10 Lightest Heavyweight Champions in WWE’s history

WWE have been home to some of the largest, heaviest, and tallest athletes in the world. At the same time, these men have competed with some of the smallest wrestlers, and both have managed to put up an equal fight.

We’ve seen Rey Mysterio take on The Great Khali, Eddie Guerrero go head to head with Brock Lesnar, and even Hornswoggle step up to the Big Show.

Even though the size isn’t everything, it does determine the overall strength and power a person possesses. We’ve already seen a list of the heaviest champions in WWE’s history.

However, many of the lighter Superstars have also found a lot of success in the world of wrestling, purely due to their in-ring abilities and their star power.

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This has made some of the lightest wrestlers into the WWE Superstars, and many have even gone on to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Even though the Championship has been retired by the WWE, it held the highest value between 2002-2013.

Here, we look at 10 lightest superstars who have gone on to win the prestigious World Heavyweight title by defying all odds.

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#10 Shawn Michales – 225 pounds

Shawn Michaels, famously known as the Heartbreak Kid, is widely regarded as the best wrestler to have ever fought in the WWE.

His skill-set and moves have allowed him to gain popularity over and above what other superstars his with his size and strength have been able to gain.

Michaels won his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship in March 1996 in a hard fought 60-minute Iron Man Match against Bret Hart. The match went into extra time to find its winner.

In total, Michaels has won the championship four times in his career (3 WWF Heavyweight Championships and 1 World Heavyweight Championship).

His World Heavyweight Championship win came against his longtime friend and short-time enemy Triple H in 2002.

Shawn Michaels is one of the few men to have won the Royal Rumble twice in the WWE, and 14 different championships during his illustrious career.

#9 Kurt Angle – 220 pounds

The Olympic gold medalist is also part of the elite list which has many great names.

Kurt Angle has been one of the biggest superstars of the WWE of the past three decades and won many championships in the company. He has also served as the on-screen general manager of SmackDown and Raw.

Angle had some smart and good moves in the ring, which allowed him to gain popularity over the years and win the World Heavyweight Championship on four different occasions.

His first reign was also his longest at 126 days, which came when he defeated The Rock in a no-disqualification match at No Mercy in October 2000.

Between 2002 and 2003, Angle had a memorable feud with Brock Lesnar which saw the title being traded back and forth until The Beast ended Angle’s fourth and final title reign.

Angle has also won the World Heavyweight Championship in other wrestling promotions a number of times.

#8 Chris Benoit – 220 pounds

Chris Benoit won the WWE’s US Championship no less than five times in his career with the company. Along with that, he won the tag team championships on a few occasions too. He was one of the men who carried the SmackDown brand in the 2000s.

Benoit’s speed, strength, and skills were nearly unmatched for a man his size, and that was the reason behind his popularity and success.

His biggest win came at WrestleMania 2004, where he defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. This was his first and only Heavyweight Championship for the company.

Every time Benoit walked down to the ring, he seemed a bit disturbed which was taken as a part of his career. However, he took many bumps and hits to his head during his career which may have caused him brain damage and led to him killing his wife, son, and himself.

#7 Eddie Guerrero – 220 pounds

The 5’8” superstar was one of the biggest attractions on SmackDown during his successful career before his tragic death.

Eddie Guerrero pulled off his greatest heist at No Way Out in 2004 by defeating The Beast Brock Lesnar, a rare feat in the WWE, and won the World Heavyweight Championship in the process.

Guerrero held the title for four months, before losing it to JBL at The Great American Bash. The superstar who loved to Lie, Cheat, Steal was extremely good at what he did and was the company’s top villainous character.

He tragically passed away in 2005, at the age of only 38 years, after winning 23 titles in the WWE. There is little doubt that had he lived on for longer, he would have won the championship at least once more.

The Superstar was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the Class of 2006.

#6 CM Punk – 218 pounds

The heavily tatted superstar is number 6 on the list. This will come as a surprise to many, as he looks much lighter than he is, and most would expect him to be one of the top three.

CM Punk was not just one of the better wrestlers during his time in the WWE, he was also one of the best men on the mic who led a revolution in the WWE.

Punk won his first World Heavyweight Championship by defeating no other than the Rated-R Superstar Edge on Raw in 2008. He went on to win two more World Heavyweight Championships in his career.

He is most famous for his 434-day reign as the WWE Champion, which is regarded as the longest reign of the modern era and the sixth longest of all time.

