A couple of weeks ago on Raw an ascension ceremony was held to commemorate the last time that with WWE and World Heavyweight titles would stand separately. For this segment the ring was filled with every former world champion that they could gather: current stars and a few legends all together at once. This collection of wrestlers represented both the best and worst of WWE’s world title history.
This assembly of talent got me to thinking, now that we have a WWE World Heavyweight Championship (WWEWHC) what chance do any of these men of ever holding it again? I have gone through and evaluated all of these former champion’s future potentials in a series of editorial posts. As always feel to express your opinions on my selections and synopses.
Part 1: Top of the Class
CM Punk
Age: 35
WWE Champion (2)
World Heavyweight Champion (3)
CM Punk. Best in the World. 2013 had a rocky start for the Straight Edge superstar. At Royal Rumble he lost the WWE title to the returning Rock. He also lost the rematch at Elimination Chamber and became The Udnertaker’s latest Wrestlemania victim the following PPV. This prompted Punk to take a short leave of absence and he returned at the inaugural Payback event with a renewed sense of purpose. He defeated Chris Jericho, then took a go at winning his third Money in the Bank briefcase, and spent months feuding with Paul Heyman’s various associates. Having just defeated The Shield and making enemies with The Authority I believe that it is only a matter of time until CM Punk is back in the running for the top title. At 35, and with rumours over his retirement abound, it would only be fitting for the Best in the World to capture the big belt (at least) one last time in 2014.
Ranking: Basically guaranteed. Put money on this happening.
Daniel Bryan
Age: 32
WWE Champion (2)
World Heavyweight Champion (1)
Daniel Bryan is the unlikely success story of our era. Back in 2010 he was released for his perceived lack of personality and drawing power. This is a decision which history has made funny given his current position in the company. Fast forward nearly four years, through his failed eighteen second defense of the World Heavyweight title at Wrestlemania 28, and he is the most over superstar in the locker room. His popularity is seemingly unstoppable. But we, the fans, have been burned before. Bryan’s series of PPV headlining matches this year have been unkind. He won the title (cleanly) from John Cena, only to lose it literally minutes later. He beats Randy Orton (again, cleanly) at Night of Champions only to have the decision overturned due to referee shenanigans. Two title shots later and Bryan has fallen completely out of world title contention. His current feud with The Wyatt Family keeps him prominent on WWE programming with keeping him away from the big gold belt. Expect this rivalry to continue for at least another high-profile match (hopefully a one-on-one with Wyatt himself). After that, who knows? What I know is given his current popularity somebody would have to be working very hard to keep D-Bry away from another title match.
Ranking: Can he become WWEWHC? Yes!
John Cena
Age: 36
WWE Champion (11)
World Heavyweight Champion (3)
John Cena occupies a strange position in the current landscape of the WWE. He is the most decorated champion of the modern era but at the same time he is the one guy who can bounce back from any shortcoming put in his way. Whether it is losing two Wrestlemania main events back to back, being the first person to unsuccessfully cash in a Money in the Bank briefcase, losing a match to John “People Power” Laurenitis, or losing the very first WWE World Heavyweight Championship match – Cena is never far from the limelight. His accomplishments alone make him a valid number one contender at any given point in time. John Cena is the logical choice for Randy Orton’s first title defence of the WWEWH championship. In fact, it is so obvious I hope they throw us a curveball. Cena is never more than a few fingertips away from yet another title reign so it won’t hurt him one iota to cede his position to somebody else even if only for a little while.
Ranking: Inevitable.
Alberto Del Rio
Age: 36
WWE Champion (2)
World Heavyweight Champion (2)
When the Mexican aristocrat, Alberto Del Rio, debuted in WWE in 2010 he was thrust very quickly into the championship scene. In just three years he has had four major championship reigns and he generally looked pretty good doing it. If anything I think that Del Rio is looking more and more like a champion as time goes on; his latest WHC reign was far more impressive than either of his tenures as WWE champion.
With rumours abound of Del Rio’s retirement over the next few years his future remains quite uncertain. He has already had a few world title runs and I would not be surprised to see another as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Ranking: Never say nunca
Mark Henry
Age: 42
World Heavyweight Champion (1)
If there was ever a time for the world’s strongest man to become WWEWHC it is now. Mark Henry continues to astound with his feats of raw strength and he is a legitimate threat no matter who his opponent is. He won his first and only world title in 2011, a mere 15 years into his professional wrestling career. You could hardly say that he wasn’t due for a run. During this championship reign Henry arguably had the best matches of his career, his clean victories over Randy Orton being a particular highlight. After losing the belt to The Big Show (who then lost in moments later to Daniel Bryan) he has fallen out of contention aside from a few token WWE title matches.
Even at age 42 he is as physically imposing as ever and is a solid challenge for any wrestler at any time. If he gets at shot at Orton and the WWEWHC to what lengths will The Viper have to go to to keep the big man down?
Ranking: We can only hope.
The Big Show
Age: 41
WWE Champion (2)
World Heavyweight Champion (2)
The very spectacle of the world’s largest athlete, standing at seven feet tall and weighing in at over 400lbs, make his a reasonable contender for any title at any given time. This year he has a reasonable run with the WHC and has been a contender for the WWE title – something that few others can boast of. His size and star power are working very much in his favour for another title run while his age is starting to work against him. Never count out The Big Show though; he has been a big game player for approaching two decades for good reason.
As a veteran of tag team wrestling he can be of great benefit to the tag division even if it does feel like a bit of a step down for him. Over the years he has teamed up with a number of world champions (Kane, Undertaker, Miz, Jericho) and crowd seem to respond to his current partnership with Rey Mysterio. Even if this teaming is not destined to last it can keep Big Show out of major title contention for a few months and (hopefully) make him feel like a fresh contender next year.
Ranking: Decent chance, but tick-tock …
That’s it for part one of Championship Rankings 2013. Tune in next time as we dig a little deeper into WWE’s championship history and ask the tough questions. Can Ziggler climb the mountain again? Did Swagger screw the pooch? And, for the last time what the hell were they thinking with Khali?
– “The Professor” Ricardo K
