WWE's First 10 Intercontinental Champions: Where Are They Now?

Some have passed on. Others are still wrestling...

by Jamie Kennedy
Ultimate Warrior Intercontinental Champion
WWE.com

The Intercontinental Title was launched in 1979 as a secondary championship to complement the WWF Heavyweight Title. A bogus tournament was said to have taken place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the outcome being that Pat Patterson had unified both the North and South American Championships into one.

Back in those days, it was easier to fool fans with things happening in other countries. News didn't travel quite so quickly, and nobody was wise to the fact that the tournament didn't actually happen. All fans knew was what the WWF told them: Pat Patterson was the new and first Intercontinental Champion.

It says a lot for the length of title reigns in the 1980s that it took until 1988 for the 10th unique champion to be crowned. That man was The Ultimate Warrior, a wrestler who could hardly be considered more different to Patterson.

Real-life imitated art, as Warrior's life took a different turn to Patterson's away from the ring too...

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.