10 WWE Superstars You Won't Believe Never Held Intercontinental Title
8. Batista
Batista was a revelation of sorts, guy for whom not much was originally planned but who exploded into the conscious of wrestling fans organically, much to the dismay of a booking team hellbent on getting his Evolution teammate Randy Orton over as a main event star.
Late in 2004, Batista began exhibiting tendencies that suggested that he saw through the bulls**t manipulation of Triple H. With every week, fans witnessed Batista become stronger, smarter and eventually, rejoiced when he tossed his relationship with his mentor out the window in favor of a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 21.
His rise happened so quickly that The Animal jumped from mindless muscle to bona fide main eventer in the span of mere weeks, bypassing the slow build that Orton had endured, which included a lengthy run with the IC strap.
That means that The Animal missed out on a run with the Intercontinental Championship, though he did compete for it on several occasions, most notably against Edge and Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam 2004.
After defeating The Game for the title at 'Mania, Batista was a made man, one of the faces of WWE. There was no need for him to battle for the IC title, which was essentially a midcard title to be traded among those not yet at his position on the card.