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With a rich history tracing all the way back to 1963, the WWE Championship is one of the most prestigious titles in professional wrestling. Even though the Universal Championship appears to have taken precedence in recent years, it will eventually become the WWE's foremost title again.
Over the years, the WWE Championship has eluded some of the biggest names in the history of the promotion, especially after the advent of a second world title. Here are five stars who have surprisingly never been WWE Champion:
#5 WWE Legend Roddy Piper
One of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Roddy Piper never got his hands on the WWE Championship. Despite being a generational promo and one of the biggest drawing cards in the industry for several years, Piper's prime coincided with the Hulk Hogan era in WWE. This meant that the company's biggest prize was just out of reach.
While Piper's theatrics played a significant part in building up the main event of the first WrestleMania and taking WWE mainstream, he opted not to work with Hogan in a singles program as he knew his star power would be diminished by taking a loss.
Despite never enjoying a run as WWE Champion, Piper is one of the most important wrestlers in the promotion's history. His career serves as proof that you can be an all-time great and become a box-office attraction without ever holding the world title.
#4 Five-time WCW Champion Booker T
Despite racking up a number of accolades, two-time Hall of Famer Booker T never won the WWE title. As the reigning WCW Champion, he was one of the biggest stars to come over during the invasion. However, he floundered in the midcard after the Alliance disbanded and his stock plummeted even further after a questionable feud with Triple H.
Booker T had a resurgence once he moved over to SmackDown and Sharmell became his manager. The highlight of his WWE career was his run as King Booker when he adopted an English accent and had a royal court consisting of Queen Sharmell, Sir Finlay and Sir William Regal. The character was so well received that he went on to defeat Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship.
If there weren't two world titles at the time, Booker T would have likely won the WWE Championship and been presented as the top heel during this period.
#3 Former Universal Champion Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens made an instant impact when he debuted on the WWE main roster, laying out John Cena. Owens has proven to be one of the most talented performers in professional wrestling over the years and has been involved in several high-profile programs.
However, the 37-year-old has found world titles hard to come by. Even though he had an entertaining run as Universal Champion with Chris Jericho in his corner, he hasn't been given another opportunity to hold a world title.
Owens' contract is reportedly up in January, and he's widely expected to join AEW. It doesn't look like he's winning the WWE Championship anytime soon.
#2 Former WWE Superstar Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman broke away from the Wyatt Family in 2016 after the reintroduction of the brand split. He embarked on a singles run as a member of RAW while the WWE Championship became exclusive to SmackDown. Strowman bulldozed through the roster and connected strongly with the audience, who saw him as an alternative to the struggling Roman Reigns.
After several attempts, Strowman finally got his hands on a world title when he defeated Goldberg to win the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. He got a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania Backlash in a triple threat match also featuring Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley during his final months with the company but was pinned by Lashley.
#1 Former World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg
For most of his career, Goldberg has been booked as the unbeatable gladiator. But even though he's won the Universal Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship, the WWE title has eluded him.
Goldberg's usually been on the show with the secondary world title, but he did wrestle Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. He came up short after interference from MVP, but the former WCW star got his revenge against Lashley in a heated grudge match at Crown Jewel. However, there was no title on the line during this bout.
