10 of the best wrestlers who never won a World Championship

The backstage goings-on in pro wrestling are as political as any business office, and there are many talented wrestlers who never managed to make it to the top. Here are ten fabulously amazing pro wrestlers who never got to wear the 'big singles belt' of any federation.

*For the purposes of this list, a wrestler must not have held the WWE, WCW, NWA, ECW, ROH, or IWGP championships.

#10 Big John Studd

Big John Studd has numerous accolades, but never wore a world title belt.

One of the better big men in wrestling history, Big John Studd learned the ropes from the legendary Killer Kowalski, who also trained Chyna among other stars. His size made him an instant draw, but his ability to apply technical holds also increased his stock.

Studd wandered around the southern wrestling territories before being brought to Florida by Four Horseman and Hall of Famer JJ Dillon.

He would feud with Dusty Rhodes and Barry Windham, eventually making his way to the WWE in the early 80s, he was almost immediately put into a feud with Andre the Giant, leading up to the famous Body Slam Challenge match.

While Studd managed to capture the NWA American championship, and many other regional titles, he never had a run with one of the big belts. Studd is still a legend, despite never achieving this goal.

#9 The Honky Tonk Man

Honky Tonk Man, an Evil Elvis impersonator.

Wayne Ferris, better known to the wrestling world as the Honky Tonk Man, actually studied to be a school teacher. After gaining his BS in Education, he would teach gym and coach football at a local high school for two years.

Ferris's cousin is the legendary Jerry "The King" Lawler, and familial ties led him to a pro wrestling career. Under his real name, he formed the Blonde Bombers with Larry Latham. While wrestling for his cousin's promotion, Ferris worked one of the earliest 'three-way dance' matches, where he fought Lawler and Bill Dundee in a 'concession stand brawl.'

Eventually, Ferris would make his way to the WWE, where Vince McMahon noticed his resemblance to the 'old' Elvis Presley. Ferris was repackaged into the Honky Tonk Man, who insisted that the fans cheered for him even as they booed uproariously. After every victory, he would tell the fans "Thank you! You're a beautiful audience!"

Ferris had one of the longest IC title reigns in WWE history, holding the prestigious belt for over a year only to lose it in humiliating fashion to the Ultimate Warrior...

While Honky Tonk Man is one of the most iconic wrestlers of the 1980s, and it's hard to imagine the classic WWF era without him, he never held one of the industry's big belts. This doesn't change the fact that Ferris was one of the greatest performers of any era.

#8 Junk Yard Dog

Sylvester Ritter is a true Renaissance man, possessed of both brains and brawn. He held a college degree in Political Science and is a two-time American Football All American. His brief career in pro football was cut short by knee and back surgery, so Ritter turned to wrestling.

As the Junk Yard Dog, Ritter spent some time as a heel, but gradually his sunny personality and good nature earned him babyface status. Arguably the second most over wrestler of the classic era -- preceded only by Hulk Hogan -- Junk Yard Dog would light the world on fire as he danced to rock band Queen's Another One Bites the Dust. JYD's smile was as iconic as his chain and dog collar.

Despite Junk Yard Dog's ability to draw big crowds, he was never given a reign with one of the big belts. Unfortunately, racism was the cause of this, because many promoters believed that fans would reject a black world champion.

Even though JYD was snubbed for a world title, he does possess several notable distinctions. He won the Wrestling Classic, a WWE tournament that many call the first pay-per-view. JYD also won the brutal Bunkhouse Stampede, a precursor to WWE's Royal Rumble match.

Though we lost JYD to an auto accident several years ago, he still warms the hearts of wrestling fans the world over.

#7 Jake the Snake Roberts

Jake the Snake is one of the grimmest, cerebral men to ever lace up a pair of tights. Jake would go years without speaking to his father, and chose the name Jake Roberts to avoid any comparison with his hated father.

Roberts proved to be a great draw, feuding with the von Erichs among others in his early careers. His above average size and great sense of timing put him head and shoulders above many of his peers of the era.

Jake eventually went to the WWE in the early 1980s. Vince McMahon had an idea for a character who would carry a snake to the ring and put it on his defeated opponents. Jake Roberts actually had a phobia of snakes, but when offered a lucrative deal to play the snake character, he couldn't refuse and swallowed his fears.

The Snake would feud with Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude, and Andre the Giant through his career with the WWE, but would never hold a world title in that time. Still, he will be remembered for his icy cold promos, slick in-ring work, and the finisher he invented, the DDT, which stands for Damn Dirty Trick.

#6 Greg "the Hammer" Valentine

Son of legendary Johnny Valentine, The Hammer is one of the legit, no questions asked tough guys in the wrestling business. Built like a fireplug, capable of brawling, and a master of technical wrestling thanks to his time in the famed Hart Dungeon, the Hammer made his way to the NWA in short order.

The Hammer's career really took off after a series of brutal Dog Collar Matches with Roddy Piper, where they were connected by a chain between their necks. Piper lost hearing in one ear, and Valentine's vision became a big blurred, but both men earned big paychecks and a stellar reputation for selling out arenas.

