7 Greatest Chris Jericho Title Reigns
4. WWE Intercontinental Championship (2001)
Jericho's fourth Intercontinental Championship reign began at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January 2001 when he defeated Chris Benoit in an extraordinary Ladder match. The quality of that match alone should have earned the reign a spot on this list but what followed was, easily, the greatest in-ring stretch of Jericho's career as IC champion.
Just weeks later at the No Way Out pay-per-view, live from Las Vegas, Jericho defended his title against Benoit, X-Pac and Eddie Guerrero in one of the more underrated matches of his career. Despite the challenge of the three superb in-ring competitors, and the incessant interference from Justin Credible at ringside, Jericho was able to retain.
He would successfully defend against William Regal at WrestleMania X-7 as well before dropping the gold to Triple H shortly thereafter.
At a time where the wrestling world was changing, and so many Superstars' futures were uncertain as WCW went out of business, Jericho cemented his status as one of the elite stars in WWE, regardless of the stature of the title he held.