top 10 WWF Champions of all time

[justtxyank]

Bob Backlund was the face of the WWF prior to Hogan, but he was a terrible champion. While he was champion the WWF championship lost its status as a recognized world title for a brief period and business dropped steadily.

My list:

1) Hulk Hogan- To me there is no doubt about this. He turned the WWF from a regional market wrestling show into a global phenomenon.

2) Bruno Sammartino- Did tremendous business for the WWF. Inflation adjusted I bet he is close to Hogan.

3) Triple H- This may be a controversial pick, but as this list isn't greatest superstar but rather greatest champion, I pick HHH over Austin and Rock from the attitude era. He brought a ton of credibility to the belt and his title feuds were epic.

4) Bret Hart- Was incredibly credible as a champion and gave people the best matches of their careers in programs for the title. Is one of the 5 men I instantly think of when I think of the title.

5) Steve Austin- If this was greatest star or draw he'd be #1 or #2 on the list, but not as champion. I believe his best work was competing for someone else's title or being the badass fighting against McMahon.

6) John Cena- I'm not a fan and have basically quit watching wrestling under his reign, but he is the face of the generation and was a major star as a champion.

7) The Rock- Never needed the belt, but he shone with it. He did a great job of making the title seem like the most important thing in the world to him which is a very underrated skill for a champion.

8) Yokozuna- His runs are very underrated today and I'm not sure why. He was a monster and was very over as a heel. His run as a champion was outstanding and helped make Bret Hart an icon.

9) Randy Savage- He was on of the few men who could shine in a promotion that featured the power of Hulkamania running wild. His first reign was very good and he shone brightly during his prime.

10) Shawn Michaels- I debated whether or not he belonged on this list because his run as a champion was sort of meh to me. But, the matches were great every time. I went ahead and picked him over Diesel, Randy Savage, Jericho and Kurt Angle who were finalists but just had one reason or another not to make the list.

[HBKperfect23]

1) Hulk Hogan- Biggest draw ever. Put WWF on the map. Started crossover into pop culture with Rock-N-Wrestling.

2) Steve Austin-The biggest draw when wrestling was its most popular.

3) Bob Backlund- Great face/heel champion. Held the title in two different eras.

4) Randy Savage- The year reign where he turned heel as champion was one of the best ever. Also held the title when the roster was at its best in 1992.

5) Shawn Michaels- Had a great heel/face run. Started the attitude era. Delivered in the ring. Brought a new style to the main event.

6)Triple H- Throw back heel. I loved his long title reigns.

7) The Rock- One of the most over champions ever.

8)Yokozuna- Dominate heel. Very believable champion.

9) Undertaker- Although he never needed the title, he could always carry the ball and did so in multiple eras.

10)Bret Hart- I enjoyed his first run the most. Also liked the USA/Can stuff with him as champion.

Honorable mention- Diesil: love him or hate him, he was over and was a believable champion.
Bruno was left off my list simply because I didnt see his run

[CrucifiedRaven]

Originally Posted by Chris1-16

Ridiculous statement for numerous reasons:

1. He was the IC Champion for the majority of '98, so he wasn't even in the World Title Picture for most of that year.

2. Was heel for the majority of 1998-mid 1999, with a small 2 month timeframe as a face.

3. For the 6 1/2 months they were a face in '99, the first 3 months the McMahon-Austin storyline was still going on.

4. Austin suffered multiple injuries after Fully Loaded '99, he wrestled only around 10 more matches for the rest of that year, then he was sidelined even longer after Survivor Series.

5. Austin played politics in '99, the day after Fully Loaded management wanted him to help put over Billy Gunn and Jeff Jarrett for the rest of the year, he didn't want to because "they weren't over enough to get a rub from him". This didn't really end up mattering in the long run because Austin injured his knee the same week this happened, see #4.

6. Austin wasn't the champion for the last 3 months he was around in '99, HHH had the belt.

Austin's push was fine in 1998 and even some of 1999, but by the summer of '99 Austin was exposed with the politics and with the WWF still doing great business with him injured from August-December of that year.

I wasn't getting in to specifics of when either of them were champion. I know the history. When you look back though, most people will consider Rock as the #2 of the attitude era behind Austin.

I even said in my original post, late 1999 and onwards, Rock took the ball and ran with it. And went on to become way more popular than Austin at the mainstream level.

2000 was Rocky's year, no doubt about that. But when Austin came back in late 2000, the focus was back on him. RAW was all about who ran over Austin, the Austin/HHH feud, and then finally Austin vs Rock II at WM17... And even after that, Austin held the title for something like 8 months in 2001.

So between 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, Austin was their top guy for 3 out of those four years.

[lowandmighty]

The company now known as wwe has had some great champions over the years, my list of the greatest won't be the same as everyones as I can't say bruno or backlund or anyone like that just cause I never really watched them so it would be unfair to rank one over the other.

Here's my list.
10. Kane- A short title reign but a very memorable one and an achievement that gave his character some of the best staying power anyone has ever had.
9. The Ultimate Warrior- not one of the most successful champions although a good length run. He makes the list because of being the first and only person to cleanly beat Hulk Hogan for the championship.
8. Diesel- won in at the time the shortest championship match time of all time and a year long run.
7. Bret Hart- Put his heart and sole into every match. Did the best job ever of putting someone else over in a championship match against Shawn Michaels at wrestlemania 12 in one of the most memorable matches of all time.
6. Shawn Micheals- Brought freshness of a new generation to the title, his championship feuds were always entertaining because of his character.
5. Macho Man Randy Savage- Somewhat rode the wave of Hulkamania to his own benefit, one of the most memorable championship reigns ever with Elizabeth at his side and the explosion of the mega powers. Heartfelt emotion. We still don't really know if he legit hated Hogan at the time. Good acting.
4.JBL- Funniest champion ever.
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Him as the champion and how he portrayed his character made him one of the most popular wrestlers of all time.
2. The Rock- Best story lines and catch phrases ever, some of the best matches ever (vs mankind). He doesn't actually rank all that well in days as champion but the days he was were fucking brilliant. Really was the most "electrifying"
1. Hulk Hogan- I don't think that even requires an explanation.

..on the horizon though- CM Punk.

On reflection I forgot the undertaker! god how much of an idiot am I? So I'd say I'd make kane 10th, take out the warrior and put the undertaker 2nd.