WWE Championship - Who do you think of?

[The Crock]

WWF(E) Championship​

(after winning the WWE Championship for the first time) "I dedicate this moment to anyone who still believes the biggest dreams still come true." - Bret Hart

The WWE Championship is arguably the most prestigious title in the business. It is the pinnacle of most men's careers. It is THE top of the mountain. As is evident from the quote, it is the dream of every wrestler to one day have the WWE Championship around his waist. Now, the WWE Championship has been held by many a great wrestler, all-time greats, legends, even Hall of Famers. The title represent "making it" in the business. It enshrines you in history forever. Winning the WWE Championship puts you in the company of Buddy Rogers, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret Hart, The Rock... all men who will never be forgotten in the business, and by the fans, for what they did. The title began its run on April 29, 1963, with Buddy Rogers being named the inaugural champion, it has survived, and its aura and legend have grown, until today with the champion currently being The Miz. Out of everyone who has held it, who comes to mind? One man:

Hulk Hogan​

Hulk Hogan is a 6-time WWE(F) Champion. He might very well be the most well known wrestler ever, and I believe he truly lifted the title to prominence. He had epic battles, and the most viewed match ever against Andre The Giant. Hogan looked right carrying the belt, you really couldn't go wrong with him as champion. Even though people argue he wasn't good in-ring and that he didn't put enough people over, I believe he was the total package. He was a hero to the kids, a marquee guy for a company to be built around. He was the face of wrestling, and maybe the greatest champion ever. Hulk Hogan takes this by a long shot.

What do you guys think? Any thoughts?

 

[WWEdomination4Life]

When i think of the WWE Championship, of course, I think of Hulk Hogan. But I also think of wrestlers such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Macho Man Randy Savage, Sgt. Slaughter, Ultimate Warrior, Ric Flair, Bruno Sammartino, Buddy Rogers, The Iron Sheik and Bob Backlund.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

It's the fact that belt has changed over the years so much so, that I get different visuals for different WWF(E) championship straps.

But to be honest I really do see this guy as the one that I think of-

It's a shame that his reigns are not lauded more because he was always a terrific champion, regardless of the fact if he was a heel or face.

His mic-work has been exhalted to godly levels but I really have to say that he was an underrated wrestler. His matches were always fast-tempo'd, he always garnered great audience reaction with his moves of doom, had fantastic in-ring expressions and gave us some very enjoyable matches and moments.

Sure there are other greats and those who have held it more times than him, but The Rock is the champion that pops in my head when you ask that question Crock.

 

[The Aussie Invasion]

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin​

6 time WWF Champion. Face of the 'Attitude Era'. This man is who I think of when the WWE/F Championship is mentioned. Argueably the most popular superstar ever, most certainly the most popular of his generation.

He may not have had the longest, or most memorable reigns but he was a great champion because he put asses in seats!. I would personally say he was better chasing the title then he was holding it, but none-the less he was a great champion.

Hogan may have had a 4 year reign, The Rock may be the first 7 time champion, but I think of Austin before them 2. Those 2 are honorable mentions, along with "The Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels.

 

[The Brain]

The Hulkster is definitely the first guy that comes to mind. I started watching in the middle of his first reign and he is the one who made wrestling as popular as it became. He dominated during the golden years of the WWF.

Since Hulk is an obvious choice (to an old schooler like me) I’ll pick a runner up. That would be Bret Hart. I pick Bret because he was the next top guy for the WWF after Hogan’s reigns were over. I realize Savage and Warrior among others had some reigns in between there, but Hogan was always the top guy with or without the title. Bret didn’t draw the fans that Hogan did, but he kept a kid like me interested in the WWF after Hulk was gone. I used to wonder if I would still like wrestling after Hogan was gone. Bret’s time at the top taught me there was life after Hogan in the WWF.

