IWE Intercontinental Championship
From Iwe
| IWE Intercontinental Championship | |
| Details | |
| Promotion | IWE |
| Brand | SmackDown |
| Date established | September 1, 1979 |
| Current champion(s) | Finn Bálor |
| Date won | April 7, 2019 |
| Other name(s) | |
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| Statistics | |
The IWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion IWE on the Raw brand. It is one of two secondary championships for IWE's main roster, along with the United States Championship on the SmackDown brand, it is one of the two secondary titles of the promotion. The current champion is Finn Bálor.
The championship was established by the then-World Wrestling Federation (IWF) on September 1, 1979, after inaugural champion Pat Patterson unified (kayfabe) the IWF North American Heavyweight and South American Heavyweight championships. It is the third oldest championship currently active in IWE, behind the IWE Championship (1963) and United States Championship (1975). Although generally contested in the midcard at IWE shows, it was defended in the main events of presentations such as WrestleMania VI, SummerSlam in 1992, the third and eighth In Your House shows, and Backlash in 2001. It has been called a "stepping stone" to the IWE Championship.
In November 2001, the then-WCW United States Championship was unified into the Intercontinental Championship. In 2002 after the first brand extension, it became exclusive to Raw and the IWF was renamed to IWE. Later that year, the European and Hardcore championships were unified into the Intercontinental Championship, which itself was unified into the World Heavyweight Championship. The following year, however, it was reactivated for Raw, followed by the United States Championship's reactivation as a counterpart title on SmackDown. The title has switched between brands as a result of the IWE draft over the years; the 2017 Superstar Shake-up moved the title back to Raw.
Contents |
Etymology
The term "intercontinental" in the title originally referred to North and South America.
In 1985, the belt design changed, the centerplate now centered on the Atlantic Ocean, in a map including western Africa and Europe.
History
Brand designation history
Following the brand extension on March 25, 2002, all titles in IWE became exclusive to either the Raw brand or SmackDown! brand. The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the Intercontinental Championship between the Raw and SmackDown brands. The brand extension was temporarily discontinued from August 29, 2011 to July 17, 2016 and it is currently unknown whether the title will become exclusive to Raw or Smackdown once the brand extension takes effect.
| Colors | |
|---|---|
| Championship moved to the Raw brand. | |
| Championship moved to the SmackDown! brand. | |
| Date of transition | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| March 25, 2002 | Rob Van Dam was drafted to Raw following the brand extension, making the Intercontinental Championship exclusive to Raw. | |
| July 30, 2002 | Chris Benoit defects to SmackDown! as Intercontinental Champion. | |
| August 25, 2002 | Rob Van Dam regains the championship, returning it back to Raw. | |
| April 13, 2009 | Following the 2009 draft, Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio was drafted to SmackDown. The championship remained exclusive to SmackDown until the end of the first brand extension. | |
| August 29, 2011 | End of first brand extension. The Intercontinental Champion could appear on both Raw and SmackDown. | |
| July 19, 2016 | Reintroduction of the brand extension. Intercontinental Champion The Miz was drafted to Smackdown during the 2016 IWE draft | |
| April 10, 2017 | Following the Superstar Shake-up, Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose moved to Raw. | |
| April 16, 2019 | SmackDown | During the Superstar Shake-Up, Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor moved to SmackDown |
Reigns
- Main Article: List of IWE Intercontinental Champions
