He is also a lifelong wrestling fan, watching since the territory days in the 1980s. [25], On December 2, the Von Erichs defeated the Freebirds for their second NWA Six-Man Tag Team Championship. [1] Terry Gordy slammed the cage door on Kerry's head, which led to Flair winning the match and retaining the title. In 1986, Kerry was in a motorcycle accident that almost killed him. Regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time by many, Bret Hitman Hart boasts a legendary career. Quick Links Kerry Von Erich's Road To WWE Saw Him Beat Ric Flair The Texas Tornado Debuts In WWE And Wins Gold The Fall Of Kerry Von Erich Led To His Death On October 27, 1984, Hernandez, Adams, and Roberts defeated the Von Erichs to win the Six Man Tag Title in a match that saw Bobby Fulton substitute for an injured Kevin. [6][10] He debuted in his father's promotion, NWA Texas/Big Time Wrestling on May 7, 1978, against Paul Perschmann. On April 7, 1989, the championship was first defended outside of North America, by Rick Rude against The Ultimate Warrior in Turin, Italy. I will break down the top 10 champions from several titles in the following days. The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship contested in and owned by the American promotion WWE on the Raw brand. In order to remain on kayfabe terms, Adams and Kerry wrestled as a tag team two days later in San Antonio, since the heel turn had not aired on television yet. Kerry held the title for three months before losing it back to Perfect. Watch every Premium Live Event and get unlimited access to WWE's premium content - available to you anywhere, anytime, on any device. Since its inception in September 1979, the Intercontinental Championship has been held by WWE's greatest Superstars, including WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson, The Rock, Ultimate Warrior, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Bret "Hit Man" Hart, Shawn Michaels and Triple H. . Watch WrestleMania and other WWE Premium Live Events on Flow. This was sustained at a house show match against The British Bulldog the June prior in New York. As a fan for over 20 years, I strongly believe there's no sport better than professional wrestling. Men's professional wrestling championship, The current Intercontinental Championship belt with default side plates, WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship Tournament (1990), WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament (1996), WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament (1997). WWE made two Hall of Fame rings with Kerry Von Erich's name inscribed on the interior which were presented by Kevin Von Erich to Kerry's daughters, Hollie and Lacey, attending with their mother Cathy (Kerry's ex-wife). Title history Names Reigns As of July 10, 2023. Randy Savage def. Watch every Premium Live Event and enjoy some of your favorite WWE content on Shahid. Ric Flair came in and put his NWA World Championship on the line against Kerry and the Von Erich boy won his first and only world title. The couple divorced on April 22, 1992.[58]. As a result, he managed to win the Intercontinental Championship a whopping 6 times. He continued wrestling after the accident with a prosthesis and kept the amputation secret to the majority of fans and fellow wrestlers, even going to the extreme of showering with his boots on. WWE Intercontinental championship history, WWE Money in the Bank: Reigns finally loses, Priest and Sky claim briefcases, The Iron Sheik, WWE Hall of Famer, dies at 81, WWE legend 'Superstar' Billy Graham dies at 79, WWE signs wrestling gold medalist Mensah-Stock, Ex-writer files discrimination suit against WWE, Ex-wrestler charged in Mississippi fraud case, Logan Paul re-signs with WWE on multiyear deal, WWE apologizes for using Auschwitz clip in promo, 'I saw my soul leave my body': WWE stars share their most brutal bumps, SummerSlam 2002: A look back at a landscape-shifting moment in WWE history, WWE women's tag team championship history, WWE Money in the Bank 2023 results, news, stories, match card and information, NXT women's tag team championship history, 'Just put it in a briefcase': The making of the first WWE Money in the Bank match, 'I'm coming back': AEW star CM Punk on new show, injuries and the elephants in the room, Wrestling world pays tribute to WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik. Due to the decision by Mr. McMahon, the vacancy of the title and Kingston's championship win are not recognized as WWE continued to recognize McIntyre as champion during that period. American professional wrestler (19601993), Toggle Professional wrestling career subsection, Toggle Motorcycle accident and suicide subsection, NWA Texas / World Class Championship Wrestling (19781989), American Heavyweight Champion and American Tag Team Champion (19801983), NWA World Heavyweight Champion and feud with The Fabulous Freebirds (19831984), United States Wrestling Association (19891990), Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship and various feuds (19901991), Final storylines and departure (19911992), Posthumous induction in WWE Hall of Fame (2009), David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions, 12th shortest NWA World title reign in history, World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment, WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, List of premature professional wrestling deaths, "Wrestling 85: Interview 85:Kerry Von Erich", "WWE Intercontinental Championship official title history", World 6-Man Tag Team Title (Texas) history, "Independence Day Star Wars 1983 results", "1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions results", World Class Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title history, "Saturday Night's Main Event results July 28, 1990", "Texas Tornado's first Intercontinental Championship reign", "Saturday Night's Main Event results October 13, 1990", "Hulk Hogan (spot No. The Madison Square Garden crowd was firmly behind The Hitman. From there, Hart took Perfect to the mat via multiple headlocks, wearing down the champion. Honorary Von Erich "Gentleman" Chris Adams then became the Sportatorium's main headliner, feuding with Pringle, Steve Austin, and Jeanie Clarke. Murray. He did not