Pat Patterson became the inaugural champion on September 1, 1979 in an alleged tournament held in Rio de Janeiro, when he unified his WWF North American title with a South American championship. Patterson held the belt until April 20, 1980, when Ken Patera beat him for it in New York, even though Patterson’s foot was on the ropes before the three count.

Towards the end of 1993, Shawn Michaels was forced to vacate the championship because he had not defended it within thirty days. In October a twenty man Battle Royal was held, the last two men remaining would face off the following week to determine who would become Intercontinental Champion. “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon got the pin fall victory over Rick Martel after a Razor’s Edge. The Heart Break kid soon returned claiming that he was the true champion because he never lost the belt. Razor and HBK settled the dispute at Wrestlemania X in a ladder match, that was voted Pro Wrestling Illustrated Match Of The Year. Ramon came out on top by retrieving both IC titles, his and the one Michaels had been totting around, to become the undisputed Intercontinental Champion.

History was made when Chyna became the first and only woman to ever hold the championship. She beat Jeff Jarrett at the No Mercy Pay Per View on October 17, 1999 in a Good Housekeeping Match. She held onto the belt until Armageddon in December, when Chris Jericho took the strap from her. They had a rematch on the December 28th edition of Smackdown, which ended in a double pin fall. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsly declared the two of them Co-Champions. Chyna and Y2J took turns defending the belt until the Royal Rumble in January. Jericho became the undisputed champ by defeating Chyna and Hardcore Holly in a triple threat match.

Chris Jericho currently holds the record for the most IC title reigns. He began his eighth reign on March 10, 2008 by defeating Jeff Hardy in Milwaukee on Raw. The Savior of the WWE lost the belt a few months later to the young, up and comer, Kofi Kingston on June 29th at Night Of Champions.

A tournament was held to become the number one contender for the IC title, beginning on November 24, 2008. CM Punk won the tournament and the shot at the current champ William Regal on the first episode of Raw in the new year. Punk defeated Rey Mysterio in the finals at Armageddon, in a very good match, that ended with Rey taking Punk’s finishing move, the Go To Sleep.

These are just a few moments in the history of the Intercontinental Championship, there are many more that I will probably feel the need to discuss later on, but for now I will end by saying this. I feel that the Intercontinental title is and has always been a stepping stone to greatness, and hope that the WWE will keep giving the young guys the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of holding this prestigious championship.