20 Wrestlers You Totally Forgot Held WWE Championships

4. The Mountie (Intercontinental Champion)

Essa Rios Lita
WWE.com

Jacques Rougeau was always a solid wrestler, and his work as a smarmy pro-Canadian, anti-American heel helped continue the longstanding tradition of “foreign menace” characters in wrestling. A former WWE Tag Team Champion, he was forced to singles action when his brother Ray retired in 1990, and Jacques became The Mountie.

He was a corrupt, cattle prod-wielding Canadian law enforcer who made a solid impact by feuding with the Big Boss Man, but his career didn’t peak until 1992. On January 17th, The Mountie scored a shock victory over Bret Hart to become WWE Intercontinental Champion, though it came with a caveat: Hart was undergoing contract negotiations at the time, and WWE didn’t want to risk him leaving with the belt (how ironic…).

It didn’t last long, however. The Mountie dropped the title to Rowdy Roddy Piper at the 1992 Royal Rumble just two days later, and his reign stood as the shortest in IC Title history for a number of years. He attempted to win it back from Piper a week later, but was unsuccessful.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.