5 WWE wrestlers who have never won a world championship (because they didn't need it)

Since the inception of the professional wrestling business, the world championship belt has been the symbol of excellence. The carrier of the championship was recognized as the best that the territory/promotion/company had to offer, and it was what every other wrestler associated that company strove to achieve. Names like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, and Triple H have become synonymous with wrestling's top pr In recent years, it could be argued that a world championship, and what it represents, has become muddled and its significance up for debate.

A world title win can be recognition for the best in-ring performer, the wrestler with the best promo skills, the best live event ticket seller, a reward for career longevity - the list of justifications can be just as long as the list of objections fans will ultimately have with every champion.

However, many times a world championship is a conduit for solidifying a wrestler's place at the top of the company and elevating them in the eyes of the fans. It could be the final piece of the puzzle, the coming out party, that last bit of "umph" to push that chosen character over the top.

But...

What if a wrestler doesn't need that extra push? What if a character is so strong on its own that a championship belt around their waist is unnecessary?

Some of the best performers of all time never held a major world championship during their careers, and not because they weren't capable or deserving of it. It was because they really didn't need it. Their skills were so great, their personas so unique, their presence so big, that being world champion might have only been seen as an afterthought. Even without a belt, they were the best at what they did, and were champions in their own right.

Here are five wrestlers who never held the world championship because they didn't need it.

The Eighth Wonder of the World

5. Andre The Giant

OK, this might be fudging the rules a little bit right off the bat, since maybe, kind of, technically, Andre the Giant was WWF Champion for about five minutes. But that was simply for a beat in a larger storyline and could in no way be considered a “championship reign,” so I am including Andre on this list.

The moniker “Eighth Wonder of the World” says it all. Andre truly was, literally and figuratively, larger than life. In the wrestling world full of attractions, he was the attraction for years.

He didn’t need the world championship because, just on his own, he was more special than the championship ever could be at the time. If Andre the Giant was on the card, people were going to buy a ticket. Andre would never need a championship around his waist to bring people out to see him.

Additionally, because of the fact that he didn’t need the championship to be a star, it allowed others to take that spot and become stars themselves. The aforementioned Saturday Night’s Main Event angle, with Andre claiming the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan, is a prime example of just that.

Andre didn’t need to be champion to sell WrestleMania IV, or a rematch with Hogan, to the masses. Instead, it propelled the entire angle, helped build a bigger star (and heel) of Ted Dibiase, and cemented the soon-to-be WWF champion Randy Savage as a main eventer for the next two years.

Andre was the first inductee into the coveted WWE Hall of Fame. Former WWE talent The Big Show's 'giant' gimmick during his WCW days was a tribute to that of the eighth wonder of the world.

The Enforcer

4. Arn Anderson

If there was ever a man who didn’t need any frills, or championship belts, for people to know he was a tough customer, its “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson.

While limited to strictly a tag team competitor as one half of the Brain Busters with Tully Blanchard in his short stint in the WWF, Anderson was a consistent top competitor for Jim Crockett Promotions and then World Championship Wrestling. He had reigns as both a Tag Team champion and World Television Champion, but the fact is that Anderson didn’t need the “big gold belt” to solidify himself as a top guy.

His in ring prowess, no nonsense attitude, and position as “enforcer” of the illustrious Four Horsemen was enough to do that.

Speaking of the Four Horsemen, another reason Anderson didn’t need the world title for himself is because he was constantly associated with it by proxy through his long standing alliance with Ric Flair. Where Flair - and the championship - went, so went Arn. That was the way of the Four Horsemen.

The Horsemen were viewed as elite because Flair was the leader, and therefore Arn was viewed as elite because he was a Horseman. Flair’s golden touch gave the other Horsemen the rub, and perhaps none more so than Anderson, considering Double A was part of almost every incarnation of the Four Horsemen that mattered.

Of course, Anderson was no slouch himself, and thoroughly held up his end of the bargain, solidifying himself as a prime example of a guy that didn’t need the big titles to feel like a big deal.

Anderson continued to be associated with pro wrestling in various non-wrestling capacities. He was a producer with the WWE until 2019 and currently works with rival brand AEW as a manager.

Ted DiBiase

3. Ted Dibiase

In the late eighties, Vince McMahon had an idea for a character - one he envisioned as "The Million Dollar Man."

