Who was the greatest wrestler never to hold the WWF/WWE Title?

[wrestling fan 666]

Okay, here's my list:

1. Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig; he had the attitude, the charisma, and the talent to prove to be a top champion.

2. Hot Rod Roddy Piper; now, I really feel that WWF dropped the ball on his feud with Hulk. They could have had Hulk lose (albeit a cheat) to Roddy and come back the get the belt back. It could've pushed the story so much more.

3. Don Muraco; now here's a guy who dominated the I.C. belt for many years and never once a champion. If you look back at some of his matches, the guy could wrestle with the best of them.

4. Ted Dibiase Sr. and Jr.; The father was a great heel and even if he only had a short reign as champ (even though buying it from Andre was weak), at least he would've gotten the recognition of the great performer he is. Son, have you seen his matches with Orton, HHH, HBK? The man needs a push so bad it's not funny. The guy can wrestle and be charismatic. But the WWE in it's infinite wisdom is content with him being a second banana to Orton. The kid's good, use him more.

5. Finally, The Ravishing One Rick Rude; The man was the first WCW champ, he held WCCW's world title, he's won several titles throughout his career, yet no WWF/WWE title? He has proven his skills against then champ Ultimate Warrior, Sting, Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat and countless others. He was a terrific heel and could prove his abilities in the ring.

I agree that the WWF/WWE has no idea on how to use heels properly who actually HAVE WRESTLING SKILLS. They had/have so much talent that just goes through their fingers, it's sad. They need to really start to look for more story telling and less model looks. Sorry but Dolph Ziggler?

 

[K-Mac]

arashikage20, I agree with you. Had he not passed away, I believe he would have won the WWF Championship. I actually liked his style more than Bret's. I hope they induct him into the Hall of Fame this year.

 

[Platypus Palsy]

The "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase has to top my list. He had great charisma and his promos were some of the best. He could even be funny with some of the things he did. I've always loved his finisher, it looks really cool to me.

"Ravishing" Rick Rude has to be 2nd for me. Like Dibiase, he had great charisma. I thought his mustache was awesome when i first saw it. He won plenty of other titles and definitely deserved to win the WWF title. It was also funny that he grossed out my mom.

 

[leighk51]

dare i say it again the most deserving person of the WWE/WWF Championship was Christian why is he not getting a mention when people like regal,johnson and lashley have all been mention twice
Captain Charisma 4 The Championship

 

[poppabear1978]

I would have to say MR. Perfect. He had the look and the ability. The only thing against was the fact he was in the wwe during the hogan is god and king era.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I woul say that Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat is the best WWF/WWE wrestler not to have been WWF/E World Heavyweight Champion.

At least NWA/WCW recognized his talents and gave him the WCW World Title.

I'm also surprised that neither"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase nor Jake "The Snake" Roberts ever won a singles title in WWF, but then, you didn't get a chance unless Hulk Hogan was willing to put you over.

 

[ckr12dad]

I agree wholly with Steamboat and DiBiase. Lets not forget Arn Anderson and The Hot Rod. Though Piper wasnt the best in ring performer he was definately a superstar that should have held the belt at least once. As for Arn Anderson he was the WCW / NWA version of DiBiase. Both of them were used mostly for talent enhancement, either one of them could make anyone look 100% better in the ring ( i.e. DiBiase vs. Virgil and Anderson vs. The Renegade ! ) I also think Bigelow should have been given a run, even if it would have been a short one. As for Piper, the title matches were and are always better when the face is chasing the title. He was always Hogans best heel and should have had Hogan chasing him most definately by crook and not hook.

 

[gh88us]

the long time standing IC champion during the Hogan days, i will say tito santana deserved a chance to turn heel or do a face vs face challenge to hogan. Tito should have been champion at some time

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Overall, I've probably got to go with Ted DiBiase. Overall, I think that DiBiase was one of the best wrestlers to ever wrestle in the WWE. He wasn't the most athletic overall, but he had great in-ring psychology, had some legitimate skill and was just plain fun to watch. DiBiase's Million Dollar Man character was, in my opinion, the greatest heel in wrestling of the late 1980s. He had the ability to make people hate his guts and I've seen very few, very very few that've been able to do that as well as DiBiase.

The storyline in which he tried to buy the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan, hiring Andre to get the title for him and then present it to him, the incident from Saturday Night's Main Event that lead up to WM IV is one of the all time great angles. DiBiase would have been a fantastic heel champion. There are others that have been mentioned that are good choices. Some have been more athletic, some have been more exciting in the ring to watch and a few have been great talkers.

A close second to me would probably be Rowdy Roddy Piper. He was there in the WWF when Hulkamania exploded, was part of the crowd that brought a lot of mainstream attention to the WWF and was a great heel. Piper could talk and was fun to watch in the ring. What gives DiBiase the edge over him, for me, was that he just seemed downright evil. When he brought people into the ring from the audience to try and win some money by doing whatever, then only to screw them out of it was just priceless. You just wanted to dislike the guy. He came off as the super arrogant, rich snob that gave the impression that his money allowed him to do whatever he wanted without regard or consequences. It's just very very easy to naturally dislike that type of person.

