The Intercontinental Championship is traditionally seen as a stepping stone to the World Championship. However, a handful of Intercontinental Champions from the Attitude Era failed to make the title relevant, with many not going on to win the WWE Title.
The Intercontinental Title is one of the most prestigious championships in WWE history. Especially during the Attitude Era, champions like The Rock and Triple H did the Intercontinental Championship a world of good by having meaningful matches and feuds. However, the title began to diminish from 1999, especially in the Invasion angle in 2001, when the title would change hands regularly.
Since there were so many title changes in the Attitude Era, it's easy to lose track of all the stars who won the Intercontinental Title during this time. Unfortunately, whilst some of these Intercontinental Champions were good enough to be IC Champ, they failed to have a legendary run with the strap.
10 Kane
Kane is one of the most iconic names in WWE history. The Big Red Machine is a sure-fire future WWE Hall of Famer for the accolades he has amassed in WWE. However, for some reason, Kane never worked out as an Intercontinental Champion.
The Big Red Machine was an integral figure of the Attitude Era, but at Judgment Day 2001, Kane defeated Triple H for his first of two Intercontinental Title reigns. It was a huge deal as Triple H was at the top of his game, no pun intended. With the victory, Kane became the third Grand Slam Champion but first via the Hardcore Title route. Moreover, Kane managed to hold the title for 39 days, and he dropped the title to Albert which was a huge disappointment.
9 Lance Storm
Lance Storm made history on the May 28, 2001, edition of Raw, when he became the first WCW superstar to fire a shot in the Invasion storyline. Storm is an exceptional in-ring performer, and he won a plethora of titles in WCW.
Storm received a push rather quickly when he defeated Albert for the Intercontinental Championship on July 23, 2001, episode of Raw. Storm had the credentials to be a successful Intercontinental Champion, but he was hardly given the chance to prove himself. He retained the title against Christian but came out on the losing end to Edge at SummerSlam in a competitive battle with an abrupt reign of 27 days, to boot.
8 The Godfather
The Intercontinental Championship continued to be a laughing stock in 1999. There is no denying that The Godfather is an entertainer, but he was not Intercontinental Championship quality.
Godfather ended Goldust's unexpected third run with the title on the April 12, 1999, episode of Raw. The Godfather managed to retain the title against Goldust in a rematch at Backlash. However, Owen Hart disguised as The Blue Blazer was reportedly supposed to defeat him for the championship at Over The Edge, but Hart tragically fell from the rafters and died later on that evening. It was fitting that Jeff Jarrett, who was a close friend of Owen's, ended Godfather's lackluster IC Title reign on the May 31, 1999, edition of Raw.
7 Road Dogg
Road Dogg was one-half of one of the greatest tandems in the Attitude Era, alongside Billy Gunn as The New Age Outlaws. However, WWE decided to trial Gunn and Dogg as singles competitors. At the start of 1999, Dogg was chasing the Hardcore Title and Gunn was after the Intercontinental Championship.
Nonetheless, the roles were reversed, heading into WrestleMania XV. Road Dogg defeated Val Venis on the March 15, 1999, edition of Raw for the most significant singles title in his career, the Intercontinental Championship. Dogg had one noteworthy title defense when he retained the gold at WrestleMania XV in a Four Corners Elimination match. Ultimately, the night after Mania, Goldust ended his fairytale two-week run as champion.
6 Rikishi
In 2000, Rikishi was one of the most over babyfaces in WWE. Rikishi was a member of Too Cool, and he would use his trademark Stink Face to humiliate his opponents. Rikishi was rewarded for his good work by defeating Chris Benoit on the June 22, 2000, edition of SmackDown.
It was quite surprising that Rikishi would defeat The Rabid Wolverine for the gold as Benoit was a huge rich vein of form. For the duration of his poor two-week reign as IC Champion, Rikishi had a physical rivalry with Val Venis. Venis brutalized Rikishi after his semifinal loss in the King of the Ring Tournament. Ultimately, Venis dethroned Rikishi for his second IC title reign but Rikishi struggled as Intercontinental Champion, which is why it failed.
5 Albert
It never worked out for Albert in WWE, and he found more success in Japan. Albert underwent other names such as A-Train and Lord Tensai with neither gimmick working out. Despite a strong start to his WWE career alongside Test with Trish Stratus as their manager, Albert struggled on his own.
Therefore, it was surprising to see Albert end Kane's Intercontinental Champion reign in June 2001. Of course, he had some help from Diamond Dallas Page, who was feuding with The Undertaker at the time. Albert retained the title against Undertaker by DQ. He also bested the likes of Edge, Rhyno, and Justin Credible. Albert's IC Title reign is forgotten, and he was champion for 25 days with Lance Storm dethroning him in July 2001.
4 Test
Test had the look to be a big-time player in WWE, but his own personal issues derailed his chances of becoming a legitimate World Championship contender in WWE. Nevertheless, Test had a successful career, but his Intercontinental Championship victory over Edge on the November 5, 2001, edition of Raw was huge.
He became a double champion for a few days as he was the reigning WWE Tag Team Champion with Booker T. Test's Intercontinental Championship run was a failure as he dropped the title back to Edge in a title unification match with Edge unifying the IC Championship and the WCW United States Championship at the 2001 Survivor Series, 13 days later.
3 Billy Gunn
At No Way Out 2000, Billy Gunn tore his rotator cuff which kept him out of action for over six months. Gunn was an integral part of DX, but he was booted out by Triple H, Road Dogg, and X-Pac the following night on Raw. Nevertheless, when Gunn returned, he went under the Mr. Ass moniker briefly.
He ended up surrendering the rights to the name "Mr. Ass" after feuding with Right To Censor and then went under "The One" Billy Gunn. Gunn defeated Eddie Guerrero on the November 23, 2000, edition of SmackDown for his sole IC Title reign. He had a rivalry with Eddie as he mistreated Chyna, who was a good friend of his. Sadly, Gunn was a transitional champion, as Chris Benoit beat him at Armageddon, with Gunn's reign lasting an abrupt 17 days.
2 Goldust
Goldust is actually one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions to never win the WWE Championship. The Bizarre One is a talented performer, but he felt out of place by winning the Intercontinental Title in the Attitude Era.
The night after WrestleMania XV, Goldust began his unexpected third run with the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Road Dogg. This clearly meant a lot to Goldust, as he cut a promo that sounded real afterward. Unfortunately, Goldust's peak as IC Champion was when Marlena was by his side. He didn't do anything to elevate the gold with Godfather dethroning him just two weeks later.
1 Jeff Hardy
Now Jeff Hardy is one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all-time, but his first run with the gold was by far his worst. Jeff's sole lone IC Title triumph in the Attitude Era came when he upset Triple H on the April 12, 2001, edition of SmackDown.
The crowd went berzerk when Hardy won the title which came out of the blue. Inevitably, he dropped the gold back to Triple H on the following episode of Raw. His four-day IC Title reign was not a true reflection of Hardy, but he has gone on to have four more successful runs with the title.