10 Forgotten WWE Intercontinental Champions

It's been over 21 years since Test won his first and only Intercontinental Championship, beating Edge on Raw.

The lanky Canadian was a former European, Tag Team and Hardcore Champion at that point, but the IC strap was typically reserved for people the company had bigger plans for.

'Typically' being the key word here.

Because Test lost the title back to Edge just thirteen days later at Survivor Series - which was the official end of the Invasion storyline - in a match that unified the Intercontinental Title with the WCW United States Championship.

Test managed to squeeze in a successful defense against Matt Hardy in between winning and losing it.

It was a pointless reign bereft of any highlights and, as a result, Test ranks as one of the least memorable Intercontinental Champions ever.

He's not alone when it comes to holding what has typically been viewed as WWE's second-biggest singles title, of course. Not everyone can be a Randy Savage, Chris Jericho or Bret Hart, as much as they would like to be.

There have been, to date, 87 different Intercontinental Champions in the belt's long and illustrious history, but you might have trouble recalling some of these less-than-stellar titleholders.

10. The Godfather

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During the height of the Attitude Era, the Intercontinental Title began to lose a little bit of its lustre.

It was no longer the 'worker's title', the belt put on those with reputations for routinely delivering gripping bouts between the ropes. It was passed around with alarming frequency because whoever was writing at the time must have felt like the belts were just props, bro.

That's how the IC strap found its way across the waste of The Godfather, everyone's favourite pro-wrestling pimp.

The Godfather was a great character and was seriously over, but he didn't need the Intercontinental Title.

His schtick wasn't great matches (although in this era those were few and far between anyway), it was catchphrases and signature spots. He was in many ways the perfect opening match act.

I mean, there was no chance The Godfather was going to use his time as IC Champion as a stepping stone to the WWE Title, was there?

He won it in a short, forgettable match against Goldust on the April 12, 1999 episode of Raw and lost it to Jeff Jarrett on the edition of the show that aired on May 31.

On television, Godfather defended the title against Hardcore Holly, Goldust, Jarrett, The Blue Meanie and Road Dogg. Few of those passed the five-minute mark.

9. Rikishi

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Rikishi could have been a damn fine Intercontinental Champion, if he had been given more time holding the belt.

Because he really was on fire when he beat Chris Benoit to capture it on the June 22, 2000 episode of SmackDown. The big man had become one of the most popular acts in the company thanks to his alliance with Too Cool, Stinkface finisher and post-match dance routine.

There were hopes that the former Headshrinker could be a main event player (as evidenced by his ill-fated heel turn and programmes with Steve Austin and The Rock later in the year), so it made sense to give him a shot with the IC Title.

Alas, he only defended it twice on television - a rematch with Benoit (which ended in a DQ) and a bout with Triple H (double countout) - before he dropped it to Val Venis on July 6.

All told, Rikishi was only in possession of the Intercontinental Title for a fortnight.

His subsequent feud with Venis was a good one and yielded a cracking cage match at Fully Loaded, but 'Kish failed to regain the title and subsequently floundered before becoming a baddie.

In the end, his association with the IC strap did nothing for him or the title.

8. Road Dogg

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Oh, didn't you know? Wait...that's not how that goes, is it?

Anyway, the Road Dogg. You all remember him, yeah, the massively over member of the New Age Outlaws and D-Generation X. A true Attitude Era success story who found his niche at the perfect time.

Though his double act with Billy Gunn was a proven winner and had a lot more mileage left in it, WWE decided to break them up in early 1999. Vince McMahon has never really been bothered about tag teams and the company saw two potential singles stars (more so with Gunn) and so gave them individual pushes.

Surprisingly, the D-O-Double G was the first one to capture gold, beating Val Venis for the Intercontinental Title on the March 15, 1999 episode of Raw. Well, he was the first one to win gold by about an hour or so, because Gunn won the Hardcore Title later in the same show.

