Greatest IC Champion Of The 90's

[CyDeez]

If this thread has been done, I apologize, I searched and searched to make sure.

Who do you think was The BEST WWF Intercontinental Champion of The 1990's?

A lot of people would say Razor Ramon or Shawn Michaels or maybe Bret Hart.

I choose someone different...

Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig to me is The best Intercontinental Champion of the decade. I define some of the best IC Champs as guys who that is basically the pinnacle of their career. Maybe they are some of the best there is at the time, but just isn't Main Event material. Guys like Steamboat, Rick Rude, and The Honky Tonk Man, were really known and over guys in WWF. But they were never really given a Main Event push at all. Therefore, in their WWF careers, anyway, The IC Title was their peak.

I believe this is the case with Mr. Perfect. He was really, REALLY over! But never was given a World Title or Main Event push. He was always a guy that could be thrust into a Main Event situation for a week or could hold his own against the upper echelon of the company (Hogan, Warrior, Savage Bret Hart etc.). He went "Undefeated" for a few years in WWF. Feuding with guys like Hogan and Warrior. He remained undefeated until 1990. At Wrestlemania 6, he lost to Brutus Beefcake, and it was the first time he was ever defeated in WWF.

A little bit after that, he won a tournament to become The WWF Intercontinental Champion for the first time. He was a great Heel and his arrogance kept him Heel through most of his career. Even though he used cheating tactics because he was Heel, he used his technical ability in every match with smooth tactical form.

He lost the title to Kerry Von Erich at Summerslam 90 because The WWF was high on him. But Mr. Perfect ultimately took the title back a few months later and held onto it for a long time. He lost the title to Bret Hart at Summerslam 91. SS was not a great event for Hennig LOL...

He held the title for 280 days, during his 2nd reign. By far the longest of the decade, and the 5th longest reign ever. His 2 reigns combined are for 406 days as IC Champion. All days within the decade of the 90's.

Since he never hit Main Event status in WWF or WCW really. This in my opinion is the pinnacle of his career. He had a lot of matches for that title, with numerous opponents. Hennig never did anything spectacular as far as his in ring moves, but he was always Perfect. Always an easy match to watch and enjoy, because of his ability, no matter who he faced, even though you didn't root for him.

That's why I think he was The BEST Intercontinental Champion of The 90's.

Do you agree? If not, Who is YOURS!!??

 

[Irish574]

I'm probably going to get slammed for this one, but Jeff Jarrett

Double J won the belt 6 times throughout the 90s and was pretty dominate

 

[harrythem]

Razor Ramon for me. Wasn't the most popular IC champ of the decade or the most talented but, from 93-96, he kept the belt alive and with a level of prestige that it wouldn't have had if he hadn't been wearing it.

 

[JohnOldSnake4]

While I agree with Mr Perfect, I missed those days and started watching in 1997, so I'm gonna go with my favourite from when i started watching on. The Rock's late 97-mid 98 reign as Intercontinental Champion was awesome. I loved how he kept losing to Shamrock then finding new ways to wind Ken up and screw him over. His promos are legendary and he did some of his first truly amazing work on the mic during that IC reign. The Ladder Match in which he lost it to Triple H stole the show that year at SummerSlam for me (crappy live rendition of Break it Down aside lol).

 

[mmprgreen350]

i will have to say razor ramon scott hall is one of the business greatest underrated wrestlers of all time(in his prime of course) who never got a world title and his reign as ic champ was one of the best reigns in sense of matches wrestled defending promos cut well holding and ect....

 

[Cmac3311]

I agree with the poster, Mr. Perfect is one of my all time favorites... The look, the persona, hell the finisher the perfect plex, Curt had it all.

Those promo vignettes back in the day put some of today's vignettes to shame, the perfect golf chip, the half court behind the head swish, I'd be glued to my t.v when the guy came into the stadium and would spit his gum out and slap it into the crowd...

R.I.P Mr. Perfect

 

[donfryeismyhero]

By the ts definetion of greatest IC champ of the 90's Perfect wouldn't make the cut. He was AWA world champ & in the WWE, he was pushed in the main event against both Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair. If is wasn't for him re-injurying his back in '93, he would of definatly won a WWE world title. But my choice is Razor. He defined the title & vis versa. He had very memorable matches/fueds over the title with his future tag team partner Diesel, Double J, Goldust & of course Shawn Michaels. Hell if it wasn't for BOTH Ramon & HBK putting on such a great ladder match at WrestleMania 10 & Summer Slam 95, it would be doubtful that we would even see ladder matches today as they made such great history during both matches. Henning was a great IC champ but Razor takes the cake as far as the 90's go IMO.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

Who was one of the Greatest IC champions of the 90s? So many to pick from. But only a few really made that title into a main event entity. So, first I had to narrow it down some. Razor Ramon, HBK, Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Ravishing Rick Rude, and even Triple H.

