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The WWE world heavyweight championship is regarded as the pinnacle of pro wrestling.Ever since its inception in 1963 when Buddy Rogers captured the title in Rio de Janeiro, the prestigious title has adorned the waists of some of the greatest stars of all time, including Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Bret Hart, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.However, not every superstar who kissed the gold belt has done justice to the title. Following are top five (or bottom five) wrestlers whose WWE world title reigns were utter failures.Please note that the list includes any of the primary title used by the WWE during its existence – WWF Championship, World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
#1 Jack Swagger
Jack Swagger had all the tools – the right size, an amateur wrestling background and the cocky heel persona that had given rise to a number of heel world champions.
So when he won the World Heavyweight championship by beating Chris Jericho the week after Wrestlemania 26 and went on to have an entertaining triple threat title match with Jericho and Edge, he seemed set to be the next breakout star.
However, things did not turn out to be very rosy. WWE decided to have Swagger shed his loud mouth image and he became a very serious and BORING villain who would have a snooze fest of a match with the Big Show at Over The Limit and soon lost the title to another transitional champion in Rey Mysterio.
Swagger would drop down drastically in the WWE pecking order, playing second fiddle to Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro on separate occasions and eventually becoming the favourite punching bag of the Bulgarian Brute, Rusev.
Swagger is now a free agent after asking for his WWE release earlier this year.
#2 Mr.McMahon
WWE has never shied away from reminding wrestling fans about how WCW bookers allowed multiple non wrestlers to be World champions,notably actor David Arquette.
But the man that started this trend was none other than the Chairman of the WWE himself, Vince McMahon. On 16 september 1999, Mr.McMahon ‘defeated’ Triple H to become the WWE champion. WWE CHAMPION!!!
Consider the fact that Roddy Piper, Razor Ramon, Curt Henning and Owen Hart have never won the world title and you get the context. Thankfully,McMahon relinquished the title four days later.
But this was not the lone instance of McMahon booking himself to win a title, as he would do so again nearly a decade later to become ECW champion, much to the chagrin of wrestling fans worldwide.
Vince is also a self-booked Royal Rumble winner, his daugher Stephanie is a former Women’s champion and son Shane is a former European and Hardcore champion – It is a surprise that no one else in the family matched his son in law Triple H’s 13 world title reigns. Talk about a vanity production!!!!!
#3 The Great Khali
It would take an extraordinary effort to knock off a non-wrestler from the top of stink list of worst world champions, but The Great Khali just about manages it. Billed to be 7’2 and 400 pounds, it was apparent to everyone that his three-move ring set, limited mobility and zero mic skills were not going to win over many wrestling fans.
Apparent to everyone except the WWE Creative, that is!!!
They booked him to win the World Heavyweight championship in a battle royal and Khali went on to have an embarrassing triple threat match with Kane and Batista that exposed his limitations.
WWE soon took the title off him and Khali took on a ridiculous persona as the ‘Punjabi Playboy’ hosting the Khali Kiss Cam to smooch random people from the crowd, joining Mark Henry and Big Daddy V in Mr.McMahon’s crap list of huge men who have played completely unconvincing chick magnet characters.
Khali did manage to remain with the WWE for nearly a decade without any significant ring work to show for it, was eliminated from the Royal Rumble by a woman and once dressed up as the ‘Tooth Fairy’ for the Rock’s birthday party. Rumour has it that Khali is gearing up for another run with the WWE, which would possibly result in him getting pinned by Hornswoggle to cap his wrestling career off!!!
#4 Kane
The Masked Kane was a pillar for the WWF during the attitude era and was a huge fan favourite. But he was never positioned as the one to carry the company on his back at a time when the roster was filled with stars like Steve Austin and The Rock.
Kane did win his first world title at the King of the Ring PPV, beating Stone Cold Steve Austin in a First Blood Match that blew the roof off the Pittsburg Civic Arena.
And that reign, though he lost the title back to SCSA the next night, prevents Kane from moving further up in this list. Kane’s popularity eroded after his unmasking angle and It took him a decade to win another world title.
That moment came during that sorry era of the 2010s when WWE writers were in the habit of giving the World Heavyweight title away to wrestlers as some sort of a consolation prize for keeping them off angles concerning the more prestigious WWE Championship.
Mark Henry, Jack Swagger and The Big Show had their shoddy runs with the title, but no one could compete with Kane’s absolutely horrendous title reign.
It started in the backdrop of the Big Red Monster claiming that he had found his brother, The Undertaker in a vegetative state and would make the perpetrator pay. Kane would go on to win the Money in the Bank ladder match and cash in on Rey Mysterio to win the championship.
The very next week, he would accuse the 175 pound Mysterio of being the one who put the 320 pound Undertaker on the shelf. The Undertaker would return on the next PPV and the painfully obvious truth would be revealed – Kane was the one behind the attack.
The ‘brothers’ would go on to have boring matches at three straight PPVs which would disgrace the magic of the ‘Brothers of Destruction’ concept that the WWE used effectively at the turn of the century. It was just a matter of time before Kane lost the title to Edge and reassumed his rightful place in the mid card.
#5 Andre The Giant
Andre The Giant might be one of the biggest names in the history of pro wrestling, but his WWF title reign was an absolute farce. On February 5,1988, Andre took on his friend turned enemy Hulk Hogan at The Main Event for the world title and pinned the Hulkster 1 – 2 – 3.
It was quite something in those days to beat Hogan for the title, but the events surrounding the match exposed WWE’s not so well kept secret of booking absolutely ROTTEN storylines.
To begin with, Hogan did kick out at one when Andre pinned him, but the referee Dave Hebner awarded the match to Andre anyway. Immediately after that, Andre ‘sold’ the title to Ted Dibiase and in another major twist, the referee was revealed to be Dave’s evil twin Earl and the Hebners started fighting in the middle of the ring.
To cap it all off, the WWF title was vacated and put on the line in a 14-man tournament at Wrestlemania V.
And the real reason for Hogan dropping the title was for him to get time for shooting the absolutely disastrous movie ‘No holds barred’ (11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) without losing cleanly to anyone – what a waste of a title reign for the Eighth Wonder of the World – Andre would never win the world title again!