The Road Dogg's lone TV title title defense took place against Gunn (whose Hardcore Title was also on the line) the next week on Raw, in a match that went to a no-contest.

He then successfully defended it in a blah four-way elimination match at WrestleMania XV, outlasting Ken Shamrock, Goldust and Val Venis, before dropping it to the Bizarre One the next night on Raw.

It was good of WWE to throw the Dogg a bone, but again this was a short reign of nothing.

7. Billy Gunn

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The first time WWE tried to make Billy Gunn a top-level singles star, they booked him to win the 1999 King of the Ring and then quickly placed him into a programme with The Rock, culminating in a SummerSlam showdown with The Great One.

It didn't work, and WWE soon put the New Age Outlaws back together.

When Mr. Ass was due to come back from an injury in the fall of 2000, WWE gave it the old college try once again, re-packaging Gunn as 'The One', giving him entrance music straight out of sure-to-be-cancelled sitcom and awarding him the Intercontinental Title.

Gunn beat Eddie Guerrero on the November 23, 2000 episode of SamckDown.

He defended the title twice - a rematch with Guerrero and a DQ win over Val Venis - before relinquishing it to Chris Benoit at Armageddon. And I mean relinquishing, because The Rabid Wolverine just dismantled him out there, effectively putting an end to any chance that Gunn had of advancing up the card.

Overall, Gunn held the IC belt for seventeen uneventful days that practically confirmed he wasn't cut out for anything above the midcard tag team level.

Still, cracking entrance music.

6. JBL

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When Bradshaw went from beer-drinking tag team midcarder to Wall Street-savvy main eventer, it completely transformed his career.

The tall Texan was catapulted to the main event scene and, before too long, he had beaten Eddie Guerrero to win the WWE Title.

More amazingly still, JBL was no mere transitional champion. He held the title for close to a year, before losing it to John Cena at WrestleMania 21, then had a decent run as United States Champion before retiring to the announce desk (for the first time) in May of '06.

He came back in late 2007 for a second run that saw him feud with Cena, Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels among others, but people tend to gloss over his 27-day Intercontinental Title run.

JBL beat CM Punk to win it on the March 9, 2009 episode of Raw in one of the last matches of his career. He clearly only won it to then lose it to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania XXV, in what was JBL's in-ring swansong.

He could have actually been a really strong IC champ at this point in his career but, alas, he was totally broken down with injuries and ready to call it a day.

Zero defenses, too, before he lost to Mysterio in just 21 seconds at the Showcase of the Immortals.

Now that's putting someone over on the way out.

5. Marty Jannetty

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Poor Marty Jannetty. His name forever used as shorthand for 'the less successful member of a tag team', due to the incredible career of his Rockers partner Shawn Michaels.

The thing is, Marty could have been a genuine star in his own right. He had the talent and he had his fans, but it never quite happened.

The closest he got was his one and only Intercontinental Title reign, which began when he vanquished the Heartbreak Kid on the May 17, 1993 episode of Raw.

It was a great ending to the show, as WWE's flagship was starting to find its footing, but it was a move designed to create interest and generate a rating, rather than as part of any long-term plans for Jannetty.

Marty himself has said in the past that he thinks his big moment was less about rewarding him and more about punishing Michaels.

Jannetty was released after the pair had a stinker at that year's Royal Rumble, but Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Hennig supposedly convinced Vince McMahon that the poor quality was actually down to HBK and not because Marty was under the influence of anything, as was the commonly-held belief.

Either way, Jannetty held onto the IC Title for 20 days, before losing it back to Michaels at a house show thanks to interference from a debuting Diesel.

Party Marty never had the pleasure of defending the title on television.

4. The Mountie

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The very definition of a 'transitional champion', the alter-ego of Jacques Rougeau won the Intercontinental Title just so he could lose it back two days later.

The Mountie upset Bret Hart to bag the IC belt at a house show on January 17, 1992.

