little as possible about his title reign.He never boasts about it, holds it up only every so often(that used to be almost mandatory on a champion's entrance), and he hasn't defended it since EC if i'm not mistaken.It gets no solid feud,other than this 'Tweeted Fury' which is totally one sided,so it's hard to care about the IC title anymore

LOL, I hate Drew McIntyre. Do not get me wrong, he is a good wrestler and works out perfectly as a heel. I just don't like the guy for some reason.

 

[Hawkeye]

Yeah me too.I just hate him to the core.No matter what he does I will always hate him.He can resuce Cena from a TNA ambush and I will still hate him

 

[webby_15-0]

i disagree, yes the intercontinental title is nowhere near as big as it used to be, but it's still that stepping stone in the WWE to reach to the next level. also, i kinda like drew mcintyre. he just looks like a champion. one person i don't like though is kofi kingston. he's annoying and so very overated. ever since the jamaican gimmick i just can't take him seriously. boom boom boom. you kidding me?

 

[RatedRSuperstar84]

I totally agree with the OP about the value of the title but I do have to say I would hardly call Jeff Jarrett a "great" when mentioning the likes of Razor, Bret Hart, Michaels, Diesel, Mr. Perfect, Austin, and The Rock.

As far as the current IC Champ, Drew McIntyre goes, I think he has potential and could be a solid heel one day but as of right now he is booked to be a total tool and it does not help that he reminds me of Leonardo DiCaprio much like Brian Kendrick.

 

[Dropkicked]

I have one fact that sums up how unimpactful the IC belt has become: It wasn't event defended at Wrestlemania.

The IC matches at Mania were always looked at with as much excitement as the World Title. But they didn't even put it up at Mania this year. WTF? Seriously? What was the purpose of booking Drew in the MITB? He didn't do jack. Same with the US title for that fact. Miz should have had to defend it as well as the Tag Titles - just comes with holding both belts.

Its things like this that really disapoints me with wrestling now adays. When your spending $60+ on WM PPV and two of the main titles aren't even being defended is inexcusable.

The IC title is in no way, shape or form anywhere what it used to be. Drew hasnt defended the belt since EC. Same with the Miz and the US title. But we get to see the Diva title up every other week because that matters (being sarcastic).

The E really needs to improve their writing and fast. The singles Gold needs to be made more important. We all know the Tag Titles will most likely never be anything but something for two mashed up singles wrestlers to hold for a minute.

It really is a shame. WHat I wouldn't give to see an IC Title run like Mr Perfect had back in the day.

 

[boozinjedi]

It really is a shame. WHat I wouldn't give to see an IC Title run like Mr Perfect had back in the day.

As long as we are on Mr. Perfect,the IC match at SummerSlam '91 against Bret.....One of the best IC matches....scratch that...one of the best wrestling matches of alltime!
Funny how some of the great matches in WWE history involve the IC title,people still go crazy over WM3 Steamboat/Savage!!

 

[Theo Mays]

Back in the day the IC title usually went to the best wrestler (yes there were instances were it went to the likes of Ulitmate Warrior, but in most cases it did). I mean look at who held the title and then think about their in ring ability. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude, Tito Santana, Pedro Morales, Randy Savage, Kerry Von Erich, Owen Hart, Roddy Piper, etc... All of those guys were stellar in the ring and could get good matches out of most everyone they faced. Nowadays the title is used to try and elevate someone, much like it was used for Ultimate Warrior. The IC title put Warrior on the map and helped him reach main event status.

But if you look at all the most recent champs, I think the belt was given to them to try and elevate them higher on the card. Shelton Benjamin's first run with the belt put him on the map and many thought he'd be a future world champ, Eddie Guerrero, Randy Orton, Edge, Carlito, Punk, etc... The belt was given to them to make them look important and try and get them into becoming a budding star. The same can be said about McIntyre right now. He was given the belt as a rookie to look like he was a guy who was going to make an impact in the future.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

I have to agree about the title's prestige nowadays.

The Intercontinental Championship probably lost a bit of flair when compared to other titles that were starting to make their prescence known around 97' or so (European and Hardcore Championships) and with the company changing from its golden years to a more impactful Attitude Era, it's no wonder "The Second World Title" was slipping from an established perch to a mid-card slot. There were titles galore and more wrestlers were signed on to WWF(E) during this time. WWE had grown to a household name.