Hammer made his way to the WWE, where he competed as the Dream Team with Brutus Beefcake. The duo would win the Tag championships, though later they split when Brutus went babyface. Valentine also had a brief run as IC champion.

Though Valentine never made it out of the mid-card in WWE, he was one of the most solidly booked athletes on their roster during his tenure. Valentine rarely lost, and was always portrayed as a legit tough guy. Here's a look at the Hammer facing fellow tough man Ron Garvin.

#5 Owen Hart

The younger brother of Bret Hart certainly had his career ups and downs. When he debuted for the WWE, he was initially assigned the Blue Blazer character, a masked faux luchador who wore feathered boas and rarely spoke. WWE management believed that Owen would be in big brother Bret's shadow, and Vince McMahon also believed that Owen's look wasn't marketable.

Owen would wear gold, with two reigns as Intercontinental Champion and four reigns as Tag Champion. He did win the WWE world title at a house show, only to lose it a day later, but these matches never happened on Television and the WWE does not acknowledge them.

A tragedy cut his career short, so we will never know what might have been. A true technical wizard and high flyer, Owen also delivered good promos and was one of the most beloved Superstars backstage for his sense of humour and wild pranks.

He even pulled down Jim Ross's swim trunks on a cruise! Here's Owen Hart challenging Shawn Michaels for the big belt.

#4 Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig

Curt Hennig, during his heyday, often filled the niche that Dolph Ziggler does today, that of a babyface in peril who sold his opponent's moves well and made them look great. But it was his heel turn as the Mr. Perfect character that was the most memorable.

After a series of vignettes depicting Hennig performing 'perfect' sports spots-such as throwing himself a football pass--he would go on a long undefeated streak. When any of his opponents managed to get a move off on him, announcer Bobby Heenan would say 'Mr. Perfect is just testing their firepower', since obviously no one could hurt a 'perfect' wrestler.

Curt Hennig held many titles during his career, though never one of the Big Belts. Still, he will be remembered for his technical precision and cocky heel promos. Here's his most highly regarded match, where he takes on Bret Hart.

#3 Koko B Ware

Koko B Ware had several gimmicks, including the masked Stagger Lee, before he hit gold with his birdman persona.

Capable of high flying moves, like his patented missile dropkick, Koko was also one of the most underrated brawlers in the industry. Colourful, cheerful, and never bitter, Koko was a fixture in the classic WWE era.

He was also a great singer, and provided the title track to the WWE album Piledriver. Though he would never wear gold in the WWE, he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2009.

Here's Koko and fellow lister Owen Hart taking on the Beverly Brothers.

#2 Ted DiBiase, the Million Dollar Man

Representing the corporate greed of the 1980s, Ted DiBiase was one of the most hated men in the wrestling industry. He would mock the audience about their lack of money, and sometimes give them a chance to earn a hundred dollar bill by performing a stunt. Once, he even kicked the basketball away from a young fan before he could dribble it ten times, cementing his evil status.

He even tried to buy the WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan, who refused. Undaunted, DiBiase paid Andre the Giant to do his dirty work. Andre would pin Hogan in controversial fashion, and then the giant 'surrendered' the title to Ted DiBiase. However, this reign is not considered official.

DiBiase would only hold the world tag team titles in WWE, though he also created the "Million Dollar Championship". The belt was not sanctioned by the WWE, though he did 'defend' the belt on several occasions.

DiBiase carried the WWE as top heel during one of Hogan's extended absences, and is rightly considered one of the greatest of all time. He was inducted into the WWE HOF in 2010 by his sons.

Here's a great cage match between DiBiase and Macho Man Randy Savage.

#1 Arn Anderson

Arn Anderson once said about himself; "I have average size, average speed, and average strength. But I parlayed that into a great wrestling career."

While Anderson may have lacked the muscled physique of stars like Lex Luger, he was still a top draw in any territory he cared to wrestle in. Famous for his stoic, deadly serious promos and interviews, Arn was at least as good a talker as longtime friend Ric Flair, if not better.

His sense of timing and psychology was also unmatched, as he could drag a great match out of almost any opponent. Whether he used his spinebuster or DDT, he could end matches in an eyeblink.

Perhaps the only reason Arn never held the world title was due to his friendship with Ric Flair. Only one of them could be top dog in the Horseman, and Arn was willing to let Flair be the flagship. Famously, one fan called him a 'sissy' on the way to the ring. Arn stopped, looked the fan square in the eye and said;

"You think I'm a sissy? I'm getting ready to go wrestle in that ring while you sit there drinking beer. What makes ME as sissy?"

Fan: "You...you let Flair run the Horsemen!"

Arn. "That's right. I LET him. I LET him run the Horsemen."

Fan: ........

Here's Arn facing Hulk Hogan in WCW. FACT: Arn is the only wrestler in history to have back to back victories on Hulk Hogan.

One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE