The best Superstars haven’t always been champions as you will see on this list. Likewise though, many of the all-time greats have held the title numerous times. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, etc. are all in the annals of wrestling history. The very first man to hold the prestigious title was the late Buddy Rogers – the original “Nature Boy” Since the days of Buddy Rogers’ championship reign, forty-three other men have had the privilege of calling themselves WWE Champion.
The belt itself has seen a number of changes over the years – many different styles were adapted to better suit the era in which it was being represented.
The belt has even been customized to fit the personalities of certain superstars such as a smoking skull design for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, a Brahma bull look for The Rock, and a hip-hop-clad version for John Cena. Here is a look at some of the best wrestlers of that time who never held the world championship gold.
# 15 Ken Shamrock
I thought Ken Shamrock was going to eventually win the WWE Title early 1999 because he was one of the top heels at that time second or third to The Rock and Vince. After the loss he suffered to The Rock his wrestling career seemed to have subsided.
I think a run as champion would have worked really well. No-one wanted to hear Shamrock talk. In a similar way to the way Goldberg was booked, they just wanted to see him kick some ass.
# 14 The Brittish Bulldog
Davey Boy Smith was without a doubt one of the greatest and most intimidating wrestlers to ever compete inside the ring. Not only was he the size of a brick wall but he could out wrestle anyone at just about anytime.
Smith would never attain anything higher than the IC Championship. Although he did challenge for the WWE title of a number of occasions, unfortunately, he never had the chance to prove his world title worth in the ring.
# 13 Booker T
In WCW, Booker T would become a five-time WCW Championship. In WWE, he became a one-time World Heavyweight Champion but never a WWE Champion.
Booker was another WCW guy who made his way over to the WWE when WCW went out of business a guy who had proved himself time and time again, but was never given the glory of WWE Championship gold.
# 12 Chyna
Yea, i said it. Chyna! You know? The female wrestler.
I’m guessing a lot of you will disagree with my decision here but whatever, i’ve seen much worse World Heavyweight Champions.
Just hear me out here. It would have been a challenge to book without a doubt, but I think it could’ve been great as long as WWE made it believable. Chyna had multiple WWE Contender Championship matches. Chyna won the no.1 contenders match for WWF Championship on RAW just before SummerSlam ’99 Austin helped her, but I don’t think it actually came to a match between them, she gave the spot to Triple H or something like that.
During the Attitude era Chyna was pretty popular, and at her peak she held the Intercontinental Championship a few times, and was the first woman to compete in the Royal Rumble and KOTR tourny.
And if I remember correctly, one of the reasons she left the WWE was because they refused to push her into the WWF title contention. Actually now that I think about it, almost 11 years ago Chyna was fighting HHH and the Undertaker for a spot in the main event of Summerslam. So around 11 years ago Chyna was competing with HHH and the Undertaker for a spot in the Summerslam main event.
After some intensive research i found this bombshell!! WWE actually wanted Chyna to become the first female WWE Champion at one point, so i’m not alone on this.
In 1999 Chyna had stepped out from the shadow of her enforcer role with D-Generation X and had established her place on the roster as one of the most dominant female athletes to ever step foot in the WWF. As a result of being ‘over’ with WWF fans, WWF bookers ensured that Chyna would receive a momentous push in a long term plan to have her challenge gender stereotypes and prejudice. After all Chyna had, prior to SummerSlam, been the first female to qualify for the King Of The Ring Tournament and appear in a Royal Rumble match. Chyna’s momentum coupled with a stubborn Austin had meant that for a brief moment a plan had been penned that would have seen Chyna face Austin at SummerSlam and win the WWF Championship. It would seem that at first the plan was followed to the letter. Chyna became the first female number one contender for the WWF Championship, with the assumption that she would go on to challenge Austin for the belt in the main event of SummerSlam. However WWF Creative team abandoned the idea, opting to have Mankind take Chyna’s place at SummerSlam instead in a triple threat match with HHH and Austin. The original SummerSlam poster in which Chyna would have won the title is below..
# 11 Vader
Vader had all the abilities to be a big-time main event star and WWE Champion but it would seem as though the timing wasn’t right. He joined the WWE in early 1996 a time when The Kliq was running the show and Shawn Michaels was the top-guy in the company. Vader feuded with Michaels over the WWE Championship which provided some interesting wrestling considering the size differential and contrasting in-ring work. HBK accused Vader of being too stiff a worker. After this, Vader would never gain the WWE Championship. Big Van Vader had plenty of world title reigns in the WCW, but sadly not even one in the WWE. His 350-lb. frame was surprisingly agile and he was a treat to watch in the ring.