One thing that was probably a downside to the Era at the time was the introduction of those other belts that didn't really make a statement into the new millenium. So having that around and with the foundation changing, I have to say the Intercontinental Championship did lose its prestige but not necessarily its value in modern society.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Back in the day the IC title usually went to the best wrestler (yes there were instances were it went to the likes of Ulitmate Warrior, but in most cases it did). I mean look at who held the title and then think about their in ring ability. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude, Tito Santana, Pedro Morales, Randy Savage, Kerry Von Erich, Owen Hart, Roddy Piper, etc... All of those guys were stellar in the ring and could get good matches out of most everyone they faced. Nowadays the title is used to try and elevate someone, much like it was used for Ultimate Warrior. The IC title put Warrior on the map and helped him reach main event status.

When the Warrior had the belt, he was seen as a World Champ. In fact the IC belt at that time became as prestigous as the WWE title. that was the whole allure between the champion vs champion Title for title match he had with hogan at WM6.

I think the biggest problem with the IC's prestige now is the fact there are 2 world titles, 2 world tag titles, a US title, IC title and 2 womens titles.

Half the roster has a title belt. If they dropped the US title, one of the women's titles and the WHC then the IC title could mean something.

I remember as a kid being into the IC title as a legit title to have, now it's like "who cares?"

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

savage/steamboat
rude/warrior
perfect/hart
hart/bulldog
michaels/razor

so many great matches/feuds have been been for the ic championship..

the belt did start to lose it's prestige in the late 90's, when they added the european, hardcore, and light-heavyweight championships. now, instead of being the only belt other than the world heavyweight championship, it was just one of many. if you want to pin-point one moment as to when it "jumped the shark," i'd say it was when they had co-champions, a male and female no less, who shared the belt.

 

[tsull2121]

When the Warrior had the belt, he was seen as a World Champ. In fact the IC belt at that time became as prestigous as the WWE title. that was the whole allure between the champion vs champion Title for title match he had with hogan at WM6.

I think the biggest problem with the IC's prestige now is the fact there are 2 world titles, 2 world tag titles, a US title, IC title and 2 womens titles.

Half the roster has a title belt. If they dropped the US title, one of the women's titles and the WHC then the IC title could mean something.

I remember as a kid being into the IC title as a legit title to have, now it's like "who cares?"

you hit the nail right on the head with this post.

the problem is OVERSATURATION. too many titles, not enough talent. a LOT of things need to be done to bring prestige back not only to the I-C title, but every other title in the wwe as well.

the separate titles for separate shows idea is ridiculous. does vince truly believe theres fans out there that BELIEVE that theres a competition between "brands"? c'mon! why compete against RAW if you can be the world champion on your own show Smadkdown?

what NEEDS to be done is simple. UNIFICATIONS... and i mean SERIOUS unifications! and theres time to do it as well.. put it on the NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS PPV.

have the wwe champ face off against the world champ, the womens champ take on the divas champ, and the I-C champ take on the US champ. the ONLY reason vince uses the world and us title belts is to rub everyones nose in the fact that he owns them now! unless youve forgotten both those belts belonged to "the competition" back in the day (tho vince revamped the us belt's look it still remains a creation of someone else)

after night of champions, have the champions be "TRAVELLING CHAMPIONS" going back and forth from show to show defending their titles. each belt has suffered the loss of its respective "shine" because of the cheap knockoffs that are being thrown around the federation.

whats the need for a US champ when you got an I-C champ? Same for the wwe title and world, and womens and divas? And for GOD SAKE can we get ONE FRIGGIN BELT for the tag champs already?!?

build it up over the next few weeks/months til NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS.. have the respective champs attack eachother to set up the matches, then let them run. Of course, the wwe, womens and I-C champs will retain, but that's teh beauty of it.. it will eliminate the other championships and streamline the title pictures.

as for the "swerve" at the ppv that gives the win ot the "WWE TITLES".. thats easy. Lets say for sake of argument that the current wrestlers hold onto the belts til then.

beth phoenix vs eve. well simply put this one doesnt NEED a swerve..beth would kill her outright.. BUUT! it would be the perfect jumping on point for AWESOME KONG to show up... attacking beth at the end of the match

miz vs drew for the US/I-C title.. this one is easy too... big show interferes with the big punch to lay out miz and give the win to drew.. let big show have a run with the I-C title since it's one of the only titles he HASNT had yet

cena vs swagger wwe/world title... let cena win tho i hate his friggin guts, and have undertaker make his return and challenge cena for the title

one last thing to the ppv card... have a new light-heavyweight/cruiserweight champion crowned in a short tournament. i'm thinking a four man deal.. evan bourne, ziggler, zack ryder, and primo.. that way there'd only be three matches which shouldnt take up too much airtime.. but at least the four in the tournament NEVER HELD IT BEFORE so it won't be a case of "the same old same old"

and as for WHEN the I-C title lost it's prestige? I'm going with the MOUNTIE'S win over bret as the start of te slow decline, culminating with the almost MONTHLY title changes in the late 90's. ALBERT?!?! ROAD DOGG?!? BILLY GUNN?!?! spare me!