But, when it comes down to it, the very best was none other than.... HBK. He really carried that title like it was the world championship when he first got it. When he was heel, and when he was a face.

His ladder matches with Scott Hall did a lot of good for the business. Plus when he was a heel, people loved to see someone beat his ass. He didn't win it a lot, but his matches, and the way he held it, just made the title seem like a big deal, which back in the 90's it was.

 

[kingjaekob]

All these guys were the best: Bret Hart, HBK, Mr. Perfect, Scott Hall, and B Bulldog. Why are these guys all the best? Simple, they made this a VERY Prestigous title! Today, belts dont mean a thing! The Intercontinental Title was, to me the most Valuable Title in Wrestling, cause if you got it, you know what the next step was! The best ever might be Macho Man Randy Savage. By the end of the 90's, The ROck, HHH, Austin, Jericho etc... were all champions, but the belts changed hands so often, they didnt matter much anymore!

 

[CyDeez]

Who was one of the Greatest IC champions of the 90s? So many to pick from. But only a few really made that title into a main event entity. So, first I had to narrow it down some. Razor Ramon, HBK, Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Ravishing Rick Rude, and even Triple H.

But, when it comes down to it, the very best was none other than.... HBK. He really carried that title like it was the world championship when he first got it. When he was heel, and when he was a face.

His ladder matches with Scott Hall did a lot of good for the business. Plus when he was a heel, people loved to see someone beat his ass. He didn't win it a lot, but his matches, and the way he held it, just made the title seem like a big deal, which back in the 90's it was.

It is hard to argue with HBK as the best. Not only were his reigns meaningful and lengthy, but he changed the look of the actual belt itself. AND he obviously was involved in some of the BEST IC title matches EVER. Also, he was on such a rise within the company at the time, that he did actually elevate the title as he grew within the company, while holding that belt!

I still choose Hennig because when I think 90's IC Title scene, it is him that comes to my mind.

When I created this thread though, HBK was for sure a consideration of mine. He will always deserve to be in a conversation that speaks about the best of anything. IC Champ, World Champ, In Ring Performer, On The Mic, Best Faction (DX) Etc... LOL He could almost be in like EVERY category somewhere.

 

[CyDeez]

I'm probably going to get slammed for this one, but Jeff Jarrett

Double J won the belt 6 times throughout the 90s and was pretty dominate

I don't think you should be slammed for it. Your post was short, but the reasoning was right to the point. 6 times is a shit load in a decade in my opinion. Especially because it wasn't spread over the whole decade. It was more mid 90's to the end of the decade. He had a lot of great matches for the title. Many many feuds. To me though, he will always be the guy that lost the belt to Chyna in a Good House Keeping Match! LOL.

He for sure deserves to be in the conversation just by number of reigns alone. So you shouldn't get slammed for it. An opinion is an opinion, especially when you have 6 title reigns to back it up.

 

[Hitman80]

In the early 90's the Intercontinental title was given to the best technical wrestler and for me the guy who had the look of a champion, the ability of a champion, the charisma of a champion was none other than... "Mr Perfect" Curt Hennig.

Honourable mentions to Bret Hart and HBK

On a side of note if it had been best intercontinental champion of all time, there would be a big argument for "Ravishing" Rick Rude but seeing as he was a champion in the 80's he had to be overlooked.

 

[InsomniacZombie]

I'm probably going to get slammed for this one, but Jeff Jarrett

Double J won the belt 6 times throughout the 90s and was pretty dominate

Nah you shouldn't be slammed for that, it is a decent choice. I think the reason most wouldn't say Jarrett would be because after the 90's and his horrible main event runs in WCW and when he was the spoiled brat son in TNA.

I would go with HBK (shocking i know), but it is true. Back in the day, the IC title was supposed to be a stepping stone for the World Title, which people like Shawn, Bret, Austin and the Rock did to the letter. Sadly guys like Hall, Henning, Jarrett, Shamrock, Goldust ect, never got the chance to.

Most of the best of Michaels 'first career' matches were for the IC title. Of couse WMX and SS95 are always mentioned, but lets not forget the awesome matches he had with Janetty, the SS94 match with Hall (RIP Walter), and his first face title win against Jarrett.

I know its the easy answer, but it's that way for a reason HBK best IC champ of the 90s