5 Superstars you might not remember challenged for the WWE Championship

Some unlikely names have challenged for the WWE Championship
Some unlikely names have challenged for the WWE Championship

The WWE Championship is the most prestigious title in wrestling, with a lineage dating back to over half a century ago. Its legacy is unmatched by any other belt in the business, with a litany of legendary names continually vying for the prize.

It remains at the very top of the mountain today, with only the top tier of Superstars vying for the WWE Championship. However, over the years, there have been some surprising names who challenged for the WWE Title. Those who you might not expect to see in a match for the richest prize in sports entertainment.

Some of these names received WWE Title matches through an open challenge, or to further a storyline. They were all placeholder challengers, some of them boosting the WWE Champion's record in title matches. Either way, seeing some of these Superstars have the opportunity to win the world title on WWE programming felt pretty weird.

Here are 5 Superstars you might not remember challenged for the WWE Championship.


#5 Hardcore Holly (WWE Royal Rumble 2004)

Holly faced Lesnar on a major pay-per-view for the title
Holly faced Lesnar on a major pay-per-view for the title

When Hardcore Holly broke his neck in a match against Brock Lesnar in 2002, hardly anybody would have expected him to return over a year later and challenge the Beast to a WWE Championship match. He did so, coming back at Survivor Series and immediately gunning for Lesnar.

The problem was that Holly was predominantly a lower card veteran, tasked with putting younger stars over and "toughening them up". It was hardly believable seeing him go one-on-one with a beast like Brock Lesnar. It happened at the Royal Rumble as well, one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year.

While a TV match for continuity's sake may have worked better for Lesnar and Holly, the WWE Title program did showcase the latter's toughness to a higher degree.

Anyway, this is one of Brock Lesnar's matches that doesn't stick out in our memories like some of his classics against the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle among many others.

Hardcore Holly had another WWE Championship opportunity but was unable to defeat JBL in a Hardcore Match on SmackDown in Manchester, England.

#4 James Ellsworth (WWE SmackDown 18/10/2016)

No Chin Music!
No Chin Music!

Back at the start of WWE's second brand split in 2016, SmackDown carved out its new identity as the 'Land of Opportunity'.

The literal personification of this phrase came in the form of an actual jobber. James Ellsworth had impressed a great deal in his performance as an enhancement talent opposite Braun Strowman on the first RAW of the brand split era.

And as a result, he was called back to play a part in the WWE Championship storyline between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose. Ellsworth got multiple victories over the Phenomenal One, thanks to significant assists from the current AEW World Champion. His first victory led to a WWE Championship match the following week on SmackDown.

And in that match, Styles was almost punished for being too cocky as Ellsworth hit his version of the Superkick, No Chin Music, to get a crowd-popping two count. Ellsworth won the match via disqualification, but luckily did not pick up the WWE Title. This nearly became a joke that went too far.

James Ellsworth got one more title match against AJ Styles in December, after beating him again. However, he was brutally squashed by Styles since he had bafflingly cost Dean Ambrose the WWE Title at TLC.

#3 Jerry Lawler (WWE RAW 29/11/2010)

The King nearly became the Champ
The King nearly became the Champ

Back in his day, Jerry Lawler was one of the greatest heels in all of wrestling. But he did not get anywhere near the WWE Championship until his time as a babyface commentator on Monday Night RAW. He was one of The Miz's primary rivals through his WWE Title reign in 2010 and 2011.

A week after the 'Awesome One' cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and won the WWE Championship, Lawler challenged him to a title match. It was the King of the Ring edition of RAW and the WWE Hall of Famer's 61st birthday. The stage was set for The Miz vs Jerry Lawler in a TLC Match for the WWE Championship. What a weird match.

The commentator even seemed to have the match won, before Michael Cole interfered and cost his broadcast partner the victory. This sparked the beginning of one of the most frustrating rivalries in WWE history, one that went on for far too long. Cole and Lawler went on to have multiple pay-per-view matches against each other, including one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history.

King had another crack at The Miz before his 'Mania contest against Cole, unsuccessfully challenging for the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber.

#2 R-Truth (WWE Capitol Punishment 2011)

This kid might become a 24/7 Champion one day
This kid might become a 24/7 Champion one day

You may know R-Truth as a comedy machine in WWE right now, but did you know he was seconds away from becoming the WWE Champion as a heel?

Everyone's favourite 24/7 Champion turned heel after WrestleMania in 2011, going full-on crazy and cutting some vicious promos on WWE and John Cena. Truth went from a dancing bit-part babyface to a bitter heel with no entrance music, a change that took him to the main event scene in WWE.

He headlined the one and only Capitol Punishment pay-per-view in June 2011, facing off against Cena in an alright match. Truth may have gained momentum and was pretty entertaining as a villain, but nobody really bought him as a world champion in WWE. He did have the match won at one point though, before deciding to waste some time by interacting with a young John Cena fan in the crowd.

That kid splashed a beverage in Truth's face, contributing to his defeat at the hands of the 16-time WWE World Champion. It was utterly bizarre. He would be a part of world title Elimination Chamber matches, but never did R-Truth come close to reaching such heights in WWE again.

#1 Mustafa Ali (WWE Fastlane 2019)

Ali did get a WWE Title shot
Ali did get a WWE Title shot

Mustafa Ali was set to compete for the WWE Championship inside the Elimination Chamber before an eye injury forced WWE to replace him with Kofi Kingston. The New Day member's performance, coupled with the support for him, forced WWE to change their WrestleMania plans.

A possible career-making opportunity for Ali was taken away just like that, with KofiMania beginning to run wild. Kevin Owens was brought in to face Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title at Fastlane, while the former 205 Live star ended up making a surprise return at the show and was added to the match.

Instead of having the story focusing on him, Ali was made to be a small player in Kofi's big story. He had a fantastic triple threat alongside Bryan and Owens, an underrated gem of a match. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by the crowd desperately wanting Kofi to challenge for the belt.

So while he may not have gotten the chance to get over, Mustafa Ali did have a WWE Championship match on the road to WrestleMania. It is just a shame that he hasn't been used effectively since then. Hopefully, Ali can make an impactful return to TV, possibly as the WWE hacker.

Meet the man who called CM Punk the softest man alive HERE