From @duddshaw: Who do you think was the last meaningful Intercontinental Champion?
That's such a hard question. It shouldn't be, but it is. After looking at a list of IC Champs, there's only one guy that held the IC Title for more than 200 days in the last ten years: Cody Rhodes in 2011. Before that the last guy with 200+ days was Shelton Benjamin way back in 2004. There was also Randy Orton for 200+ days starting in late 2003 and before him it was The Rock starting back in 1997. What do those numbers tell us? That there have been too many title reigns that were really short. Maybe I'm being a little harsh in saying that, but you would think in the last 17 years that there would be more than four guys that held the coveted IC Title for about seven months. Instead, all the records show us is that the IC Title doesn't mean what it did in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those were the glory days of that title. To answer the question, the title reigns of The Rock in 1997 through most of 1998 and Randy Orton in 2003 into 2004 are the ones that really stand out. For both guys they were at times in their career where it looked like they were on the brink of stardom and carrying that coveted IC Title meant a lot to them. Both went on to become World Champions for the first time soon after they lost those titles too. There were some other good reigns like when Cody had the IC Title he did a good job. Jeff Hardy in 2007 had a really good run with it. For the most part, there really aren't a lot of meaningful IC Title runs. It's a shame.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
