10 Best WWE Intercontinental Title Matches Ever

5. Bret Hart Vs Davey Boy Smith (SummerSlam '92)

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WWE.com

Bret Hart was in arguably the most famous WWE match ever contested outside of the United States thanks the controversial conclusion to his Survivor Series 1997 brawl with Shawn Michaels. His loss in the second most was at least less acrimonious. As the first ever WWE pay-per-view without Hulk Hogan, SummerSlam 1992 had furnished an enormous Wembley Stadium crowd with Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior and Ric Flair elsewhere on the broadcast, but the Intercontinental Title spectacle was irrefutably the show's biggest takeaway.

It's an even greater spectacle in later years when watched with 'The Hitman's lengthy account of it in mind. According to Hart's expansive memoirs, a nervous Davey Boy Smith had spent the week beforehand masking his insecurities by smoking crack with Jim Neidhart. He was - in every sense - wrecked. Revealing his situation as the pair locked up, Bret took hold of his brother-in-law and the match to craft a 25-minute epic.

Having helped Smith through each individual step in front of the biggest crowd the two would ever perform in front of, Hart understandably considered it his favourite ever match. In every conceivable manner, the 'Excellence Of Execution' was yet again the hard-working consumate pro.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett