Carlito made an immediate impact once he was moved from SmackDown to Raw via the draft lottery. Just as he won the United States Championship on his first night on SmackDown, Carlito won the Intercontinental Championship on his first night on Raw. Shelton Benjamin had been enjoying the longest Intercontinental Championship reign in 10 years, but Carlito, who illegally used the ropes for leverage pinned Benjamin and picked up the title.

After a near three-month reign, Carlito was dethroned by Ric Flair at Unforgiven.