Is someone going to beat Flair´s 16 championships?

[El Rev sXe]

I've searched the first 4 pages and I dind't found anything about this topic.

WOOOOO!! Ric Flair, the dirtiest player in the game, 16 FREAKIN TIMES WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! so is quiet simple Flair has been in the bussiness for what?approximately 30 years (correct me if I'm wrong). HE IS THE MAN! but someone can be as good as him? Not as a wrestler but in a way that someone can have 16 or more championships achievements. can someone have that in his resumé?

So let me be clear with the "rules" with this: I would prefer if its ONLY WWE wrestlers cause they have more achievements in this area than the rest of others companys. plus it is in fact a mainstream company and not independent!

let me give you a couple of examples:
-Edge WHAT??? many of you may think right now but hear me out! he is the ultimate OOPORTUNIST, in 4 years he has become 9 times WHC! N I N E! I think thats above the average. if he continues like in 6 or 7 years he could dethrone Flair.

-Cena: that's right the golden boy of WWE. he wins the title like twice a year since 2005! now you do the maths (cuase I'm not good with matchs lol) imagine if that continues he could be in a couple of years 18 time world champion!

-Triple H: my personal favorite! 13 times WHC! Flair's pupil. they werre so great together. HHH learn also alot form Flair and since his days in evolution til today he has become 13 times world champ! I can easily imagine him being 16 or even 17 times world champ, of course he has just a couple more years to fill as an wrestler but I can dream...

So fill free to pick another guy! what are your thoughts? nooen can beat Flair's record??

THANK YOU FOR READING!

 

[Serious Jones]

Triple H is definitely the one with the greatest chance of surpassing Flair. Whether I agree with that is another story (The story is that I find HHH horribly overrated and it would be a tragedy to see him surpass a performer the caliber of Flair). However, I'm sure HHH is aware that he's closing in on 16 reigns, and I would imagine him keeping his number of reigns at just 16. Regardless of what Flair did by going to TNA, HHH probably still holds Flair in high regard, and wouldn't want to ruin what Flair worked so hard to do.

So, in short, Flair's record probably won't be surpassed, and if anyone does surpass it, it will be HHH. I just don't think that he will, because of his respect for Flair.

 

[The Ram]

I would like to say Triple H even though how overrated he may be. But look at how many times John Cena has one the championship in a year. Starting at september 13 2009. John Cena has one the WWE championship 4 times. 4 times!!! He loses it then he keeps on getting the title back. But triple H hasn't won a world title in a year. I really hope Triple H starts winning the world titles when he gets back from injury because I really want him to be the person to surpass ric flairs record. But I also think that John Cena will surpass the record but I believe Triple H will do it first.

 

[Daniel]

The thing to remember is that Flair's 16 world titles as recognised by WWE are comprised of three different world championships (8 NWA, 6 WCW and only 2 WWF). He was of an era where big names changed promotions frequently. But the top guys in WWE are going to stay with that promotion for the rest of their careers. That makes getting 16 world titles harder. So the current contenders are:

Triple H - Currently has 13 (all WWE) but his wrestling career is winding down, he is 40 after all. He is picking up nagging injuries and getting to that point in his career where he is putting over young talent. I see him getting 1 or 2 more or possibly equaling it.

Edge - He is 36 and has 9 titles. I think his chances are slim. His previous rate doesn't account for the future when it comes to Edge. Two of his championships came from cashing in the MITB briefcase. Plus, if he keeps getting injured, the likelihood goes down.

John Cena - Very realistic chance. Has 9 at the age of 33. Won his first in 2005 and has had relatively short yet frequent reigns. This may continue because of his 'SuperCena' gimmick, battling against adversity to regain his title from a heel.

Randy Orton - Only has 6 but he is 30. If he stays relevant for 10-15 years (which I think he can) 10 titles seems to be do-able. To me Orton is the hottest thing in WWE right now and in two years he will the face of the company.

It is certainly possible for one of the current crop to take Flair's record. Cena or Orton (or maybe even both) would be my picks. Who knows, it may be someone not even in the main event yet like Drew McIntyre.

 

[Element_Demon]

Yea i'd go with Triple H he's only a few more title wins away. It could be Cena or Orton, with Orton at 6 and Cena at like 9 I think, both those 2 still have like 7-9 more years with the company so it's possible.

 

[JJ15776]

I would be shocked - SHOCKED - if Triple H, John Cena, Edge, and Orton (in that order) didn't ALL easily soar past 16 championships. Assuming they all stay healthy, I don't see how they won't. When Flair was still retired and working with WWE behind the scenes, I would've said they might not let these guys pass him out of respect(maybe just one of them), but at this point they couldn't care less about Flair's legacy.