 

[kingkennykennedy]

definately mr. Perfect, he was entertaining, a great athlete and was never given a real push by wwf!

 

[DL23]

There is a long list IMO

Owen Hart, I love Bret Hart but Owen was the much better heel, he was consistant in the ring like Bret, he never had a bad match, he was screwed over on storylines once or twice (Royal Rumble 1995 he and Anvil were to win the tag belts but Jim got fired) then getting lost in the shuffle till him and Davey boy started to tag up, Owen was a much better singles wrestler but I've said since 1996 Bulldog and Owen were the two best guys to ever tag up, I'm not saying they we're the greatest tag team off all time but they gelled very well, but Owen should of been WWF Champion around 1995.

Vader this guy could of been big bucks to wwf back in 1996 to 1998, but HBK's summerslam 1996 sherad pretty much sent Vader into a downward spiral, Vince could of salvaged something from the wreckage and had Vader go over at Survivor series instead of Sid but nope, Vader had the size, the look the attitude to be the world champion, and dominate the landscape.

Scott Hall/Razor Ramon, a lot of people don't really understand why Hall should of been a world champion, but the whole Ramon gimmick was his own, granted he stole it from
scarface (manny) he had thd look of a bad ass his mannerisims were pretty good, he was always in decent feuds, and not many people realize the first few IYH's were built around him he made more history in the first few IYH's then anyone else, he won the IC belt, he tagged up for the tag belts, he faced off against The Kid, only to further the feud till the following IYH where he had his cry baby match, had Hall not of dashed for the cash to wcw in 1996, I think he could of been a hallmark in the start of the attitude era, before he left he was in some of the pre attitude era edgyness storylines with Goldust, he pretty much was meant to face Goldust at Mania 12 but didn't want to put Goldust over for something along them lines, alcohol, drugs whatever shortend his career but he was definietly world title meterial.

I think there is a case for Davey boy, Mr Perfect and Jake Roberts but them three above IMO were the more deserving.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

there are many.. off the top of my head:

mr perfect
rick rude
jake the snake
tito santana
razor ramon/scott hall
ted dibiase
andre the giant (i'm not sure if his title win officially counts)
luger (i'm sure many will disagree, but for a while, he was really over with the fans)

i think they had the misfortune of working at a time when titles didn't change hands that much, or other backstage issues or whatever came into play. i'd have to look it up, but i think there were more title changes in the 2000's than in the 80's and 90's combined. the fact that someone like shemus or vince mcmahon himself have held the belt, and some of those guys haven't, it really says a lot..

 

[RatedRSuperstar]

"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase..enough said.

This guy cut some of the greatest promos I've seen. He had the talent, the mic skills, and the leadership to be the top champion. It's a shame that he never got to hold the title, because I would've loved to see this guy have the title, even if it was just for a little while.

Mr. Perfect also should've held the title. He had several runs as the Intercontinental Champion, he proved himself time and time again, and it would've just been great to see him have a run with the title.

I blame one person for neither of these men holding the title...HULK FREAKING HOGAN. BUT, that is to be dicussed in a different forum at a different time.

 

[scoobyjrg1974]

First, I know that Andre is listed in the WWE history as a former champ, but come on!!!
If he had a legitimate run as the champ, I would sit here with my mouth shut.
But he didnt and he was THE FIRST wrestler turned actor, he was in Mickey and Maude with Dudley Moore, and who can forget The Princess Bride. Andre was not only the Giant in the ring but around the world.
Second, I agree that people like Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco, and Rick Rude did deserve a chance but how about Junkyard Dog, or Greg the Hammer Valentine.
But my 2 other pick are Jesse The Body Ventura, and Mr. USA Tony Atlas

 

[ashe draven]

There are very many that come to mind that would of worked as champ at one time are another. Ill try to narrow it:

1-Dibiase- one of if not the best heel during his prime. surprised the strap was never put on him at least once.
2-Scott Hall- was good enough to win the i.c. countless times but not the big one, in wwe or wcw for that matter. a shame. Scott was a damn good wrestler & worker for his size & could put on some damn fine matches. woulda loved a program w/ him & hbk for the world belt!
3-Christian-hasnt happened yet but still could! great worker who could be great as wwe champ!
4-Lance Storm- all three companies dropped the ball on this one. Fantastic wrestler, not much charisma of course but if packaged right coulda carried the belt for either ecw, wcw, or wwe.
5-Kane- i know i know, he technically had the belt once..for A DAY. during the heyday w/ his character he shoulda had a longer, more meaningful reign. even mentioning him as a "former champ", which the commentators do often, is a joke.

 

[Canflam]

My guess as to who the greatest wrestler to never hold the WWE Title, is probably Jeff Jarrett or Sting. I mention Jeff Jarrett, because if you look at every title including he's won, it's kinda crazy that's never been WWE champion. Oh well, I'm over it.

 

[gully side adidja]

definatley owen hart, he looked like a wrestler,wrestled like a wrestler,had heat,great athlete,came from a wrestling family(great family i might add),had several title shots which he came close to winning,and had crowds intrested in him,owen for me,holla!