The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a championship created by WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE United States Championship on Raw.
The championship was established by the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on September 1, 1979, as a result of the WWF North American Heavyweight Championship being unified with an apocryphal South American Heavyweight Championship, with Pat Patterson as the inaugural champion.
In November 2001, the WCW United States Championship was unified into the Intercontinental Championship. In 2002, after the introduction of the first brand split, it became exclusive to Raw and the WWF was renamed 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 next year, it was reactivated for Raw, followed by the United States Championship's reactivation as a counterpart championship on SmackDown. The Intercontinental Championship has switched between brands over the years, usually as a result of the WWE Draft; the 2019 Superstar Shake-up moved the title to SmackDown.
Reigns:[]
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | |||
| 1 | Pat Patterson | September 1, 1979 | — | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1 | 232 | Patterson became the first champion as a result of defeating Ted DiBiase to win the WWF North American Heavyweight Championship on June 19, 1979 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and defeating Johnny Rodz in a fictional tournament final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to unify the North American Heavyweight Championship with the fictional South American Heavyweight Championship to create the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. |
| 2 | Ken Patera | April 21, 1980 | WWF on MSG Network | New York, NY | 1 | 230 | |
| 3 | Pedro Morales | December 8, 1980 | WWF | New York, NY | 1 | 193 | |
| 4 | Don Muraco | June 20, 1981 | WWF | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 155 | |
| 5 | Pedro Morales | November 23, 1981 | WWF on MSG Network | New York, NY | 2 | 424 | |
| 6 | Don Muraco | January 22, 1983 | WWF on MSG Network | New York, NY | 2 | 384 | |
| 7 | Tito Santana | February 11, 1984 | WWF | Boston, MA | 1 | 226 | |
| 8 | Greg Valentine | October 13, 1984 | Maple Leaf Wrestling | London, ON, Canada | 1 | 285 | |
| 9 | Tito Santana | July 6, 1985 | House show | Baltimore, MD | 2 | 217 | |
| 10 | Randy Savage | February 8, 1986 | WWF | Boston, MA | 1 | 414 | |
| 11 | Ricky Steamboat | March 29, 1987 | WrestleMania III | Pontiac, MI | 1 | 65 | |
| 12 | The Honky Tonk Man | June 13, 1987 | Superstars of Wrestling | Buffalo, NY | 1 | 454 | |
| 13 | The Ultimate Warrior | August 29, 1988 | SummerSlam | New York, NY | 1 | 216 | |
| 14 | Rick Rude | April 2, 1989 | WrestleMania V | Atlantic City, NJ | 1 | 148 | |
| 15 | The Ultimate Warrior | August 28, 1989 | SummerSlam | East Rutherford, NJ | 2 | 216 | |
| — | Vacated | April 3, 1990 | Wrestling Challenge | Syracuse, NY | — | — | Warrior relinquished the title after winning the WWF Championship in order to focus on defending the latter. |
| 16 | Mr. Perfect | May 19, 1990 | Superstars of Wrestling | Austin, TX | 1 | 126 | Defeated Tito Santana in a tournament final for the vacant title. |
| 17 | The Texas Tornado | August 27, 1990 | SummerSlam | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 84 | |
