7. WWF Intercontinental Championship (1998): HHH vs. The Rock (c)
Another classic Intercontinental Championship match between two up-and-coming stars who would help define the Attitude Era. In this case, Rocky and HHH had a lengthy ladder match for the IC title at the peak of the D-Generation X/Nation feud that lasted throughout the second half of 1998. The feud helped boost both factions, but the Intercontinental Championship match would show that Rock and HHH could steal the show. Both beat the hell out of each other for upwards of 25 minutes, with Rock damaging HHHs knee and Hunter using a chair to subdue Rocky. In the end, HHH would overcome Rock and capture his second IC title, but it wouldnt be long before both men would be fighting for the WWF Championship, showing how two mid-carders can elevate each other to the next level. What makes this tough to swallow today is seeing how often this happened in the 90s and how that is the opposite of whats happening with the Intercontinental Championship now. Sure, it looked like WWE was trying to get Bad News Barrett over in that manner, but then they strapped the title around The Mizs waist. Make your own joke here.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
