20 Longest WWE Intercontinental Title Reigns

17. Shawn Michaels - 202 Days

The Rock Ic Champ
WWE.com

Shawn Michaels had spent part of 1993 feuding with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty, although controversy was just around the corner in the form of the two Champions debacle with Razor Ramon.

Either side of a 20-day Jannetty Intercontinental Championship reign, Michaels spent a combined total of 315 days as the IC Champ. The longest of these two particular HBK reigns came before losing the title to Marty. At that point, Michaels had held the strap for 202 days before being surprised by his former partner making a shock return on Monday Night Raw to take the belt courtesy of an assist from Mr. Perfect.

Shawn had first won the Intercontinental Title after defeating the British Bulldog on a late 1992 edition of Saturday Night's Main event, a result that broke the hearts of many (particularly us Brits) as it felt that Davey Boy had seen his run cut far too short. 

During his first IC title run, Michaels would actually spend some time challenging for Bret Hart's WWF Championship as well as defending his own gold against various midcard wrestlers. Following Hart's lead, Michaels would end up using the IC Championship as a true stepping stone towards becoming a main eventer and WWF Champion, setting a precedent for the stars of tomorrow.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.