Not only would this character be pushed heavily in front of the camera, but he would truly live the gimmick off camera as well: limos, first class airfare, a limitless traveling budget, all the amenities one would expect from someone worthy of the Million Dollar Man moniker.

The person chosen for this once in a lifetime opportunity was Ted Dibiase. Not only did Dibiase take the proverbial ball and run with it, but you would be hard pressed to imagine anyone else performing the role so well. The character got over with fans in a big way, quickly putting Dibiase in the main event picture by the start of 1988.

However, the WWF Championship always eluded him. Andre the Giant did try to “sell” the WWF Title to Dibiase after beating Hulk Hogan on The Main Event (see earlier in the feature). Also, confirmed in recent years by Dibiase himself, there was apparently an understanding that Dibiase would win the WWF Championship at the end of WrestleMania IV. Obviously, the trigger was never pulled on a WWF Championship run for the Million Dollar Man.

In hindsight, while being the WWF Champion certainly would have fit the character, it in no way diminished it by not winning it. Dibiase was still a mainstay in the main event scene throughout 1988, and was a top heel character for the company until his in-ring retirement in 1993.

Plus, when we couldn’t get his hands on the WWF Championship, he did what any millionaire would do and made his own championship belt! Creating the Million Dollar Championship may have been an even better fit for his persona than winning the WWF Championship could have been. The Million Dollar Man’s value was certainly not minimized by not winning the company’s top prize.

There was a certain charm that Dibiase was blessed with that helped him gain a massive fanbase despite his anti-hero persona.

Jake and Damien

2. Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Can a python around the neck mean more than gold around the waist? In the case of Jake “The Snake” Roberts, that can certainly be argued.

One of the most memorable characters ever, Roberts had a presence all his own that fans immediately recognized as special. Everything about “The Snake” was unique: his demeanor and mannerisms, his walk to the ring, his speaking style. Even the use of the DDT as a finisher captivated the minds of the audience, and to this day is one of the most recognizable moves in wrestling and is always associated with Roberts.

Plus, there was also the matter of the huge python named Damien that Roberts lugged to the ring in a bag each night. When had anyone seen that in wrestling before? Roberts was effective in any role he took on.

As a heel, he had a memorable feud with “Macho Man” Randy Savage, a rivalry that included the infamous “Cobra Bite” incident, and saw Roberts actually slap Miss Elizabeth.

Conversely, Roberts’ face run saw him engage in a variety of notorious grudges against the likes of Ted Dibiase, Rick Martel, and even Andre the Giant. According to Jake himself, at the height of his popularity, he was receiving crowd reactions on par with Hulk Hogan.

Amazingly, Roberts never held a championship during his career in either WWF or WCW. However, a title belt likely would not have added much to the aura that Roberts had already cultivated all on his own.

Roberts is a WWE Hall of Famer in his own right and is currently signed to the AEW brand as a player manager.

Roddy Piper

1. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper

Regardless of whether crowds were booing him or cheering him, Rowdy Roddy Piper was the personification of a guy who didn’t need a title belt for people to know he was the main event.

Though certainly entertaining inside the ropes, it was usually Piper’s gift of gab that brought people into the arenas to either see him triumph over hated fiends or fall at the hands of their heroes.

In the mid-eighties, Piper’s feud with then-WWF Champion Hulk Hogan was the catalyst that helped create the “Rock and Wrestling Connection” that ultimately led to the creation and business-altering success of the first WrestleMania. Piper even remarked astutely in a promo during his time in WCW:

"Do you think they would've loved you so much if they hadn't hated me so much?"

Not only was his reputation as a great promo outside the ring legendary, Piper also protected his in-ring reputation just as well. During the heyday of his WWF run, he notoriously never allowed his shoulders to be pinned to the mat, for risk of diminishing his allure to live crowds and his worth to promoters as a main event talent.

It wasn’t until WrestleMania 8 in 1992 that Piper took his first televised pinfall loss in a WWF ring when he dropped the Intercontinental Championship - his first and only singles title in his entire WWF career - to Bret Hart. Piper impressively maintained his position as a top guy throughout one of the biggest boom periods in wrestling with his charisma and unmatched ability to get crowds to either love him or hate him.

Would Piper have been worthy of the WWF Championship? Absolutely! Did he need it? Absolutely not!

What other legendary WWE stars didn't need to snag the top title to be a legend? Share your thoughts in the comments section!