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We have all heard the saying; "To be the man you have to beat the man," and in the world of professional wrestling, to be the champion you have to beat the champion. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship is the most prestigious and coveted prize not just in WWE but in this entire industry. The title has been active for 5 decades and 50 different superstars have held the prestigious championship.
Throughout the years, champions have come and champions have gone but they will not be forgotten for what they have left in the ring. These superstars, at least a handful of them, are considered the Greatest of All Time. In 2002, WWE introduced their second world championship - the World Heavyweight Championship, which was awarded to Triple H.
With the addition of the Big Gold Belt, more superstars got the opportunity to become world champions but not all of them had a good title run. While others made the title mean something, others failed to do the same and they didn't live up to their expectations. These superstars are considered the worst world champions in WWE history. So without further adieu, let's look at the 5 best and 5 worst world champions in WWE history.
#10. Best - Edge
The rated-R Superstar Edge was not just a great athlete but he was also a great world champion. From starting out his career as a jobber in the 90's to winning the WWE World tag team championships with Christian and capturing the Intercontinental title, Edge is no doubt worthy of being called one of the best in WWE history.
He was the first person to win and successfully cash-in the Money in the Bank briefcase, he has main evented multiple PPVs including WrestleMania and he is a WWE Hall of Famer. Edge is the greatest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history. He has held the title for a record 7-time, longer than anyone else in WWE.
Edge is also a 4-time WWE Champion, making him an 11-time world champion overall. Edge has accomplished so much in his career and has managed to play an excellent character on TV whether he was a face or a villain. If all this doesn't make Edge one of the best world champion in WWE, I don't know what does.
#9. Worst - Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal shocked the world when he defeated Randy Orton at Backlash in 2017 to win the WWE Championship. Mahal became the 50th WWE Champion and the first wrestler of Indian descent to win the title. The main reason why WWE gave Mahal the big push was to try to increase their expansion in India since India has a population of 1.3 billion people. The experiment failed, however, as fans were not happy with Mahal's title run.
Mahal didn't win the title on his own and he always needed help to keep his hands on the title. Every time he managed to retain his title was because he received help from the Singh Brothers and once by Great Khali. Mahal held the title once for a few months before losing it to the rightful champion AJ Styles at WWE Smackdown in November last year.
The title lost all its prestige and glory when Mahal held it, mostly because he was billed as a jobber for most of his WWE career so seeing him as WWE Champion so suddenly was a lot to take in.
#8. Best - Triple H
The Game Triple H has the most world championship wins after Ric Flair and John Cena. He is a 14-time WWE world champion. He was the first man to hold the World Heavyweight Championship back in 2002 and he is considered by many as the greatest world champion of all time.
There can never be another man like Triple H ever again. He has accomplished a lot in his career and outside of wrestling, he is the founder of WWE NXT, WWE's developmental territory. Triple H also began his wrestling career as a jobber and went on to win his first WWE Championship gold in 1999 and last won it at Royal Rumble in 2016.
Not many have been able to accomplish want Triple H has and up until today he is still the Cerebral Assassin that we all know and that we all love. He is no doubt a future WWE Hall of Famer and possibly the future owner of WWE.
#7. Worst - Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is regarded by many as the greatest cruiserweight wrestler in the history of professional wrestling. Despite his little size, he has won multiple championships in WWE including the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship.
He won his first World Heavyweight Championship in 2006 by defeating Randy Orton at WrestleMania 22. Mysterio was being booked to look like the weakest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history and was placed in a David and Goliath situation several times.
Mysterio took part in a tournament for the vacant WWE Championship on Raw in 2011 and advanced to finals where he defeated The Miz to win his first WWE Championship. However, his title reign didn't last very long because he lost the title to John Cena the very same night.
He failed to reclaim the title in his rematch and later suffered an injury.
#6. Best - John Cena
John Cena has been the "Face that runs the place" for nearly two decades in his WWE career. Cena is one of the most loved and respected superstars in WWE history. The Champ is a record-tying 16-time WWE world champion, winning the WWE Championship a record 13 times and the World Heavyweight Championship 3 times. Cena is also a 5-time United States Champion, 4-time tag team champion and 2012 Money in the Bank winner.
