Grading all Original WWE Grand Slam Champions

The first and most legendary Grand Slam Champion, Shawn Michaels.
The first and most legendary Grand Slam Champion, Shawn Michaels

The Grand Slam in WWE is a massive achievement which often goes understated. It is the pinnacle of someone's career, as wrestlers come and go from the main event, but winners of the grand slam are those that go into the history books of wrestling history.

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The Grand Slam in WWE today consists of holding a world title (WWE or Universal Championship), a tag team title (Raw or SmackDown Tag Team Championships) and both the United States and Intercontinental championships.

However, we will be looking at the older version which would have a world title (WWE or World Heavyweight Championship), a tag team title (WWE or World Tag Team Championship), the Intercontinental Championship and a tertiary championship (European or Hardcore).

This list will be grading all the original Grand Slam Champions on the basis of their general reign in WWE, and the varying levels of success they have had.


#1 Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels completed the Grand Slam on September 20th, 1997 after winning the European Championship.

He won all available belts under the Grand Slam apart from the Hardcore championship. He won an additional World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship after completing the Grand Slam.

Michaels will go down in history as perhaps the best wrestler to have ever lived. The first ever Grand Slam champion will go into the grave as one of the most influential wrestlers of all time.

His career is topsy-turvy, however, as this feat was achieved when Michaels was deep in the throes of addiction. After being made to retire because of a back injury, Michaels returned after four years of absence and embarked upon a run that would forever immortalise him as one of the best wrestlers to have ever lived.

Today, he is a trainer in NXT. His influence on the wrestling world goes as far back as being instrumental in Chris Jericho's career to Daniel Bryan today.

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Grade: A+

#2 Triple H

The Game has been played and won.
The Game has been played and won

The King of Kings completed the Grand Slam after becoming World Tag Team Champion alongside Steve Austin on the 29th of April, 2001.

Before this, he had won the WWE Championship, Intercontinental and European Championship. Much like Shawn Michaels, he has won all belts available apart from the Hardcore belt.

Triple H is arguably one of the all-time greats of this industry. He was the key driving force behind the Attitude Era, as he led the belligerent D-Generation X into becoming an iconic stable.

After that, he became a memorable heel in stables such as the McMahon-Helmsley faction, Evolution and the Authority.

He has also fit in as a babyface, creating wonderful moments in that role in the mid-2000's to around 2010.

Today, Triple H is the heel Chief Operating Officer on WWE TV, but the Executive Vice-president of Talent, Live Events and Creative behind the scenes.

He has been instrumental in the creation of NXT, and will probably be the next great booker in wrestling after Vince McMahon passes the book to his son-in-law.

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Grade: A+

#3 Kane

The Big Red Champion.
The Big Red Champion

Kane completed the Grand Slam by winning the Intercontinental Championship on the 20th of May, 2000. This came just about a month after his Hardcore Championship win. he has won every single belt under the Grand Slam apart from the European Championship.

Kane has had a storied career in the WWE. An industry veteran of over 20 years now, he has been a presence on TV for longer than most people realize. He has won almost everything and can be remembered as one of the best big men in wrestling.

However, the fact that he never truly went on the main event run like most of the people on this list shows how he was a very solid hand for Vince McMahon to use whenever required. His debut will always be one of the most memorable moments in WWE history.

Today Kane is trying to be Glenn Jacobs, the Mayor of (Hard) Knox County, Tennessee. Along with that, he returned to TV for a month to reunite Team Hell No in a bid to become the SmackDown Tag Team Champion alongside Daniel Bryan against the Bludgeon Brothers, Harper and Rowan.

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Grade: B+

#4 Chris Jericho

The first ever Undisputed Champion.
The first-ever Undisputed Champion

Only one of two men to have won every single belt available under the Grand Slam and one of 5 to have won both the Grand Slams, Chris Jericho completed the set after becoming WWE Champion on December 9th, 2001.