| 18 | Mr. Perfect | December 15, 1990 | Superstars of Wrestling | Rochester, NY | 2 | 280 | |
| 19 | Bret Hart | August 26, 1991 | SummerSlam | New York, NY | 1 | 144 | |
| 20 | The Mountie | January 17, 1992 | House show | Springfield, MA | 1 | 2 | |
| 21 | Roddy Piper | January 19, 1992 | Royal Rumble | Albany, NY | 1 | 77 | |
| 22 | Bret Hart | April 5, 1992 | WrestleMania VIII | Indianapolis, IN | 2 | 146 | |
| 23 | The British Bulldog | August 29, 1992 | SummerSlam | London, England | 1 | 59 | |
| 24 | Shawn Michaels | November 14, 1992 | Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI | Terre Haute, IN | 1 | 202 | |
| 25 | Marty Jannetty | May 17, 1993 | Raw | New York, NY | 1 | 20 | |
| 26 | Shawn Michaels | June 6, 1993 | House show | Albany, NY | 2 | 113 | |
| — | Vacated | September 27, 1993 | — | — | — | — | Shawn Michaels was stripped of the title for failing to defend it within thirty days. |
| 27 | Razor Ramon | October 11, 1993 | Raw | New Haven, CT | 1 | 198 | Ramon and Rick Martel were the final two participants in a battle royal. Ramon then defeated Martel for the vacant title. However, Shawn Michaels returned in November 1993, claiming to be the legitimate champion as nobody defeated him. Ramon went on to defeat Michaels in a ladder match on March 20, 1994 at WrestleMania X. |
| 28 | Diesel | April 30, 1994 | Superstars | Rochester, NY | 1 | 138 | |
| 29 | Razor Ramon | August 29, 1994 | SummerSlam | Chicago, IL | 2 | 146 | |
| 30 | Jeff Jarrett | January 22, 1995 | Royal Rumble | Tampa, FL | 1 | 94 | |
| — | Vacated | April 30, 1995 | Action Zone | Moline, IL | — | — | Held up when match between Jeff Jarrett and Bob "Spark Plug" Holly ended in controversy. |
| 31 | Jeff Jarrett | May 7, 1995 | Action Zone | Moline, IL | 2 | 23 | Defeated Bob Holly in a rematch for the vacant title. |
| 32 | Razor Ramon | May 19, 1995 | House show | Montreal QC, Canada | 3 | 3 | |
| 33 | Jeff Jarrett | May 22 1995 | House show | Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada | 3 | 62 | |
| 34 | Shawn Michaels | July 23, 1995 | In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks | Nashville, TN | 3 | 91 | |
| 35 | Dean Douglas | October 22, 1995 | In Your House 4: Great White North | Winnipeg, MB, Canada | 1 | <1 | Won the title by forfeit due to Shawn Michaels being injured on October 14, 1995. |
| 36 | Razor Ramon | October 22, 1995 | In Your House 4: Great White North | Winnipeg, MB, Canada | 4 | 91 | |
| 37 | Goldust | January 21, 1996 | Royal Rumble | Fresno, CA | 1 | 64 | |
| — | Vacated | April 15, 1996 | Raw | San Bernardino, CA | — | — | Held up when a title defense against Savio Vega ended in a no contest. |
| 38 | Goldust | April 22, 1996 | Raw | San Bernardino, CA | 2 | 83 | Defeated Savio Vega in a rematch for the vacant championship. |
| 39 | Ahmed Johnson | June 23, 1996 | King of the Ring | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | 58 | |
| — | Vacated | August 19, 1996 | Raw | Seattle, WA | — | — | Ahmed Johnson forfeited the championship after being attacked by the debuting Faarooq after winning an eleven-man battle royal. |
| 40 | Marc Mero | September 23, 1996 | Raw | Hershey, PA | 1 | 28 | Defeated Faarooq in a tournament final for the vacant championship. |
| 41 | Hunter Hearst Helmsley | October 21, 1996 | Raw | Fort Wayne, IN | 1 | 115 | |
| 42 | Rocky Maivia | February 13, 1997 | Raw | Lowell, MA | 1 | 73 | |