John Cena is the face of WWE and he is regarded by many veterans, critics and fans as the greatest of all time. Cena is a big box office attraction and has main evented a lot of WWE's PPVs including WrestleMania. Everyone all over the world knows who Cena is whether or not they watch WWE. Cena is one of the most decorated WWE Champion in history. His records and accomplishments speak for themselves. Cena is the greatest world champion of all time.
#5. Worst - The Big Show
Big Show is a 5-time WWE World champion. He has won the WWE Championship twice, the World Heavyweight Championship twice and the ECW Championship once. Although The World's Largest Athlete has achieved world championship success, not all of his world title reigns were memorable.
Big Show won the WWE Championship the same year he debuted in WWE, and his title run was quite disappointing. His run wasn't as memorable and exciting like that of The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock. He went on to capture his second WWE Championship by defeating Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series in 2002.
Show won his first World Heavyweight Championship title in 2011 when he defeated Mark Henry at WWE TLC. After the match, Henry knocked out Show with a DDT on a steel chair. This allowed Daniel Bryan to come in and cash-in his Smackdown Money in the Bank briefcase, defeating Big Show for the world title.
This gave Show the shortest-ever World Heavyweight Championship reign at only 45 seconds. His second reign wasn't as memorable either. From what he achieved in WCW and his early days in WWE, his run as World Heavyweight Champion was lacklustre and unimpressive.
#4. Best - Stone Cold
Stone Cold Steve Austin is the biggest star of the Attitude Era, and thanks to him Monday Night Raw won the ratings against WCW's Monday Nitro. Austin carried the WWE with him in the 90's and he is regarded by many as the greatest WWE Champion of all time. Austin was featured in the Guinness World Records book as having the most WWE Championship reigns at six.
Austin was a popular attraction and fans all over the world loved to see the rattlesnake every week on Raw. He was excellent at everything he did. He was the perfect guy to kickstart the Attitude Era and WWE wouldn't be the way it is today without Stone Cold.
Along with the WWE Championship, he has won the WWE Intercontinental Championship, tag team championship, 1996 King of the Ring and the Royal Rumble three times. This makes Austin one of the biggest names in WWE history.
#3. Worst - Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler was regarded as the most underrated performer in WWE. He enjoyed World Championship success in 2011 when he "defeated" Edge to win the title. He held the title for a couple of days before losing it back to Edge a week later on Smackdown. Ziggler's first reign was very short and not only did he win the title in controversial fashion, but he went on to lose his first title defense, that too cleanly.
This is by far one of the worst world title reigns in WWE. After winning the title for the second time, Ziggler suffered a concussion which took him out of action for a month and when he returned to have his first title defence against Alberto Del Rio, he lost the match and his title, ending his reign at just 69 days.
From that day on Dolph never went near the world championship gold. He has never successfully defended his titles on two occasions and he was still green during his two reigns.
#2. Best - The Rock
Former WWE Champion The Rock is a global superstar in and out of WWE. He is a 10-time world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion and 2000 Royal Rumble winner. He is widely regarded as the greatest professional wrestler of all time and the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.
The Rock became the face of WWE after Stone Cold Steve Austin and he became one if the biggest star in the company. He is also widely popular outside the ring as he has starred in multiple movies and television shows. He is also involved in the success of the Attitude Era and the reason why WWE is as big as it is today.
The Rock has left multiple dream matches in our memory, such as his match with legends like Hulk Hogan and John Cena at their respective WrestleMania bouts. The Rock is no doubt a future WWE Hall of Famer and he is and will forever be a legend everywhere he goes.
#1. Worst - The Great Khali
The Great Khali made his WWE debut in 2006 and he went on to win his first and only World Heavyweight Championship two years later by eliminating Batista and Kane in a 20-Man Battle Royal on SmackDown. Khali successfully defended his title several times before losing it to Batista, ending his reign at only 61 days.
Khali is widely regarded by many as not only one of the worst world champion in WWE but also one of the worst wrestler in the history of the company. He was very stiff in the ring, his legs were his main target and he had a very weird finishing move- the karate chop.
His title defenses were dull just like most of his matches and his title run was a massive disappointment. He wasn't good at almost everything in the ring and his run was lacklustre. Thankfully that was his last run as World Heavyweight Champion.
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