5 WWE Intercontinental Champions you may have forgotten about
The WWE Intercontinental Championship recently changed hands on television when Gunther captured the title from Ricochet. Many in the WWE Universe are hoping for a legendary run now that The Ring General has the gold.
The title was first introduced in 1979 and has been a major part of WWE history. Pat Patterson was the first to win it. Numerous WWE Hall of Famers and top stars have won the belt, including Steve Austin, John Cena, The Rock & Randy Savage.
Unfortunately, not every WWE star who holds the Intercontinental Championship has a memorable reign. Eighty-eight different superstars have held the title. Inevitably, some reigns don't stand the test of time.
Below are five WWE Intercontinental Champions you may have forgotten:
#5. The Mountie held the title for just two days
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Jacques Rougeau began wrestling professionally in 1977. He began competing in WWE in 1986, partnering with his brother Raymond Rougeau. When Ray retired in 1990, Jacques briefly left WWE.
He returned in 1991 as The Mountie. The persona was based on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. While using this gimmick, he defeated Bret Hart to win the Intercontinental Championship.
Unfortunately, The Mountie was a transitional champion. He won the title from Bret at a live event few saw. Two days later, he lost the title to Rowdy Roddy Piper at the 1992 Royal Rumble. He captured tag team gold later, but Rougeau never recaptured the Intercontinental belt.
#4. Marty Jannetty was the WWE Intercontinental Champion
Marty Jannetty began wrestling in 1983. He competed in several territories and even in Japan. Eventually, Marty paired up with Shawn Michaels. They were known as The Midnight Rockers. The name was later shortened to The Rockers.
Jannetty was one of the best in-ring stars in his era. Unfortunately, he fell victim to his demons. The popular star came and left WWE numerous times throughout his career. Bruce Prichard often notes that he may have the record for being fired the most times in company history.
Jannetty struck gold during one of his runs with WWE by defeating Michaels on RAW in 1993. Jannetty held the title for just 20 days before losing it to Shawn at a live event. Marty never won the title again.
#3. Dean Douglas won the belt via forfeit
Shane Douglas was a controversial figure in professional wrestling who was very outspoken. He first began wrestling professionally in the 1980s but didn't sign a deal with WWE until 1990.
The Franchise only competed with WWE until 1991. He'd then go on to WCW and ECW. The charismatic star returned to WWE in 1995 under a new gimmick. The persona was based on a college dean. He went by Dean Douglas.
Douglas was supposed to battle Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels at In Your House 4. Unfortunately, Shawn was injured and couldn't compete. He forfeited the match, and Douglas was given the title. Dean immediately defended the title against Razor Ramon and lost. His reign as champion lasted for under half an hour. He never captured the title again.
#2. Lance Storm represented WCW
Lance Storm began his pro wrestling career in 1990. He was frequently associated with Chris Jericho. The stars trained together and became a tag team, which eventually fizzled, and Storm competed for ECW and WCW.
Storm was hired when WWE acquired WCW in 2001. He made his debut on May 28. Less than two months later, the star defeated Albert for the Intercontinental Championship.
He only held the title for under a month before losing it to Edge at SummerSlam 2001. Unfortunately for Storm, a short title reign is rarely memorable. It was made worse by WWE having too many championships at the time. Plus, the title changed hands constantly. A short reign and constant belt switches led to a less-than-memorable run with the gold.
#1. Ezekiel Jackson's reign is often forgotten
Ezekiel Jackson was trained by former TNA Wrestling star Homicide and signed to WWE in 2007. He was brought up on the main roster as Brian Kendrick's bodyguard in 2008.
A few years later, Ezekiel won the gold. At Capitol Punishment 2011, Ezekiel defeated Wade Barrett to become the new Intercontinental Champion. Barrett and Jackson had been in The Corre together before feuding.
Jackson held the title for almost two months. He lost the belt on an episode of SmackDown in August 2011. The bout was against Cody Rhodes, who went on to have a memorable reign. Cody held onto the title for over 230 days. His reign, unfortunately, overshadowed Jackson's time with the belt.
With eighty-eight different Intercontinental Champions spanning over forty years, some reigns won't be memorable. All of these stars still made their mark in wrestling history. Speaking of Intercontinental Champions, click here to read about five potential challengers for Gunther.