Wrestling: 10 Ex-Champions Who Never Should Have Won a World Title

I know we have discussed this before, but back in the day, it was truly a privilege to be the world champion.

In the NWA, it meant nine men met in a room and haggled over who would wear the strap, who would be the top contenders and what feuds would arise from it.

It was secret stuff and oh so important to keep the mystique of wrestling and the kayfabe that went along with it.

Today, a title is thrown around like it is a football on the arm of Tom Brady.

There are those who made great champions (Dory Funk Jr.) and those we did not care for, who are part of this list. For whatever reason, titles were bestowed upon them in an effort to create drama, a change in guard or make transitions from heel to heel or face to face.

All failed miserably.

Now, the titles change hands so fast there is no real honor and the fact that one person gets the title handed back to them time and again (Randy Orton, John Cena) just means they either put up a damn good fight to keep it or the bottom line of drawing money still reigns supreme.

Lex Luger

He was a robot in the ring. Yes, he had the body of a Greek God, but he was stiff and even those who believed in him had a hard time getting him to show his full potential.

Luger was a great face in the NWA, WCW and in the WWF, but he never should have been given the WCW world title. 

Diamond Dallas Page

He worked his way up the ranks and became a decent worker in WCW, but seriously? Page was a mid-card performer at best and he was limited.

Don't tell me about how he worked hard because he was old...that's crap.

DDP was average at best.

Goldberg

Yes, the streak was impressive. 

But again, another limited wrestler. He could do a few things, albeit well. But in the end, Goldberg was stiff and very hard to work with. He hated losing and, as a heel, he was not a good in the ring.

A champion for the time when WCW needed him to be, but in any other organization, he would have been average.

Dolph Ziggler

His reign was oh so short and so unfair.

He is a classic case of a guy who was ready to take the ball for a short run and then fall back in line. 

Ziggler was the one most affected by Edge and his retirement. I would have liked to see him either hold the title for a long run or never have the run in the first place.

In this case, never having the title would have been even better and they could build him up as a true champion.

Kerry Von Erich

We all know if David Von Erich had not passed away, it would have been some time before we saw younger brother Kerry capture the world title.

The title was for David to have in time and take the NWA and carry it on his back.

Kerry was a great performer, but could not get his head on straight and it showed. Champions and legends like Ric Flair and Jerry Lawler worked with him to perform nightly and give a great accounting of himself.

Ultimately, he paid the price for his demons and committed suicide.

Chris Benoit

He never should have been given the WCW title.

Benoit was the best of the best toward the end of WCW's reign. But in the end, he could not work within the confines of the company.

Benoit and booker Kevin Sullivan were at odds over one thing: Benoit's wife, Nancy. Sullivan was married to Nancy Benoit before Chris, actually driving the two of them together.

Ultimately, it led to Benoit and Sullivan being at odds over matches. Benoit left the title in the WCW offices and moved on to WWE.

The Great Khali

See, this is where I cannot stand wrestling.

Giving the world title to Khali is like giving the title to Kamala. It makes no sense. I know it was a transition run, but Khali still serves no purpose in WWE and he is still wrestling.

Makes you wonder.

Ron Garvin

The Man with the Hands of Stone. And that was about it. Garvin was a popular champion until the NWA invaded Chicago and had him defend his title against Ric Flair in a rematch. No one in Chicago liked Garvin as champion and rooted for the heel Flair.

This is one time where bookers like Dusty Rhodes really got it wrong in selecting a champion.

Psycho Syd

The best thing I can think of when describing Syd was he was tall and powerful.

He may have been a big hit in the WWF, but in WCW, injuries took a toll on him and when he wasn't wrestling because of injury, he was still playing in softball leagues.

His reign was toward the end of the WCW era, but it will be looked upon as a low point in the company.

David Arquette

Not sure whether he or Vince Russo winning the WCW title was worse.

Never before had I been embarrassed to be a wrestling fan.

Arquette won the title to promote his wrestling movie. Many fans just turned a blind eye and knew the end of WCW was near.