Who is the worst WWE World Champion of all time?

[The Brain]

I'm sure plenty will disagree, but I think Mankind was one of the worst champions. I'm not saying he didn't deserve the title. I thought his first title win on Raw was awesome. His title reigns however were nothing special at all. He is a three time champion for a comibned total of about one month. His first two reigns were just one feud with The Rock and his thrid lasted 24 hours. He had no business winning that third title in the first place. Of course guys like Vince McMahon or Andre The Giant had worse reigns but that's obvious and everyone recognizes it. On the other hand everyone always seems to praise Foley for being a three time champion without realizing his reigns weren't very good.

Finally, being a champ isnt just in defenses, but in the matches you have. He lost his title to the rock in an i quite match in the match of the year, with a really great and original ending. And he did have a defense, in his last man standing match with the rock. These two had a great fued and traded the belt back and forth, that is what made mankind a good champion. Saying what defense did he have should be asked on someone like andre the giant, which you did not do, so saying foley is the worst, is again laughable.

You should read more carefully before you criticize. I realize the thread is about the worst champion but I clearly stated guys like Andre The Giant and Vince McMahon are such obvious choices that they were not worth mentioning. Instead I decided to name someone who many consider to be a good champion even though he wasn’t. I agree that Mankind vs. Rock was a great feud but that doesn’t mean Mankind was a great champion. I know he walked in and out of St. Valentine’s Day Massacre with the title, but he did not actually win the match. The I Quit match may have been match of the year but in my opinion the best match of 1999 wouldn’t even make the top five or even ten in most other years. Bottom line is Mankind was a three time champion for a combined 47 days without any memorable title defenses and only one feud. He was a great competitor but not a great champion.

 

[tb78]

Bob Backlund: Sure he could wrestle, but he was uncharismatic and could not draw as well as Sammartino or Graham.

The Miz: He's not deserving of the title, pure and simple

 

[SullivanSmith]

I just wanted to chime in on this topic, especially since my days as a former WCW and WWE backstage and booking assistant make me especially qualified to comment on this.

I also want to say I totally lied in the paragraph above and I never held either of those positions. Although I once interviewed Bruno Sammartino on my college radio wrestling show, which makes me an expert at... interviewing Bruno Sammartino once, I guess.

It's kind of hard to define the "worst" WWE champion since, let's face it, in a lot of ways that's really kind of subjective. I'll respect anyone who said The Miz because, again it's opinion, but I can't agree with it. Like his current reign or not, there's no way his two weeks as champion is as bad as some other prior reigns. But I gain nothing from convincing you Miz-haters to change your minds so have at it.

I have to go with my thoughts on the champion themselves and not the circumstances of their reign. Kane's first time as champion may have been a joke, but that may the worst reign as champion, not the worst champion himself.

I want to say Diesel/Kevin Nash's run as champion since looking back at it he maybe wasn't ready for it. But as a kid when I experienced it, I really kind of enjoyed it. So, if I was my age I am now back then and knowing what I know now, I'd probably say his. But he won me over when I was a teenager so who knows?

But I'm going to have to go with The Great Khali. I could understand if his getting the title was to put him in a program with a smaller wrestler who had to "overcome insurmountable odds" to win. But yeah.... no. Sure, he's a huge guy and an impressive presence but.... yeah, that's my pick.

 

[Strong Style X]

jbl - he was just a shitty wrestler. i kind of feel wwe just gave him the title because they had no other top guys to give it to. they build him up and put the strap on him. he was never a good singles guy in my opinion. he was ok on the mic and drew alot of heat but thats where it stops. he was a botch machine and his in ring work was sloppy and ok at best.

I find it funny that someone with Mike Mizanin as their avatar has the audacity to call out the work rate of any other wrestler. That being said; JBL was a hell of a lot better than the Miz, was more believable as a wrestler, got good crowd reaction and heat, didn't become a champion by having a stupid marketable catchphrase (he did it the WWE way; kissing ass!), and was much better on the mic than Miz ever will be. And that's coming from a guy who thinks JBL isn't that great. Hell, I'd hardly call him good.

 

[Chill]

Never had a good match? So you're saying his matches with HBK and Cena were shit because they were not.

The "paying your dues" line is the most bullshit excuse in the history of professional wrestling. Funaki paid his dues and was loyal to the company for what it seemed like decades so should he have been given a world title reign. Who else on Smackdown would have made a better option as a world than Khali and remind you, Undertaker and Edge were both injured. Did you want Batista who had already been in every world title match for the past year or Kane who hadn't done anything impressive in like two years prior?

Khali was over when he destroyed the Undertaker, was over when he beat HBK, and was over when he faced Cena.

I'll still be waiting on you telling me who would have made a better option.

I agree with what you've been saying in that Khali's offence suited him and that he was over at the time he won the belt. Similarly his matches with HBK and particularly Cena were suprisingly good, given how horrible Khali is - there's a reason he's been reduced to comedy giant jobber and that's because as a heel, he got overwhelming chants of "you can't wrestle", wereas as the big friendly giant, people find it easier to accept him.

That said, I hated his title run to be frank - simply put, the belt should have went to Kane in my opinion. So what if he hadn't done anything impressive in the two years prior, he hadn't done anything impressive prior to winning the belt this year and he's done a good job with his reign. Many wrestling fans have selective memories in that it's hard to keep up with the fast pace at which WWE moves - many people forget now that Kane was a glorified jobber before this latest run and that's why there would have been no harm giving him the belt over Khali.

