The Day The WWE Intercontinental Title Died

1. Forever Now An Afterthought

Triple H Kane
WWE.com

To his credit, Sami Zayn is doing everything he can right now to make the Intercontinental Championship feel like a big deal once again. In fact, 2020 has been a largely positive year for SmackDown's secondary title - with AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy just a few of the names to have helped re-establish some prestige to the championship.

It's not like the Intercontinental Championship has been a complete dud since being reactivated in May 2003; it's just the the title has often been viewed as an afterthought. For every great reign - such as Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes or Seth Rollins - there has been numerous other reigns that we've all forgot ever really happened. And if we do remember them, chances are that it's not for the right reasons.

For those who have long championed the Intercontinental Championship, the stark reality is that the past decade and more have found us far too often struggling to think of who the actual current IC Champ actually is - such is how much of a stark afterthought that championship and its holder have been positioned by WWE.

With the prospect of a Daniel Bryan and Sami Zayn rivalry on the horizon, there is something to look forward to in the Intercontinental Title ranks, but the damage has long been done where it pertains to ever being able to view the Intercontinental Championship as the major deal it once was.

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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 dayjob, 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.