10 WWE Superstars You Won't Believe Never Held Intercontinental Title
3. John Cena
John Cena's rise to fame, fortune and status as Nikki Bella's boyfriend, not to mention franchise player in World Wrestling Entertainment, came post-brand extension.
Debuting on the SmackDown brand, he rose to prominence as the United States champion. As such, he never had access to the Intercontinental Championship, what with that being property of Monday Night Raw.
So, by the time he was launched into superstardom by way of his victory over JBL for the WWE Championship, he had missed out on his opportunity to hold the gold.
Even with his step back into the midcard in 2015, Cena opted for another run with the US title, hoping to restore credibility to the once-prestigious title.
And he did, through a rigorous series of matches known collectively as the US Championship Open Challenge.
Cena's resume is undeniably stacked but one has to wonder if it would not have behooved him to add to it with just one run with the title.