| 43 | Owen Hart | April 28, 1997 | Raw | Omaha, NE | 1 | 97 | |
| 44 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | August 3, 1997 | SummerSlam | East Rutherford, NJ | 1 | 64 | |
| — | Vacated | September 8, 1997 | — | — | — | — | Vacated due to a neck injury that Stone Cold Steve Austin suffered in winning the championship. |
| 45 | Owen Hart | October 5, 1997 | Badd Blood: In Your House | St. Louis, MO | 2 | 35 | Defeated Faarooq in a tournament final for the vacant championship. |
| 46 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | November 9, 1997 | Survivor Series | Montreal, QC, Canada | 2 | 29 | |
| 47 | The Rock | December 8, 1997 | Raw | Portland, ME | 2 | 264 | Stone Cold Steve Austin handed the championship belt to The Rock, who was formerly known as Rocky Maivia. |
| 48 | Triple H | August 30, 1998 | SummerSlam | New York, NY | 2 | 44 | Triple H was formerly known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. |
| — | Vacated | October 9, 1998 | — | — | — | — | Vacated due to injury. |
| 49 | Ken Shamrock | October 12, 1998 | Raw | Uniondale, NY | 1 | 125 | Defeated X-Pac in a tournament final for the vacant championship. |
| 50 | Val Venis | February 14, 1999 | St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House | Memphis, TN | 1 | 29 | |
| 51 | Road Dogg | March 15, 1999 | Raw | San Jose, CA | 1 | 14 | |
| 52 | Goldust | March 29, 1999 | Raw | East Rutherford, NJ | 3 | 14 | |
| 53 | The Godfather | April 12, 1999 | Raw | Detroit, MI | 1 | 43 | |
| 54 | Jeff Jarrett | May 31, 1999 | Raw | Moline, IL | 4 | 54 | |
| 55 | Edge | July 24, 1999 | House show | Toronto, ON, Canada | 1 | 1 | |
| 56 | Jeff Jarrett | July 25, 1999 | Fully Loaded | Buffalo, NY | 5 | 1 | |
| 57 | D'Lo Brown | July 26, 1999 | Raw | Columbus, OH | 1 | 27 | This was a Winner Takes All match, where Brown also defended the European Championship. Brown became the first Eurocontinental Champion. |
| 58 | Jeff Jarrett | August 22, 1999 | SummerSlam | Minneapolis, MN | 6 | 56 | Jarrett also won the European Championship in the match to become the second Eurocontinental Champion. |
| 59 | Chyna | October 17, 1999 | No Mercy | Cleveland, OH | 1 | 56 | |
| 60 | Chris Jericho | December 12, 1999 | Armageddon | Sunrise, FL | 1 | 22 | |
| † | Chris Jericho and Chyna | January 3, 2000 | Raw | Miami, FL | 1 | — | On December 30, 1999 on SmackDown!, a title match between Chyna and Jericho ended in a double pinfall; as a result they were recognized as co-champions. |
| 61 | Chris Jericho | January 23, 2000 | Royal Rumble | New York, NY | 2 | 35 | Jericho defeated Chyna and Hardcore Holly in a triple threat match to become undisputed champion. |
| 62 | Kurt Angle | February 27, 2000 | No Way Out | Hartford, CT | 1 | 35 | Earlier that month, Angle had also won the European Championship. This win made Angle the third and final Eurocontinental Champion. |
| 63 | Chris Benoit | April 2, 2000 | WrestleMania 2000 | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 32 | |
| 64 | Chris Jericho | May 4, 2000 | SmackDown! | Richmond, VA | 3 | 5 | |
| 65 | Chris Benoit | May 8, 2000 | Raw | Uniondale, NY | 2 | 43 | |
| 66 | Rikishi | June 22, 2000 | SmackDown! | Memphis, TN | 1 | 14 | |
| 67 | Val Venis | July 6, 2000 | SmackDown! | Sunrise, FL | 2 | 52 | |
| 68 | Chyna | August 27, 2000 | SummerSlam | Raleigh, NC | 2 | 8 | Won the title in a mixed tag team match that pitted Chyna and Eddie Guerrero against Val Venis and Trish Stratus; Chyna pinned Trish to win Venis' title. |