Timmy!

 

[The Brain]

I think the moment the IC title lost its value was when Stone Cold Steve Austin threw it into a river. He was the reigning IC champion and he literally threw the belt away because he had “bigger fish to fry.” When the current champ said he had no interest in the title the fans lost interest too.

The Rock had a decent reign, but the fact that he never beat anybody for the title and his losses to Shamrock at the rumble and mania were reversed taints that reign. The ladder match with HHH at SummerSlam looked like it might save the IC title, but HHH was injured during the match and immediately forfeited the title.

There have been some great wrestlers to hold the title since then, but none of the reigns were particularly memorable. Even the longer reigns didn’t have very many title defenses. The IC title has been defended in only one of the last eight WrestleManias. The one match lasted 25 seconds.

I wouldn’t say the IC title was equal to the world title, but it was pretty close. While it may not have been the most important match, there were many times the IC match was the most anticipated and best match of the night.

I share in a lot of people’s frustration, but we can’t complain too much. In the mid 90’s we were tired of seeing Hulk Hogan on top and wanted to see guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels take the next step to the world title. We got what we wanted. When those guys became champion matches that would once be IC matches were now world title matches. The quality of the world title matches went up at the expense of the IC matches.

I have been in favor of unifing the titles for years now. I don't think it will bring the IC title back to where it was, but it would help a lot.

 

[huegtoad]

first of all, THE BELT SUCKS, not the title, the title can be salvaged with some purpose being attached to it, but the belt itself, SUCKS. when the ic title was awesome, the belt was a good damn belt. that's why you can't get rid of the whc. even though it means that you are 1b or whatever, it's a damn good belt and recognizable and it carries a ton of history itself. when you see it, you know exactly what it is and that's exciting. the wwe belt has changed so much it doesn't carry the same weight behind it asside from the fact that it's raw's belt. but that whc belt, that's a belt that will never go away. the old ic belt had that same weight behind it. then warrior started changing it's color and so on and so forth and then eventually the luster started going away. the wm10 ladder match made it noteworthy again. razor ramon was a great ic belt and paraded it around like it was the most awesome thing in the world. then they changed the belt. it looks puny, worthless, and like something nobody would really want. so i say a) change the belt. and the b) the guys who get the belt, and this goes for us title as well, it's UP TO THEM TO FIGHT FOR THEIR TITLE!!! behind the scences, fight for it!!! Cena fought for his wwe title. he remember after wm22 made numerous statements that putting that belt on the map was his number one priority,and i think he was sincere and not just saying that as a work. If your US Champ or ic champ, you have to go to vince and say, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS, i want to be proud of this, i want people to want this belt instead of goign up to vince and saying, ok, when is my real push starting? which you knwo is what is really going on!!!

 

[DL23]

Back in the 80's especially, this title acted like a secondary world title to the wwf champion. i did my research and in the 80's there was only 14 title reigns, those named tito santana, who held it twice, pedro morales, rick rude, greg valentine, randy savage, ricky steamboat and lets forget about honky tonk mans reign..lol..

this title was changed like once a year, with these wrestlers, who added the prestige to the new title at the time.

yes, there was no tv show back then with the exception of superstars of wrestling, but there were live events, and we saw the title change every once a year, and at ppv's.

in the 90's we saw Raw emerge, it was changed hand less than 10 times on Raw, and also again many greats held the title, bret hart, diesel, hbk, razor ramon, mr. perfect, jeff jarret, austin, the rock and many more, however in 1997 - 1999, it started to go a bit downhill and i believe in 1999, it stooped really low, 10 years on, we have now seen 126 different reigns, with only some good wrestlers.

So we all agree, the title isn't what it once used to be, but was it back in the 80's and 90's, as big as the wwf champion??

You bring up some good points to the argument, for instances no TV back in the 80s early 90s which is correct, nowadays we've got 4 hours worth per week to cover, back then it was one hour a week, plus Saturday night main event, so I concur far less TV time made feuds go longer and title changes less frequent.
IMO titles shouldn't change hands as regular as they do, IMO the IC and US get treat far better then worlds, in respect to not as many title changes, that said they are rarely defended, but the champions are show cased a great deal needless to say.

