The North American title has no linkage to the aforementioned U.S.A. Heavyweight Championship. Instead, the North American belt is considered the predecessor to todays Intercontinental Championship. However, unlike the impressively long history of the IC belt, the North American Championships lineage is brief. The belt was created in 1979 and immediately awarded to Ted DiBiase on February 13th when the future Million Dollar Man signed with the company. Although he was not a millionaire yet, DiBiase was flush with gold as he became the first North American Champion. However, his reign would not last long, as he was defeated for the strap just four months later by Pat Patterson. Patterson held the title from June 19, 1979 to September 1st of that year. Unlike DiBiase, however, Pattersons brief reign was not because he was defeated. Instead, the North American title was quickly and quietly retired following Pattersons infamous victory in a tournament. The tournament was supposedly held in Brazil and saw Patterson crowned the first-ever Intercontinental Champion. Despite the introduction of the IC belt, the North American title found a new home in Japan where it was used for a few years. Seiji Sakaguchi was crowned the North American champ on November 8th in 79. Sakaguchi would hold the title until March 20, 1981 as the WWF officially retired the championship for good on that day.