| 69 | Eddie Guerrero | September 4, 2000 | Raw | Lexington, KY | 1 | 80 | |
| 70 | Billy Gunn | November 23, 2000 | SmackDown! | Sunrise, FL | 1 | 17 | |
| 71 | Chris Benoit | December 10, 2000 | Armageddon | Birmingham, AL | 3 | 42 | |
| 72 | Chris Jericho | January 21, 2001 | Royal Rumble | New Orleans, LA | 4 | 74 | |
| 73 | Triple H | April 5, 2001 | SmackDown! | Oklahoma City, OK | 3 | 7 | |
| 74 | Jeff Hardy | April 12, 2001 | SmackDown! | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 3 | |
| 75 | Triple H | April 16, 2001 | Raw | Knoxville, TN | 4 | 34 | |
| 76 | Kane | May 20, 2001 | Judgment Day | Sacramento, CA | 1 | 39 | |
| 77 | Albert | June 28, 2001 | SmackDown! | New York, NY | 1 | 25 | |
| 78 | Lance Storm | July 23, 2001 | Raw | Buffalo, NY | 1 | 27 | |
| 79 | Edge | August 19, 2001 | SummerSlam | San Jose, CA | 2 | 35 | |
| 80 | Christian | September 23, 2001 | Unforgiven | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | 28 | |
| 81 | Edge | October 21, 2001 | No Mercy | St. Louis, MO | 3 | 15 | |
| 82 | Test | November 5, 2001 | Raw | Uniondale, NY | 1 | 13 | |
| 83 | Edge | November 18, 2001 | Survivor Series | Greensboro, NC | 4 | 63 | This was a title unification match, where Edge also defended the WCW United States Championship. The United States Championship was deactivated in favor of continuing the Intercontinental Championship. |
| 84 | William Regal | January 20, 2002 | Royal Rumble | Atlanta, GA | 1 | 56 | |
| 85 | Rob Van Dam | March 17, 2002 | WrestleMania X8 | Toronto, ON, Canada | 1 | 35 | On March 25, the brand extension began, in which wrestlers and championships became exclusive to either the Raw or SmackDown! brands, represented by the show of the same name. The title became exclusive to Raw when Van Dam was drafted to the Raw brand. |
| 86 | Eddie Guerrero | April 21, 2002 | Backlash | Kansas City, MO | 2 | 36 | On May 6, 2002, after the World Wrestling Federation was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, the title was subsequently renamed to WWE Intercontinental Championship. |
| 87 | Rob Van Dam | May 27, 2002 | Raw | Edmonton, AB, Canada | 2 | 63 | On July 22, 2002, Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy to unify the European Championship into the Intercontinental Championship, deactivating the European title. |
| 88 | Chris Benoit | August 1, 2002 | Raw | Greensboro, NC | 4 | 27 | The title became exclusive to SmackDown! when Benoit defected to SmackDown! on July 30, 2002. |
| 89 | Rob Van Dam | August 25, 2002 | SummerSlam | Uniondale, NY | 3 | 22 | The title was returned to Raw due to Van Dam's status as a Raw superstar.
The following night on Raw, Van Dam defeated Tommy Dreamer to unify the Hardcore Championship into the Intercontinental Championship, deactivating the Hardcore title. |
| 90 | Chris Jericho | September 16, 2002 | Raw | Denver, CO | 5 | 14 | |
| 91 | Kane | September 30, 2002 | Raw | Houston, TX | 2 | 20 | |
| 92 | Triple H | October 20, 2002 | No Mercy | North Little Rock, AR | 5 | <1 | This was a title unification match to unify the Intercontinental Championship with Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship. |
| — | Unified | October 20, 2002 | No Mercy | North Little Rock, AR | — | — | Unified with Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship; the Intercontinental Championship was deactivated. |