He has won every single belt under the original Grand Slam, winning his last belt in 2008 which was the World Heavyweight Championship.

Jericho will go down in history as one of the most versatile and intelligent men in wrestling history.

He has constantly reinvented his character to fit the needs of TV according to whatever the viewers want.

Be it the sneering heel we saw kill it with Shawn Michaels in 2008 or Best Friends with Kevin Owens in 2016, Jericho's innate sense for what is needed to stay relevant and his immaculate comedic timing has made him one of the most endearing characters of all time.

Today, Jericho is on the independents, primarily working with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He is going to host the Rock 'n Wrestling Rager at Sea soon, which will be a massive event for independent wrestlers. His contributions to the wrestling world, in general, are massive, but not at the level of Michaels and HHH.

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Grade: A

#5 Kurt Angle

Gold Medalist turned WWE Champion.
Gold Medalist turned WWE Champion

The first winner of the Modern Grand Slam became the fifth winner of the Original Grand Slam after winning the WWE Tag Team Championships with Chris Benoit on the 20th of October, 2002. He has won ever available belt under the Grand Slam apart from the World Tag Team Championships.

Kurt Angle will always be one of the biggest 'what-ifs' in WWE history. He left the company after a relatively short six-year run in the 2000's and has come back to become a Hall of Famer and the Raw General Manager.

His achievements in the six years as a full-time wrestler were immense, as he won almost every belt he could have and feuded with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and many of the other biggest names in the history of the industry.

He is the Raw General Manager today, and is an off-and-on in-ring wrestler too, having last wrestled at WrestleMania 34.

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Grade: A

#6 Eddie Guerrero

Lying, Cheating and Stealing into the history books.
Lying, Cheating and Stealing into the history books.

Eddie Guerrero is the third man to feature on this list as a winner of both the Grand Slams and he completed the original one after becoming WWE Champion on the 15th of February, 2004.

Eddie was one of the many cruiserweights that migrated from WCW to get better opportunities. He did get those, but not to the level most people wanted him to get.

He was in the mid-card for a majority of his run, but he got so over that WWE ultimately had to push him to the top.

His run at the top of the card didn't last too long, as Eddie suffered from severe self-confidence issues and dropped the belt to JBL soon enough. It's a shame that right before his next major push, Guerrero passed away.

He has had a good run, where he became essential to all the purists watching, however, he didn't really get the spotlight as a bonafide star even though he went into a WrestleMania as champion. This lack of long-term investment is the only blotch on a seamless career.

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Grade: B+

#7 Rob Van Dam

Mr. ECW became Mr. WWE for a while.
Mr ECW became Mr WWE for a while

Another one of those wrestlers to have won every title except one, Rob Van Dam finally become a Grand Slam Champion after winning the WWE Championship on the 11th of June, 2006. He won every belt except the World Heavyweight Championship and is the only ECW Original to have become a Grand Slam Champion.

RVD became a very important member of the WWE roster in the post-Invasion era, becoming a constant upper-mid card presence.

He was that wrestler that could be slot anywhere on WWE TV, and be a tremendous bet in that role regardless.

He was part of the unification of the IC and US championships, he was part of the first ever Elimination Chamber match and he spearheaded an ECW takeover in 2006 by becoming WWE Champion.

RVD is back on the independents now, and his next appearance is expected at Insane Championship Wrestling Fear and Loathing X against Lionheart. He is considered to be semi-retired.

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Grade: B+

#8 Booker T

All Hail King Bookah!
All Hail King Bookah!

Mr Five Time became a Grand Slam Champion after winning the World Heavyweight Championship on July 23, 2006, under the persona of King Booker. He won only one of all required belts to complete the feat.

Booker T was a solid upper-midcarder for his entire WWE run. He wasn't ever booked at the level of a main eventer, but his booking had always been strong.

The only WCW guy that had credibility in the WWE, Booker was part of some tremendous moments in the early 2000's.