The IC Title was looked at as the 2nd World title, Razor Ramon he had the IT factor back in 1993-1996 but he didn't have a world title reign however had multiple IC title reigns and also had bunch of top quality matches, some of the IC Title guys weren't great but most were main event quality guys.

Once the European title came in, and WWE give the IC belt to a wet behind the ears Rock the title took a massive dent IMO, Bulldog was showcasing the european belt like an IC belt should of been, after Mania 13 and Owen won the IC belt it kind of restored that dent a fair bit, but even Owen didn't defend the belt on PPV until Summerslam and one of the PPV's (Cold day in hell) wasn't on the PPV card, 1997 was a weird year for the IC belt, it was bounced from HHH/Rock/Owen/Austin/Owen/Austin/Rock, 4/5 the guys who hed the belt went on to main event wrestlemania and win multiple world titles, Owen Hart? he was kind of screwed IMO back in 1994-early 1995 a world title run for Owen would of been perfect, but WWE went with diesel mind boggling really.

1998 on paper looked a good year for the IC title, Rock held it for 8 months, problem was he jobbed at 6 PPV's yes one was KOTR but regardless he jobbed in 6 PPV's out of 8 (and 1 was a draw) not very great for a 2nd world champion, HHH had the belt but was injured (why give him the belt injured) and Shamrock, good names, and two went on to make it huge, Shamrock was always a mid card guy, who had some raw talent.

1999 IMO was the year that killed any prestige to the belt, Val, Road dogg, Godfather, Goldust, Jeff, Dlo, Chyna and Jericho, some great names in there but when you consider this to be the 2nd world title it's not very good, far from it.

as you can see the quality of wrestlers to hold the 2nd world title deminished over 1999 year, and I don't think WWE could restore the belt, even to the point they joined up with the Euro/Hardcore title to make it look good, and still couldn't so they unified with the world HW belt, after 9 month it was brough back, which was a good thing IMO, but the belt never recovered, it was made to look cheap IMO, the World title SHOULDN'T have been brought in, HHH didn't want to hold the IC belt, as he looked down on it, hense the world title being brought in, kind of weird really, as the IC belt could of been a main world title had HHH not of pressed for a world title to be brought in.

 

[Post]

Absolutely! The IC title used to be a big deal in the 80'2 and 90's. It was definitely the next best thing to being the WWF champion. During this time, there were only 2 singles championships in the company. So if they had the confidence in you to hold a singles strap, it was a big pat on the back.

I can't say that I loved every IC champ and thought that they deserved it, but they really sold the fact that it was a BIG deal and that it meant the world to them. The title died when Chyna won it. I never found it believable that she could ever beat Jericho.

I agree w/ whoever said the actual belt is terrible. WWE needs to bring back the classic IC belt and trash the current one.

The title is not what it used to be, but it could be resurrected.

Here's an idea...strip McIntyre for a bogus reason (injury, suspension, whatever) and create a tournament for the vacant strap. I know that tournaments have happened a lot in recent years, but make this one bigger. Have people coming out of everywhere to be apart of the tournament. 16, 32, 64 participants... Have the tournament build up to a PPV where the eventual winner has several matches at the PPV before ultimate victory (Ala WMIV)...have a former IC title holder present the title to the new champ. Have the new champ celebrate with full emotion.

Finally have the new champ defend his title weekly! Have him show pride in the title and have that pride reflect in all kinds of promos!

 

[Vintage]

Back in the days the WWE title would be locked up for years at a time per title holder. It was rarely defended and almost like a gimmick title. With no tv it had the prestige of a world championship boxing reign. The point of being the champ was to dominate the division for several months as opposed to the abbreviated reigns we have in modern times. Hell most of the 80's title holders held their 1 title longer than the total amount of time The Rock has been multipile world champion. The IC belt was always where the action was, the epic rivalries and battles If you look at the long list of IC champs in the 80's and 90's up until about '95 each and every single title holder should be in the hall of fame with the exceptions of the Texas Tornado, Janetty and Mountie (I love him but he hasn't earned his spot)

 

[MooseDaddy]

I completely agree with this thread. The IC Title now is supposed to be a stepping stone to see if the person is ready to get into the big picture. Back in the 80s the IC Title matches were so stellar. The Champion Vs. Champion matches were spectacular and it wasn't set to be a squash match or predictable that the Heavyweight Champ was going to win. The IC Champ had more than a legitimate chance at walking away with the title. Now as previous posters have mentioned, the title isn't defended regularly, when it is more often than not a disappointment. When you look at the recent IC Champs and where they are now, several of them are about to be future endeavored rather than pushing their way into the Main Event Scene. Sure a lot of that has to do with writing, but since wrestling is predetermined anyway, wasn't that the same case back in the 80s?