| 93 | Christian | May 18, 2003 | Judgment Day | Charlotte, NC | 2 | 50 | Raw Co-General Manager Stone Cold Steve Austin reactivated the title. Christian won the revived title in a battle royal. |
| 94 | Booker T | July 7, 2003 | Raw | Montreal, QC, Canada | 1 | 34 | |
| 95 | Christian | August 10, 2003 | House show | Des Moines, IA | 3 | 50 | |
| 96 | Rob Van Dam | September 29, 2003 | Raw | Rosemont, IL | 4 | 28 | |
| 97 | Chris Jericho | October 27, 2003 | Raw | Fayetteville, NC | 6 | <1 | |
| 98 | Rob Van Dam | October 27, 2003 | Raw | Fayetteville, NC | 5 | 48 | |
| 99 | Randy Orton | December 14, 2003 | Armageddon | Orlando, FL | 1 | 210 | |
| 100 | Edge | July 11, 2004 | Vengeance | Hartford, CT | 5 | 57 | |
| — | Vacated | September 6, 2004 | Raw | Wichita Falls, TX | — | — | Vacated due to injury. |
| 101 | Chris Jericho | September 12, 2004 | Unforgiven | Portland, OR | 7 | 37 | Defeated Christian in a ladder match for the vacant title. |
| 102 | Shelton Benjamin | October 19, 2004 | Taboo Tuesday | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | 244 | |
| 103 | Carlito | June 20, 2005 | Raw | Phoenix, AZ | 1 | 90 | |
| 104 | Ric Flair | September 18, 2005 | Unforgiven | Oklahoma City, OK | 1 | 155 | |
| 105 | Shelton Benjamin | February 20, 2006 | Raw | Trenton, NJ | 2 | 68 | |
| 106 | Rob Van Dam | April 30, 2006 | Backlash | Lexington, KY | 6 | 15 | |
| 107 | Shelton Benjamin | May 15, 2006 | Raw | Lubbock, TX | 3 | 40 | |
| 108 | Johnny Nitro | June 25, 2006 | Vengeance | Charlotte, NC | 1 | 99 | |
| 109 | Jeff Hardy | October 2, 2006 | Raw | Topeka, KS | 2 | 34 | |
| 110 | Johnny Nitro | November 6, 2006 | Raw | Columbus, OH | 2 | 7 | |
| 111 | Jeff Hardy | November 13, 2006 | Raw | Manchester, England | 3 | 97 | |
| 112 | Umaga | February 19, 2007 | Raw | Bakersfield, CA | 1 | 56 | |
| 113 | Santino Marella | April 16, 2007 | Raw | Milan, Italy | 1 | 77 | Santino was "picked out of the audience" by Vince McMahon. |
| 114 | Umaga | July 2, 2007 | Raw | Dallas, TX | 2 | 63 | |
| 115 | Jeff Hardy | September 3, 2007 | Raw | Columbus, OH | 4 | 189 | |
| 116 | Chris Jericho | March 10, 2008 | Raw | Milwaukee, WI | 8 | 111 | |
| 117 | Kofi Kingston | June 29, 2008 | Night of Champions | Dallas, TX | 1 | 48 | |
| 118 | Santino Marella | August 17, 2008 | SummerSlam | Indianapolis, IN | 2 | 85 | |
| 119 | William Regal | November 10, 2008 | Raw | Manchester, England | 2 | 70 | |
| 120 | CM Punk | January 19, 2009 | Raw | Rosemont, IL | 1 | 49 | |
| 121 | John "Bradshaw" Layfield | March 9, 2009 | Raw | Jacksonville, FL | 1 | 27 | |
| 122 | Rey Mysterio | April 5, 2009 | WrestleMania 25 | Houston, TX | 1 | 63 | The title became exclusive to SmackDown following the 2009 WWE Draft. |
| 123 | Chris Jericho | June 7, 2009 | Extreme Rules | New Orleans, LA | 9 | 21 | |
| 124 | Rey Mysterio | June 28, 2009 | The Bash | Sacramento, CA | 2 | 68 | |
| 125 | John Morrison | September 4, 2009 | SmackDown | Cleveland, OH | 3 | 100 | John Morrison was formerly known as Johnny Nitro. |
| 126 | Drew McIntyre | December 13, 2009 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | San Antonio, TX | 1 | 161 | On May 7, 2010, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long suspended McIntyre and vacated the title. The following week on SmackDown, Kofi Kingston won a tournament to declare a new champion, but Vince McMahon reverted Long's decision, nullifying Kingston's win and continuing McIntyre's. |
