In 2002, Eric Bischoof introduced the new World Heavyweight Title back on Monday Night RAW in 2002 and awarded the title to Triple H. Since then, there have been many great people to hold the title. Then again, there were absolutely horrible people who had runs with the title. Let’s take a look. I will be basing their rankings on the quality of their reigns.
Runner-Ups:
Randy Orton: It’s not that Orton was a bad champion, but his reigns were lackluster. His first title win over Chris Benoit, despite it being impressive, was short lived as he unceremoniously lost the title at the next PPV to his mentor, Triple H. He would have a 7 year hiatus from the title until he won it on an edition of Smackdown in 2011 over Christian. He lost the title soon at Money In The Bank by disqualification. Then he won it back at Summerslam. Then he lost it back at Night of Champions to Mark Henry. Orton wasn’t bad by any means, but his reigns lacked bite.
Shawn Michaels: Once again, by no means was he a horrible person. It’s his reign that was the problem. At the very first Elimination Chamber at Survivor Series in 2002, HBK outlasted Triple H, Kane, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and Chris Jericho in a grueling match to win his first and only World Heavyweight Championship. The HBK/HHH rivalry was very heated in 2002, but unfortunate for Shawn, he lost the title to Triple H in a three stages of hell match not soon after he won his first title. Shawn was a great wrestler, but a poor champion.
Big Show: Big Show’s World Heavyweight Championship reigns were very underwhelming. The first time he won it was at TLC when he beat Mark Henry. That same night, he lost it within 3 minutes to Daniel Bryan. The second time he won it, it was at Hell In A Cell last year when he defeated Sheamus in a spectacular match-up. Unfortunately, throughout that whole time he only feuded with Sheamus in an average feud, and then lost it to Alberto Del Rio on Smackdown in a last man standing match. Show’s reigns could have been a lot better.
5. Kane: Kane’s first World Title reign came in 2010 when he cashed in Money In The Bank on Rey Mysterio at Summerslam. Now it was a long overdue win for Kane but throughout his tenure as champion, he would feud with surprise, surprise, his story-line brother, The Undertaker. Now he got two key wins over him at Night of Champions and inside Hell In A Cell, but boy was this all too repetitive. We have seen these two go at it time and time again. The lack of diversity in his reigns was very lackluster. Later, his feud with Edge over the kidnapping of his father (really?) proved to be the nail in the coffin. He would lose the World Heavyweight Title at TLC in a fatal four way match with Edge coming out on top.
4. Jack Swagger: When Jack Swagger cashed in on Chris Jericho in 2010 to win his first and only World Title, some people saw it as refreshing as an athletic young talent held the title. The problem was both the reign and Swagger. First of all Jack Swagger is very non charismatic. I believe his in ring style is cancelled out by his severe lack of mic skills as well as ability to believe that he was a strong champion. Now he did beat Randy Orton in a match in 2010 for the World Title and he did defeat Edge and Chris Jericho in a triple threat match. Despite all of that, it was a very forgettable run at best.
3. Alberto Del Rio: When Del Rio won the World Title in 2012 against Big Show in a last man standing match, the WWE were under the impression that the fans, especially the Latino demographic, would be over with ADR. And boy were they wrong. Ricardo Rodriguez got more of a reaction that Alberto. His feud with Big Show ending at the Elimination Chamber started to become more comical than serious. Then, his feud with Jack Swagger leading up to WrestleMania was more about making video parodies of each other as opposed to in ring confrontations. It was a really hard display to watch. The only reason why ADR is not higher on the list is because he can absolutely go in the ring. He delivered in performances against the likes of Dolph Ziggler (SPOILER ALERT) and John Cena. His lack of charisma was very severe, especially for a World Champion.
2. Dolph Ziggler: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. First, he was World Heavyweight Champion and now he is losing to Fandango in the pre-shows. Technically he first won the title in 2011 when Edge was “fired” and Ziggler was awarded the title. He lost it later that night. His second reign, although shorter, could be considered worse in prospect. Ziggler got the pop of the year when he came out and cashed in Money In The Bank on Del Rio. It was all good at the moment, but it couldn’t save the tobacco that would come after. He would lose to Jack Swagger in a non title matchup. He would lose and take the pins in tag team matches. Jack Swagger knocked him out unconscious in a kayfabe injury and in the next PPV he was ready to compete in, the inaugural Payback PPV, he lost by knockout when Alberto Del Rio effectively kept targeting his head. This would lead to a double turn and since then he has never been the same and he can see himself slipping down to the bottom of the card. But Dolph embodied everything that a World Heavyweight Champion should not be. Weak, cowardly, non – charismatic and a lack of a convincing in ring style. Ziggler’s ring record speaks for himself, and he displayed himself poorly as a champion. Now WWE of course runs all the wheels, but its not like Ziggler gave them any reason to make his reign last longer. Ziggler has just been a big flop and i think we won’t see him in a position to win the World Title again any time soon.
1. The Great Khali: Is there really anymore that needs to be said about this man? A guy who can’t speak one proper sentence in English was given the World Heavyweight Championship. This man was allowed clean wins over both The Undertaker and John Cena. This man feuded with Batista and Rey Mysterio. The Great Khali was just a walking giant and nothing more. His in ring skill comprises of just big chops, a Punjabi Plunge and that headlock submission hold. He couldn’t even speak for himself let alone speak at all. When you take a look at all of the great World Heavyweight Champions, they would truly scoff at the sight of this man. His reign was purely pathetic and the fact that he is still employed by WWE in itself is egregious enough. Why can’t he just go away?
Did I miss anybody? Disagree? Comment.
