Wrestlers Who Should Have Never Held The WWE Championship

The WWE Championship is the top prize in all of professional wrestling. Established in 1963, it has been held by some of the very best to have ever stepped into a professional wrestling ring. To date, 55 different individuals have had the honor of holding the title. Names such as John Cena, Steve Austin, The Rock, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and more have all helped in making it what it is today.

However, not every WWE Champion has been the very best. For a variety of reasons, some of them ended up being forgettable and unimportant. With that being said, here are 10 wrestlers who should not have been WWE Champion.

10

Chris Jericho

He Was Not The Main Point Of His Feuds

Chris Jericho is among one of the most decorated professional wrestlers of all-time. He has held countless different championships for various promotions. However, his reign as WWE Champion was one that, when looked at deeper, is very unmemorable.

Jericho’s win to defeat The Rock and Steve Austin was an impressive one that he would recall various times. But, the majority of his reign was very uninteresting. He often felt second place compared to other names on the roster, despite the fact that he was WWE Champion.

9

The Miz

Bigger Storylines Overshadowed Him

The Miz had two separate reigns as WWE Champion in his career so far. On both occasions, not unlike Jericho, it felt like he was in second place because other stories were more interesting than the one he was a part of.

His first reign saw him feud too often with Jerry Lawler for the title. Even though he main evented WrestleMania against John Cena, the bigger story was between Cena and The Rock. For his second reign, he was simply just a transitional champion to make Bobby Lashley the WWE Champion.

8

Alberto Del Rio

Fans Did Not Care For Him As Champion

On more than one occasion, WWE tried to make fans get behind Alberto Del Rio. However, on virtually every occasion, it did not work. Fans simply did not care about his career and he was a boring WWE Champion.

At the time that Del Rio was champion, he was competing in the main event against names such as CM Punk and John Cena. These were names that fans had far more investment in and care than they ever did for Del Rio.

7

Vince McMahon

It Was The First Time McMahon Booked Himself As Champion

It has almost never gone over well when authority figures book themselves to win the top championship of their promotion. Vince McMahon won the WWE Championship from Triple H in 1999. It was simply a way to just get him back on TV because of storyline stipulations.

Overall, McMahon did not need to win the WWE Championship. It was not necessary and a waste of time. He later redid this again when he became ECW World Champion.

6

Kane

His Reign Lasted One Day

During the Attitude Era, Kane became one of the biggest stars in the company very quickly. He skyrocketed to the main event scene and feuded with the biggest stars in the promotion. So, it made sense when he got to face Steve Austion for the WWE Championship and won it.

However, Kane’s one and only reign as WWE Champion was one that came and went in about 24 hours. On the RAW after King of the Ring 1998, he lost the title back to Austin. It was a totally unnecessary title change if the plan was just for what had happened.

5

Diesel

His Time At The Top Came At The Worst Time

At the time that Diesel became WWE Champion, the WWE was in the midst of one of its worst eras. The New Generation Era did not bring too much change that many fans had wanted to see at the time. In this case, Diesel was in the wrong place at the wrong time in WWE.

WWE lacked a lot during Diesel’s reign when it came to the creative booking. Boring feuds with the likes of Sycho Sid and King Mabel did no favors for Diesel. A lack of main event scene heels also did not help Diesel.

4

Sgt. Slaughter

He Only Became Champion Due To Real World Events

When it comes to the case of Sgt. Slaughter, the only reason that he became the WWE Champion was because of real world geopolitical events. In the early 1990s, the Gulf War was taking place. So, much like WWE had done at various points, they used this in a storyline.

Sgt. Slaughter, who had been a pro-US character, turned heel and became an Iraqi sympathizer. WWE booked Slaughter in a feud against Hulk Hogan in a feud that simply was not interesting. Slaughter’s reign as champion was not great and is one that has ultimately been forgotten.

3

The Ultimate Warrior

He Was Terrible In The Ring

Despite being popular at the time he was around, The Ultimate Warrior was truly one of the worst in-ring workers at the time that he reached his height in WWE. He won the WWE Championship in a high-profile match against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 6 in a Winner Takes All Match.

Warrior held the title for 293 days. WWE tried hard to make him as big as Hogan, but that never happened. Especially when thinking about the rest of the roster at the time and their in-ring work, there were far more deserving names of being in the WWE Title picture than The Ultimate Warrior.

2

Bob Backlund

His Second Reign Was Unnecessary

Bob Backlund had a historic run as WWE Champion early in his career. He had one of the longest championship reigns in the history of the title. His first reign was 2,135 days long. That was a solid reign for him. However, the WWE Championship run that he did not need was his second one.

In the midst of the New Generation Era, WWE chose to put the title on Backlund for a second time. He defeated Bret Hart to win it, with help from Owen Hart. Instead of putting the title on an up-and-coming name, WWE went with Backlund for a three day reign where he lost the title to Diesel at a house show.

1

Jinder Mahal

He Was Not At The Point To Be Champion

The story of Jinder Mahal as WWE Champion is one that has been discussed many times by fans. In all fairness, Mahal is talented when it comes to in-ring action and can do solid character work. But, where he was one the card at the time, it did not warrant him becoming a WWE Champion.

Mahal’s reign as WWE Champion went on for too long. He defeated names far above him in terms of in-ring skills and star power, such as Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura. It was a reign that fans did not care for at all.