10 WWE Stars Who Saved The Intercontinental Title
3. Shelton Benjamin
Randy Orton lost the Intercontinental Title to Edge, but the fans soon turned on him. The company unwisely continued to push Edge as a babyface, but he kept losing ground, and was eventually forced to forfeit the title due to injury.
Jericho won the vacated title, then lost it to Shelton Benjamin in a match into which Benjamin was voted at Taboo Tuesday.
Benjamin would go on to hold the title for eight months, defending it against challengers such as Christian, Maven, and Chris Jericho. More importantly, he became the first truly successful babyface champion since Razor Ramon, proving that a long run with a secondary title for a fan favourite was not an anachronism.
Unfortunately, that run was the apex of Shelton Benjamin's WWE career. What should have been the precursor to a long and fruitful run in the company's main event scene ended abruptly, and Benjamin floundered in the midcard for several frustrating years.
He remains one of WWE's most notable missed opportunities.