Best to Never Win the World Title: 21st Century Edition

[S.J. Maximus]

So many times we have seen threads like this or people giving this accolade to the likes of Roddy Piper, Ted DiBiase, Scott Hall, Curt Hennig, or Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Before the brand extension it was so much easier for people with so much talent (such as these gentleman) to succeed and perform without the belt because there was only one and it seemed to really only stay with the face of the company (Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Bret, HBK, Austin, Rock) until the Attitude Era.

With the brand extension and lazy WWE booking, we have seen many people who probably wouldn't be able to hold the IC belt for a day have World Title reigns. This phenomenon has limited the answer to "Who's the best to never win the belt" to mostly competitors from the 90's 80's and so forth. In this thread, I'm doing the opposite, I'm limiting the answers to 2000-present. Try hard, dig deep and try to find a guy who was really good and somehow managed to not win the belt during their career. Your answer doesn't have to be limited to when they debuted but more when they peaked/became relevant (ie Rikishi is an acceptable answer, just as Test or Albert).

Let me start the ball rolling by giving you my choice, the one and only John Morrison. IMO the only people that come close to him on my list are Shelton Benjamin and Rikishi (the title being "Most Over/Talented Stars in 21st Century to Never Win). He had the look, and a gimmick that was almost instantly compared to HBK when he debuted it and was very well-received by the fans. His moveset is the most unique set of his time and I'd argue of all-time behind RVD. His athletic ability was unparalleled, pulling out spot after spot that got fans on their feet. He wasn't a spot monkey though, he was able to tell a story in the ring and put on great matches with almost anyone on the roster. His only flaw was the fact he never really cut any "breakout promos" but did Jeff Hardy? Did Rey Mysterio? Did Dolph Ziggler!?!?!!? How people like Dolph, Del Rio, and Rey in 2011 were able to win the belt but JoMo couldn't in 2009-2011 is BEYOND ME. Please look at his World Heavyweight Championship Matches with Jeff Hardy and CM Punk on Smackdown in 2009, or his final(?) match with Miz on RAW for the WWE title. This man could do it all in the ring, had a fun gimmick, and had average mic skills. In the 21st century we've seen many guys win the belt with much less (Khali, Swagger, Del Rio).

 

[MCMG]

That is a good question. I can't think of many stand-out stars who haven't had at least one run or could still win a world title. Obviously having the World Heavweight and the WWE title helped. I suppose guys like Billy Gunn, Mr Kennedy and Shelton Benjamin all had potential but were never going to be world champs in the WWE.

I don't count WWE's version of ECW as a World Title- does anyone? - so I'd have to agree with you: John Morrison. We know he didn't have the mic skills to make him a top star but they were passable. What Morrison did is put on consistently great matches on TV and PPV. From about 2009 - 11 he was incredible and had several matches that were in the top 15 of the year. His ring skills and look could not be questioned and he should probably got a chance. There were a lot of great World Champions at the time but he could have feuded with Edge at some-point.

There are two other names that come to mind. Matt Hardy maybe maybe could have had a short reign. The other obvious choice is Bobby Lashley (weird all three held the ECW title) He definitely had the potential to be a World Champ. Kind off like Morrison though: he had the look and the in-ring skills but lacked in a vital department. That being said, The Great Khali was World Champ.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

See this is difficult because of the multiple title changes that happen in any given year now. During the 80s and 90s, only a few guys ever ended up holding the World or WWE Title, while a whole slew of great talent either took the IC or US Titles, or just remained characters in the roster. It's tough now to find someone really deserving who didn't get a run with either the WWE or WHC strap.

I'd say one guy who could've gotten the strap at some point (and maybe would've if he hadn't passed away so early) was Umaga. He started off in true monster mode, but eventually everyone started going over him. One of the better monster pushes I've seen in the past 10 years.

I think Wade Barrett was a missed opportunity who could've been given the title as his Nexus run wound down. A title win 3 years ago and Barrett could've been rescued from the lame ass gimmick of Bad News Barrett.

And for all the people they did give pushes and titles to, would it have killed them to let William Regal have a turn? Best talent to have never won a World Title in either WCW or WWE!

