Ex-WWE Star Claims To Be The First Real Intercontinental Champion

One former WWE star takes issue with Pat Patterson being hailed as the first Intercontinental Champion.

The Intercontinental Championship was first created in 1979, but according to former WWE (then WWF) star Ken Patera, Pat Patterson has no right to be recognized as its inaugural champion.

The circumstances surrounding Patterson’s inaugural win are well-known to wrestling fans. Though the history books claim that he won the title in a tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the tournament never actually took place.

Patterson would hold the belt for 233 days before losing to Patera, who addressed the situation in a recent interview with Steve Fall of WrestlingNews.co. According to Patera, Patterson’s apocryphal win makes him the first legitimate holder of the prestigious championship.

“It was handed to him (Pat Patterson), so that makes me the first IC champion because I beat his ass right there in Madison Square Garden in 1981. How about rewriting history? I don’t have to make an attempt to rewrite it, but that’s the truth.” (h/t WrestlingNews.co)

Who Is The Longest-Reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion?

At this time, Honky Tonk Man holds the records as the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion, having held the belt for 454 days.

However, current champion Gunther is fast-approaching this record, with his reign standing at 437 days as of August 22nd. Speaking about the potential of breaking the decades-old record, Gunther told Steve Fall:

“Yeah, that’s crazy, right? It’s nothing that I ever, like, wrote on my wall and be like, you gotta achieve that. It’s just more or less a side effect of it, but that’s still the future. I still gotta go through Saturday first.”