| 127 | Kofi Kingston | May 23, 2010 | Over the Limit | Detroit, MI | 2 | 74 | |
| 128 | Dolph Ziggler | August 6, 2010 | SmackDown | Laredo, TX | 1 | 154 | |
| 129 | Kofi Kingston | January 7, 2011 | SmackDown | Tucson, AZ | 3 | 76 | |
| 130 | Wade Barrett | March 25, 2011 | SmackDown | Columbus, OH | 1 | 86 | |
| 131 | Ezekiel Jackson | June 19, 2011 | Capitol Punishment | Washington, D.C. | 1 | 54 | |
| 132 | Cody Rhodes | August 12, 2011 | SmackDown | Sacramento, CA | 1 | 234 | On August 29, 2011, the brand extension ended, allowing the Intercontinental Champion to appear on both Raw and SmackDown. |
| 133 | Big Show | April 1, 2012 | WrestleMania XXVIII | Miami Gardens, FL | 1 | 27 | |
| 134 | Cody Rhodes | April 29, 2012 | Extreme Rules | Rosemont, IL | 2 | 22 | |
| 135 | Christian | May 20, 2012 | Over the Limit | Raleigh, NC | 4 | 64 | |
| 136 | The Miz | July 23, 2012 | Raw 1000 | St. Louis, MO | 1 | 84 | |
| 137 | Kofi Kingston | October 17, 2012 | Main Event | Memphis, TN | 4 | 76 | |
| 138 | Wade Barrett | December 31, 2012 | Raw | Washington, D.C. | 2 | 97 | |
| 139 | The Miz | April 7, 2013 | WrestleMania 29
Pre-Show |
East Rutherford, NJ | 2 | 1 | |
| 140 | Wade Barrett | April 8, 2013 | Raw | East Rutherford, NJ | 3 | 68 | |
| 141 | Curtis Axel | June 16, 2013 | Payback | Rosemont, IL | 1 | 156 | |
| 142 | Big E Langston | November 18, 2013 | Raw | Nashville, TN | 1 | 167 | On February 12, 2014, Big E Langston's ring name was shortened to Big E. |
| 143 | Bad News Barrett | May 4, 2014 | Extreme Rules | East Rutherford, NJ | 4 | 58 | Bad News Barrett was formerly known as Wade Barrett. |
| — | Vacated | June 30, 2014 | Raw | Hartford, CT | — | — | Title vacated due to a shoulder injury. |
| 144 | The Miz | July 20, 2014 | Battleground | Tampa, FL | 3 | 27 | This was a nineteen-man battle royal. Miz last eliminated Dolph Ziggler to win the vacant title. |
| 145 | Dolph Ziggler | August 17, 2014 | SummerSlam | Los Angeles, CA | 2 | 36 | |
| 146 | The Miz | September 21, 2014 | Night of Champions | Nashville, TN | 4 | <1 | |
| 147 | Dolph Ziggler | September 22, 2014 | Raw | Memphis, TN | 3 | 57 | |
| 148 | Luke Harper | November 17, 2014 | Raw | Roanoke, VA | 1 | 27 | |
| 149 | Dolph Ziggler | December 14, 2014 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Cleveland, OH | 4 | 23 | |
| 150 | Bad News Barrett | January 5, 2015 | Raw | Corpus Christi, TX | 5 | 82 | |
| 151 | Daniel Bryan | March 29, 2015 | WrestleMania 31 | Santa Clara, CA | 1 | 44 | |
| — | Vacated | May 11, 2015 | Raw | Cincinnati, OH | — | — | Title vacated due to injury. |
| 152 | Ryback | May 31, 2015 | Elimination Chamber | Corpus Christi, TX | 1 | 112 | This was an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant title, also involving Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, R-Truth, and King Barrett. |
| 153 | Kevin Owens | September 20, 2015 | Night of Champions | Houston, TX | 1 | 85 | |
| 154 | Dean Ambrose | December 13, 2015 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Boston, MA | 1 | 64 | |
| 155 | Kevin Owens | February 15, 2016 | Raw | Anaheim, CA | 2 | 48 | |
| 156 | Zack Ryder | April 3, 2016 | WrestleMania 32 | Arlington, TX | 1 | 1 | |
