5 longest WWE Intercontinental Championship reigns
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is one of the most prestigious titles, not only in WWE, but professional wrestling entirely. The first-ever Intercontinental Champion was crowned in 1979 in Brazil, where Pat Patterson won gold defeating Johnny Rodz to unify the WWF North American Championship and the made-up South American Heavyweight Championship.
The championship is recognized as the secondary title to the main world championships, but holding the title can signify whether someone is ready to carry the main titles. In total, there have been 179 Intercontinental Championship reigns in WWE history.
That being said, let's take a look at five of the longest WWE Intercontinental Championship reigns.
#5 Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine was Intercontinental Champion for 285 days
The Intercontinental Championship was held by Greg Valentine in 1984 for 285 days. Valentine defeated Tito Santana to win the title on Maple Leaf Wrestling, which was an exclusive WWE show for Canadian fans only.
The match was won in controversial circumstances, as Tito Santana thought he had won the match. Santana pinned Valentine to a two count, but Santana thought he'd won it and began to celebrate.
As he celebrated, 'The Hammer' rolled Santana up to win the match. Santana was already somewhat injured heading into the match, and Valentine inflicted more pain after the match was over. He delivered a figure-four leg lock to further injure Santana's knee.
From there, Valentine went on to defend the Intercontinental Championship at the first-ever WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden. His reign eventually came to an end at a house show, losing a Steel Cage Match to his rival Tito Santana.
Valentine will be remembered as one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all-time. The WWE Hall of Famer continued to flourish in his career following his title loss, but this period will go down as some of his best work in WWE.
In the Pro Wrestling Stories 350 Documentary, Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine discussed Tito Santana and the incident following their Steel Cage match where Valentine destroyed the Intercontinental Championship belt:
"I had to give the belt back to Tito after that angle. And one day when I saw him a few years ago, I asked whatever became of that belt, because Tito kept it after that angle. He told me his wife threw it out! Do you know how much money I could have made with that belt now?" Greg Valentine said (h/t Pro Wrestling Stories)