Guarenteed Champions

[TUFFY54]

In the WWE it is pretty obvious who your champions are going to be. Sure there are occasional suprises like Sheamus, but most of the time you can tell whos next in line. They usually start with a slow build by winning a midcard title and then having at least one feud with a main eventer before the push to the top of the mountain begins. With the money in the bank briefcase, it is almost guarenteed who the next champion will be. However, there have been a few instances where people who were "guarenteed" to hold the belt never did. Im not talking about guys like Christian or Roddy Piper who everyone says should of been champion, im talking about guys that we were lead to belive would be champion and it never happened. In the past 25 years of the WWE I can only think of two people who fit this catagory

Lex Lugar: In 1993 the WWE started to push Lex Lugar to the moon. They choppered him in to an aircraft carrier to bodyslam Yokozuna in an event with all sorts of media and pro athlets. After that, they sent him on a tour of the US on his own Lex Express to build up for his massive showdown with Yokozuna at Summerslam. Everyone thought he was going to walk out of there the champion. He was the patriotic young superman with the red, white, and blue trunks facing an evil foreign menace that was getting booed out of buildning. Shockingly he won the match in an incredibly lame count out. They countined this feud for months leading to Lex beating the odds to get his rematch by winning the Royal Rumble. He was set to beat Yoko at mania and Ive heard they even shot some TV tapings with him holding the belt. Rumor has it that he got drunk and told a reporter that he was going to be the new champ and WWE nipped it in the bud and put the title on Hart.

Mr. Kennedy: In recent years there has been no other superstar as primed for championship glory as Ken Kennedy. He was given and huge push that resulted in him getting wins over 5 or 6 former world champions in a row. Next he won the money in the back ladder match at Wrestlemania. This absolutly screams next world champion. Keep in mind, 3 years after Kennedy won the briefcase, we still havent had someone fail to cash it in. Unfortunatly, he got hurt and lost his case to Edge. After comming back he was set up to be part of the biggest angel in years and be revield as Mr. McMahons son. Ive read that he was going to take the angel through Wrestlemania and have a match with Triple H. This time, he was listed in a report claiming to get illegal steriods throught the mail and was suspended, resulting the the horrible Hornswaggel McMahon storyline. He eventually came back one more time and was released.

Like I said, these are the two people in the history of the company that everyone assumed would be would champions. Not by how good they were or how over with the crowd, but by the things that the WWE itself did to push them to the top. Can anyone think of any other wrestler that was in a situation like this and never got the strap.

 

[Krobra]

Roddy Piper, Ted DeBiase Sr, Dusty Rhodes, Scott Hall/Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, Steamboat, just to name a few Legends who has never won a WWE World Title. There are some current WWE Wrestlers who should have had the title by now too. Christian is a big one. If he never went to TNA, he'd hold the belt at least once by now. MVP should have had a run by now as well. Matt Hardy is another, if you don't count the ECW Championship. I'd say Mark Henry, but he doesn't deserve a run. William Regal is another who'd be a believable champion, even if only for a few weeks at least. Goldust with the belt would be interesting, but unlikely.

 

[m1k3b14z3]

another person who would have been good as champion would have been tazz they had a champion vs champion match on smackdown when hhh was champ they even had him win by DQ to make it look legit but thats my opinion

 

[CraigThe13th]

I think you've all missed the point the poster was making. He is talking about who was a dead cert to win the WWE title it seemed. The ones who were groomed for it, but it never happened.

I've got two I can think of

1) Mr Perfect - Everything about this guy screamed world champion, just with the Hogan-Warrior stranglehold on the WWF title at the time, just didn't happen. I think what made things better at the time was that the Intercontinental championship mean't more so he was kind of an uncrowned world champ in his own right as IC champ.

2) MVP - Here was a guy who came out of nowhere, but with massive WWE hype leading into his debut and beyond. He started off well holding the US title and keeping it for awhile, but then things just didn't seem to go as plan, he turned face now is stuck in mid card hell.

 

[JJ15776]

Here's a couple more:

1.Ludvig Borga. He was talented for a big guy, was insanely over as the evil foreigner, and the WWE was really behind him - he's the guy that ended Tatanka's undefeated streak. (pinning him with one finger, to boot) Then he hurt his ankle and never returned. He seemed well on his way to the Main Event and possible World Championships when he got hurt.

2.Ken Shamrock. As hyped at debut as anyone in pro wrestling history, thanks to his MMA exposure. Had major fueds from the beginning with Vader and Bret Hart - and he would've beat Hart for the WWE title if not for the Montreal Screwjob. He had a few shots at the title before returning to the "midcard" (I use that term loosely, because the midcard back then was as good as today's main event) and fueded with Rocky, Jeff Jarret, Owen Hart...winning King of the Ring in the process. But then he decided to return to MMA. I have no doubt he would've won multiple World titles had he stuck around. Especially once Austin retired and Rock went to Hollywood.

3.William Regal. He was the GM of Raw, was fueding with main eventers (Cena, Triple H), participated in an Elimination Chamber match for the title, won King of the Ring...and then got tested positive for a second time and was suspended for 60 days. If not for that positive test, he seemed well on his way to a World title at some point.

 

[TUFFY54]

Thanks for the great post Craigthe13th. I agree to an extent with Mr. Perfect. I always thought it was odd that someone called Mr. Perfect wasnt the world champion. Ive also heard that Vince was considering Perfect-Hogan for Mania 6 and would of gone through with it if the reaction of Hogan and Warrior together at the Rumble wasnt great. As far as Ken Shamrock goes, I believe he would of been champion if the Monteral Screwjob hadnt happened. Bret Hart has said in many interviews that he told Vince he would go out on Raw the next night and lose the belt to anyone but HBK. He suggested Shamrock and Vince agreed.

 

[Rulk25]

I have head that perfect was supposed to be champ by beating hogan but Hogan played creative control and he basically said the list of people he would drop the title to was basically Warrior and Andre

 

[Dyno Kid]

Ted Dibiase is the obvious answer ! He not only was supposed to have a run with the WWF title but the NWA belt as well. Neither one happened of course.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I think people are missing the point in that we are looking for people who were pushed to the moon any everyone thought that the WWF/E was planning on making them champion, but then didnt. I can think of a couple....

Ahmed Johnson

I was so sure this this guy was going to get a run with the belt. He was so unbelivably over at one time back in 1996-7 and the WWF seemed to be ready to push this guy on to the next level, because he was literally destroying everyone in his path. But, it never happened to due an injury and then him being ignored on his return when the company decided to push someone else.

During his push if I had been old enough to gamble I would have stuck money on Johnson being champion within a year, he was a shoo-in for the top belt before his injury.

Bobby Lashley

This man WOULD have been a World Champion (I dont count the WWECW title as a proper world title btw). Vince loves a big guy with muscles which perfectly describes Lashley. He was given one of the biggest pushes after his debut since Lex Lugers Lex Express period, and a big winning streak. However, Lashley was horrific on the mic and then never reallllly got over with the fans as Championship material. But I dont think this would have mattered had he stayed with the WWE. Sheamus isnt really over and got given the belt, and Lashley would almost certainly have got the title, he was definately a guaranteed champion.