IMO, the question should be who will end up with the most championships and how many will they have? I think Triple H will pass him first and retire with 17 or 18. Cena will pass him and end up somewhere in the low 20's. I think Edge will pass Flair but maybe not Triple H and definitely not Cena, and Orton...it's hard to tell just how popular he's going to get. If he can keep his nose clean and become the face of the company like Cena is right now, he might pass Cena...but I think he'll end up second, somewhere right around 20.

 

[Pone]

i know you said WWE guys but thats not really a fair statment considering Flair didn'y win WWE gold 16x as a matter of fact i believe he was only WWF champ once or twice...but i digress my pcik would actually be Kurt Angle. He already has 12 reigns and i see him having a few more before reigns before he calls it quits so he's my choice to past flair and i see it in about 4 or 5 years

 

[Sliver66]

im gonna say that cena or edge will do it first because they both have 9 already. I do think HHH will do it to but not before cena and edge.im thinkin cena will be the one to do it first because he always loses it and gets it right back so he will probably get 16 reigns in the next year or so

 

[theonepeter]

Now I've been doing some research and load and behold theres another superstar whose won the belt 16 times and his name is Hulk Hogan. 6 Times WWE/WWF champion, 2 Times NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Southern Division), 1 Time NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) Champion, 6 Times WCW champion, plus one more Time as WCW champion when he beat Jeff Jarrett in his last match on wcw by Double J laying down for him. Oh and Hulk Hogan held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as well so Hulk Hogan was atleast a 16 time champion if not a 17 time champion. So Ric Flair aint the only 16 time champion.

 

[Ferbian]

Now I've been doing some research and load and behold theres another superstar whose won the belt 16 times and his name is Hulk Hogan. 6 Times WWE/WWF champion, 2 Times NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Southern Division), 1 Time NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) Champion, 6 Times WCW champion, plus one more Time as WCW champion when he beat Jeff Jarrett in his last match on wcw by Double J laying down for him. Oh and Hulk Hogan held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as well so Hulk Hogan was atleast a 16 time champion if not a 17 time champion. So Ric Flair aint the only 16 time champion.

It has to actually be considered a world championship for it to count as a world championship reign, the NWA championships you mention are not considered world titles, and I'm not sure whether the IWGP is considered to be a world championship neither.

Hulk Hogan is recognized as a 12 times world champion.

I believe this thread was made before, and back then I said that I think John Cena and potentially Edge is the only ones that looks remotely close to be considered contenders for the 16 or 17 times world championship, but Edge seems to be slowing down a little, so it may not happen.

Triple H seems to be slowing down as well, I don't see him getting more than 15 if he even gets any more world championships.

And Randy Orton does have potential of getting there, but as it looks now, I don't see him going any further than 13 - 15 world championships.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

Well, if we keep having years like last year, I guarantee someone will eventually overtake Flair's record. Look at 2009 from the John Cena/Randy Orton point of view.

Jan-Feb: Cena is World Heavyweight Champion
April-Cena becomes World Champion again and loses it to Edge the next PPV
- Orton wins WWE Championship
June- Orton loses WWE Championship, wins it back in 8 days.
September-Orton loses the championship to Cena.
October- Orton wins back championship from Cena. Cena wins Championship from Orton.
December- Cena loses title to Sheamus
February- Cena wins championship back only to lose it in seconds to Batista.
WrestleMania 26- Cena wins championship back.

If this doesn't show a clear intention to give WWE talent legitimacy through number of title reigns, I don't know what does. Orton, Cena, and Triple H are all barking down that title record. Edge is also to a lesser degree, but with Edge, you never know if he'll be injured, how many times he'll have access to a MITB briefcase, or will use other methods to get the championship. Orton's time at the top is approaching, and you can expect another round of Cena-Orton championship matches unless one of them is shifted to Smackdown. Triple H looked to be destined to put himself over the record for a long time until a couple years ago. I'm no longer sure that Triple H wants to top that record by any means necessary.

Someone will break Flair's title record, but I don't think it will mean that much. The body of work Flair had with his title runs is incomparable with the best of Cena, Triple H, or Orton at this stage of their careers. Give THE MAN his credit. Even if you beat The Man's record, they still aren't THE MAN.

 

[darbare]

Technically Flair considers himself a 21 time world champ....its pretty insulting by WWE to consider what titles are 'world' titles....in reality christian is a 2 time world champ and R-truth is a former world champ but of course WWE doesnt recognize it.....how does the NWA world title not count WWE??? anyways.....who will beat his WWE record? i think Cena will or Triple H might...Triple H is getting old and hasnt had the world title since last April....he may become a 14 time champ this year.....but after next year its gonna be even harder.....Cena will undoubtedly win at least 2 more world titles before the year is over.....Cena will be an 16 time by the age of 36 at least.....which is insane..i think he will be a 20 time world champ by the time he hangs up the sneakers...but you also have to add in other people that will hold the title...not just Cena and Orton will hold the title....you got guys like Sheamus whos destined to win many more...Kofi Kingston someday will win some....Drew McIntyre someday will win some....Swagger will hold more...potentially Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes...hopefully Ziggler....of course CM Punk will hold more...Jericho probably has at least 1 more....same for Edge....and then you got Miz and Morrison who should oneday both hold the titles.....thats like 8 new world champs that are already on the roster plus established veterans who will switch (transition) with Cena and Orton.....

