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The WWE Championship is one of the most prestigious title belts in the history of this business. Every Superstar who makes their way to WWE has one goal in their mind: to someday get that major push and win the big one. A long string of WWE greats has won the title over the past several decades. Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Shawn Michaels are just a handful of big names who have held World title gold in WWE.
When a Superstar wins and eventually loses the WWE title, the only thing in their mind is to get back to the top and reclaim the prize. Many Superstars manage to do it, but there's also a long list of wrestlers who fail to win the belt again. In the following slideshow, we will take a look at 5 former WWE World Champions, who haven't won a World title in the past 5 years.
#5 Rey Mysterio (won his last World title in WWE nine years ago)
Rey Mysterio's first World title win came at WrestleMania 22, where he defeated Randy Orton and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match to win the gold. Mysterio would later win a WWE title, as well as another World title. In mid-2011, CM Punk defeated John Cena for the WWE title at Money In The Bank. Punk would leave WWE with the top belt on his shoulder, which prompted Vince McMahon to introduce another WWE title.
A tournament was held on Monday Night RAW to determine the new WWE Champion, with Mysterio defeating Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth to advance to the finals. Mysterio met The Miz in the finals of the tournament, and ended up defeating the former WWE Champion to win his first WWE title. Mysterio's reign, unfortunately didn't last long. He lost the WWE Championship to John Cena on the same night. Ever since then, Rey Mysterio hasn't won a single World title in WWE. He is currently a mainstay on WWE RAW. Mysterio and his son Dominik are feuding with Seth Rollins. Dominik and Mysterio competed in a Tag Team match at Payback, in a winning effort against Rollins and Murphy.
#4 Big Show (won his last World title in WWE eight years ago)
Big Show is one of the most intimidating athletes in WWE history. After his run in WCW during the 90s, Big Show made his way to WWE and has been with the company ever since. Big Show won several titles in WWE, including two WWE titles and two World Championships. The behemoth won his first World title in late 2011, by defeating Mark Henry at the TLC event, in a Chairs match. Daniel Bryan spoiled Big Show's party and immediately cashed in his Money In The Bank contract to win the World title.
Bryan was defeated by Sheamus in the opening match of WrestleMania 28, which lasted 18 seconds. He would keep the belt for the next several months, until Big Show struck again and defeated Sheamus to win his second World title at the Hell In A Cell PPV. He would lose the belt to Alberto Del Rio on an episode of WWE SmackDown in early 2013, in a Last Man Standing match. This was it for Big Show in terms of World Championship victories. As years passed by, he turned into a part-time star. Big Show made his return to WWE TV earlier this year, and has been making occasional appearances since then.
#3 The Miz (won his last World title in WWE 10 years ago)
For the majority of his career, WWE Superstar The Miz remained in the mid-card. His moment to shine came in 2010-11, when he cashed in his Money In The Bank contract on an episode of RAW to win his first and only WWE title. In November 2010, Randy Orton had defeated Wade Barrett on an episode of RAW to retain his WWE title. The Viper's night didn't come to an end at that point, as The Miz was lurking backstage and seized the opportunity when Orton had retained his belt and was too exhausted to compete again.
The Miz quickly pinned Orton to win the WWE Championship. On the road to WrestleMania 27, The Miz feuded with John Cena, with The Rock involved in the mix as well. At the event. The Miz successfully defended his title against Cena in the main event of the show, albeit with some help from The Rock. At the Extreme Rules show, John Cena would win the WWE title in a Triple Threat match that also involved John Morrison. The Miz has won the Intercontinental title on 8 occasions, and several other belts as well, but hasn't won another WWE title since his infamous cash-in on Orton.
#2 Dolph Ziggler (won his last World title in WWE seven years ago)
Dolph Ziggler's first World title came as a huge surprise for the WWE Universe. Vickie Guerrero had stripped Edge of the World title, after he used the Spear in a match, despite the move being banned by her. Vickie went on to award the World title to Ziggler, but the surprises didn't end here. Theodore Long gave Edge a World title shot against Ziggler, and The Rated-R Superstar defeated his nemesis to win back the belt.
On the night after WrestleMania 29 in 2013, Ziggler cashed in his Money In The Bank contract on Alberto Del Rio, right after a match. Del Rio didn't last long here, and Ziggler won his second World title to a huge pop from the live audience. Del Rio would take back the World title from Ziggler at WWE Payback soon after. Ever since then, Ziggler has been a mainstay in the mid-card. He feuded with Kofi Kingston over the WWE title last year, but failed to win the belt.
#1 Jeff Hardy (won his last World title in WWE 11 years ago)
Jeff Hardy spent a long time in WWE as a Tag Team wrestler. Jeff and Matt Hardy formed The Hardy Boyz around two decades ago, and the duo was one of the most popular tag teams in WWE back in the day. Jeff Hardy finally got a shot at the top title in the late 2000s. He has won the WWE title on one occasion, and has also had two reigns with the World title. He traded the World Championship with CM Punk during their heated rivalry on SmackDown in 2009.
Hardy won the World title at Extreme Rules by defeating Edge, but CM Punk came out with his Money In The Bank briefcase and defeated Hardy to win the belt. At the Night of Champions show, Jeff Hardy defeated Punk to win back the coveted title. This run didn't last long as well, and Hardy lost the belt to Punk at SummerSlam 2009, in a TLC match. Hardy would soon leave WWE, and move to TNA. Currently, Jeff is a mainstay on WWE SmackDown, and recently won his fifth Intercontinental title after defeating AJ Styles.
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