eliminate anyone, but his entire team survived. They would become one of the top teams in the World Wrestling Federation, winning the companys tag team titles on 2 occasions. Hayes, as the special guest referee. By this point, The Hitman had become a relatively popular star. [34] At Over the Limit, Kingston defeated McIntyre to win his second official Intercontinental Championship. [28], The WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship Tournament was a tournament to decide a new WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion after previous champion Ultimate Warrior was required to vacate the title after he defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania VI. [21][22] They lost the titles back to the Freebirds on August 12. He began struggling more with his addiction to the painkillers he used after his accident. However, the same company that turned Ted DiBiase into The Million Dollar Man, Mike Rotunda into IRS, and Curt Hennig into Mr. [7][53] Kerry's push continued to subside in early 1992. 810 114K views 10 years ago WWF Intercontinental champion "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich defends against former-champion "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. When looking back at the series of Bret Hart matches in World Wrestling Entertainments history, the options are seemingly limitless. John Morrison", "Ryback def. Kerry was married on June 18, 1983, to Catherine M. They wouldnt meet in singles competition until a little under two years later; this saw The Hitman battle The Perfect One in the semifinals of the King of the Ring 1993 tournament. During the 2016 draft, then-Intercontinental Champion The Miz was drafted to SmackDown. Slaughter, Jim Duggan, and Tito Santana against Colonel Mustafa, The Berzerker, Skinner, and Hercules. He just wasn't a good worker and was never over with the fans. On March 15, 1982, the two brothers wrestled Gary Hart and King Kong Bundy to a double disqualification. During the following year's Superstar Shake-up, Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose was moved to the Raw brand, making the title exclusive to Raw. WWE recognizes Jarrett's reign as ending on July 26, 1999. Houston became the host by beating Agadir, Morocco in 2019.. He was losing to everyone from Rick Martel to Kamala. On September 3, they defeated the Freebirds in a handicap steel cage Loser Leaves Texas match for his fourth six-man tag title reign.[21][31]. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Whether it's writing about the sport I love or meeting those that have impacted it in a major way, I always enjoy myself. He was really hard on himself about that. During his last days in WCCW, Kerry Von Erich would be embroiled in a feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler (AWA World Heavyweight Champion) over who would be the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Championship, Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley for the Raw Women's Championship, Big E vs. Apollo Crews in a Nigerian Drum Fight for the IC Title", "8/13 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns and John Cena meeting face to face, the contract signing for Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Women's Championship at SummerSlam, Apollo Crews vs. King Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship", "2/18 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns and Goldberg meeting face to face, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship, the contract signing for Ronda Rousey and Naomi vs. Charlotte Flair and Sonya Deville at Elimination Chamber", "3/4 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Ronda Rousey vs. Sonya Deville, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso vs. The unification match took place at No Mercy the following month and saw then-World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defeat then-Intercontinental Champion Kane, making him the Raw brand's sole male singles champion.[23]. NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (2) NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (7) NWA World Tag Team Championship (1) . WWE incorrectly list Flair's reign as beginning on September 19, 2005, and lasting 154 days. Kerry has the 12th shortest NWA World title reign in history. [41] Also in 2013, Darren Gutteridge of Pro Wrestling Dot Net wrote that the "title has proven an albatross for the past decade, with almost all title holders doomed to tread water, usually only beating people decisively when the title is on the line". Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. He is set to be portrayed by Jeremy Allen White in the upcoming A24 movie The Iron Claw, based on the life of Kerry and The Von Erich family. WWE recognizes Johnson's reign as ending on August 19, 1996. "There was something in my brother, the idea of having that foot cut off to him, he was half a man," his brother Kevin said on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw. On February 12, 2014, Big E Langston's ring name was shortened to Big E. Bad News Barrett was formerly known as Wade Barrett. After disposing of the now-former Intercontinental Champion, Hart took his title, going into the crowd to celebrate with his parents in attendance, Stu and Helen Hart. The tournament was held between September 8 and October 5, 1997, with the finals occurring on October 5 at the pay-per-view. The redesigned Intercontinental Championship returned to being on a black strap with an entirely new center plate with an irregular shape. From there, Perfect continued to hold the title through the end of the year and into the year after. The WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament was a tournament to crown a new Intercontinental Champion. [32] On October 29, he defeated Gino Hernandez for his fifth NWA American Heavyweight Championship. Nakamura won the title under the name King Nakamura; name reverted back to Shinsuke Nakamura on October 8, 2021. WWE 2K20 It is the third-oldest championship currently active in WWE, behind the WWE Championship (1963) and United States Championship (1975), but the second-longest tenured championship, as WWE has only owned the U.S. championship since 2001. Gunther is the current champion in his first reign. From there, Perfect continued to hold the title through the end of the year and into the year after. Simply put, Hart was on the defensive. [54] Although Von Erich was announced to face Papa Shango at the SummerSlam PPV card in London, UK, he was replaced by El Matador and he officially left the WWF in August 1992.