 

[brighamosity]

I think people put too much emphasis on how many times a person has won a world title and not enough emphasis on how long. Take Edge for example. He's a great wrestler, no denying that. But when I just read that Edge is a 9 time world champion, I didn't believe it and had to check for myself. To think that Edge might one day be compared alongside Ric Flair is kind of sad.

I think a big part of it is back in the NWA days, the champion might keep the belt for a year or more, so he could go around the country and tour with it. That, and we didn't have main shows a week with a pay-per-view every month like we do now, so storylines progress much faster. In the mid-90's they would drag storylines out for months because they only had about 5 pay-per-views a year. So now they might do in one month what 15 years ago would happen in two months.
And if you go back even further, before WWE Raw, (which I admit I don't know much about because I didn't start watching wrestling until a few weeks after Raw debuted) I would imagine that without a prime-time show, they likely just had syndicated shows.

On the flip side, it would appear that since there are hours of televised wrestling (2 hours of raw, 2 hours of smackdown, plus monthly pay-per-views) so wrestlers are getting more exposure/overness than they used to have, so you could argue that a champion today means much more than it used to. For half of those titles, Ric Flair was probably beating people that only hardcore wrestling fans would know of. Everyone heard of Triple H and John Cena though, even if they know nothing about them. The only people from the 80's that I think non-wrestling fans know about are Hogan, Flair, Andre the Giant, and probably Macho Man.

 

[punk is gold]

It's obvious that the game statistically is the closest to flair but could their relationship or his inability to stay healthy affect his chances,possibly,there is no doubt at the current rate he's going without a serious injury john cena is a lock to pass the naitch.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

If you count TNA then someone like Kurt Angle or Sting will beat it for sure. If you only count WWE wrestlers I can see quite a few people beating that record. HHH is currently the closest but I don't think it will be him, he hasn't been in the main event picture for a LONG TIME and although I see maybe 1 or 2 more title reigns for him, I don't see 4. I think Edge, Orton or Cena all have a good shot at doing it.
Edge has about 5-6 good years in him so 6 titles for the ultimate opportunist in this time frame seems quite plausible. Cena has 9 title reigns but he has probably a good 8-9 years ahead of him and the way Cena wins titles I think he's most likely the best option. Orton has 6 world titles and has 11-12 years ahead of him, so like Cena and Edge, I think Orton has a solid shot as well. One thing I can guarantee though is at least one of these 3 WILL win 16 or more titles before they retire because winning World Titles these days is nothing (think about it Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart were both over 40 before they even won 5 world titles, Cena has 9 and he's only 33), having 16 title reigns in this day and age don't mean shit.

Anyways I think Cena is the most likely to do it, he has 9 reigns, probably 9 good years ahead of him, and he'll be in the main event picture for a long time to come.

 

[Haxan]

HHH has the best chance since he's still banging the bosses daughter. As long as he doesn't get divorced in the next few years, he should break the record.

I agree with the longevity thing. Actual title reigns are mostly meaningless since it isn't a real sport anyway. How long you have the belt is most impressive since the company is trusting you to be the man and carry the company for a long period of time. If you only have the title briefly than obviously you're most likely (not always) but most likely a wrestler that can't get ratings and put people in the seats.

 

[The Legend]

triphle h ihas the best chance because he already is 13 i think that he will do it soon
maybe at wrestlemania and win the 17 one day then retire but then cena will overtake him soon to cena will make the 20's because he's the biggest face of the company

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'd say that there's a real possibility of it happening. Triple H has already won 13 and I'd say he's got at least 5 more years left so it's definitely possible.

John Cena is another possibility. He's only 33 and has 9 world title wins I think and Randy Orton just turned 30 and he's won 6.

So yeah, there's a real chance one of these three will ultimately have more world title wins recognized by the WWE.

