Titles in wrestling are crucial as they determine who the top stars are for each company, and who fans should be paying particular attention to. Most of the time, it is the top World Champion of any given company that is the main focus, and those titles are often seen as the most important in the industry.
However, every now and then, a secondary title pops up and is made to feel far more important. Whether it's due to the World Champion being poor or just an incredible storyline or wrestler that simply cannot be denied, secondary titles have at times snuck through the cracks to become the most important thing in wrestling.
10 WWE Intercontinental Championship (Kevin Owens, 2015)
When WWE decided to mess around with the WWE Championship, going back and forth between Sheamus and Roman Reigns, the opportunity arose for Kevin Owens. As the Intercontinental Champion, he made the most of that and became the talk of WWE.
KO was still fairly fresh at this point and he was enjoying a major push by WWE, which was great to see. The fans were fully behind him and invested in everything that was happening, which only served the title well.
9 WWE Intercontinental Championship (Seth Rollins, 2018)
Whenever WWE has opted to have Brock Lesnar as its top champion, there has always been a chance for the secondary titles in WWE to rise. That is exactly what happened in 2018, with Seth Rollins being the top champion at the time on Raw.
He was the ultimate babyface at the time, and that only helped to grow the title even further as the audiences were massively behind him. Rollins also made a big deal out of the fact he was the only one appearing with a title, and he simply positioned himself as the number one star at that time.
8 WWE Intercontinental Championship (Razor Ramon, 1993)
The first-ever ladder match took place over the Intercontinental Championship as the feud between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels heated up towards WrestleMania X. At the time, this was the main title in WWE, with Yokozuna's WWE Championship run not quite connecting.
Razor was a brilliant champion and he really did elevate the title to new heights. At the time, this was certainly the main title and that was a credit to Razor's ability.
7 ROH World Television Championship (Jay Lethal, 2014)
The Ring Of Honor World Championship is a prestigious title that only top quality wrestlers have had the chance of holding. However, during Jay Lethal's epic ROH World Television Championship reign, he was easily the top star for the company.
He was an unbelievable champion, holding the title for 567 days, putting together some amazing matches throughout. It made him the most talked-about wrestler in the company, and the fact he was pushed to the ROH World Title scene while still holding the TV Title is all the proof needed.
6 WWE Intercontinental Championship (Bret Hart, 1992)
Winning the title at WrestleMania VIII and then going on to drop it in the main event of SummerSlam provided Bret Hart with an amazing run as champion. This period was a real hot streak for the Hitman, and he made the Intercontinental Championship the top title at the time.
The SummerSlam match at a sold-out Wembley remains one of the biggest bouts in wrestling history, and the fact it took place for the Intercontinental Title showcased that it was the number one belt at that time.
5 WWE United States Championship (John Cena, 2015)
At WrestleMania 31, the aim for WWE was to make the secondary titles mean a lot more than they did beforehand. Because of that, WWE decided to have John Cena win the United States Championship, which instantly rose the profile of the title massively.
The fact that Cena defended the title on a weekly basis on Raw also really helped fans commit and care about the title more than ever before. It felt like the top title in the company, and that was purely down to the great work of John Cena.
4 WWE Intercontinental Championship (The Ultimate Warrior, 1989)
The Ultimate Warrior was the man in the late 1980s, and the fact he was pushed as the Intercontinental Championship only made that a bigger deal. He was an amazing champion and was seen as the top star in the company at the time.
The fact he got to main event WrestleMania VI in a title vs title match against World Champion Hulk Hogan showcased that. But then having Warrior win only confirmed it, and at the time, the Intercontinental Championship was certainly seen as the number one title.
3 WWE United States Championship (Chris Jericho, 2017)
The fact that most wrestling fans wanted to see a United States Championship match headline WrestleMania shows that it was the top title at the time. Chris Jericho did an amazing job with the title in 2017 as his storyline with Kevin Owens played out.
The friendship between Jericho and KO was brilliant and their subsequent fallout was even better. At the heart of it was the United States Championship, which was massively elevated during the entire storyline.
2 WWE Intercontinental Championship (The Miz, 2016/2017)
A secondary title has never felt more important in WWE than when The Miz held the Intercontinental Championship in 2016-2017. With Jinder Mahal holding WWE's top prize, fans were instantly less invested in the World Title scene, and everyone put their attention onto The Miz.
Thankfully, at this point, Miz was putting together an amazing run as champion. He was incredibly compelling and his feud with Dolph Ziggler brought some amazing performances out of both men which only made the title feel more important.
1 IWGP Intercontinental Championship (Shinsuke Nakamura, 2012/2013)
Nowadays, the IWGP Intercontinental Championship is seen as one of the most important titles in wrestling. However, that is all down to the work of Shinsuke Nakamura, who elevated the title to new heights.
Nakamura had some fantastic reigns during 2012/2013 and took the title to the main event scene. The fact that this championship headlined Wrestle Kingdom 8 was a huge deal, and it cemented it as the top title at the time.