It's all about how WWE portray the champion at the time of their reign and generally speaking it doesn't matter how they were portrayed before as it's all about the present in WWE. That's why it didn't matter that JBL was a 'mid-carder for life' as Bradshaw before he won the WWE Title or that Kane wasn't up to much at the time - had they put the belt on him, I think it would have been more successful and more entertaining than what we got instead with a Great Khali title run. By winning that battle royal, Kane would have gained instant momentum and they could have went on to build him from there...

 

[dont_be_a_jabroni]

The Miz.

End. Of. Story.

I don't know WHY the Internet has such a hard-on for The Miz. Backstage rumors say he is the hardest working entertainer.

Awesome (no pun intended). You know who else was considered "one of the hardest workers" of their time? Marty Jannetty.

Ready for some more?

Evan Bourne. Owen Hart (who, before his unfortunate death, was light-years beyond The Miz in entertainment and athleticism...but he was not "due" for a title anytime soon in 1999). Dean Malenko. Buff Bagwell. Bart Gunn (lol).

I could go on. But out of that list, Owen Hart was the only one to even receive a title shot! Just because you work hard does not mean you deserve the title!!

I work hard in the gym. I do not deserve to be WWE champion!

Yes I went on a rant. But I think it's a valid point. Just because you work hard does not make you "championship material."

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

The Miz.

End. Of. Story.

I don't know WHY the Internet has such a hard-on for The Miz. Backstage rumors say he is the hardest working entertainer.

Awesome (no pun intended). You know who else was considered "one of the hardest workers" of their time? Marty Jannetty.

Ready for some more?

Evan Bourne. Owen Hart (who, before his unfortunate death, was light-years beyond The Miz in entertainment and athleticism...but he was not "due" for a title anytime soon in 1999). Dean Malenko. Buff Bagwell. Bart Gunn (lol).

I could go on. But out of that list, Owen Hart was the only one to even receive a title shot! Just because you work hard does not mean you deserve the title!!

I work hard in the gym. I do not deserve to be WWE champion!

Yes I went on a rant. But I think it's a valid point. Just because you work hard does not make you "championship material."

The Miz will not end the worst champion in WWE history. He is really over with the fans, can talk with the best of them, and yeah, while his in-ring work isnt amazing- its acceptable. I personally dont want him as champion, but I think he will end up having a pretty successful run as champion, playing the cowardly cheating heel. If he can nail this role, which I think he can, then his title run will be successful, whether he gets many clean victories or not.

Responding to "Little Jerry Lawler"s reply to my post listing Khali as worst wrestler ever to hold the title, I havent changed my opinion. I will accept that perhaps he was over at the time than I gave him credit for, and fair enough if you thought his matches were good before he won the belt...I didnt, so thats why I rate him as shit.

He just simply was not worthy of a world title reign, and the only thing he had going for him was his size. His wrestling is appalling, and that chop to the head is cringeworthy. None of his offence impresses me, never has. And it says something that after he dropped the title he plummeted down the card to his rightful spot as a comedy attraction.

I would have given the belt to Kane instead of Khali. You mention Kane as a glorified jobber at that time, and yeah he was. But the fans would 100% have rather seen The Big Red Machine win the world title than Khali that day, and as we have seen now, his lack of success over the last couple of years have been forgotton since he has won the belt.

Having said that, it could have been argued that, until his current reign, that Kane was the worst champion ever...even worse than Khali. He only ever held the belt for 24 hours, having won it in the first blood match and dropped it the next night on Raw. So a 24 hour title reign and no successful defences...makes for pretty poor reading. So, I am glad that Kane is getting a good run with the title now, to give his record some credibility. I would have hated to have seen Kane named as the worst world heavyweight champion of all time.

That honour should go to Khali, and noone else

 

[Fling_a_thong]

vince mcmahon- i thought this was a stupid. glad to see im not the only one, the title regained its prestige when triple h, the rock, SCSA won it afterwards though.

khali- really? he was never over, no charisma, no ring skills, i just didnt see the point on putting the title on him.


rey mysterio- not saying he did not deserve it, but it felt more like he was carrying it for eddie during his whole title reign. so to me it wasnt really his title. horrible run, i was glad when it ended

jack swagger- certainly not the worst, but not very memorable though. i hope he can have future good ones

in defense:
i hated JBL as well at first becoming a champion, but you know what? he grew on me as well. plus not to mention he did put over cena.

Ultimate warrior- crappy wrestler, horrible worker, but like jeff hardy he was over as well. at the end of the day its who ever the fans would like to see as champion or the fans love to hate (in a heel way)

the miz- yeah hes mediocare in the ring but hes good on the mic and hes entertaining. he generates heat so i didnt mind he won. everyone saw it coming anyways. still think JoMo deserves the push hes getting though (as soon as he starts making good promos)

jeff hardy- i was never a fan of junk hardy, and i dont really like the guy too much but he did deserve one of his titles due to the fact he was over as hell during his second wwe run.

HBK- yeah he didnt sell much seats and rating, but did bret hart did any different? not much could have been done. steve austin was still being built at that point so it did not make sense yet

 

[MancMark]

I'd love to say the Miz, because I hate his face, but I don't watch WWE anymore so I don't know enough about him to put his name forward.

I'd run with JBL. I quite liked Bradshaw in the APA etc, but as a top singles wrestler, no fucking chance. I remember him wrestling Big Show in a cage match and I said if JBL won, I was never watching WWE again. JBL did win, and I've probably only watched it a handful of times since. JBL single-handedly turned me off that product altogether. They might have had shitty wrestlers carry the strap before, but he was the first to stop me from watching.

Other suggestions would be the likes of Vince, Rey, Khali and even RVD. Rob has never seemed like a top guy to me, although at least he was over. I suppose his was just a shit reign.