wrestling / Columns
The Contentious Twenty 11.01.10: WWE Champions (10-1)
November 1, 2010 | Posted by
It’s time for the top ten, and I’ve go to say the variety of guesses for who will make it is quite staggering to me. Ric Flair? Not with his two short runs. Mick Foley? Dusty Rhodes of the WWE Championship. EDGE? You gotta be kidding me folks! I was half expecting Sheamus or Rob Van Dam to show up on a list. Anyway…
People who have really long memories will remember that this column debuted as the column for new writer John Peters, and that this subject was the topic of his very first column. You can read that excellent piece of work here for comparison. As you will see, I have slightly different views, but his was a great list with which to mold mine after.
The Rocksize=6>
6 Time WWF Champion, 1 Time WWE Undisputed Champion, 297 Combined Days as Champion
The cool thing amongst the Internet Wrestling Community seems to be hating The Rock for “abandoning” professional wrestling, as if this was a major crime and he shouldn’t be recognized as being The Great One. I suppose those people are either forgetful or bitter, and they have a right to those opinions. I also have a right to my opinion, and The Rock was the most entertaining sports entertainer I’ve ever seen. Better wrestlers? Sure, no doubt. Better talker? Debatable. But one cannot deny that he was both charismatic and able to have great matches with the right opponents and was rarely, if ever, boring, especially post 1997. It is those traits that made him an extremely popular wrestler and the most successful crossover star in the history of the business. Those traits are also what put him high on this list, despite having six runs that lasted only a month or less. Like The Undertaker, The Rock transcended the championship didn’t truly need gold around his waist. But he was always a champion to the people, and one of the most unselfish performers to ever reach the main event level, giving his all to entertain the fans and have great matches that helped put his opponents over.
Triple Hsize=6>
4 Time WWF Champion, 3 Time WWE Champion, 1 Time WWE Undisputed Champion, 539 Combined Days As Champion
Ever since Hunter Hearst Helmsley betrayed X-Pac and disbanded D-Generation X in 1999, he has been almost possessed in his goal to become a World Champion. His first two runs were brief, but so were most of the runs in ’99; once he was able to marry Stephanie McMahon and manipulate his boss Vince McMahon out of his way, he was able to dominate the championship picture for the first half of 2000, even fighting off three challengers and escaping Wrestlemania 2000 still champion. After his well-known quadriceps injury, his next run was as fan favorite, defeating Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania X-8 and holding it for a month before losing to Hulk Hogan. Though he would dominate the World Heavyweight Championship picture for several years, it wouldn’t be until 2007 when he once again held the WWE Title around his waist, and even then, it was only for the span of a PPV, as he defeated Randy Orton at the beginning of the night and lost it at the end of the night. He would get revenge six months later, defeating Orton and holding onto the belt for seven months, his longest run as WWE Champion, defending against the likes of John Cena, Jeff Hardy, and Vladamir Kozlov. Screwed out of this title, he would win his next one in an Elimination Chamber match, cleanly pinning The Undertaker to earn this title. It would be brief, but he would get another win over Orton at Wrestlemania before losing it in a special six-man match. A hated, rising heel for his first four runs and a beloved, respected veteran for his last four, Triple H has spent the last decade leaving his mark as a champion.
Pedro Moralessize=6>
1 Time WWWF Champion, 1,027 Days As Champion
Pedro Morales is an interesting case, and the one I had the most difficulty placing on this list. His long reign at the top (with only three men holding the title for more days than him) certainly puts him high on the list, but there are several mitigating factors. The first is the simple issue that, before Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon Jr. started their aggressive expansion in the mid-80’s, the WWWF was in many ways a regional promotion focused solely in the Northeast United States. They did travel to other places, and they definitely had the advantage of major cities such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia in their territory, but they were far from the global promotion they are today. Second is that, while popular, Morales was in many ways viewed as a “second best” option, when they really wanted Bruno Sammartino as the champion. Morales lost the title to Stan “The Man” Stasiak after a good three-year run, and Sammartino would defeat Stasiak and the status quo returned to normal. While a great performer and a popular wrestler, Pedro failed to step out of the shadow of Sammartino and that keeps him just shy of the truly great WWE Champions.
