WWE: 5 Superstars Who Should Have Held the WWE Championship

At WWE Extreme Rules, Christian won the World Heavyweight Championship.  Nearly 48 hours later, he lost the title to Randy Orton on SmackDown.

The jury is still out as to whether or not this was the right decision, as fans of Captain Charisma have been waiting a long time to see their favorite hoist the title high above his head. 

Many point to Orton's selling power as a top guy and insist that WWE had no choice.  Christian would simply not draw the kind of money that Randy can.

Others argue that Christian could be a top guy as well, if given enough spotlight and opportunity.

No matter what side of the debate you fall on, we can all agree on one fact: Christian warmed the bench for a long time before being given a glimpse of the gold.

The truth is, WWE is notorious for not opening the door for other Superstars, who many feel have earned a chance at wearing the strap.

Here is my own top five.

5. Ted Dibiase

Hated the music.  Hated the laugh.  Loved the work ethic.

Ted Dibiase could get it done in the ring.  He made a career out of making the other guy look good, and understood what it meant to be a professional in the business.

Dibiase was a 12-year veteran when he signed with WWE back in 1987.  The Million Dollar Man gimmick seemed to suit him, and he excelled at playing the arrogant rich Superstar, who belittled others and laughed at their own misfortune.

He was a workhorse in the ring and had great heel psychology.  He also drew tremendous heat whenever he spoke, insulting the crowd with his warped sense of entitlement.  There is no doubt in my mind, Ted Dibiase could have been a great WWE Champion.

Unfortunately for Ted, he performed in WWE during the height of the Hulk Hogan era and was used mainly as the foil to get Hogan over. 

There is no shame in doing the job when asked to, it's part of doing business.  But for me, there would have been more drama and a more interesting storyline if Dibiase had actually defeated Hogan for the belt.

4. Curt Hennig

Curt Hennig was one of the most talented, most gifted pro wrestlers WWE has ever seen.  Too bad they did not give him the honor of holding the big belt.

Curt was the AWA World Champion, he proved he could carry the strap with style.  His unexpected heel turn when becoming champ revealed a whole new side to his personality, and he was over more than he ever was as a face.

When Curt was introduced as Mr. Perfect in 1988, he was right at home in his new gimmick.

Curt's athletic prowess was on display every week, showing his utter perfection at every sport he competed in.  The smile, along with the cocky attitude, helped propel him to the top of WWE.

There's also the fact that pound for pound, he was one of the best technical wrestlers of all time. 

He always seem to wrestle, for lack of a better word, a perfect match.  It was hard to find fault in this guy; he had worked so hard to get to where he was in the business.  He was very deserving of an opportunity. 

He held the Intercontinental Championship twice and is considered by many to be the best IC Champion of all time.  Unfortunately for his fans, he was never given the WWE's top prize.

Curt Hennig had it all, and if anyone deserved to be WWE Champion, it was definitely him.  He would have made the Perfect Champion.

3. Jake Roberts

Jake "The Snake" Roberts would have been the best heel WWE Champion of all time.

It is a bold statement, but I for one truly believe it. 

Jake just had it.  He understood what it meant to get over with a crowd.  He used his own inner turmoil to fuel the stone cold intensity that was always boiling in his eyes. 

When Jake Roberts looked into the camera, it was as though he were staring into your soul.  If looks could kill, none of us would have made it out alive.

The smile he wore was pure evil, and every time he slithered into the ring and delivered the DDT, he made the devil himself tremble with fear.  Jake Roberts was indeed one of a kind.

If Jake were to come along today, I have no doubt that he would have a great run as WWE Champion.  The age of the antihero will never die with fans, thus the reason for his tremendous popularity in the first place.

I can only imagine Jake opening that canvass bag, dumping Damien and the WWE Title, out in the center of the ring.  "It's Damien's new favorite thing," he would say with a wicked grin.

That truly would have been epic.

2. Ricky Steamboat

Ric Flair once described Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat as the best babyface of all time.

It's a fitting description.

Steamboat never turned heel during his career.  His ring work was second to none, and every time he and Flair touched, it was a classic.

To watch Flair versus Steamboat is like watching two great artists at work.  No one wrestled a better match than Ricky during those years, and no one was more deserving of a World Title run.

But that World Title reign came in 1989, after his stint in WWE.

Steamboat won the NWA World Championship in WCW by defeating Flair during a three-match series that many still consider the greatest of all time.

But it may have come a little too late, as Flair was so cemented as the NWA's best, both loved and hated, that no one could steal his pop.  Not even the perennial babyface, Steamboat.

It is hard to say what life in WWE would have been like had Ricky Steamboat won the championship.  It seems impossible to make his legacy any more important, or any more meaningful than what it already is.

He is one of the most beloved WWE Superstars ever and will always be remembered for being one of the all time greats.  Not having won the WWE Title does not change that. 

1. Roddy Piper

Rowdy Roddy Piper is the Charles Barkley of professional wrestling.

He's outspoken, he's brash, he's fun, and everyone loves him.  He is very entertaining and anytime he is on TV, you don't know what you're going to get, but one thing is for certain.  Roddy Piper is as real as they come, and he makes no apologies for who he is.

Roddy Piper, like Charles Barkley, has also never won the big championship.

It is a crime to me, that considering all he accomplished in his career, all of the countless fans he has wrestled for over the years, all the tickets he helped sell, that he was never given a WWE Title run.

The fact is that Roddy Piper deserved a shot, and he never got it.

Yes, he was controversial.  And it's true, that putting the strap around the waist of a guy like that would not really have fit with the image that Vince McMahon was creating for his company with Hogan at the top.

But Piper had it all.  He was great in the ring, he could talk and he was unpredictable.  He was everything fans want in their WWE Superstars, and then some.

Christian had the belt for two days, and that is a shame.  Piper never had it, and that is unacceptable.

Roddy Piper is a legend in the business.  His legacy, much like Steamboat's, is hugely memorable, and no less important because he did not win the WWE Championship.  His face is carved into the Mount Rushmore of WWE.

But for me, I will always imagine how cool it would have been, had he won "the big one."  That sarcastic laugh, that wild-eyed smile, as he lifts the belt over his head.  "Just when you think you know all the answers, I change the question."

Man, how I wish he could have done just that.