4. Tito Santana - WWE Intercontinental Champion (1984-5)
By the time the wrestling boom of the 1980s took off, Tito Santana was firmly entrenched in the middle of WWE's midcard, the purgatory of professional wrestling. With over-the-top cartoon characters such as Hulk Hogan starring at the top of the card and a crop of young stars moving up the ranks, Santana was lost in the shuffle and, eventually, would gain great notoriety among fans as a tag team specialist. What those fans, the men, women and children that jumped on the WWE bandwagon as it was leaving the station, did not know was that Santana was a huge star for the company in the years that preceded said boom. A great worker whose wars with Greg Valentine helped enhance the importance of the Intercontinental Championship, Santana was one of the promotion's most popular stars and an extraordinary worker who understood psychology and, more importantly, had one of the best babyface comebacks in the sport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BJ48vzjsFo Santana was an unselfish workhorse, the type of star who had no problem putting others over when asked to do so. He was a superb worker, one of the five best in Vince McMahon's company at one point and a huge asset to the promotion. The first to really demonstrate the potential of the title to be the championship that restored workrate to McMahon's circus-like atmosphere. Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Razor Ramon, Jeff Jarrett and others would follow his example, making the title as important to fans of great wrestling as the heavyweight strap.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