Randy Savagesize=6>
2 Time WWF Champion, 520 Combined Days As Champion
When people ask me what I think makes a great champion, I usually say three things. 1) He has to be someone who can emotionally connect with his audience. 2) He has to be someone who can deliver a compelling in-ring product. 3) He has to be able to draw the fans to his matches and make his promotion money. Randy Savage has all of those traits in spades. One of the most colorful and captivating wrestlers of all time, Savage was a master of psychology, able to make the fans love or hate him, playing his gimmick to the fullest and just standing out in a crowd. A natural choice for champion when Hulk Hogan left to film No Holds Barred, Savage continued to do very well at the box office for the next twelve months. He started as a babyface and ended up as a heel and losing to Hogan in one of the most underrated Wrestlemania matches. Three years later, he would defeat Ric Flair at Wrestlemania VIII and hold the title for several months. While not quite the box office draw that Hogan and Austin were and not quite the worker that Hart and Michaels were, Savage had a great mix and was a very successful champion in the company’s history, often delivering where Hogan failed to. Though not quite as successful, he was separate from Hogan and over on his own merits.
Bob Backlundsize=6>
2 Time WWF Champion, 2,138 Combined Days As Champion
Bob Backlund was a successful amateur wrestler who was the whitest of white meat babyfaces. Essentially being himself, Backlund presented a respectable, wholesome character outside the ring and a tenacious, scientific spirit inside of the ring. He lived for competition and respect, but also had a temper that could rise up when the situation that called for it. And with villains such as Billy Graham, Greg Valentine, Sgt. Slaughter, Pat Patterson, Ken Patera and Jimmy Snuka. Backlund deserves credit for pulling the WWF through a tough period; business was down as Sammartino was starting to get past the point where he could be a full-time world champion, and the WWF was once again part of the NWA. Backlund carried the company through this rough patch until Hulk Hogan showed up. Losing the title to The Iron Sheik in a controversial match, Backlund backed out of the WWF for several years. When he returned, he continued to play his boyscout character until snapping in 1994. Used as a tool by Owen Hart to screw his brother Bret out of the WWF Championship, Backlund was successful and once again became champion at Survivor Series ’94. This would last three days as Diesel would demolish him in 8 seconds. This embarrassing run keeps him just out of the top five. Always more respected than loved, Backlund deserves to be listed amongst all the great WWE Champions.
John Cenasize=6>
7 Time WWE Champion, 947 Combined Days As Champion
Cracking the top five is the most recent champion on this list, the ever polarizing John Cena. Perhaps the hardest working man in wrestling today, Cena debuted in impressive fashion but languished before finding his voice as a white rapper. Cutting edgy and humorous promos on everyone on the Smackdown roster, he quickly became the hottest new star in the company. At Wrestlemania 21, he defeated John Bradshaw Layfield to win his first WWE Championship and made his mark on the title, literally. An elaborate and blinged-out WWE Championship, complete with spinning WWE logo decorated his waist for over nine months, though fan backlash started to kick in around this time. ’06 saw him mature as a champion, defeating Triple H in an upset at Wrestlemania 22, going into the wolves den when he defended the title against Rob Van Dam, and feuding with Edge before beating him in a grueling TLC Match. This run would be the longest WWE Championship run in twenty years, since Hogan’s first. And by the end of it, whether you loved or hated him, you could not deny he deserved that belt. It would be two years before he’d hold that belt again, trading it back and forth with Randy Orton in the fall of ’09 before shockingly losing it to Sheamus. His next reign would last mere minutes as he won an Elimination Chamber match but had to face a fresh Batista immediately afterward. He would defeat Batista at Wrestlemania 26 to regain the title, but this would be another fairly short run. With many years still ahead of him, Cena has a lot more legacy to leave. There is already an argument to be made that he is top three; by the time he hangs up his wrestling shoes, there may no longer be an argument against it.
