Intercontinental Championship, circa 1986 - 1998
In part one I discussed the inception of the Intercontinental Championship. In Part II I will look at what is considered the “glory years” of the Title.
With “Macho Man” Randy Savage as Intercontinental Champion, the Title gained prestige it had not seen up until that point. For over a year Savage held the belt, and saw his character turn from the company’s hottest up-and-coming villain into the best part of the show. His rivalry with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was a thing of beauty. The whole rivalry is explained in better detail here and it led to arguably one of the greatest matches in wrestling history that saw Steamboat beat Savage for the Championship at WrestleMania III.
Unfortunately Steamboat’s reign was incredibly short-lived. He wanted to take time off for the birth of his new baby boy (who is now incidentally a young wrestler himself), and the company took the belt off of him in short order. Steamboat’s loss was a huge surprise as it looked to be a routine title defense against low level comedy wrestler Honky Tonk Man, only for Honky to pull out the surprise win.
Ricky Steamboat v. Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship – June 2, 1987
Not only was it a surprise that Honky won the Championship, but the fact that he kept it for a record fifteen months is still something to behold. As Champion, Honky Tonk Man became the prototype for the “scared chicken heel.” He was the guy who would take count out losses or get intentionally disqualified in order to save the Championship, as the Title could only change hands via pinfall or submission. The crowd hatred for Honky grew to such levels that he was able to headline shows on his own, as people would pay money to see him lose. He ultimately go his comeuppance at SummerSlam ’88 when The Ultimate Warrior destroyed him mere seconds.
Warrior's first major rival as Intercontinental Champion was Ravishing Rick Rude, and the two men traded the belt through 1989. With Warrior as Intercontinental Champion and Hulk Hogan as WWF World Heavyweight Champion, the company’s top Champions were both the company’s biggest super heroes. It was enivetable that the two super heroes would collide at some point, which they did. After Warrior beat Hogan to win the WWF Championship at WrestleMania VI he relinquished the Intercontinental Title.
“Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig beat Tito Santana in a tournament final in April 1990 to become the new Champion. With Hennig as Champion the Intercontinental Title division became home to the company’s best matches, and the place for the company’s best legit wrestlers to ply their trade. Hennig and “Texas Tornado” Kerry Von Erich battled over the Championship in 1990 before losing it to Bret “Hit Man” Hart at SummerSlam ’91. With Hart the focal point of the division he battled the likes of Rowdy Roddy Piper, “Mountie” Jacques Rougeau, Shawn Michaels and “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith. His Title match with Davey Boy Smith at SummerSlam ’92 is easily one of the best WWE matches of the ‘90s.
Smith’s reign as Champion was very short, as he was just used as a transition to get the belt to an up-and-coming Shawn Michaels. Michaels, like Hart before him, was a tag team specialist who outgrew his partner and was looking to make his mark in the singles ranks. Michaels, also like Hennig and Hart before him, was pretty much considered the best wrestler in the company at the time and the Intercontinental Title was his prize to show that. He ruled the Intercontinental Championship scene for much of 1993 until something (the story changes depends on who tells it) caused him to temporarily be suspended from the company.
In his place was Razor Ramon, who took over the Championship mantle. When Michaels returned, still calling himself Champion, the two men embarked on a collision course that culminated with the famous Ladder match at WrestleMania X. Ramon then battled Michaels’ tag team partner Diesel and had a lengthy feud with Jeff Jarrett that saw the two men trade the Title back and forth throughout 1995. With Jarrett as Champion he battled in Michaels in a fantastic and underrated Championship match in July ’95 that saw Michaels win the belt for a third time. After a real-life injury caused Michaels to bow out that fall, Razor ended up as Champion for a then record fourth time.
Shawn Michaels v. Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Championship – July 23, 1995 – In Your House 2 – Nashville, Tennessee
Early in 1996 Razor lost the belt to the controversial Goldust. With Goldust as a Champion, it became a time for using the Championship to elevate new and unproven stars up the card as men like Goldust, Ahmed Johnson, Marc Mero and a young Hunter Hearst-Helmsley all wore the gold. In 1997 things took another surprise turn as a legit rookie in the business named Rocky Maivia scored an upset over HHH to win the Championship. Little did we know that the young Rocky Maivia would go on to beome one of the biggest professional wrestlers and international movie star “The Rock.” This match would also be the catalyst to start the storied Triple H-Rock rivalry.
When the “Rocky Maivia” experiment failed, he lost the belt to Owen Hart. Owen was a champion reminiscent of those from the early ‘90s – the best wrestler in the company who was able to put on the best matches with a variety of opponents. Unfortunately Owen’s reign wouldn’t last long, as he became a steppingstone for Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was en route to becoming the mega star that he is today. Austin outgrew the Intercontinental Title in a hurry but still faced the challenge of Rocky Maivia, who was now the brash-talking, cocky The Rock. The Rock, who had now come into his own, was the leader of the black militant group The Nation and clashed with Triple H and DeGeneration X army. The two old rivals had now grown as performers as they battled throughout the spring and summer of 1998. The second stage of their rivalry ended at SummerSlam ’98 when Triple H won a Ladder match for the Championship. Unfortunately a knee injury caused HHH to vacate the belt weeks later. But regardless this was a case of the two performers who saw their stock rise thanks to their battles over the belt, and in turn the prestige of the Championship was raised as well.
Comments