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00:00Tonight's final bout is for the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship from San Francisco,
00:07California, current Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, Pat Patterson.
00:16There couldn't have been a better selection for the first Intercontinental Champion than
00:24Pat Patterson.
00:25Pat was probably one of the finest technicians in the ring and the greatest psychologist
00:31in the ring of all time.
00:33He set the standard on what an Intercontinental Champion should be.
00:40Having gone back and seen tapes of what he could do, I think he was a fitting first champion.
00:45I remember a street fight he had with Sergeant Slaughter in Madison Square Garden.
00:49That was one that stood out for me, and the cage match with Backlund, which was also in
00:52Madison Square Garden.
00:56Pat could take people and have them believe whatever he was doing.
01:00He'd always tell a story.
01:02He'd have people in the palm of his hands, and that is the mark of a true professional.
01:16When you look at the list of guys that have won the title, most if not all the top guys
01:20have won this title.
01:21You always knew when someone won the Intercontinental title that it was almost like a launch pad
01:26to bigger and better things.
01:27I think the Intercontinental title was a who's who of some of the greatest superstars in
01:31WWF history.
01:33It was a stepping stone to the WWF Championship, and it was pretty much a breakthrough championship.
01:43If a talent was able to become Intercontinental champion, it said, hey, I made it.
01:46It's a great way to elevate yourself to the status of a contender for a WWE title shot.
01:54Most of the Intercontinental champions have gone on to win a WWE title.
02:00Some of the champions are some of the all-time greatest to me.
02:04The magnificent Morocco Intercontinental champion, Roddy Roddy Piper.
02:11Greg Valentine.
02:14Tito Santana.
02:17I mean, the list just goes on and on and on.
02:20So many other guys, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Stone Cold.
02:25You knew when these guys won the Intercontinental title that it was just starting to become their time.
02:29The Intercontinental championship has elevated some of the recent superstars to WWE superstar status.
02:36For instance, Kurt Angle.
02:38Well, Kurt went out and immediately grabbed that Intercontinental championship.
02:43That was my first big title reign, and it let me know right away that I was going to be,
02:48I was going to make a big difference in the world wrestling entertainment industry.
02:52So to me, winning that title felt every bit as important as winning the WWE title.
02:58Anytime that you're kind of given that ball, it's a special feeling because you know you're doing something right.
03:07The winner of this bout, and new Intercontinental champion.
03:14The first night I won it, I remember I got back to my hotel room and I set it up on my TV stand,
03:20and I just stared at it for about two hours.
03:22I couldn't stop staring at it.
03:24It was just, it was like the center of my universe at that point.
03:28Young men like Edge, young men like Triple H, all these superstars that come along.
03:34It has been used as a stepping stone because these men grabbed that gold ring
03:40and that Intercontinental championship and elevated their self and show what they could do
03:45with an Intercontinental championship.
03:47For the most part, when you look at the Intercontinental champion,
03:51you look at someone who is being groomed or who is looking for that next step,
03:56which was ultimately the WWF title.
04:00If I knew I wanted to see a damn good wrestling match,
04:04I was going to watch Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat.
04:07Those two men who were at the top of their game,
04:11wow, the chemistry and the electricity was flowing,
04:14and to me, that match overshadowed everything on WrestleMania III.
04:19What a battle!
04:21This is one of the greatest matches I've ever seen.
04:23But the champion is still in control.
04:26It goes down in my mind as an instant classic and a measuring stick
04:30for all Intercontinental title championship matches.
04:41The first match that stands out to me, which obviously I was influenced heavily by,
04:45was the Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon ladder match at WrestleMania X.
04:48I cannot believe it!
04:49Razor Ramon is the undisputed Intercontinental champion!
04:54There was the Bret Hart vs. Curry Hanning Classic Intercontinental title match.
04:57The sharpshooter! He's got it!
04:59He's got it!
05:00No, he's not!
05:01We've got a new champion!
05:03You hear about the past, the future of wrestling,
05:06but you don't hear about the past.
05:08You hear about the past, the future of wrestling,
05:10but you don't hear about the past.
05:12It's the future of wrestling.
05:15We've got a new champion!
05:16You hear about the Pat Pattersons and all the other people
05:20that have won this Intercontinental title throughout the past,
05:22and you know it holds a lot of credibility.
05:25It continues to do so, and it's a shame that we're not going to have that title anymore.
05:29I think the idea to consolidate the championships is an attempt to simplify things.
05:34It's only having one champion, one single champion,
05:38and one goal for everyone to work for.
05:40To me it leaves a gap in the middle now.
05:44I don't know what you fill it with.
05:46I never got a chance to hold the Intercontinental title, and I hate that,
05:49just because I saw so many guys that were great,
05:52and so many guys that finally reached a level where they could win the Intercontinental title
05:57and then move on to bigger and better things, and I wanted to be that guy.
06:00Intercontinental champion, I think, starting with Pat Patterson,
06:04has always been a strong tradition in the WWE.
06:07It's meant something. I think the fans enjoy it.
06:11And I think it will be missed, and I'm sorry to say it go.