WWE Intercontinental Championship

The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the Raw brand. 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 Braun Strowman, who is in his first reign.

The championship was established by the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on September 1, 1979, after inaugural champion Pat Patterson unified (kayfabe) the WWF North American Heavyweight and South American Heavyweight championships. It is the third oldest championship currently active in WWE, behind the WWE Championship (1963) and United States Championship (1975). Although generally contested in the midcard at WWE 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 WWE 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 WWF was renamed to WWE. 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 WWE draft over the years; the 2017 Superstar Shake-up moved the title back to Raw.

Reigns

 * Main article: List of WWE Intercontinental Champions