 

[The Poodle]

I couldn't agree more with tsull.

The problem is that there are too many wrestlers, too many titles. To try and revamp the tag titles and make them mean something again, they unified the tag titles, and the champs wrestle on each show.

Why not unify all the titles, release half of the people that don't matter, and make the champs compete on each show? I know some stars, Taker, HHH, HBK (before his "retirement") wouldn't like to have long reigns with the title because they dont like working both shows, trips and taker can't work on the same show, etc.. But how can the IC title be a second heavyweight title when there already IS a second, there is WWE and Heavyweight. Not to mention that there is a comparable title to IC in the US title.

To make it seem real and make them more important, have 1 wwe champ, 1 ic champ, tag champs, and divas champ. Have those people compete on both shows, it keeps fueds fresh, makes the titles relevant, and has a bigger pool of talent (even if they release people) to fued for them.

Or, do away with brand separation!

 

[Dagger Dias]

The loss of prestige to the Intercontinental Championship as well as nostalgic inflation (good memories seeming better than they actually were) might be making some people think that the Intercontinental Championship was bigger than it actually was. Yes, the prestige it once had is long gone. That doesn't mean it was ever a world title. The Intercontinental Championship was always lower in rank than the WWE Championship. That is never going to change, and it was never the case back then either. Every federation has at least one world title, and then other titles which are below the world title. Back in the old days, the Intercontinental Championship was second only to the WWF Championship, but that doesn't make it a world title because the only world title at the time in the WWF was the WWF Championship.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

I think it is a no-brainer that the Intercontinental Championship has become a shadow of its former self. I think honestly the day the Intercontinental Championship lost its prestige was when the WWE dropped it in 2002 and brought it back in 2003. I'm not saying the championship didn't do a lot of good since then. Randy Orton, in particular, had a great run with the championship from Dec. 2003- July 2004. But it is not as important anymore, not when you can get a freaking briefcase and beat a world champion at a moment's whim. Who has time to wait and settle for being Intercontinental Champion when you can get the championship on a silver platter in a ladder match?

Plus mid card championships are haphazardly defended anymore without a real program behind them, save for a couple instances (Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio being a notable exception to the rule). When was the last time The Miz defended the U.S. Championship? Can someone tell me that? Drew McIntyre hasn't had a strong program with the Intercontinental Championship yet. I see potential in McIntyre, but to be honest, I'm not impressed with his championship reign. The title seems to be an afterthought on whomever carries it. It's another tool, but how is this tool going to matter when you don't defend it or promote it?!

One interesting note on the state of the Intercontinental Championship is its status on the big event known as WrestleMania. From Manias I-X, the title was defended every single WrestleMania. The men involved in these matches include Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers including Valentine, JYD, Savage, George The Animal Steele, Steamboat, Rick Rude, Ultimate Warrior, Hogan (VI was Title for Title), Mr. Perfect, Piper, Hart, Michaels, and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall). Savage, Warrior, Hart, and Michaels all went on to become WWF Champion. Some of the other wrestlers involved in these matches won World Championships in other promotions as well, such as Steamboat and Rude.

From WrestleManias XI-X-Seven, it was defended every year. From WrestleMania X-8 (2002) on, the Intercontinental Championship has been defended... twice at the event. 2 times out of 9 possible events to defend the championship. Ok, granted one of those events the Intercontinental Championship was in hiatus, but WrestleMania 25 was the first time since WrestleMania X-8 that the title was defended, and the match lasted 25 seconds!!!! If this doesn't speak volumes on how the worth of the Intercontinental Championship has diminished, nothing will.

The WrestleMania examples listed above show the rise and fall of this once glorified championship that has now become the village bicycle of the WWE.

 

[pessimism101]

I wouldn't say that the Intercontinental Title acted as a second world title to the WWF title. Instead, it was the one title everyone strived to achieve because it eventually led to the WWF title. In other words, the IC title foreshadowed who a future WWF Champion would be. If you look at the list of those who held the title back in the 80's and early- to mid-90's, the vast majority of them also went on to eventually win the WWF title. The same can be said about the tag team titles, though to a lesser degree.

Now, the IC title does nothing but determine who is bound to be a permanent midcarder. Sad.