 

[Adalam]

Wow, someone already said it. When I think WWE, I see the Rock. He has been the most over face that I can think of. Now granted I haven't really been alive, nor been watching wrestling, when some of the legends were in their prime. Hogan was in WCW doing God knows what (sorry, WWE and ECW are what I pay attention to most history wise) and Austin was reallly dang close. The Brahma Bull, however, was just so over with the fans that it wasn't even funny. He got get cheers that made your ears bleed from a freakin cheap pop. That guy was oozing charisma and was lethal on the mic. If you smell what I'm cookin.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

Right now I just associate the current belt with John Cena, thus why I think they need a new updated belt. The belt in the OP makes me think of Hogan, Austin, and Rock because thats the WWF title not the WWE belt. WWE world title makes me think of Cena and Edge.

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

Hulk Hogan comes first to my mind when I think of the WWE Championship, He was a Dominate Champion during the Golden Era of the old WWF. The Second Guy that comes to my mind is Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was an excellent Champion and had many very successful reigns with the belt.

 

[realdealasshole]

Honestly when I think of the WWE title, I didn't think of Hulk Hogan at all until I read your post. Hogan's forgotten in my book. He's done so much since then to tarnish his legacy that I don't really care to think back to the days when I was a kid who liked him (I was a little warrior anyways). When I read the thread title, I immediately thought of The Rock. Others that I thought of were Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and sadly, John Cena. But hey, Cena works his butt off and I at least respect him a bit more than most people on this forum do.

 

[Dyno Kid]

For me it's one guy and one guy only and that's Bruno Sammartino ! He's the guy who carried the WWWF from the beggining and it was on his back that the federation was built ! If it wasn't for him beinng such a loved and dominant champion the WWWF/WWF wouldn't have thrived like it did !

He sold out MSG, the mecka of wrestling and the house that Bruno built, more times than any wrestler in history !

 

[takerfan24]

I always think of

13 times?? HHH is the best WWE champion IMO.
Heel or face,he never disappointed! To me,Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Rock, Austin, Shawn Michaels and John Chaina and even my favourite wrestler, Undertaker don't match with HHH,The Game, The Cerebral Assassin, The King of Kings!!!!! You can agree or disagree I don't give a shit!

 

[LSN80]

Because of the current incarnation of the belt, I think of John Cena. He's had the longest and most dominant reign in 20 years when he surpassed the one year mark with his 3rd WWE Championship in 2006/07. His stretch of dominance during that time was well documented, and he thrived in every type of match environment possible, many matches champions of past decades had never competed in. Cena has been the standard bearer for excellence since his first title victory in 2005 over JBL. He is likely the most marketable champion of all time, a marquee name even a casual fan will recognize, and a great embassador for WWE outside of the business. When I think of the WWE Championship, I think of John Cena.

 

[ashe draven]

the wwe championship makes me think of the most prestigious title in wrestling. always has been, always will be. as far as champions go, hulk was the 80s, the golden era. bret changed the game and revitalized the biz. hbk took it a bit further. rock and austin were gods in the era of eras. dont sell out the king of kings, who in his own right rewrote the heel. cena is the PG wwe champ. and until they update that awful belt, whenever i c it, ill think of him.

 

[Kaneanite]

Whenever I see the current particular belt I think of John Cena. Whenever I hear "WWE Champion", for some odd reason, I always think of The Rock. Not sure why, but hey, he was pretty damn good in his own right.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Because of my age, and seeing him soil his legacy time after time, I cannot say I think of Hulk Hogan when I hear the words "WWE Championship".

There are 3 men who spring to mind for me, and all made their names during the Attitude Era.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

For a period of time in the Attitude Era, it seemed that every Raw episode was entirely based around Austin's quest for the WWE championship, or if he had the title, Vince's quest to get the strap off him. He WAS the WWE at this time. He was the meal ticket, the superstar and the chosen one.

