5 most unlikely WWE champions in history

WWE has always had a strong, dominant lineage of WWF/E champions from the great Bruno Sammartino through to Brock Lesner. Champions have had long successful reigns and some have had reigns that finish in seconds, but usually, the champion chosen is one of the faces of the WWE.

There have been some notable exceptions to this rule however, with some WWE fans scratching their head as to why this champion was chosen.

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#5 Rey Mysterio

The Ultimate Underdog as first time WWE Heavyweight Champion

Rey Mysterio Jr was a mainstay of WCW and then WWE from 1996 to 2015, and accomplished pretty much all there was to accomplish in his time with the company.

To become WWE and World Heavyweight Champion, however, was quite a leap for a perennial cruiserweight in the land of the giants, and so when Mysterio beat Randy Orton for the WWE Heavyweight Championship, many fans were left wondering how such a small guy could be believable as champion.

Many fans assumed it was due to Mysterio's best friend Eddie Guerrero passing away that left the spot open for him. Whilst this may have some truth, he became champion again on two separate occasions to prove it was no fluke the first time around.

#4 Dolph Ziggler

Dolph celebrating his Money in the Bank cash in

There is no argument that Dolph Ziggler is talented and arguably one of the best in-ring performers in WWE in the past 15 years. Ziggler becoming World Heavyweight Champion on two separate occasions, however, was met with indifference after the initial pop of the moment.

Dolph won his first championship in a storyline with Edge even though he had actually lost the match, but due to Edge using his banned Spear move, Vickie Guerrero awarded the championship to Dolph. This was short-lived and Edge soon regained the title.

Fast forward to the night after WrestleMania 29, and Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase against an injured Alberto Del Rio. The mood in the arena was electric for Ziggler to win, however, only 69 days and one concussion later, Ziggler had lost the title back to Del Rio in his first title defense.

#3 Jack Swagger

The unlikely champion of Jack Swagger

Now competing in Bellator as a mixed martial artist and as Jake Hager on the independent circuit, Jack Swagger was a big, young, athletic upstart in the revamped ECW and then RAW when he rose to become the ECW and WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Having only been on the main roster for 18 months and feuding with the likes of Matt Hardy and Christian, Swagger won the 2010 Money in the Bank briefcase and cashed it in successfully against Chris Jericho after he was speared by Edge.

Swagger held onto the title for two months before losing the title to number 5 on this list, Rey Mysterio. The WWE Universe were never really behind the former college amateur wrestler and he soon became a solid mid-card act, winning the United States Championship in 2012 before ultimately leaving WWE in 2017.

#2 Jinder Mahal

The Modern Day Maharajah

The story of Jinder Mahal is one of redemption and pride, but his rising to become WWE Heavyweight Champion is not looked at with fondness for a large part of the WWE Universe. Jinder was essentially a mid-card wrestler, who also competed in the early concept of NXT, before forming a comedic stable with Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre, 3MB.

He would lose more than he won and would often be embarrassed by the likes of Hornswoggle and El Torito. Leaving the company in 2014, he set upon a path to reinvent himself and managed to get himself into phenomenal shape before returning to WWE in 2016.

The Modern Day Maharaja looked to be in pretty much the same position as before his departure, but a final two pairing in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 and an altercation with the NFL's Rob Gronkowski helped set him up for a move to SmackDown Live where he quickly entered into the main event picture by winning a series of events, stealing the title and finally beating Randy Orton for the Championship at Backlash 2017.

He would go on to hold the title for 170 days, which was far longer than anyone ever imagined.

#1 Vince McMahon

The Champion Genetic Jackhammer

This has to be number 1 on this list, purely for the fact that Vince McMahon was and is a non-wrestler, and made himself champion as part of the ongoing storyline with HHH and his 'kayfabe' marriage to Stephanie (which later became real life).

Vince beat HHH for the title on a SmackDown in September 1999 via outside help from Stone Cold, who wanted the title for himself. McMahon had to relinquish the title on Raw the following week without defending it, and would continue to feud with HHH up till his 'No Hold's Barred' match a few months later.

McMahon is one of the greatest heels in the wrestling business and one of the key components for the success of the Attitude Era.

Although the owner of WWE and Chairman of the Board, it was still shocking and unlikely that he considered himself to be the champion, purely due to his old school mentality and partly because, aside from being able to take bumps and provide character progression, he couldn't wrestle very well at all!