# 10 Jimmy Snuka
Snuka became the first ever ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Jimmy had a well-accomplished WWE career and has since been inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, Snuka is another one of those past greats who was never awarded the WWE Championship.
# 9 Ricky The Dragon Steamboat.
Although, Steamboat never won the WWE Championship, all the credentials were there for a run with the belt. He had the size and elegance in the ring that made him a winner. Steamboat was one of the only wrestlers never to embrace ‘the dark side’ and become a full fledged heel at any point in his career. He spent his entire career as a fan favorite
# 8 Ravishing Rick Rude
The self-proclaimed “Sexiest Man Alive” was quick to let the fans know what he thought about them and their own physical appearance. Rude played a strong heel character in WWE, but is yet another case of mid-card misconception. While capturing the Intercontinental Championship he aligned himself with Bobby Heenan certainly a highlight of his career, along with the time he appeared on both WWF’WWC shows on the very same night. Rick Rude has always been an underestimated wrestler in the WWE despite being one of the toughest in the business.
# 7 Jake The Snake” Roberts
Jake is one of the best all-time heels the WWE has ever known, one of the most well known wrestlers to have never won a major title, let alone the WWE world heavyweight title.
Highly remembered for his cold persona and his pet snake, Damien, Jake is a living legend with or without a title reign.
# 6 Rowdy Roddy Piper
Piper is arguable the best heel in WWE history an innovator of the whole “bad guy” image and influence of many great future heels to come. While Piper was clearly viewed as main-event caliber, he was never given a chance to represent the company as WWE Champion.Although he has held the intercontinental title, the world title always escaped his grasp.
# 5 Razor Ramon
“Say hello to the bad guy!” Scott ‘Razor Ramon’ Hall not only possessed one of the greatest names in wrestling history but he had the talent and chest hair to go along with it.
I’m not quite sure how Scott Hall never received a WWE Championship run as Razor Ramon. He was good enough to take the title and certainly had the right friends within the company. Nevertheless, the Intercontinental Championship would be the highest WWE accolade for Razor Ramon, who worked his heel persona smoothly as a natural entertainer. Razor Ramon would have had an interesting run with the WWE Championship. He once said of never winning the big one that it didn’t matter to him as it added nothing to his character. I would disagree, the gold belt would of fitted well with his trademark jewelry. Although he never got a chance to win the big one, Ramon’s talents were never questioned.
# 4 Goldberg
While Goldberg did manage to win the World Heavyweight Championship, he was never afforded a shot at the WWE Championship (I know, I know … Goldberg was on Raw and the WWE Championship was exclusive to SmackDown).
When Goldberg decided to leave WWE after a year, many fans were left disappointed. Goldberg as the WWE Champion would have been great.
# 3 Andre The Giant
Technically Andre won the title. It was due to controversy that it was a stripped from him after he cheated to win against Hulk Hogan in the late 80s during his heel run and scratched from the record books. For as memorable of a wrestler as he was, it’s a shame he was never given a world title reign.
# 2 Owen Hart
Owen brought an excited energy to the ring and combined it with agility and talent few wrestlers displayed. Many fans faced disappointment when he didn’t win the WWE title during one of his many matches with his sibling Bret Hart. Owen was every bit as talented as his brother and trained in the infamous ‘Dungeon’ wrestling school by their father Stu Hart. Despite not winning the heavyweight championship, Owen became a multiple time tag team champion as well as a European and Intercontinental champion
# 1 Mr Perfect
None other than ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig graces the number one spot on my list. Considered by many as one of the greatest to ever compete, he was a two-time Intercontinental champion and who could forget those videos where he showed just how perfect he was.
A man of great talent he showed that even though he may never have won the belt…that didn’t stop him from being ‘perfect.’
Curt Hennig, was a phenomenal in-ring performer. Now, Hennig is a former AWA World Heavyweight Champion which has been recognized by WWE as a World Championship reign, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that such a gifted wrestler should have been the actual WWE Champion at least once in his career. Many are still upset that he never got the chance to prove himself in a WWE championship match, especially before he left the company in the mid 90s.
Thanks for reading…