He feuded with The Rock and Stone Cold, was part of the first ever Elimination Chamber and became a focal point of SmackDown in 2006 as King Booker.

Today, Booker is still a part of WWE, working as a panellist on the kickoff show or a colour commentator off and on.

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Grade: B

#9 Jeff Hardy

The Charismatic Enigma, the two-time Grand Slam Champion.
The Charismatic Enigma, the two-time Grand Slam Champion.

Jeff Hardy completed the Grand Slam after becoming WWE Champion on December 14, 2008.

He along with Chris Jericho won every single belt under the Original guise and he is also the latest wrestler to have completed the Modern version of the Grand Slam, doing so in April 2018.

Hardy will go down in history as one of the most charismatic, brave and exciting wrestlers to have ever wrestled. his high-flying daredevil style endeared him to fans of the WWE to such a level that he had guaranteed success for himself.

The connection Jeff had with fans is seldom seen, and the Rainbow Haired Warrior will go down in wrestling lore as one of the most decorated wrestlers ever. His achievements are hard to imitate, and his wrestling style is something no one would dare to imitate.

He is still a wrestler in the WWE today. He just recently lost the US Championship to Shinsuke Nakamura before being put on the shelf by Randy Orton for some real-life injuries.

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Grade: A

#9 John Bradshaw Layfield

JBL was royal.
JBL was royal as champion.

Unknown to most, JBL too is a Grand Slam Champion, completing this feat after becoming Intercontinental Champion on the 9th of March, 2009.

He won all but two Grand Slam belts, failing to add the World Heavyweight and the WWE Tag Team Championships to his resume.

JBL was a functional character for the majority of his career as a tag team wrestler alongside Farooq. However, JBL absolutely exploded at the top of the card after exploring his real-life character of being a stock market guru.

He had gotten tag team gold as Bradshaw and has the most reigns is Hardcore Championship history, but he finally becomes a main eventer after becoming JBL. Ever since that switch, he stayed in the upper-mid-card/main event picture in the WWE, retiring after a 21-second loss to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 25.

Today, JBL is a humanitarian and philanthropist, having recently left the WWE to focus on humanitarian work in and out of WWE, mainly as a Beyond Sport Global Ambassador.

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Grade: B+

#11 Christian

The boyhood dream?
The boyhood dream?

Christian completed the Grand Slam on May 1st, 2011 after capturing the World Heavyweight Championship. He has won all but two belts under the Grand Slam, those being the WWE Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship.

Christian is the poster boy for an under-utilised wrestler that ever existed in the WWE landscape. He worked hard for years as a tag team competitor with Edge, becoming an innovator alongside The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boys. He worked hard as a singles competitor but soon left the WWE. On his return, he became the central figure for the ECW brand on WWE and eventually captured the World Heavyweight Championship, embarking on a tremendous few months opposite Randy Orton while feuding over the championship.

Today, Christian is still part of WWE as a legend, hosting shows on TV and on the Network off and on. He also has his own podcast with Edge.

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Grade: B+

#12 The Big Show

The Biggest Champion.
The Biggest Champion.

Paul Wight, 'The Giant' or Big Show is the final Grand Slam winner from the original format, becoming one after becoming Intercontinental Champion on the 1st of April, 2012. He won every single belt available apart from the European Championship.

Big Show has been perhaps one of the worst booked characters in the history of the WWE, as the man has himself also said that.

He has had multiple stop-start pushes and has seen his character turn more times than a Grand Prix racetrack. However, he has had a legendary career, winning both the modern and old Grand Slam's.

He has been one of those few company crutches that WWE can use in whichever portion of the card and with any character. That versatility may have broken his integrity but doesn't change his capabilities as a performer.

Today, Big Show is still a member of the talent roster of WWE but has not made an in-ring appearance since September 2017 on WWE TV. This is due to his hip injuries. He did induct Mark Henry into the Hall of Fame before WrestleMania 34.

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Grade: B+


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