Allow me to preface this piece by stating that there seems to be a chunk of people who are either visually disabled or abhors reading the title of articles. These are, pay attention, WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS ONLY! Big Gold belt? Eric Bischoff gave it to Triple H? NOT WWE CHAMPIONS. Not The Miz, Not Eddie Guerrerro and not Rob Van Dam. This list is reserved for those who have held the World Heavyweight Championship until its official retirement in 2013 at the TLC PPV when it was no longer used as a singular championship. Now that I have cleared that up, let’s get into the top five people who have made the World Heavyweight Championship a prestigious title, at least in my eyes. Once again, my criterion is based upon title length, feud intrigue and personal reputation. Here we go.
Honorable Mentions:
CM Punk – Good champion, but I think I remember him most for his feud with Jeff Hardy. He crossed very personal boundaries and even exposed Jeff Hardy’s issues with complying with WWE’s wellness policy. He received major heat and played the role as the proverbial straight-edge, obnoxious know-it all.
King Booker – His feuds weren’t setting anyone on fire, but I think the historical significance of him being the first black World Champion (NOT RON SIMMONS PEOPLE) is enough for an honorable mention. It was good to see that him finally succeed and show WWE is willing to give anybody a chance, despite what some people may say.
John Cena – Love him or hate him, Cena has paid his dues in WWE and whatever title he held, he held with pride. I am a professed Cena hater. And when I say I hate him, that’s being generous. But John Cena always worked hard and did his best to bring prominence for the World Title.
5. Chris Jericho
From being the last WCW Champion to being a four time World Champion, Jericho was the epitome of what a heel champion should be. Now sure, his reigns weren’t very long, but he did make good use of the time he had with it. Feuds with the likes of John Cena and one of the greatest individual feuds of all time, Shawn Michaels, propelled his career into historical territory. His matches had a great concentrated, methodical feel to it, especially the ones with HBK. His promos were second to none and he had that smarmy, ingratiating nature about him that made it so easy to hate him. Calling the fans hypocrites as well as sycophants certainly helped his character get over all the more. And, let’s be honest with ourselves. What other champion do you know that consistently comes out with a world title in a suit? I mean, come on! Y2J didn’t have long reigns, but he certainly made us tune in, at least me, into RAW and Smackdown whenever he was champion. I don’t view him as a transitional champion, but he made stars in Jack Swagger and to a much bigger extent, John Cena.
4. The Undertaker
I would be remiss not to mention The Undertaker when talking about some of the greatest World Heavyweight Champions of all time. Again, in terms of length, the Undertaker was lacking a bit. But in terms of everything else, he excelled above and beyond. His first World Title feud with Batista was a success in not only giving us high quality matches, whether it be Last Man Standing or Hell In A Cell, but it gave Batista that first major push to super stardom as a top draw in WWE. His mysterious chracter always gave an eerie feeling, especially if you saw him live, but don’t be fooled, he always meant business. I also liked his feud with Edge, as Undertaker put him over on separate occasions. The Undertaker is not only one of the greatest in ring performers of all time, but he held the World Heavyweight Championship with great pride, and I believe what he has done not only for the prestige of the title, but putting other young guns over, did wonders for him and WWE as a whole.
3. Batista
Batista is a prime example of how you should evolve a young star in the making (though he wasn’t exactly very young to begin his career). In Evolution, he started as the powerhouse, but soon enough, he would turn on Evolution, and more importantly, the World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H. Batista would then progress into a much more complex character. He started working on his mic skills, his moveset became more diverse and he started to become a major figure of strength in WWE. He had great feuds with Undertaker, Triple H, and Edge for the World Title and each win would add prestige to it. When he would leave RAW for Smackdown to become their face, I believe it was a success. His injury in late 2005 was only a minor setback as he would return better than ever. Batista is tied for third place with the most number of reigns as champion (Orton) and second for the most number of combined days as champion (507). When you think of the greatest World Champions of all time, The Animal has to be included.
2. Triple H
I was really on the fence between numbers two and one, but i will explain. Here, we have Triple H, one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time. Being World Heavyweight Champion cemented his place as one of, if not, the top heel in WWE. Everything about him just seemed to click greatly. The entrance music, the water (which I don’t think he has ever finished), the in ring psychology, and his promos as well. He alone dominated the RAW brand for years upon years with Evolution by his side. The World Heavyweight Title lost some of its prestige last year with lackluster reigns by Del Rio and Ziggler predominantly, and it kind of made me think back to the days where it was treated as a crown jewel. HHH would go through hell and highwater just to get the title. He holds the record for most number of days held as champion (616) and second in reigns (5). But why is he second? Simple. I really didn’t like how Triple H was booked as champion. HIs first reign as WHC was practically gift wrapped by Eric Bischoff. His second reign when he beat Shawn Michaels in a three stages of hell match had Ric Flair interfering, his third reign as champion required Batista and Orton holding Kane back from a cover after chokeslamming Goldberg. His fourth reign needed the use of a sledgehammer when the referee was knocked down, and his final reign came when Batista interfered after he was already eliminated in the Elimination Chamber. When you look at how he won his titles, he was portrayed as a coward who couldn’t do it own his own who had to protect himself behind Evolution. Ric Flair, Batista or Randy Orton would always seem to interfere in his matches and Triple H proved incapable of winning a match on his own. I mean, he needed interference just to win a match against Eugene! EUGENE! For all his bulk and great personality, I think he was booked far too weakly. But in Triple H’s case, the good outweighs the bad. He made the World Title seem important, but there was one man above The Cerebral Assassin who I think personified what a true World Champion should be like.
1. Edge
Now I admit, I’m an Edgehead so I might be a tad biased here. But if I’m looking at who the greatest World Champion was, I have to pick Edge. He is first in number of reigns (7) and third in number of days held (409). Edge’s attitude as champion was personified in one statement when speaking to John Cena prior to a Last Man Standing Match between the two at the impending Backlash PPV.
“When I’m lost at sea, that’s my lifeline.” Edge seemed to treasure the World Title like it’s an integral part of his life. His moniker as The Ultimate Oppurtunist fit greatly. For example, before the World Heavyweight Title and WWE Title was unified last year, he was the only superstar to hold both world titles in one night. At No Way Out in 2009, he lost the WWE Title Elimination Chamber but attacked Kofi Kingston, forced himself entry to the World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber, pinned John Cena and Rey Mysterio clean, and won the WHC. That alone was my favorite memory of him. He would do everything in his power, no matter what the cost, to get the World Title. He had great personal rivalries with John Cena, The Undertaker and Batista, along with great matches with the likes of Jeff Hardy. Now I may be viewed as a hypocrite for having him here at first because Edge needed lots of interference to win his titles as well, but when I look at the difference between the two, Triple H’s interference was overblown and came to a much bigger expense. Not to mention, Triple H was the man in WWE. One of the top draws. Edge was a top draw, but was never a face of WWE, so in terms of importance, I think Edge is less significant. The theme music, the jacket, his portrayal as a sly weasel, complimented by his unique ring style warrants this number 1 spot. Again, I may be guilty of hindsight bias here, but at the end of the day, I don’t think I can be properly convinced that Edge doesn’t deserve this ranking. I find it fitting that he ended his career at WrestleMania successfully defending the World Title and retiring as champion. Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest World Heavyweight Champion of all time, The Rated R Superstar, Edge.
Agree? Disagree? Comment below. And remember, WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS ONLY!
