10 Best Intercontinental Champions Of The Attitude Era
The Intercontinental Championship was the second most important title for WWE during the Attitude Era. WWE was still using the mid-card title as a way to build new stars ahead of their eventual runs higher up the card. However, not every wrestler to do well with the belt had such success after their reign ended.
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The best Intercontinental Championship runs of the time featured both wrestlers on their way to the top of the card and fun mid-carders who never got higher. Both stories played a role in the belt being viewed as a respected title of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Find out which wrestlers did the best job as the Intercontinental Champion during the Attitude Era.
10 Chyna
The Intercontinental Championship win of Chyna made history as the first and still the only woman to hold the title. Chyna defeated Jeff Jarrett in an entertaining match that created a special moment for the company.
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The matches of Chyna never delivered during the title reign, but the fan support put the history-making run over the top. Chyna deserves to be mentioned among the most successful Intercontinental Champions of the Attitude Era.
9 Christian
WWE loved the tag team run of Edge and Christian, but the duo broke up following a Christian heel turn. Christian won the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Edge during their brutal feud in late 2001.
The big heel turn of Christian landed him in The Alliance faction during the Invasion storyline as part of WCW and ECW. Christian’s reign ended quickly after about a month, but it established him as a credible singles performer moving forward.
8 Jeff Jarrett
The best WWE run of Jeff Jarrett’s career came in the Attitude Era when cutting his hair and developing a new persona. Jarrett showed more of an edge using the guitar as a weapon and often crossing the line with his heel actions.
WWE pushed Jarrett as a rising heel, and he won the Intercontinental Championship with the new character. Three of Jarrett’s six title reigns with the belt came in the Attitude Era before he left for WCW again.
7 D'Lo Brown
WWE put D'Lo Brown in a bigger role after his run as a member of the Nation of Domination ended. Brown received a double title reign winning both the Intercontinental Championship and European Championship at the same time.
Fans remember D’Lo more as the European Champion since he was among the best to ever hold that title. However, the fun of him holding the Intercontinental Championship made him the top mid-carder for a while despite never getting elevated.
6 Ken Shamrock
The WWE run of Ken Shamrock could have seen him do so much more, but he still had a good stint in the short time. Shamrock’s biggest title victory came when winning the Intercontinental Championship back in 1998.
Triple H vacating the title due to an injury saw Shamrock winning a tournament by defeating X-Pac in the finals. Shamrock turned heel during his reign and held the belt for about four months with successful results. The Corporation added the fighter to the faction as their latest member during the title run.
5 Triple H
Triple H had won the Intercontinental Championship as a heel in the New Generation Era, but it just didn’t work out in the way WWE wanted. The face run of Triple H leading D-Generation X in 1998 provided the perfect time for his better win.
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WWE found magic in the mid-card feud between rising stars Triple H and The Rock. Triple H won the Intercontinental Championship in a classic ladder match at SummerSlam 1998 and had a great reign until an injury forced him to vacate it.
4 Eddie Guerrero
WWE signing Eddie Guerrero as part of the Radicalz in 2000 gave them another great rising star in the Attitude Era. Guerrero broke out during his storyline dating Chyna until the two eventually ended up in a feud.
The timing saw Eddie winning the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Chyna in a triple threat match. Guerrero’s reign established him as a credible champion as he appeared bound for great things in WWE.
3 Edge
WWE viewed Edge as a future top star from the early years when debuting him with months of hype. Edge won the Intercontinental Championship during his time teaming with Christian by defeating Jeff Jarrett on a house show.
The move was done to create a fun moment for the live fans in Canada since it was Edge’s hometown. Edge would have longer title reigns in 2001 when breaking out as a singles star during his memorable matches against Christian and Lance Storm.
2 Chris Jericho
The signing of Chris Jericho saw him becoming arguably the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time when signing in the Attitude Era. Jericho won his first belt with the mid-card title win coming via a victory over Chyna.
Four of Jericho’s nine runs as Intercontinental Champion led to him getting over big time with the audience in this era. Jericho used the mid-card reigns to move up the card and become a main eventer towards the end of the Attitude Era by becoming Undisputed Champion.
1 The Rock
The Attitude Era started with The Rock as the Intercontinental Champion leading the Nation of Domination faction. Rock looked great in the new role as a heel and had a better run than his prior failed face reign with the Intercontinental Championship in the New Generation Era.
WWE realized Rock was on pace to become a main evener with the mid-card title run lasting about nine months before he dropped the belt to Triple H. Rock made his way into a main event spot afterward that he never relinquished again in his legendary career.