 

[DarksideEric]

If we were to go a pure wrestling ability way, somewhat trying to take the route people like Bret and Benoit took by having the best in ring skills rather than the best mic skills, I would have gone with Shelton as the best to never hold any version of a "top" title.

 

[Slash-LN]

I agree with guys like Morrison and Benjamin.

I'm adding Carlito. He was entertaining on the mic and he was passable in the ring. He could work as a face or a heel. I really liked him when he was there and I was sad to see him go. I don't really know how well he could have drawn though which needs to be taken into consideration but he would have been better than some guys who held the title down the road like ADR.

Matt Hardy. I don't care if it became cool to hate him. The guy was entertaining for a long time and for me personally has always been entertaining. I know Jeff was the more popular one because of the bumps he was willing to take but Matt was probably the better wrestler. The guy lived for wrestling and I know that's not a factor in determining your champion but it's still worth mentioning. He had one of the hottest angles we had seen in a long time and it was a rare case where the first time he attacked Edge a little piece of you had to wonder if it was scripted. Even if it was only just for a second.

 

[Softcore Holly]

I think if Morrison stuck around he might have eventually gotten the WHC, unfortunately for him I think he had backstage problems thanks to his GF at the time. At least he got to compete for the top prize, which is still better then a lot of other worthy stars out there.

If I only had 1 vote, it would be tough but it would go to William Regal. (Ooo I hear the groans already) He's a natural on the mic and can wrestle circles around most men in the ring. OK he's not going to be on the highlight reels like Morrison or Benjamin, but I think he would've had a great heel run if he got the title. Benjamin is a very close second since he was/is absolutely amazing in the ring, he just loses to Regal thanks to being average at best on the mic.

Also would like to add Lance Storm to the list.(oh look more groans) Another person that usually doesn't get to be on the highlight reel, he was a amazing worker, and confident on the mic. Unfortunately they did that whole boring angle with Austin, which kinda sunk whatever chances he really had.

 

[Ryan1025]

John Morrison is a good pick, but he lacked the promo skills. Otherwise (look/ability) he is easily championship material.
Shelton Benjamin seemed so close, even beating HHH when everyone claimed he was burying talent.
As someone else said, they really missed the mark by not giving Nexus Wade Barret the title.
If there was one match where I think someone missed the big one, it was Capital Punishment R-Truth v. Cena. R-Truth was on fire, both promo wise and in ring. If it wasn't for CM Punk, I believe this would have led to a R-Truth title run.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I'm gonna go with Umaga. He seemed like the perfect guy to have a heel run as World Champion on Smackdown. In '07 quite a few guys got to hold the WHC (one of them being Khali) and I figured Umaga was well on his way to being at least WHC. He was a main event heel (a very good one at that), he looked like a monster and acted the role very well in my opinion, his gimmick worked best when he didn't talk at all and he had his moments in the ring as well. I thought he did a real good job for the short time he was in WWE and considering how many top guys he DID work with (Cena and HHH come to mind immediately) he seemed like a natural fit to work on Smackdown as champ, maybe have a title feud with Batista.

I like Benjamin and Morrison but I never saw them as world champions, Umaga is someone I did see as a future heel champ.

 

[Eyebrows]

It wasn't reflected in his push after his debut but the immense pop he got in his first appearance, his history prior to the WWE and his raw ability makes me pick Taz, assuming that this is limited to WWE world titles.. That guy debuted with so much promise at the Royal Rumble but got relegated to the hardcore division shortly after. With the Radicalz jumping ship, Angle taking off and Jericho getting pushed into the upper mid-card I guess they couldn't find a time to push him in the main event and he ultimately fizzled out.

Rikishi has already been mentioned but he was so over during his face turn that it'd be remiss of me to mention him.

 

[DarksideEric]

Oh, how in the world did I forget this...

I offer up, though his stint in WWE was extremely short, Muhammad Hassan as an option.

I loved the guy and felt he'd go amazing places.

 

[Kris Benwa]

Mr. Kennedy. But no one is to blame really he was just a victim of circumstance but I do believe that if Orton hadn't douched, he would have been the one to take the title off him. My other pick is Shelton Benjamin the fact that he didn't even get to hold the ECW title makes me sad. They could have given him a little reign with the WHC but then again I'm not sure if I can see it now but when the ECW title was still a world title he could have had that. Another was Bobby Lashley but it's his own fault he never won one. I'm pretty sure Vince would have put a belt on him sooner rather than later but he had to leave to do whatever it is he's doing.