In the storyline, The Hitman was suffering from the flu though, in reality, he was in the middle of negotiating his contract.

That was on Friday. Come Sunday, The Mountie was dropping the title to Roddy Piper at the Royal Rumble in a short match.

He did receive his contractual rematch on the February 8 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, but failed in his pursuit after he attempted to shock Hot Rod with his cattle prod, only for it to have no effect because Piper was wearing a rubber vest underneath his t-shirt.

The Mountie was a fun character, but it belonged nearer to the bottom of the card than the top of it. Rougeau is only spared being the shortest-reigning champion ever thanks to Zack Ryder's one-day dalliance with the title, and Dean Douglas holding it for a cup of coffee due to the Kliq.

3. Albert

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Much like we saw with Billy Gunn earlier, Albert was a perennial tag team guy that WWE desperately wanted to make into a singles star (to no avail).

Their earliest attempt came in the summer of 2001, with Albert recently emancipated from the rubbish X-Factor group (which also featured X-Pac and Justin Credible).

In his first major singles match, he beat Kane for the Intercontinental Title in a No Disqualification match on the June 28 episode of SmackDown.

To be fair to Albert, he actually did defend the title regularly for the 25 days that he held it.

This included meetings with The Undertaker, Edge and Rhyno on Raw and SmackDown, as well as bouts with Credible and Tommy Dreamer on Sunday Night Heat.

Once he lost the title to Lance Storm the day after the Invasion pay-per-view, he never got another sniff. WWE were in a transitional period at this point in time and Albert's reign was just something they tried in the hope that it would work.

It didn't. Not too long after his reign, Albert was re-christened the 'hip-hop hippo' and put in a tag team with Scotty 2 Hotty.

2. The Texas Tornado

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Kerry Von Erich left Texas and joined WWE in 1990 where, as the Texas Tornado, he ran through the promotion with the impact of a light breeze.

Tornado had only been in the company a couple of months and fans were just starting to familiarise themselves with him when he shockingly beat Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam.

Kerry was subbing for an injured Brutus Beefcake and was a late addition to the card. While the match itself is nothing special, it was a great moment and garnered a huge pop.

Encouraging signs for his reign to follow, surely, but The Texas Tornado's IC Title run has to go down as a forgettable disappointment.

Defenses against people like the Brooklyn Brawler, Buddy Rose, Paul Diamond, Haku and Black Bart didn't exactly set the world on fire. Truth is, Kerry wasn't the dynamic performer he had been in years past.

Yes, he still had the physique and the look and a decent amount of athleticism, but his amputated foot had (understandably) slowed him down. He also had a pretty nasty drug habit and perhaps WWE didn't feel they could rely on him.

The upshot was that his reign as Intercontinental Champion lasted around three months and was ended by Mr. Perfect, who won it back on an episode of Superstars (aired December 15).

1. Ezekiel Jackson

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Despite being Intercontinental Champion for a not-too-shabby 54 days, Ezekiel Jackson only defended the title twice on television.

It's not hard to see why WWE wanted to push THE Brian Kendrick's former bodyguard. He was big, young and could be carried to a decent match if he was in there with the right person (i.e. Christian).

He was missing a certain something, however, and never quite got to the next level.

The last-ever ECW Champion beat Wade Barrett to win the IC Title at Capitol Punishment 2011. Sadly, the match was pretty bad and big 'Zeke just wasn't over as a babyface, so the fans didn't care for the switch.

He beat Barrett in the rematch later that week on SmackDown and had another token defense against Ted DiBiase Jr., but he was pretty much a 'house show' champion.

Not defending the title is bad enough, but WWE didn't do him any favours by having him lose several non-title matches against Christian and Cody Rhodes.

Jackson was a beast, but he had his shortcomings both in the ring and on the mic. It was hardly a surprise when WWE made the call to switch the title to Cody Rhodes (who was much better prepared to hold it).