| 157 | The Miz | April 4, 2016 | Raw | Dallas, TX | 5 | 188 | The brand extension returned and the title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand following the 2016 WWE Draft. |
| 158 | Dolph Ziggler | October 9, 2016 | No Mercy | Sacramento, CA | 5 | 37 | |
| 159 | The Miz | November 15, 2016 | SmackDown | Wilkes-Barre, PA | 6 | 48 | |
| 160 | Dean Ambrose | January 3, 2017 | SmackDown | Jacksonville, FL | 2 | 152 | The title became exclusive to the Raw brand following the 2017 WWE Superstar Shake-up. |
| 161 | The Miz | June 4, 2017 | Extreme Rules | Baltimore, MD | 7 | 169 | |
| 162 | Roman Reigns | November 20, 2017 | Raw | Houston, TX | 1 | 63 | |
| 163 | The Miz | January 22, 2018 | Raw 25 Years | Brooklyn, NY | 8 | 75 | |
| 164 | Seth Rollins | April 8, 2018 | WrestleMania 34 | New Orleans, LA | 1 | 71 | |
| 165 | Dolph Ziggler | June 18, 2018 | Raw | Grand Rapids, MI | 6 | 61 | |
| 166 | Seth Rollins | August 19, 2018 | SummerSlam | Brooklyn, NY | 2 | 119 | |
| 167 | Dean Ambrose | December 16, 2018 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | San Jose, CA | 3 | 28 | |
| 168 | Bobby Lashley | January 14, 2019 | Raw | Memphis, TN | 1 | 33 | |
| 169 | Finn Bálor | February 17, 2019 | Elimination Chamber | Houston, TX | 1 | 21 | |
| 170 | Bobby Lashley | March 11, 2019 | Raw | Pittsburgh, PA | 2 | 27 | |
| 171 | Finn Bálor | April 7, 2019 | WrestleMania 35 | East Rutherford, NJ | 2 | 98 | The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand following the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up. |
| 172 | Shinsuke Nakamura | July 14, 2019 | Extreme Rules
Kickoff |
Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 201 | |
| 173 | Braun Strowman | January 31, 2020 | SmackDown | Tulsa, OK | 1 | 36 | |
| 174 | Sami Zayn | March 8, 2020 | Elimination Chamber | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 65 | |
| — | Vacated | May 12, 2020 | Backstage | — | — | — | Sami Zayn was stripped of the title after electing to refrain from competing. In storyline, he claimed to still be the champion, and continued to carry around his copy of the belt after he returned in August 2020. |
| 175 | AJ Styles | June 12, 2020 | SmackDown | Orlando, FL | 1 | 71 | Defeated Daniel Bryan in a tournament final for the vacant title. |
| 176 | Jeff Hardy | August 21, 2020 | SmackDown | Orlando, FL | 5 | 36 | On August 28, 2020, Sami Zayn returned with his own title belt, claiming to be the legitimate champion as he was never defeated. WWE did not recognize Zayn as champion; however, this led to the following match to determine the undisputed champion. |
| 177 | Sami Zayn | September 27, 2020 | Clash of Champions | Orlando, FL | 2 | 89 | This was a triple threat ladder match also involving AJ Styles in which the winner had to retrieve both Jeff Hardy's belt and Zayn's faux belt to determine the undisputed champion. |
| 178 | Big E | December 25, 2020 | SmackDown | St. Petersburg, FL | 2 | 107 | |
| 179 | Apollo Crews | April 11, 2021 | WrestleMania 37
Night 2 |
Tampa, FL | 1 | 123 | |
| 180 | King Nakamura | August 13, 2021 | SmackDown | Tulsa, OK | 2 | 189 | Won the title under the name King Nakamura. Reverted back to Shinsuke Nakamura on October 8, 2021. |
| 181 | Sami Zayn | February 18, 2022 | SmackDown | New Orleans, LA | 3 | 13 | |
| 182 | Ricochet | March 4, 2022 | SmackDown | Miami, FL | 1 | 98 | |
| 183 | Gunther | June 10, 2022 | SmackDown | Baton Rouge, LA | 1 | 37+ | |