10 Best Wrestlers To Never Win WWE Intercontinental Title
WWE? Check. US? Check. Tag? Check. IC? Not quite...
For almost 40 years, the WWE Intercontinental Championship has had a reputation for wrestling greatness. While the belt's lineage has been diluted in recent years, during the 1980s, it was famous for being the "workers'" title - men like Don Muraco, Tito Santana, Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, and Rick Rude all held the belt and defended it in bouts that could be counted on to steal the show.
This continued in the 1990s, with Bret Hart, Owen Hart, The Rock, and The British Bulldog all holding the belt - sometimes as a precursor to multiple reigns as WWE Champion. In the 2000s, it found a place around the waists of Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Kurt Angle.
Yes, there have been sore spots - in recent years, fans have had to suffer through reigns from the likes of Santino Marella, Ryback, and a not-yet-ready Drew McIntyre - but currently, the belt is in a pretty good place, as The Miz spent 2016 making it important and former WWE Champion Dean Ambrose currently lays claim to it.
Looking back through the title's history, there aren't many greats who haven't gotten a run with it - but there are a few notable exceptions who might surprise some fans, and who could have made the belt's lineage even stronger.
Here are the 10 best wrestlers to never win the Intercontinental Title:
10. Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts was one of WWE's most successful stars in the 1980s and 1990s, but for all of his talent and popularity, he never claimed any championship gold in the company. Even when he returned to the ring in 1996 as a sentimental babyface and made it to the finals of the King of the Ring tournament, he came up short.
A run with the Intercontinental Title would have undoubtedly made Roberts an even greater star, but he came up short in his attempts. In late 1986, Roberts challenged Randy Savage for the belt and failed to win it, but he's better remembered for his program the following year with The Honky Tonk Man. Though the two clashed at WrestleMania III, once HTM won the IC Title from Ricky Steamboat, their feud continued with the belt on the line.
Honky Tonk Man turned back Roberts's challenges, but it wasn't always supposed to be that way. Roberts was originally scheduled to win the belt, but injuries he suffered courtesy of a guitar shot from The Honky Tonk Man changed the plans.