10 Ways WWE's Intercontinental Championship Has Evolved/Changed Over The Years

WWE's Intercontinental Championship is one of the most prestigious titles in the business and something that every wrestling fan is well aware of. However, even though it has been around for such a long time the company has certainly made a lot of changes throughout that time regarding it.

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The title has remained on television since 1979 when it was first brought in and that is why it is so highly thought of. However, there have been a lot of changes regarding the title over the years which is no surprise considering how often Vince McMahon likes to shake things up.

10 The Design

One of the most obvious ways that the Intercontinental Championship has changed over the years is the design of the title itself. This is something that isn't a surprise considering how many years this title has been active as WWE has had to ensure it keeps up with the times in terms of design.

There have been a lot of changes over the years, some of which lasted a long time and proved to be popular, and others that weren't a hit. However, this is likely to continue moving forward as well because the company always likes to shake up the designs after a while.

9 Workhorse Title

For a long time, the Intercontinental Championship was seen as the workhorse title, with this being something that only the very best in-ring workers would compete for and win. Certain wrestlers that were larger than life and had huge star power but weren't great technically would often not go for this one.

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Title matches would be must-see encounters that people thought would be amazing matches due to who was involved. However, over time that idea was certainly lost as many average wrestlers held the gold to the point where it wasn't seen at that level anymore.

8 Respect Levels

Early on in the history of the Intercontinental Championship, it was a highly respected title that was often seen at the level of the main event and those who won it were always great performers. However, as time has gone on the title has ended up dropping down the totem pole in terms of importance.

That is one of the reasons the title ended up not being as respected to the same degree as it was in the past because people weren't able to see it in the same light.

7 Brand Designation

When the Intercontinental Championship was first introduced WWE only had one roster and show, therefore it was featured on exactly that, but once WWE introduced SmackDown the company had more to consider, especially regarding the titles.

Over the years the Intercontinental Championship has moved from brand to brand, normally due to the draft taking place. Rather than having the title be strictly on one show, it has floated around with WWE using it more as a prop at times in that way.

6 WrestleMania Prominence

The Intercontinental Championship has often been featured at WrestleMania, and while it got a big spot this year as Gunther defended it against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre that hasn't been the case in modern shows. The title has often not felt like an important part of WrestleMania in recent years.

There have been times when the title was on the pre-show or wasn't part of the event at all, which shows how far it fell at points. This is a far cry from when it was often slotted into the top spots on the card.

5 Chyna's Reign

When the title was first introduced it was done as strictly a title for the men's division for them to compete for. However, in 1999 WWE made a major change by having Chyna win the gold, which was a big difference for the company as it was the first time a woman held the title.

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While she is the only woman to have ever held the title she does have two different reigns, proving it wasn't just a one-off. Even though the company hasn't gone back to this idea since, Chyna's run does mean that it could be open to a female reign again in the future.

4 Eurocontinental Championship

Blending two titles together isn't something that a lot of people like in wrestling, but over the years it has happened plenty of times, and at times with the Intercontinental Championship. This has been held alongside another title before, such as when D'Lo Brown held the European Title at the same time.

This idea can help a wrestler, but it doesn't necessarily benefit the title itself. That's because the focus ends up being split between the titles, which led to the title being hurt overall at times.

3 Not A Stepping Stone

For the longest time, the Intercontinental Championship was used as a stepping stone for talent to push from the upper mid-card into the main event scene which was a great situation. It's something that led to wrestlers being easy to invest in as fans knew the talent was heading places.

However, over time that is something that has changed dramatically, with a lot of forgettable talent being given the title. It has been to pop a crowd in a one-off situation or to just use the title as a prop, which is a waste of time.

2 Length Of Title Runs

This is a change that has been industry-wide, rather than just the Intercontinental Championship specifically, but there's no doubt that the length of the title runs themselves have become a lot shorter. While Gunther is currently changing that, WWE is still a long way away from what the title used to be.

People who this title used to regularly hold it for over a year, yet as time passed it ended up being a hot potato title that is typically passed back and forth to people with very short and forgettable runs.

1 How It Is Booked

The booking of the Intercontinental Championship is something that has certainly changed over time because for many years it was considered to be almost at the same level as the World title. However, as years went on Vince McMahon stopped prominently booking this title.

At times the Intercontinental Championship became an afterthought. However, this has changed once again across the past year as Triple H has put a lot of effort into making this title feel like a crucial part of the product once more.