It is a shame that his career didnt last as long as some of the other wrestlers mentioned in this thread, as if he had remained healthy, Austin would still be in the title scene today. The fans loved him, his mic work was excellent and while not flashy, could still put on a great match. As a kid when I thought of the WWE, I first thought of Stone Cold

The Rock

The other big star, and the only one to rival Austin in the popularity stakes when I was growing up. The Rock was something special in wrestling, and we were incredibly lucky to have 2 superstars like Austin and The Rock at the same time. I still believe Rocky is the best promo man I have ever seen, and his signiture phrases are still quoted by people today.

While criticised for leaving the business for Hollywood, the time he spent in the ring was awesome. His ring work was always solid, he could sell well, and his signiture moves were always a big hit. Who else could take a simple elbow drop and make it the most popular move in the business? No-one.

He had the iconic way of holding the belt, up on the turnbuckle and he carried himself like a true champion. Definitely one of the all time greats.

And finally

Triple H

In this period of time in WWE history, The Rock and Austin were the top dogs. However, Hunter Hearst Helmsley was right behind them, and he took over from Stone Cold when he was injured. One of my earliest memories of watching wrestling was the rivalry between Rock and Triple H, where it seemed like the title belt was permenantly strapped around the waists of one of them. I have yet to see a better heel champion that Triple H, he was that damm good.

Capable of great matches, as we have seen with Stone Cold, Foley, Taker etc, Triple H had an awesome look, great music, and a devastating finisher. Add that to some of the best mic skills in the business and you see that Helmsley is the total package. Plus, on the graphics to the WWE shows, you used to see Triple H holding the belt on every one, so that image is ingrained into my mind.

 

[Ferbian]

This is one of the championships that are pretty tough to choose on specific person.

There's a long list of great champions, that have had very memorable runs. Hulk Hogan, Triple H, The Rock, Austin, John Cena. More or less everybody of worthwhile mention had a memorable run, and to choose one of them would be almost like bullshitting and screwing over each and every one of the others.

However, I guess we'll have to choose.

He's hardly the most memorable champion. Nor is he the greatest champion ever. But he did things when he held the championship, and he solidified himself as a small guy who became a permanent main event wrestler, who performed at the top of his game more or less every night.

Shawn is a memorable guy to watch in general. Great overall wrestler and deserves a lot of credit to what he did for WWE back in the mid / late 90's (95-98 more specifically).

But like I said, he's not the most memorable champion. But he deserves a mention in this thread. He had great moments with D-Generation X, as well as the time he actually won the championship. Not only did he make one of the most memorable and amazing entrances at Wrestlemania 12, he wrestled alongside another great WWE champion in Bret Hart, and eventually he went on to win the Iron Man Match in overtime, to finally "fulfill his boyhood dream".

This is the guy that gave us some of the greatest 96-97 moments in the WWF. Like this little segment for example:

[YOUTUBE]rSWnmyzXGBI[/YOUTUBE]​

Certainly it's only one of the many things that Shawn allowed us to enjoy during his championship reigns. But it's definitely one of the most memorable Shawn Michaels moments. He worked the crowd incredibly well, which he eventually would go on to do on many, many occasions. And this is one of the primary reasons why I remember Shawn as WWF champion. He's been able to deliver great moments, great matches, and hold the championship for a fairly long time and ultimately, bring pride to the championship as well.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

See, i'm one of these guys who actually separates the existance of this belt into separate time frames, so for me personally when i think WWE championship, i only think as far back as when they first changed the name to WWE, so about 2002. With that being the case, my pick would have to be John Cena. The guy's held the belt longer than anyone else in the same time frame, even the guys who've had more title reigns than him in total.

When they do scrap that belt and re-design it, when they put the current one in the display cabinet for historical value, the name plaque should definitely read 'JOHN CENA'.

But otherwise if you want to talk pre-WWE, then i'd have to go with Austin. As someone said before, if Austin was on the show, he was more than likely either trying to get the title, or trying to keep it. Then only time you ever saw Austin involved in anything else, was usually when getting revenge on someone, for screwing him out of the title. And hell, he even had a belt designed for himself!