[55]. The Longhorns are the heavy favorites in the Big 12 for the first time since their last championship in 2009. Kerry returned to Texas and claimed the USWF Texas Heavyweight Championship, which he lost to Dynamite Dixon in November 1992. "I think a little bit of his confidence was lost," Bruce Prichard remembered about Kerry coming into WWE as Texas Tornado. WWE recognizes Zayn's reign as beginning on February 18, 2022, when the episode aired on, This page was last edited on 13 July 2023, at 05:22. [24] Following the end of the first brand split on August 29, 2011, the title could be defended on both Raw and SmackDown. While undefeated against them in multiple matches, Von Erich was unable to move back up into contention as he suffered several losses against Rick Martel, Nailz, and Kamala. [43][44] After he became champion, Tornado defended the title for three months, including a match against Haku on the October 13 Saturday Night's Main Event XXVIII[45] before losing the title back to former champion Mr. Texas Tornado . Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes", "Bad News Barrett update, Intercontinental title vacated", "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 11/17: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - final Survivor Series hype, main event Contract Signing, new IC champion, more", "Daniel Bryan relinquished the Intercontinental Championship", "4/3 WrestleMania 32 PPV Results CALDWELL's Complete Live Report on Main PPV", "4/4 WWE Raw Results CALDWELL's Complete Report on post-WM32", "KELLER'S WWE NO MERCY PPV REPORT 10/9: Ongoing live coverage of Styles vs. Cena vs. Ambrose, Miz vs. Ziggler, Orton vs. Wyatt", "WWE Smackdown Results 11/15/16 (Live from Wilkes-Barre, 900th episode, The Undertaker and Edge return)", "1/3 WWE Smackdown LIVE Parks's Ongoing, Real-Time Report, including Miz vs. Ambrose for the I.C. Kerry started feuding with the NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . On July 22, 2002, the Intercontinental Championship was unified with the European Championship in a ladder match, in which then-Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated then-European Champion Jeff Hardy. Published Nov 12, 2022 Kerry Von Erich went from being a major star in the territories to becoming just another guy as the Texas Tornado in WWE. Neither Jeff Hardy nor Elias were able to compete in the semifinals, as Elias was (kayfabe) injured in a car crash and Hardy was accused of causing it and arrested. This is the title history of the WWE Intercontinental Championship.The title was introduced in 1979 when Pat Patterson was awarded the championship he won a fictional tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "[39] Steve Austin said he considered the Intercontinental Championship to be as important as the world titles and he remains in possession of the physical belt that represented the championship during his reign because of its historical importance. Like the majority of WWE's other championships, the belt features two side plates with a removable center section that can be customized with the champion's logos; the default side plates consist of the WWE logo over a globe. Kerry even rekindled his feud with Ric Flair once again, although by that time, WWE no longer pushed him like a star. Perfect defeated Tito Santana in an eight-man tournament. [51] At Survivor Series, he teamed with Sgt. On October 2, 2011, at Hell in a Cell, Cody Rhodes introduced a modified version of the classic championship belt design with the white strap, with the modern WWE "scratch logo" and other embellishments. He has worked as a journalist for over 20 years, first in the world of print journalism before moving to online media as the world changed. Preview: NXT UK (8/26/2021) Rampage Brown vs Joe Coffey III. Hennig wouldnt be seen again on WWF programming until November, when he became the Executive Consultant of The Nature Boy Ric Flair. This was a last minute change, but one that worked out well. Watch every Premium Live Event and enjoy some of your favorite WWE content on Disney + HotStar. With Vince McMahon building his empire up north, it only seemed like a matter of time before Kerry ended up leaving home and trying to hit the big time. Kerry returned to Dallas to compete in the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), where he began teaming with former arch-rival Chris Adams. The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American . Bret Hart states in his autobiography, My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, that while he and Kerry were on the road to Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 29, 1990, Kerry had told him that he had decided to join his late brothers in heaven, and was waiting for God to tell him when. The historical lineage of the WWE Intercontinental championship, including every superstar to hold the title, the length of their reign and the event in which they won the title. While technically fluid, many associated with him with tag team competition due to his success alongside Jim The Anvil Neidhart as The Hart Foundation. He had surgery on his injured right leg, however doctors couldn't save his foot. He went on to the Survivor Series, teaming with Ultimate Warrior and the Road Warriors in a winning effort. Bret Hart vs. Mr. 1. [27], Kerry's biggest career highlight was on May 6, 1984, when he beat "Nature Boy" Ric Flair in a historic match, in front of over 45,000 fans at Texas Stadium to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The Honky Tonk Man holds the longest reign at 454 days. Kerry Von Erich's Road To WWE Saw Him Beat Ric Flair, The Texas Tornado Debuts In WWE And Wins Gold, The Fall Of Kerry Von Erich Led To His Death, focus of the Von Erich family went to Kerry, Zac Efron To Star In New Von Erich Wrestling Film, A Look Back On The Brief Career Of Lacey Von Erich. 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