 

[gooseholla]

Shelton Benjamin for sure. He was hot when he debuted. Good wrestler, not the greatest on the mic, but heck, I'd have rather seen him than another Edge, Cena or HHH run.

Rikishi should have held it once. He was a large guy who was over at certain times. Shame he was made to dance around the ring like a fool.

Regal should have had a run. What a heel he was, and could wrestle. However, I doubt he could have carried a company or even a PPV or two off of him being the main eventer. But then, the man whose return was announced in a way as boring as the man himself - "it's... it's Christian" - managed to be WHC for a while, so who knows.

Goldust. Why? Well, his gimmick was cool and he can wrestle when he wants to. He just seemed an ideal candidate to hold the big gold belt for awhile. But then, wouldn't he be the first 'gimmick' wrestler to hold it. I'm sure Vader and others were worth it more than Goldust. I guess Goldust is one of those people that doesn't need a title to be over.

Steiner. When he debuted at SS 2002, the crowd was nuts for him. Over the next couple of months, we had the ''what brand will he sign with' scenario, and the fued with HHH which had no wrestling, just crappy arm wrestles and posing contests... yawn. Crowd lost interest and he was a bit rusty. Went down hill from there. Had it all gone to plan, he should have beaten HHH at the Royal Rumble.

Umaga and Lashley? These two were meant to be the next big things in WWE. Lashley never impressed me, Umaga was alright. Would I have given the title to either? No. Would the WWE - I'm sure they would have done at some point.

The trouble is... the more I look at my list, the more I want to say they didn't deserve a run because there were greater people before them who never got a shot - Vader, Steamboat, Dibiase etc. If we go by size, then most of the 80s wrestlers could have held it. Popularity, Hillbilly Jim... where does the list end? So many could have held it deservingly. Do the 00s ones I listed deserve it more than these? Perhaps not. But then did Cena and Edge, HHH etc. deserve to get it so many times and deny others the chance to get what they deserved?!

 

[Aquaman6686]

So many times we have seen threads like this or people giving this accolade to the likes of Roddy Piper, Ted DiBiase, Scott Hall, Curt Hennig, or Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Before the brand extension it was so much easier for people with so much talent (such as these gentleman) to succeed and perform without the belt because there was only one and it seemed to really only stay with the face of the company (Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Bret, HBK, Austin, Rock) until the Attitude Era.

With the brand extension and lazy WWE booking, we have seen many people who probably wouldn't be able to hold the IC belt for a day have World Title reigns. This phenomenon has limited the answer to "Who's the best to never win the belt" to mostly competitors from the 90's 80's and so forth. In this thread, I'm doing the opposite, I'm limiting the answers to 2000-present. Try hard, dig deep and try to find a guy who was really good and somehow managed to not win the belt during their career. Your answer doesn't have to be limited to when they debuted but more when they peaked/became relevant (ie Rikishi is an acceptable answer, just as Test or Albert).

Let me start the ball rolling by giving you my choice, the one and only John Morrison. IMO the only people that come close to him on my list are Shelton Benjamin and Rikishi (the title being "Most Over/Talented Stars in 21st Century to Never Win). He had the look, and a gimmick that was almost instantly compared to HBK when he debuted it and was very well-received by the fans. His moveset is the most unique set of his time and I'd argue of all-time behind RVD. His athletic ability was unparalleled, pulling out spot after spot that got fans on their feet. He wasn't a spot monkey though, he was able to tell a story in the ring and put on great matches with almost anyone on the roster. His only flaw was the fact he never really cut any "breakout promos" but did Jeff Hardy? Did Rey Mysterio? Did Dolph Ziggler!?!?!!? How people like Dolph, Del Rio, and Rey in 2011 were able to win the belt but JoMo couldn't in 2009-2011 is BEYOND ME. Please look at his World Heavyweight Championship Matches with Jeff Hardy and CM Punk on Smackdown in 2009, or his final(?) match with Miz on RAW for the WWE title. This man could do it all in the ring, had a fun gimmick, and had average mic skills. In the 21st century we've seen many guys win the belt with much less (Khali, Swagger, Del Rio).

