Some of the greatest Intercontinental Champions have never won a world championship in WWE. However, the WWE Intercontinental Title has traditionally been seen as a stepping stone to the WWE Championship. It is known as a workhorse title that is defended more frequently on television compared to a world championship. The likes of Shawn Michaels and The Rock were sensational IC Champs and were rewarded with multiple world championship reigns.

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Plenty of great Intercontinental Champions flirted with the main event scene but did not quite make it to the next level. Nevertheless, many of them can be proud of making the Intercontinental Championship meaningful!

10 Cody Rhodes

cody-rhodes-intercontinental-champion

Cody Rhodes seemed destined for greatness in WWE, but his push did not materialize past the mid-card. Cody is the son of WWE Hall of Famer, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. He is a two-time Intercontinental Champion, revitalizing the championship in 2011 by bringing back the old version of the title. Cody's first reign lasted over seven months, which was a remarkable achievement.

Sadly, WWE never viewed Cody as a main eventer, and he fell down the pecking order by becoming Stardust. Credit has to be given to Cody, who decided to leave WWE in 2016 and he is now bearing the fruits of his labor in AEW.

9 John Morrison

John Morrison Intercontinental Champion Cropped

John Morrison branched out from a tag team in MNM with Joey Mercury and turned into a fine singles competitor. The Shaman of Sexy has three Intercontinental reigns to his name, and he is an underrated IC Champion. Moreover, his feud with Jeff Hardy over the gold in 2006 elevated Morrison as a formidable competitor.

However, Morrison was at the peak of his powers in early 2011 and seemed poised for a WWE Championship run. He had some excellent matches with his former partner The Miz but was unable to win the title from Miz. Morrison made his long-awaited run to WWE in 2020, but his run already seems stagnant.

8 Goldust

Goldust

The creation of the Goldust character is one of the best in WWE history. The Bizarre One made an instant impact by winning the Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon at the 1996 Royal Rumble. Goldust would quote films, and he had his real-life wife Marlena as his manager.

Goldust overall held the Intercontinental Championship three times with an unexpected third but brief reign in 1999. Moreover, Goldust was capable of mixing it up with the very best, and he gained a shock victory over Undertaker in a casket match, albeit with some help from Mankind. Unfortunately, Goldust's character became a joke, and there was no way he would become a WWE Champion with the way he was booked in the 2000s.

7 William Regal

William Regal

William Regal was unfortunate to be in the era of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in his peak. Regal is one of the best in-ring technicians, which is why he is a two-time Intercontinental Champion.

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Regal could play any role that was presented to him, whether it be a serious heel, an authority figure, or a comedian. However, Regal has been plagued with several health issues over the years and had his own battles with drugs, which has halted many of his pushes. Most notably in 2008, Regal was enjoying a late-career renaissance, when he was crowned as King of the Ring, but he failed the wellness policy for the second time and was suspended for 60 days.

6 Shelton Benjamin

Shelton Benjamin

The mid-2000s was all about the Benjamins. Shelton Benjamin is one of the most gifted talented performers in WWE history but has criminally underperformed in terms of becoming a world champion. Whilst, he was spoken about in the same breath as Batista, John Cena, and his good friend Brock Lesnar, he was unable to carve out a successful career like them. Benjamin entered the business at the same time as these main event stars, but he never reached the top of the mountain in WWE.

Shelton captured the Intercontinental Championship three times, and he dethroned Chris Jericho for his first reign at Taboo Tuesday 2004, a title he would hold onto for a whopping 244 days. Ultimately, his lack of mic skills certainly hampered his chances of grasping a world title.

5 Wade Barrett

Barrett

Wade Barrett was touted by many to become the first English-born WWE Champion. Barrett's debut year, as the leader of The Nexus in 2010, was the perfect opportunity to hand Barrett the championship. Wade challenged Orton three times for the title, but WWE failed to pull the trigger and Barrett didn't become WWE Champion.

Nevertheless, Barrett had to settle for five Intercontinental Championship reigns which is a phenomenal achievement. Wade is currently back with WWE as a commentator on NXT, but it's a shame that Barrett never got to end England's long wait for a WWE Champion.

4 Owen Hart

Owen Hart

Owen Hart's name is always thrown up as a topic of discussion for being one of the best wrestlers to never win the WWE Championship. The King of Harts thrived as the 1994 King of the Ring winner. Owen was a cocky heel and was relatable to many as an annoying younger brother, which was evident in his entertaining feud with his brother Bret.

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Unfortunately, Owen came up short in his quest to capture the WWE Championship in his matches with Bret and Shawn Michaels. However, he is a two-time Intercontinental Champion with both reigns coming in 1997. He had a legendary feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, which saw Austin's neck get broken due to a botched Tombstone from Owen.

3 Jeff Jarrett

Jeff Jarrett

Jeff Jarrett is synonymous with the Intercontinental Championship. In the '90s, Jarrett became the first man to capture six Intercontinental Championship reigns. His record stood for nine years with the most IC Title reigns until Chris Jericho broke it with his seventh in 2004. Double J was an arrogant heel, but he could back it up in the ring as he was an exceptional in-ring worker.

It has been well documented that Jarrett was poised to have a feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin over the WWE Championship. However, Austin vetoed that idea as he was not interested in the slightest in working with Double J.

2 Mr. Perfect

Mr Perfect

The fact that Mr. Perfect never won the WWE Championship is a travesty. Perfect's in-ring skills saw him as one of the best wrestlers in the early '90s. He is a two-time Intercontinental Champion and he held the title for 404 days in total, which shows he is a workhorse champion.

His match with Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1991 is often regarded as one of the best Intercontinental Championship matches in history. Perfect easily should have won the WWE Championship as he had the charisma, but with Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and Randy Savage holding the gold, Perfect narrowly missed out. Nonetheless, many fans and critics alike view Perfect as the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time.

1 Razor Ramon

Razor Ramon

Razor Ramon epitomized being the Intercontinental Champion in the 1990s. The Bad Guy is a four-time Intercontinental Champion, and he was the first man to achieve the feat of winning the title on four occasions. Razor transitioned from a heel to a loveable babyface, excelling in both roles by putting on instant classics.

His legendary feud with Shawn Michaels over the Intercontinental Championship is what put Razor on the map. Both of their ladder match encounters at WrestleMania X and SummerSlam 1995 set the bar for future ladder matches. Razor failed to win the WWE Championship from Bret at the 1993 Royal Rumble, which was another underrated encounter. Like many before him, Razor will go down as one of the best Intercontinental Champions to never hold the WWE Championship.

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