The straight edge superstar had a move called the Go To Sleep (GTS), which was criticized by a few critics due to its use on larger men. However, Punk was a brave wrestler who was very well capable of constantly silencing his critics.

#5 Dolph Ziggler – 218 pounds

At six feet tall, weighing 218 pounds, Dolph Ziggler is another one of the smaller men who has won the prestigious title in the WWE.

Ziggler won his first championship in controversial fashion, as Vickie Guerrero stripped Edge of the title and presented it to Ziggler instead. Later that same night, Teddy Long called for a title match which saw Edge defeat The Showoff and end Ziggler’s extremely short title run.

Dolph Ziggler once again won the World Heavyweight Championship by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract against Alberto Del Rio on an episode of Monday Night Raw.

Del Rio got his rematch at Payback on June 16, 2013, which was his first title defence after winning the World Heavyweight Championship. Ziggler had suffered a legitimate injury after which had kept him away from wrestling for over a month.

This resulted in Ziggler losing the title on his very first defence after a 69-day reign as champion. Apart from the Heavyweight Championship, Ziggler has won almost all prestigious WWE titles in his long career with the WWE.

#4 Jeff Hardy – 215 pounds

One of WWE’s most beloved wrestlers and the master of the Swanton Bomb makes it to Number 4 on the list.

Jeff Hardy is most well known for being in a tag team with his brother Matt Hardy. The Hardy Boyz, as they are famously known, won many championships all around the world, and are arguably one of the best tag teams in wrestling history.

Apart from enjoying success with his brother, Jeff won the World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.

At Extreme Rules 2009, he defeated CM Punk in a Ladder Match to win his first championship. The feud between the two men is also one of the most memorable and best feuds of the last decade.

He lost the championship to Punk soon after, but once again beat the same man to win the championship for the second time at Night of Champions.

Hardy was often called the "Charismatic Enigma" for his inspirational work in the ring, like the time he stood up to challenge The Undertaker for more punishment after losing an intense match to him.

#3 Christian – 212 pounds

Christian was one of the leanest men to be part of the heavyweight scene. At 6 foot 1, he weighed 212 pounds and enjoyed a lot of success with many different wrestling promotions.

In his first official bout in 1998 as a member of The Brood, the Toronto native set the bar rather high for himself by winning the Light Heavyweight Championship from Taka Michinoku. And he raised it every year since.

He was one superstar who was as potent on his feet, as he was in the air. The light heavyweight wrestler won his first World Heavyweight Championship late in his career in 2011.

He faced Alberto Del Rio for the title at Extreme Rules 2011. The two had quite a remarkable match which saw Christian take the title for his first title reign.

He won the title once again at Money in the Bank of the same year by defeating Randy Orton by disqualification, making him a two-time World Heavyweight Champion.

#2 Daniel Bryan – 210 pounds

Daniel Bryan has been a crowd favourite for quite some time now due to his average size and underdog character.

He has been both a babyface and a heel during his time in the WWE, but the crowd has related to him more often than not. His superior skills in the ring have helped him achieve unprecedented success in the company.

Bryan won his first, and only, World Heavyweight Championship after cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. He did so after Big Show had already been laid out by Mark Henry, and got in the ring to simply pin him for the win.

Apart from that, Bryan has also won the WWE Championship on two occasions, but both reigns did not even last 24 hours.

After retiring from wrestling due to an injury, and later returning to the ring in early 2018, Bryan is once again in contention for the WWE’s gold.

#1 Rey Mysterio – 175 pounds

At 5’6” tall weighing at 175 pounds, Mysterio has always been termed the underdog in the WWE. Yet, he’s wrestled with the biggest, heaviest, and baddest superstars in the WWE and still come out on top.

The high-flying superstar won many championships in his time with the WWE. He’s been the cruiserweight champion for the company on a few occasions too.

However, Mysterio defied the odds and won his first World Heavyweight Championship in 2006 after defeating Randy Orton and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 22.

Mysterio won the championship once again after winning a Fatal 4-Way match against CM Punk, Big Show, and Jack Swagger. This took the high-flyers’ World Heavyweight Champion count to two.

in July 2011, on an episode of Raw, Rey defied the odds to defeat The Miz in the final of an eight-man tournament to win the World Heavyweight Championship. The tournament was held to crown a new champion after CM Punk left the company with the Heavyweight championship.

Punk later returned to the company with the title belt soon after, even though Mysterio had already lost the title the same night, as John Cena managed to defeat him for the championship. His win count was later changed to two in the WWE.

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