5 greatest Intercontinental Championship matches in SummerSlam history
For many years during the infancy of the SummerSlam series, the Intercontinental Championship remained one of the biggest parts of the company. As the WWE began to become a more global brand in the 1980s and 90s, the storylines built around the IC title was a featured part of the brand. To this day, the IC title match between Ricky Steamboat and the "Macho Man" Randy Savage is one of the greatest matches not only in WrestleMania history, but ever.
Whether it was continuing to establish a star to the main event status, or highlighting an already-popular star, the Intercontinental Championship was certainly a must-see part of the SummerSlam cards.
As the years progressed the title still created many memorable moments to help establish and continue to establish stars, as well as cement some of the greatest matches in the history of the series.
For the past 32 years, there have been a total of 24 IC title matches. Interestingly, the first five years all resulted in a title change. Shawn Michaels was the first person to break this streak, going into the event as champion and defeating Mr. Perfect by countout. Throughout the span of the series, names such as Shawn Michaels, Mr. Perfect, Dolph Ziggler, and The Miz entered the IC title match multiple times as champion, while others such as Razor Ramon and The Ultimate Warrior came in multiple times as challenger.
In the midst of the title changes and memorable moments, there are five IC title matches that stand out above the rest. Although actual in-ring quality is a factor in determining which ones are among the best, the overall storyline of what led to the match, as well as the fan reaction during and after the match, are also very important the the selection process.
#5. The Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude – SummerSlam 1989
1989 was the second installment of the SummerSlam series. The reigning Intercontinental Champion was "Ravishing" Rick Rude, and he was defending the title against The Ultimate Warrior. A year prior, The Ultimate Warrior was the mystery opponent against the Honky Tonk Man, and he ended his record IC title reign of 454 days.
With the help of Bobby Heenan, Ultimate Warrior's IC title reign ended at WrestleMania V. Warrior gained an opportunity to regain the title at SummerSlam.
The match was not the greatest from bell to bell, but the excitement was feverish. Ultimate Warrior, as usual, heightened the energy of the crowd with his electric entrance, gaining early support heading into the start of the match. The match went back and forth, but in the end, Ultimate Warrior was able to regain the championship, and the ovation was thunderous. Roddy Piper made an appearance as well, which distracted Rude.
Ultimate Warrior maintained the championship all the way until WrestleMania VI, where he competed against Hulk Hogan in a title vs. title match. Warrior won this match, temporarily becoming a double champion. Back then, wrestlers had to relinquish a title when they became double champion, so Warrior was forced to end his IC title reign after defeating Hogan.