The Day The WWE Intercontinental Title Died
Where did it all go wrong for one of the most prestigious titles in wrestling history.
For the longest period of time, WWE's Intercontinental Championship was viewed as one of the greatest prizes in the professional wrestling business.
Sure, it wasn't technically a World Championship, but the belt had often been viewed as being just as much of a big deal as its supposed superior. Case in point, a young Chris Jericho once dreamt of becoming the Intercontinental Champion - not World Champion - because he wanted to emulate Ricky Steamboat and hold what was then positioned as such an important championship.
Having been in existence for over 40 years by this point in time, it's fair to say that the Intercontinental Championship has had more than its fair shares and ups and downs. And in reality, the past couple of decades have seen far more downs than they have ups when it comes to the IC Title.
Where did it all go wrong for this once-prestigious of championships, then? How did such a much-lauded prize become such a non-priority?
It's impossible to truly pinpoint one exact match or moment that's solely responsible for killing the Intercontinental Championship, but here's how things soured for the championship and what ultimately served as the final nail in its coffin.
8. Where It All Began
We all remember that fateful September 1, 1979 night where Pat Patterson stole the show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as he won a tournament to emerge as the first ever WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion.
Only we don't, because it didn't actually happen.
In the WWE narrative, WWF North American Heavyweight Champion Patterson emerged victorious in a tournament to unify that title with the South American Heavyweight Championship. As the story goes, Pat beat Johnny Rodz in the finals of that tournament.
The thing is, there was no South American Heavyweight Championship and there was no Brazil-set tournament. In reality, the then-World Wrestling Federation just wanted to shake things up by introducing a new championship.
Regardless of how the crowning of the first Intercontinental Champion was pure fabrication, Patterson went on to have an impressive run as the inaugural IC Champ. The French-Canadian would keep hold of the gold for 233 days before losing it to Ken Patera.
Establishing a sense of prestige for the Intercontinental Championship, Patera himself would then have a 231-day reign, Pedro Morales would run with the belt for 194 days, Don Muraco would get 156 days, Morales would get an incredible 425-day second reign, and Muraco likewise would get a second run - this time at 385 days.
It was during Muraco's second Intercontinental Championship reign that the World Wrestling Federation formally moved away from the National Wrestling Alliance, and the Vincent J. McMahon-led promotion had now truly positioned itself with a much-coveted secondary championship.