John Morrison was ECW Champion. That was a legitimately recognized World Championship during it's time in WWE, so he doesn't count.

My pick is Shelton Benjamin. He had immense talent, was way over with the crowd when his push started, and had his push not been cut short, I think he would have been a good short-term top guy. I think the time to pull the trigger on him was in 2009 when he feuded with Christian, Benjamin should have won the ECW Championship from Christian at TLC that year and gone out as the final ECW Champion, rather than have Christian keep it another month and a half and then drop it to Ezekiel Jackson for no apparent reason.

 

[The_Don]

Counting the ones that are not in WWE today, it has to be Benjamin, Umaga (R.I.P.), Carlito and Lashley. Someone who hasn't won it today would be RVD. The other ones didn't prove to me they deserved a WHC title run (Morrison, Kennedy for example)

 

[L@RISANO]

There were rumours of him eventually winning the title, but; Muhammad Hassan could have been a great champ to have during his short run. The amount of heat he generated was unreal.He was actually a pretty intelligent character at first, the whole "shades of gray" thing as a Muslim living in post-9/11 America. In a way, he made the US crowds into the heels. It was great stuff.

Then they cheapened out and turned him into a full blown terrorist heel, and it was all over.

Shame.

 

[L@RISANO]

Chris Masters is another one that might have had a shot as well. He had the look, and the Master Lock was something many of my friends used to copy, and it caught on. Don't know what went wrong with him tho.

 

[lifelongfan]

real quick i saw some one say the ecw title was a world title. i say absolutely not it was nothing just feel good belt. that said the man who tops my list is matt hardy. with john morason second. but its all been said i would not have replayed outher than to comment on ecw title.

 

[Booker t 5x]

Shelton Benjamin most defiantly. The man tore the house apart with Shawn Michaels and kurt angle, stole the show at numerous money in the bank ladder matches, he was a human highlight reel. He honestly should have won the briefcase and cashed in long ago. way more deserving than a lot of other past winners.

 

[DetectiveZelix]

I'm going with Hussan. The guy was legit and got real heel heat and could have made for a great powerful anti amersicsn champion for a future face to defeat

 

[d_henderson1810]

So many times we have seen threads like this or people giving this accolade to the likes of Roddy Piper, Ted DiBiase, Scott Hall, Curt Hennig, or Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Before the brand extension it was so much easier for people with so much talent (such as these gentleman) to succeed and perform without the belt because there was only one and it seemed to really only stay with the face of the company (Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Bret, HBK, Austin, Rock) until the Attitude Era.

With the brand extension and lazy WWE booking, we have seen many people who probably wouldn't be able to hold the IC belt for a day have World Title reigns. This phenomenon has limited the answer to "Who's the best to never win the belt" to mostly competitors from the 90's 80's and so forth. In this thread, I'm doing the opposite, I'm limiting the answers to 2000-present. Try hard, dig deep and try to find a guy who was really good and somehow managed to not win the belt during their career. Your answer doesn't have to be limited to when they debuted but more when they peaked/became relevant (ie Rikishi is an acceptable answer, just as Test or Albert).

Let me start the ball rolling by giving you my choice, the one and only John Morrison. IMO the only people that come close to him on my list are Shelton Benjamin and Rikishi (the title being "Most Over/Talented Stars in 21st Century to Never Win). He had the look, and a gimmick that was almost instantly compared to HBK when he debuted it and was very well-received by the fans. His moveset is the most unique set of his time and I'd argue of all-time behind RVD. His athletic ability was unparalleled, pulling out spot after spot that got fans on their feet. He wasn't a spot monkey though, he was able to tell a story in the ring and put on great matches with almost anyone on the roster. His only flaw was the fact he never really cut any "breakout promos" but did Jeff Hardy? Did Rey Mysterio? Did Dolph Ziggler!?!?!!? How people like Dolph, Del Rio, and Rey in 2011 were able to win the belt but JoMo couldn't in 2009-2011 is BEYOND ME. Please look at his World Heavyweight Championship Matches with Jeff Hardy and CM Punk on Smackdown in 2009, or his final(?) match with Miz on RAW for the WWE title. This man could do it all in the ring, had a fun gimmick, and had average mic skills. In the 21st century we've seen many guys win the belt with much less (Khali, Swagger, Del Rio).