So Pre-WWE = Austin
WWE onwards = Cena

 

[RJJ]

Actully, I think of alot of people, Hogan, austin, rock, HBK, bret, Angle, HHH(even though him being the HW champion come to my mind 1st).

But the 1st thing comes to my mind when i see this belt is The Rock. He won the title 7 times in only 6 years. He was the 1st 7 time wwe champion. Imagine how many times rock would've won the title if he stayed more. His final reign as the champion was in 2002, it took 7yrs for hhh to break that record(5 times champion at that time).

 

[ABMorales787]

Most people may pick Hulk Hogan, but in spite of his influence in WWE's earlier day's he also had a big influence on WCW and it's World title. My pick pretty much, the other big guy. Stone Cold Steve Austin. He may have originated in WCW but he was solidified in WWE and was also the man who heralded WWE's most prominent era, the Attitude Era. He never held any other World Championship either. He was all WWE to the end.

 

[King Patrick Star]

When I think of the WWE Championship, the Superstars that come to mind are Buddy Rogers for being the first World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion, Triple H for winning the Title eight times, and Bruno Samartino for holding the Title for a combined 4,040 days.

Aside from the First Superstar to win the Title, the Superstar who won the Title the most, and the Superstar who held the Title the most / longest, I also think of a few others. Hulk Hogan for being the Icon of the WWF. Stone Cold Steve Austin for being the Icon of Raw. The Rock for being the Icon of Smackdown. Chris Jericho for being the first Undisputed WWE / WCW World Heavyweight Champion. A Title where its “Best” and “Worst” Champion arguably, and I use the term loosely, is the Chairman, Owner, CEO, and King of the WWE, Mr. McMahon. Juan’s American Cousin who “made” it spin. The list goes on and on (as of today, 40, to be exact).

 

[8thwotwATG]

There are four performers that come to mind for me when I think of the WWF/E title.
#1) Bruno Sammartino. An old timer like myself had one vision of the champion as a child growing up in southeast Massachusetts, and that vision was that of the "Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino. For those of you who don't recall him as an in ring performer, It's difficult to explain his appeal, as when you watch one of his matches now, I can see why todays audience finds him less than exciting. Suffice it to say that Bruno oozed charisma from every pore of his being, was excellent on the mic, in my opinion(he always delivered his promo's w/ fire and passion) and yeah, he could wrestle a little. Much like Hogan and Cena who followed, not the single greatest in ring scientist , but he knew how to work a match and tell a story in the ring. To me, he will always be one of the greatest of all time.
#2) "Superstar" Billy Graham. This guy, who was one of the first long term heel champions for the WWF/E, always comes to mind when I recall the champions. A true pioneer in the business who had a great look and one of the greatest raps on the mic of any performer from his era. I HATED this man as a child, which should go to prove just how good he was at drawing heat and filling arenas. In all honesty, this man should have been allowed to carry the strap for a longer period of time than he did, he should have been turned face in order to do so, instead of Backlund, who eventually held the strap after Graham. Every bleach blond muscleman wretler who followed Graham ripped his gimmick off to one degree or another, which leads me to my next choice...
#3) Hulk Hogan. In all seriousness, how can you not think of Hogan when you think of the WWF/E title? Love him or hate him, Hulk Hogan is the single most influential and dominant performer in the history of the wrestling business. For nearly a decade(In the WWF/E) This man was THE face of the company and put more asses in more seats than anyone before or since. More than one performer owes his career to having wrestled in the era that Hogan held the title, and rode his coattails to a fine living.
#4) Triple HHH. Bear in mind, this is nothing against the talents and abilities of the likes of SCSA, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, the Rock, John Cena, etc., But I honestly think that HHH has been the most dominant title holder of the modern era. starting his runs w/ the strap in the atitude era, and still poised to be a factor for at least a couple more years, HHH's in ring skill and ability to tell a story in the ring cannot be doubted. I don't think he's quite finished yet, either.