| WWE Intercontinental Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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The current version of the WWE Intercontinental Championship belt is based on the 1986 - 1998 design (pictured above), with updated logos and decorative background. (October 2011 – present) |
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| Current champion(s) | Cody Rhodes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | August 9, 2011 (aired August 12, 2011) |
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| Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brand | WWE SmackDown | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | September 15, 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | *WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship[1] *WWF Intercontinental Championship |
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The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition.
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Following the title's introduction in 1979, Pat Patterson became the inaugural champion on September 15,1979. The title's creation came as a result of Patterson defeating Ted DiBiase to win the WWF North American Heavyweight Championship and defending the title in an apocryphal tournament to be unified with a South American Heavyweight Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[2] The title later became known as the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
On October 17, 1999, Chyna became the first and only woman to hold the Intercontinental championship by defeating Jeff Jarrett at No Mercy.[3][4] Following the World Wrestling Federation's purchase of World Championship Wrestling in March 2001,[5] the title was unified with the WCW United States Championship at Survivor Series 2001, causing the United States Championship to become inactive. The United States Champion, Edge, defeated the Intercontinental Champion, Test.[6]
Following the WWF/WWE name change in 2002, the championship was further unified with the European Championship in a ladder match on July 22, and the Hardcore Championship on August 26. The Intercontinental Champion, Rob Van Dam, defeated the European Champion, Jeff Hardy, and the Hardcore Champion, Tommy Dreamer respectively.[7][8] As a result, Rob Van Dam was named the last European and Hardcore Champion.[9][10][11] Then at No Mercy 2002, it was unified with the World Heavyweight Championship. The World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H, defeated the Intercontinental Champion, Kane, causing the Intercontinental Championship to become inactive.[12] However, in May 2003, the title was reactivated by Raw co-General Manager, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and was recommissioned to be a secondary championship to the Raw brand. Shortly after, the WCW United States Championship was reactivated as the WWE United States Championship by the SmackDown brand, making the title its counterpart. During the 2009 WWE Draft on April 13, 2009, reigning champion Rey Mysterio was drafted to SmackDown, making the Intercontinental Championship exclusive to that brand.[13] On October 2, 2011, Cody Rhodes, the current champion, introduced a modified version of the classic belt design with the white strap (incorporating the modern WWE "Scratch" logo and further embellishments) at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.[14]
The inaugural champion was Pat Patterson, who became champion after unifying his North American Championship with a "South American Heavyweight Championship" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in September 1979. Chris Jericho holds the most reigns with nine. The Honky Tonk Man is the longest reigning champion at 454 days while Triple H is the shortest reigning champion by unifying the title with the World Heavyweight Championship immediately after winning. Chyna is the only woman in history to win the title. The current champion is Cody Rhodes, who is in his first reign. He defeated Ezekiel Jackson for the title on August 9, 2011, which was a taping for the August 12 edition of WWE SmackDown.[15]
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