Every WWE Intercontinental Champion Of The 1980s, Ranked
The WWE Intercontinental Championship was established back in 1979, with Hall Of Famer Pat Patterson being crowned as the very first champion following a fictional tournament in Brazil, which never actually took place. Over the next decade into the 1980s, the Intercontinental Title rose in prominence and established itself as the number two championship in WWE, behind the WWE Championship.
10 Wrestlers From The 1980s Everybody Loved (But Forgot About)
While these 1980s wrestlers were fan-favorites back in the day, they're mostly forgotten by today's fans.There were 11 different champions in the 1980s and 15 different reigns, though some of those champions were certainly better than others. This will determine who the best Intercontinental Champion of the 1980s was, based on a variety of different factors.
Ricky Steamboat’s Time As Intercontinental Champion Was One To Forget
Steamboat’s Reign Was Short
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
March 29, 1987 (WWE WrestleMania 3) | 65 Days | 2 |
There is no denying the insane talents of Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, who is among the best in-ring workers of the era. However, following on from his classic against Randy Savage at WrestleMania 3 where he won the Intercontinental Title, the reign which followed was the worst of the 1980s.
Shortly after winning the title, Steamboat requested time off, much to the chagrin of Vince McMahon. After a reign without any memorable matches (aside from the win itself), Steamboat quickly dropped the title to Honky Tonk Man, making his the shortest and worst reign of the 1980s. It was a shame as Steamboat fit the bill of being a potentially classic champion, but in the end he was far from it.
Rick Rude Didn’t Do Much As Intercontinental Champion
Rude Was Only There To Put Over Ultimate Warrior
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
April 2, 1989 (WWE WrestleMania 5) | 148 Days | 12 |
Rick Rude was someone with main event potential and he certainly looked at home with a title around his waist. Unfortunately for him though, his talents did not reflect the lesser quality of this Intercontinental Title reign.
Rude was used as a tool to get Ultimate Warrior over, and that was pretty much it. Rude won and lost the title to Warrior, not doing too much in between aside from feuding with the super over babyface. He spent the entire reign running from Warrior, so he didn’t exactly look strong.
Greg Valentine Was Weakly Booked As The IC Champion
Valentine Hardly Had Clean Wins
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
September 24, 1984 (WWE Maple Leaf Wrestling) | 285 Days | 28 |
Greg Valentine should have further legitimized the Intercontinental Championship, but as ever was the case with heel champions of this era, decisive victories and clean results came few and far between.
Valentine escaped with his title in DQs and count-outs over and over again. At the time, fans weren’t as against this, but in hindsight it was repetitive and stale. Valentine’s feud with Tito Santana was strong though, keeping it above the previous reigns in this list.
Ken Patera’s Intercontinental Title Reign Was Full Of None Finishes
Patera’s Run Had Countless Count-Outs And DQs
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
April 21, 1980 (WWF on MSG Network) | 230 Days | 4 |
Ken Patera’s reign as Intercontinental Champion was very similar to that of Gref Valentine’s, but the title felt higher profile around the waist of Patera, mostly due to the caliber of his opponents, even with the frustrating finishes.
10 Best Things About Wrestling In The 1980s
Wrestling was breaking into the mainstream in the 1980s, providing countless memorable moments fans still talk about today!These included the likes of Andre The Giant, the reigning WWE Champion Bob Backlund, and Pat Patterson. Patera would notably also defeat Gorilla Monsoon in a Title vs. Career match, which helped to make this reign a little more prominent than that of Valentine.
Honky Tonk Man’s Record-Breaking Reign Is Overrated
Honky Tonk Man Didn’t Much For The Belt Despite The Length Of Reign
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
June 2, 1987 | 453 Days | 30 |
The Honky Tonk Man is only this high up due to the fact that for many decades his was the longest reign of all time for the Intercontinental Championship, and that has to count for something. However, the actual reign itself had forgettable match after forgettable match.
He was not booked strongly, instead always escaping via DQ or other shenanigans. His character work was decent, but all in all he was a level below many of the other wrestlers who have held this title over the years.
