5 Longest WWE Intercontinental Title Reigns Of All Time

The Intercontinental Title was conceived way back in 1979 and is one of WWE’s oldest active championships, second only to the WWE World Title. The record for the longest IC title reign stood for 35 years before it was broken by Gunther in September 2023, when he finally overtook The Honky Tonk Man’s long-standing distinction.

The Austrian then extended his record all the way through to a mammoth 666 days. His reign was finally snapped at WrestleMania XL, by Sami Zayn, who with victory earned his fourth IC title win.

Who else has reigned as Intercontinental Champion for a significant period? This feature looks back on the five longest Intercontinental title reigns of all time.

#5 Don Muraco – January 22, 1983 – February 11, 1984 (384 days)

‘The Rock’ Don Muraco was one of the top names in the WWF’s upper mid-card throughout the 1980s. It was no surprise therefore that Muraco lifted the Intercontinental Title on two occasions. He beat former WWWF Champion, Pedro Morales in June 1981 before dropping the strap back to Morales that November in a bloody Texas Death Match.

He wrested the gold back from Morales again in January 1983. This time however his title reign would stretch all the way through till February 1984.

Throughout that period ‘The Rock’ defeated such luminaries as WWE Hall of Famers, Bob Backlund, Rocky Johnson and ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka. It was against Snuka, where ‘Superfly’ nailed Muraco with the famous splash off of a Steel Cage in Madison Square Garden on October 17, 1983. Muraco retained on that occasion, but he finally dropped the belt to Tito Santana on February 11, 1984, ending his lengthy title run at 384 days. At the time that was the second-longest IC title reign ever.

#4 ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage – February 8, 1986 – March 29, 1987 (413 days)

‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage burst onto the scene in the WWF in June 1985 and by October he had begun an exciting feud with Intercontinental Champion, Tito Santana. He finally upended Santana for the strap on February 8, 1986 and held the gold for a mammoth 413 days.

Savage defended the gold against a wide array of top stars in thrilling matches such as George Steele, Bruno Sammartino and The Junkyard Dog. He was finally defeated by Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat in a classic match-up at WrestleMania III.

Savage’s exciting collisions as IC titleholder did not go unnoticed and he was chosen as Hulk Hogan’s successor as WWF Champion and company figurehead the following year.

At 413 days, Savage’s reign fell just 11 days short of the then-record that had been set several years prior.

#3 Pedro Morales – November 23, 1981 – January 22, 1983 (424 days)

Former WWWF Champion, Pedro Morales won two Intercontinental Championships. His first reign commenced on December 8, 1980, when he defeated Ken Patera. With this victory, Morales became the first man in WWF history to win the Triple Crown (World, IC & Tag Team Title).

The WWE Hall of Famer traded the strap with Don Muraco over the next two years. His second reign lasted a mammoth 424 days, before ‘The Rock’ terminated his title run for a second time. Morales’s second title run, at the time, was the longest reigning Intercontinental Title reign in the belt’s near four-year history.

Morales also holds the distinction of being Intercontinental Champion for more days than any other wrestler. Given his cumulative 617 days as champion span just two reigns makes the feat all the more remarkable.

#2 Honky Tonk Man – June 2, 1987 – August 29, 1988 (453 days)

The Honky Tonk Man is the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. He usurped Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat for the title in a colossal upset on June 2, 1987, when Steamboat’s original opponent Butch Reed no showed a live event.

He became a huge draw as flocks of WWF fans attended WWF events, willing any challenger to dethrone the champion. The molten hot crowd heat that accompanied The Honky Tonk Man’s title defences is now the stuff of legend.

After a 453-day title reign, The Honky Tonk Man was forced to defend the gold against a mystery opponent at SummerSlam 1988. His original challenger, Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake had been side-lined in storyline with a fictional injury.

The Ultimate Warrior was the surprise opponent and squashed The Honky Ton Man in 31 seconds to end the longest and greatest IC Championship reign of all time.

#1 Gunther – June 10, 2022 – April 6, 2024 (666 days)

The longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in history. Gunther terminated Ricochet’s title run on the June 10, 2022 SmackDown and successfully defended the strap against all comers including Xavier Woods, Matt Riddle, Jey Uso, The Miz and many others.

Gunther’s most significant title defences occurred at Clash of the Castle: Cardiff opposite arch-rival, Sheamus and against both Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 39 in scorching battles which stole the show at each event.

He then engaged in an epic trilogy of matches against Chad Gable, who many had tipped to eventually dethrone him. However, Gunther had his hand raised each time.

Gable then helped coach Sami Zayn ahead of Zayn’s clash with Gunther at WrestleMania XL. In the best match of Night One, Zayn overcame the odds and ended Gunther’s record breaking reign at 666 days.

However, Gunther’s momentum was not dimmed and he rebounded at King and Queen of the Ring to win the King of the Ring tournament on May 25, 2024. That victory has earned him a crack at Damian Priest’s World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam. Few would bet against him winning again.

You can watch these Intercontinental Title reigns exclusively on the WWE Network.