10 WWE Stars Who Cemented The Intercontinental Title's Legacy

10. Tito Santana

The most underrated wrestler in WWE history, Tito Santana is also one of the more underappreciated Intercontinental champions the company has ever produced. A fine wrestler capable of firing up the crowd, creating sympathy for himself and putting other opponents over without complaint when the situation arose, he was great in his role as the second most important champion in the Vince McMahon-owned promotion. Wars against Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, Don Muraco, the Iron Sheik and Randy Savage helped build the legacy of the title. The superb bouts he had with those Hall of Fame competitors, especially Valentine, earned the title the reputation of being the worker's title. The best wrestlers, the workhorses were given runs with the title because they could deliver excellent matches on a nightly basis whereas the heavyweight champion was the draw. Santana was a classic babyface capable of creating drama through quality nearfalls and a fiery babyface comeback that set him apart from the other good guys on the roster. That he was so skilled was a rarity for McMahon's promotion, which favored hulking bodybuilder types rather than quality workers. In many ways, Santana was an example of the type of worker that thrived in the National Wrestling Alliance. He should have never had the quality career that he did in New York and the fact that he did, the fact that he outlasted as many talented individuals as he did and was still wrestling solid matches against the likes of Shawn Michaels, Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, Razor Ramon and Ric Flair well into the 1990s proves his greatness. His reigns as Intercontinental champion may have come prior to the boom period that was the Rock and Wrestling Era but that should not lessen the impact he had on the title and the promotion.