My pick would be Wade Barrett.

I have always rated Barrett. He is built, has size and is great on the mike. His ringwork needs work, but since the Great Khali was once champion, then ringwork no longer comes into the equation for mine.

The other thing is that Barrett draws heat. He can get people to hate him. I would have liked him to have some sort of UK alliance stable with Drew McIntyre and others from the United Kingdom.

Barrett showed that he was a leader when he led Nexus, and I thought that he and Bryan would be the standouts of the group. But the WWE hotshotted him and gave him title matches too soon. A couple of years later, and people may have believed it more (and make him hard to beat in the meantime).

He is a guy in the 21st century I most thought would win a WWE or World Title, but hasn't. Hopefully that will change one day.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I agree with guys like Morrison and Benjamin.

I'm adding Carlito. He was entertaining on the mic and he was passable in the ring. He could work as a face or a heel. I really liked him when he was there and I was sad to see him go. I don't really know how well he could have drawn though which needs to be taken into consideration but he would have been better than some guys who held the title down the road like ADR.

Matt Hardy. I don't care if it became cool to hate him. The guy was entertaining for a long time and for me personally has always been entertaining. I know Jeff was the more popular one because of the bumps he was willing to take but Matt was probably the better wrestler. The guy lived for wrestling and I know that's not a factor in determining your champion but it's still worth mentioning. He had one of the hottest angles we had seen in a long time and it was a rare case where the first time he attacked Edge a little piece of you had to wonder if it was scripted. Even if it was only just for a second.

I agree with you about Matt Hardy, but I think this would have worked best when he was doing his "Version 1" gimmick, and had his "Matt Facts". He was No. 2 heel on Smackdown, behind Brock Lesnar, at one stage, and when Lesnar left, I think they should have pushed him, rather than JBL, as the next heel champion on "Smackdown".

 

[Robert Roode Fan]

Now if you are talking about drawing power and most significance I will say Riskshi, he was entertaining and probably the most over and drew the most money out of the non world champions from this era. However to me the most impressive was no doubt is Christophe Daniels, to me the best on the mic, and the best in the world at all of it out of the non world champion, funny thing is I think tna should not give him the belt, but make him look good and then say Daniels is this good, yet he can't win our belt, so therefore it is REALLY VAUABLE, I think that is basic booking 101, or at least you would think that, neither company realizes the importance of guys who don't win the world title to make the guys who do look REALLY GOOD because it makes it that much harder, only tna will do this, though at this point I doubt it.

 

[Winds-Of-Change]

Rodney Mack.

Seriously, John Morrison? Talk about overrated!

If anybody, you should pick.. no one. Because no one stands out to me.

Rather, the year they should of won the title.

Booker T should of become champion in 2001 while a member of The Alliance.

Rob Van Dam should of become World Champion champion in 2002

Christian should of become Champion in 2005, same with Muhammed Hassan.

 

[Blade]

Probably William Regal.

Looking at a lot of the other names thrown out, those guys didn't win titles because they sucked in one way or another. Usually because they were completely void of charisma, like Benjamin, or because they couldn't cut a decent promo to save their lives, like Morrison or Hardy.

But Regal was kind of the total package. He could talk, he could wrestle. He's been quite over at several points in his WWE career. He just never got that big time push. There were rumours that he was going to be inserted into the World Title picture after winning the King of the Ring, but he got busted for a Wellness Policy violation, so the push was halted.

But yeah, William Regal is probably the only name that comes close to genuinely being worthy.

Oh, also, I know Kane is a two time World Champion, but Kane in 2002. Should've happened.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I guess it stretches back further than this topic is looking for, but I always found it surprising that Razor Ramon never won a world title. I'm not talking about his NWO in WWE days; those were a mess. But in his 1992-96 incarnation, he was huge, one of the most over characters in the company.....a man who put over plenty of top stars. The benchmark I'd use is that anyone who could defeat Shawn Michaels cleanly in a ladder match surely should have had a run at the top.

Instead, I remember him winning the Intercontinental title, but going no higher. The character he portrayed was so great; my brother and I used to throw toothpicks at each other in imitation, but we never got to see Razor win a world belt, which was a shame. His obnoxious, strutting ways while wearing the belt would have been the best show in town.