Bret Hartsize=6>
5 Time WWF Champion, 654 Combined Days As Champion
There is a large contingent of fans who contend that Bret Hart is exactly what he said he was: “The Best There Is, the Best There Was, and the Best There Ever Will Be”. While I personally don’t believe that he is the greatest of all time, Bret is certainly a consensus top ten pick for the Wrestlemania Era of WWE’s History. Perhaps the most technically sound and scientifically gifted performer to ever hold the WWF Championship, Bret took the respectable fighting champion image of Bob Backlund and added a certain coolness to it that resonated with fans. Loved in the United States and revered in Canada and Europe, Bret deserves the bulk of the credit for keeping the World Wrestling Federation afloat during it’s most trying period. Hart can best be described as the “go-to champion”. When Hogan, Flair and Savage were moving on, Bret was Vince’s pick for champion. When Lex Luger and Diesel failed to become the “next big thing”, Vince put the belt back on Bret. A five-time WWF Champion, Bret was successful as both a babyface and heel, even at the same time. With stellar performances in the ring and a passionate fanbase, Bret is one of the greatest WWF Champions of all time.
Stone Cold Steve Austinsize=6>
6 Time WWF Champion, 529 Combined Days As Champion
Like Cena, Austin initially had trouble finding himself until cutting his Austin 3:16 promo. From there, the rocket was attached to his back and he rose to main event level within months. At Wrestlemania XIV, he won his first WWF Championship from Shawn Michaels and “The Austin Era” began. Austin would spend most of the rest of 1998 as champion, and would be a four time champion before falling to injury in late 99. Feuding primarily with Vince McMahon in one of the most successful feuds in wrestling history. This rivalry put Austin against the likes of The Rock, Undertaker, Mick Foley, and Kane. After missing most of 2000, Austin was newly obsessed with becoming champion. With The Rock and Triple H becoming top stars and men like Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho quickly reaching that level, Austin’s obsession bordered on paranoia. Selling his soul to Vicne, he was able to defeat The Rock at Wrestlemania X-SEVEN and went on his longest run. The run as a psychotic heel champion was brilliant character storytelling, though fans didn’t respond positively since they wanted to cheer Austin, not boo him. Though not having the long term tenure as other champions, in terms of business, Austin is second to only one other wrestler.
Bruno Sammartinosize=6>
2 Time WWWF Champion, 4,040 Combined Days As Champion
Bruno Sammartino was one of the most popular regional heroes in wrestling history. He made Vince McMahon Sr. a ton of money, and when Vince chose to spit Capitol Wrestling from the NWA in 1962, he quickly had Buddy Rogers put over Bruno Sammartino as the champion. For the next seven-and-a-half years, Sammartino was king of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, defending against every top challenger of the day and selling out Madison Square Garden on an almost monthly basis. The combination of his freakish strength and his humble persona who had a short fuse, along with his Italian heritage, connected with the fans in the territory. He was absolutely beloved, a superhero in tights. When he lost the championship to Koloff, the Garden went deadly silent. He would become the first man to hold the championship twice, beating Stan Stasiak on December 10, 1973 and held the championship for another four years before losing to Billy Graham. As the dominant champion and number one draw for fifteen years, Bruno must be listed among the all time greats in WWE history. This company is “The House That Bruno Built”, and I think it’s safe to say that the WWE as we know it today would not exist today if not for Sammartino’s drawing power. Yet, while he laid the foundations, another man took the WWF to higher levels, changing it from a regional promotion into the most dominant company in the business.
Hulk Hogansize=6>
5 Time WWF Champion, 1 Time WWE Undisputed Champion, 2,184 Combined Days As Champion
The obvious answer, and the correct one. Hulk Hogan won his first championship on January 23, 1984, when he steamrolled over The Iron Sheik. Vastly popular due to his charisma, ring presence and the fame from being in Rocky III, Hogan became a phenomenon. Hulkamania was the fuel that allowed Vince McMahon Jr. to build a wrestling empire that completely changed the way business was done. Marketing Hogan to families as “sports entertainment”, the WWF was able to make a killing off of t-shirts, action figures, bandanas, lunchboxes, posters, blankets, wristbands, anything they could put a logo on. Hogan faced numerous challengers in this run; Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd and Andre the Giant being the highlights. Everyone fell down to his feet, and the WWF began selling out arenas and setting gate and attendance records. Hogan lost to Andre in screwy fashion and later one the championship from Randy Savage at Wrestlemania V. The early nineties saw him win three more titles, defeating the likes of Sgt. Slaughter, The Undertaker and Yokozuna before leaving the WWE for almost a decade in 1993. In 2002, an aged Hogan would get another small taste of glory by winning the Undisputed Championship from Triple H. This was the cherry on top to the most successful wrestling career of all time, and the WWF’s greatest champion.
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