IWA Intercontinental (Heavyweight) Championship (Febrery 23, 2002 - June 16, 2012, September 7, 2019 -present)
IWE Intercontinental Championship (January 22, 2022 - November 19, 2022 (Unification)) (During the IWE takeover storyline vs IWA, 2 champions of each division were disputed, it continued with the same lineage)
IWA Undisputed Intercontinental Championship (also used in addition as referenced in IWA's website since the November 19, 2022 IWA/IWE title Unification)
In 2021, Fernando Tonos and Manny Ferno created the group La Alianza IWE with the intention of completing a hostile takeover on behalf of International Wrestling Entertainment. Members of the stable won all of the IWA-PR titles. In response, general manager Chicky Starr and Savio Vega introduced parallel titles for each division in March 2022. While the storyline continued, there was a pair of belts contested independently of each other, with the original being referenced to as the "IWE Intercontinental Championship".
History
In early 2015, while Vega was part of La Radio PR's "Más Allá del Ring" show, the title made appearances as part of the studio's decore along the Undisputed World Heavyweight and World Tag Team Championships.
Reintroduced by Savio Vega as part of the main angle of Golpe de Estado 2018, in which he led a group that intended to convert the WWL into the second incarnation of the IWA. At the event, Richard Rondón carried the title with him. Despite IWA failing at Golpe de Estado, the angle was continued. In the meantime, the Intercontinental Championship was featured in an event sponsored by the municipal administration of Naranjito, still lacking formal adjudication.
Reintroduction (2019)
On June 15, 2019, in Naranjito, Puerto Rico IWA started doing matches to determine a new Intercontinental Champion. the new champion will be determined at Golpe de Estado in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico on September 7, 2019. On August 24 edition of Impacto Total, Chicky Starr announced that Monster Pain would replace Sweet Nasty Papi due he was beaten and unable to participate at the event.
The original was crafted by Reggie Parks using acid etching in 2002, it used the same basic template that this craftsman has used in the 1986 WWE Intercontinental Championship belt and other titles in his line. Like those belts, the IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship had a main plate composed by three gilded rectangles of receding size, which due to usage exposed the silver coloring underneath. The central area of the design features a geographical World Map inside a circle, flanked by the same design of six five-pointed stars grouped together. Above and under are three black-colored ribbons, with the upper one prominently reading “INTERCONTINENTAL” and the inferior pair “HEAVYWEIGHT WRESTLING CHAMPION”. The lower part features two eight-pointed stars, an element that is also present in the Parks belts. The crown of the belt has the acronym, “IWA”, inside a trapezoid that is surrounded by leaf motifs. There are four two side square side plates which originally featured designs of wrestlers grappling under the company name. These were replaced with ones that depict the flags of Puerto Rico, Japan, Germany and the United States with their capitalized names over each. The title was modified in 2009, when strap was replaced with a new made of red-colored leather. The template was shared with the IWA Hardcore Championship and later the IWA Puerto Rico/Caribbean Heavyweight Championship.
In 2021, IWA-PR commissioned new belts to commemorate its 20th anniversary from Collection Spot. The Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship was replaced with an original design, which was based on the original. The new belt featured an oblong central plaque that preserved the World Map and ribbons. However, it introduced two flanking black ribbons which contained five stars and widespread use of heraldic wreath motifs and mantling. The grouping of six stars forming another star, a feature created by Parks and present in many of his designs, was used inside a circle placed at the bottom of the central plaque. The side plates were redesigned to be circular and removing the flags. Both feature maps surrounded by two ribbons with five stars and wreaths, with the left plaque depicting the Western Hemisphere and the right the Eastern Hemisphere. All three plates include a silver-colored IWA logo at the top. Meanwhile, the original belt was repurposed as the IWE Intercontinental Championship with a sticker of the stable's logo being placed over the "IWA" in the crown of the center plate.
Title history
Indicates disputed IWA/IWE champions.
Indicates title reigns and changes not recognized by IWA or vacancies.
Highlights in bold denotes after Juicio Final 2022 each division have 2 champions due by the controversy between IWA and IWE, in which the latter took control of the old titles forcing IWA to create new titles in each division
Before the match Romeo attacks brutally Mr. Big, later in the same night Richard Rondón returns and Defeated Romeo to become the new IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion.
During his reign on January 22, 2022, Chicano was viciously attacked by Mighty Ursus, with the latter stealing his title and unoficially self proclaimed himself as Champion, with him calling referring it as the IWE Intercontinental Championship or just as Intercontinental Championship as Tonos and the alliance takeover control of titles
After legitimate champion Chicano was viciously injured and wasn't available to defend for 3 months, in a meeting between Vega, Tonos, Ferno and Promoter Edwin Ortega. 4th contender Díaz was awarded the title by Manny Ferno who was the number 1 contender after he withdrew from a signed match at the meeting between him and Díaz (Grimm and Ursus (unoficial self proclaimed champion) were second and third contenders respectively and were out with injuries.
Defeated Aiden Grimm to win the IWE half, months later during his reign he defeated Niche on November 19 to win the IWA half, unifying the belts and became the Undisputed IWA Intercontinental champion. Ending the IWA/IWE title dispute storyline
This was a segment-match, defeated Azazel to win the IWA title in a last man standing match that started in the parking lot of Coliseo Emilio Huyke and ended in a unknown river, where the former champion drowned and didn't responded.
During this reign, on the September 28 Golpe de Estado event, Hawking defeat Pedro Portillo III in a triple title match for the IWA World Heavyweight Championship, Heavyweight Championship, the IWA Puerto Rico Championship and retained his IWA Intercontinental Championship.