Pat Patterson Made History As The First Intercontinental Champion
Patterson Holds A Special Place
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
September 1, 1979 | 232 Days | 14 |
Pat Patterson had the daunting task of being the very first Intercontinental Champion, and he did rise to the occasion to have a fairly decent run with the belt, though it wasn’t anything overly special. The lore of Patterson’s title victory is interesting given that the tournament he won it at was fictional, but surely a real tournament would have actually been much better?
Patterson had a few good matches here and there with Ted DiBiase and Bob Backlund, but for the most part he did battle with many lower card names in very short matches.
Pedro Morales Was The First Two-Time Intercontinental Champion
Morales Had Long And Eventful Reigns
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
December 8, 1980 (House Show) | 193 Days | 10 |
November 23, 1981 (WWF on MSG Network) | 424 Days | 36 |
Pedro Morales made history by becoming the first multi-time Intercontinental Champion, winning it twice throughout the 1980s. For many years he was the cumulative longest reigning title holder, showcasing his dominance as champion.
He had two prosperous reigns, fending off several strong challengers in the process. Of course, some matches were predictable, short, and had a dirty finish, as was ever the case during the 1980s during title matches.
Randy Savage Added Legitimacy To The Intercontinental Title
Savage Had Star Power As Champion
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
February 8, 1986 (WWF on NESN) | 414 Days | 46 |
Out of all those who won the Intercontinental Championship in the 1980s, Randy Savage brought the most legitimacy and star power for sure. His storyline with George Steele was great despite the matches not being amazing, but he tore it up with the likes of Tito Santana.
His WrestleMania 3 match against Ricky Steamboat came during this reign, which was iconic. Some downsides did include repetitive opponents, and for the most part Savage’s in-ring ability wasn’t on full show due to the type of opponents he faced, like Steele and Junkyard Dog for instance.
Tito Santana Had Some Great Feuds As Intercontinental Champion
Santana Brought Workrate To The Title
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
February 11, 1984 (House Show) | 226 Days | 22 |
July 6, 1985 (House Show) | 217 Days | 11 |
Tito Santana had two strong runs as Intercontinental Champion in the 1980s, bringing some wonderful in-ring ability to the occasion, which is really what this belt is all about at its core.
Santana had great long matches with names like Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton, Randy Savage, and several other top and notable names from the time.
Ultimate Warrior Was Widely Popular As Intercontinental Champion
Warrior Wasn’t Great In Ring, But Fans Loved Him With The Belt
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
August 29, 1988 (WWE SummerSlam) | 216 Days | 20 |
August 28, 1989 (WWE SummerSlam) | 216 Days | 15 |
It must be said that The Ultimate Warrior didn’t quite represent the in-ring fundamentals that the Intercontinental Title represents, but there is no denying that the title felt huge around his waist due to how outrageously popular he was. Warrior had two reigns in the 1980s (the second running in the year 1990, but it is only fair to assess the full reign).
10 Best Wrestlers To Never Main Event A PPV In The 1980s
The 1980s featured some talented wrestlers that didn't get the chance to headline a major show!His reigns saw him defeat the likes of Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect, Andre The Giant, Rick Rude, Ted DiBiase, and a sea of other Hall Of Fame talents, all with the crowd loving every second of it and with him feeling like a main eventer.
Don Muraco Was A Dominant Multi-Time Champion
Muraco Was The Best Intercontinental Champion Of The 1980s
Date Won | Length Of Reign | Number Of Televised Defenses |
|---|---|---|
June 20, 1981 (WWF on PRISM Network) | 155 Days | 5 |
January 22, 1983 (WWF on MSG Network) | 384 Days | 27 |
It is a tough task choosing the best Intercontinental Champions of the 1980s, but “Magnificent” Don Muraco is someone who best represented the gold. He was a dominant titleholder who not only had two lengthy reigns, but had cleaner finishes and several great matches.
He ran through many opponents with ease, whilst also fending off harder challengers like Jimmy Snuka, Tito Santana, Rocky Johnson, and Pedro Morales. He would also notably step up to face Bob Backlund in a notable Texas Death match for the WWE Title during this reigns.