 

[Ryan420]

I dont care what WWE "recognizes" as world championships, that fact is that Ric Flair is actually a 22 time world champion. 11 NWA World Titles, 7 WCW World Titles, 2 WCW International Titles (it is recognized as a world title) and 2 WWE Titles. Someone in WWE could pass the 16 mark, i would say Triple H or Cena, and most people will be brainwashed by WWE and think its true history and ITS NOT! But in all reality i dont think anyone will pass the 22 mark which is the real amount. Just becasue WWE is the biggest promotion doesnt mean everything they say about history is true.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

There has actually been a thread, not long ago about a wrestler surpassing flairs 16 world title reigns..

the closes it triple h, and he is my favourite for doing it..i figured when flair left, wwe wouldn't have anyone take over...but since he spat in VKM's face...they will definitaly have triple h do over 16 world title..

the thing is flair has more than 16 world title reigns..i thinks its 21, i don't think anyone will gain more than that...

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I dont care what WWE "recognizes" as world championships, that fact is that Ric Flair is actually a 22 time world champion. 11 NWA World Titles, 7 WCW World Titles, 2 WCW International Titles (it is recognized as a world title) and 2 WWE Titles. Someone in WWE could pass the 16 mark, i would say Triple H or Cena, and most people will be brainwashed by WWE and think its true history and ITS NOT! But in all reality i dont think anyone will pass the 22 mark which is the real amount. Just becasue WWE is the biggest promotion doesnt mean everything they say about history is true.

Unfortunately that's one of the issues with wrestling, the wrestling business makes its own history and they constantly change it to meet their needs. Technically Antonio Inoki is a former WWWF champion, Bob Backlund technically had 4 title reigns and Verne Gagne was technically NWA champion, but if you look in the history books none of these things actually happened. Even though Flair "Technically" had 22 title reigns, no company (not the NWA, WCW, WWE or TNA) has ever recognized him having more than 16, that is whats in the history books so that's the number.

 

[DrEwMcInTyRe503]

i have to say cena since hes the face of the wwe

 

[Ryan420]

Unfortunately that's one of the issues with wrestling, the wrestling business makes its own history and they constantly change it to meet their needs. Technically Antonio Inoki is a former WWWF champion, Bob Backlund technically had 4 title reigns and Verne Gagne was technically NWA champion, but if you look in the history books none of these things actually happened. Even though Flair "Technically" had 22 title reigns, no company (not the NWA, WCW, WWE or TNA) has ever recognized him having more than 16, that is whats in the history books so that's the number.

I understand what you're saying. Same with the Women's championship, WWE recognizes Moolah's "first" womens title reign to be 10, 179 days but really that is her 5th title reign, wwe bought the rights to the nwa women's title. My point is that even though they dont regonize certain things the fact is that it happend. I guess it all just depends on everyone's individual perception

 

[wrestlingfanatic]

Ok,
First things first. In order to get good clarification on this matter, you all have to know somethings. The NWA title is counted into this mix. It was called the NWA title, then became the WCW World Championship, which in turn became the World Heavyweight Championship after WWE bouth WCW. So with that being said, the only person that comes close to Flairs reign of 21 titles, is HHH and Hogan. Now since Hogan is most likely not going to wrestle again, HHH (if he can keep away from injury) is the most likely candidate. I did not take into account any title that was not WWE/NWA/WCW in these figures. So here is the rundown
NWA(now TNA) WWE WCW (WWE World Heavyweight)
Flair 13 2 6
Hogan 0 6 6
HHH 0 8 5
Sting 2 0 8
Cena 0 7 2
Orton 0 5 1
Angle 3 4 2
Undertaker 0 4 3
Edge 0 4 5
So by looking at these number we see Flair w/21, Hogan w/12, HHH w/13, Sting w/10, Cena w/9, Orton w/6, Angle w/9, Undertaker w/7, and Edge w/9. These are just the big names in the game that most people talk about, or that older folks, like myself, grew up with (for the exception of Angle, Orton, Edge and Cena) If HH does not do it, then I think Cena has the best probability as Undertaker is already in his 40's, Sting is close to retirement and angle still has his neck issues.
On another note, you have to look at longest title reigns. Flair could not have won the Title 21x without loosing it 20x. Same goes for all the rest of them up there. If you want to go into great statistics, and I do realize tat this day and age storylines can go along faster, look at Bruno Sammartinos w/a title reign of 8 years.

 

[steveh0481]

I am going to go out on a limb and say no one for a long time will surpass Flair. I think HHH has too much respect for Flair and would prefer Flair stay above him in the record books. Afterall, if you are second only to Flair, thats a VERY respectable career. I could see Cena possibly doing it. If the WWE turns Cena heel down the road, it will bring out a whole new dynamic to his character which could spell more title reigns. Orton probably wont have the shelf life to win 16+ title reigns. His career has been plagued with a couple big injuries and I'm not too sure how long his career will last. I'm not saying it will end in a year or even five years, but I'm not optimistic of Orton having an HBK length career. Possibly one of the TNA stars will be able to do it. Someone mentioned Angle and thats certainly a possibility. The only thing I would think would hold Angle back is what would hold Orton back. Right now I don't see many others that could dethrone Naitch...