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Counting down the best ten superstars who never attained one of the richest prizes in all of professional wrestling.
On April 21st of 1963, the then WWF recognized Buddy Rogers, who had just won a fictional tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as their first ever world champion. His reign didn’t last long however, as Bruno Sammartino defeated Rogers just 22 days later and kicked off a seven and a half year reign as champion. Sammartino set the bar for what a champion should be, as he would eventually go on to win the strap a second time and this time hold it for another three and a half years.
Since Sammartino’s first win, over 60 men have become world champions in the WWE. Obviously not all of their reigns as champion were as impressive as Sammartino’s. In fact, Andre The Giant, Rey Mysterio Jr., and Kane all had a world title reign that lasted a day or less. But whether a superstar has held that title for 1 day or over 2,000 days, they can almost always stake claim to the fact that at one point they climbed the mountain and scored one of the biggest accomplishments a pro wrestler can attain.
But what about the other guys? There have been numerous successful superstars who never captured world title gold in the WWE. Call it bad timing, call it politics, or maybe the company’s brass could only see a really good worker but never a champion in some of these guys, at the end of the day, not capturing that prize has to be seen as a disappointment. There are thousands of wrestlers who never made it to the top. But based on other success, who are the absolute best in that category?
Ahead we count down the top 10 superstars to never win a world championship in the WWE.
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10. Kofi Kingston
The first of two active superstars who will appear on this list, Kingston currently sits as one-third of the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championship trio, The New Day. Operating as one of the best tag teams in the company, and potentially en route to being one of the best of all time, The New Day have taken the WWE by storm since their inception 3 years ago. But before Kingston was a tag team specialist, he was once considered by many to be a lock-down main event superstar. Heck, in his first match as part of the Raw roster back in 2008, he defeated icon Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Title. If that’s not a ringing endorsement for someone’s future, then one doesn’t exist.
However, after a somewhat ho-hum program with Randy Orton towards the end of 2009, “The Boom Squad General” never seemed to be able to turn the corner. He had a couple of round-about shots at a world title as he participated in a triple threat match on an episode of Raw in 2009, as well as competing in Elimination Chamber matches in 2010 and 2012, where he was impressive, but ultimately unsuccessful. Outside of those opportunities, Kingston has fallen into the mid-card for the past seven years.
Kofi has accomplished about as much as anybody in the company, despite not winning a world title. He’s won over 900 matches(cagematch.net), captured four Intercontinental Titles, three United States Titles, and 6sixtimes he’s worn tag team gold. At 36 years old, it’s not necessarily out of the question that he could eventually make a world title run, but with the dominance of The New Day, seeing them break apart anytime in the near future seems like a stretch. However, if they do, Kofi carries the most leverage as a singles star, and with the success of this group, he would have to be taken very seriously by any world champion in the WWE.
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9. “Ravishing”Rick Rude
Based on the fact that the “Ravishing” one only spent three years in the WWE, he doesn’t have massive numbers like the aforementioned Kingston. But from 1987 until 1990, Rude was one of the very best heels in the company. A tremendous in-ring worker and natural villain, he joined Bobby Heenan’s “Heenan Family” stable were he immediately found success by way of a heated feud with Jake Roberts. Rude parlayed that success with the biggest win of his career, when he took the Intercontinental Title from The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania V. He carried that strap until the following August, when he lost the title back to Warrior at SummerSlam. Rude has since been highly credited with progression of The Warrior, as he was one of the few that taught him how to work
But Rude wasn’t done there. When the Warrior won the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VI, he quickly planted himself in the main event scene, hell bent on pulling off the same feat on his foe that he had the year before, but this time for the company’s top title. Reigniting the magic they produced in the past, Rude and Warrior main evented the 1990 SummerSlam in a steel cage. And although the match didn’t live up to it’s lofty standards, it was still the biggest stage in the company.
Rude left the WWE shortly after that match and headed for the WCW where he would find the biggest successes of his career. Over the next four years, he would win a United States championship and then finally become a world title-holder, capturing the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship three times before an in-ring accident resulting in a neck injury ended his career. So maybe Rude doesn’t have the WWE resume as the rest of this list, but he needs to be included based on talent and what he meant to the company who at the time needed someone to help carry their top star. Rude died tragically at the age of 40, but he will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the true legends of the sport and as such, was inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame this past year.
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8. Matt Hardy
The other active superstar to make this list, Matt Hardy has a storied career in the WWE that has lasted a combined 15 years. And in that span, he has managed to build a resume about as long and distinguished as anybody in the company’s history, albeit, without a world title to write in. He did capture an ECW Championship in 2008, but considering that Tommy Dreamer and Ezekiel Jackson accomplished the same feat, it’s very hard to consider that a world championship. A nine-time tag champion, as well as five secondary titles to his credit, the “Woken” one returned to the WWE at WrestleMania 33 in what may just be the hottest time in his career.
During Matt’s first stint with the WWE, his brother Jeff battled a number of issues that forced him in and out of the company on a number of occasions. But while Jeff fought his demons, Matt played the model of consistency within the company. From 1999-2003, he averaged 155 matches with 78 wins per year (cagematch.net). Then from 2006 until 2009, he averaged 122 matches with 75 wins per year. Talk about a guy you can lean on. Unfortunately it never turned into a world title or even a program involving one. In fact, Matt has never wrestled for a WWE world championship in a televised event. What a shame.
Largely seen as the inferior Hardy brother for a very long time, Matt left the WWE in 2010 looking for greener pastures. He found them in TNA, as he finally became a world champion under that banner. But shortly after winning and then losing that title, Matt would take on his best gimmick to date. As “Broken” Matt Hardy, he took a gimmick that looked at first like a comedic act and within six months turned it into the one of the best personas in all of pro wrestling. With that gimmick currently tied up in court battles, Matt hasn’t been able to unleash it on the WWE fans, although the fans tend to unleash it anyways. If the court matter ever gets cleared up and Matt is able to fully use the character again, he may finally strike world title gold in the WWE. That’s how good he still is and how amazing that gimmick can be.
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7. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Unlike anybody else on this list, Jake Roberts is the only superstar in this countdown that not only did not ever win a world title in the WWE, but also never held any belt in the company. On paper at least, that would look like he’d be at a severe disadvantage but in examining “The Snake’s” career, it was a flat out shame that he never tasted gold. But unlike many others, unfair booking was not the cause of Roberts lack of success. His own personal demons and career decisions played a major role in what would be his WWE demise. Long issues with drug addiction hurt his career, as well as the decision to walk away from the company in 1992 over a dispute with Vince McMahon of not receiving a spot on the writing team that he felt he was promised.
Before leaving the company for the first time, Roberts had secured himself as one of the best talkers in the company and was able to operate successfully as a heel as well as a baby face. He had produced tremendous psychology in and out of the ring in all of his feuds and along with a highlight reel DDT as his finisher, Roberts had the potential to be one of the greats. Shortly after his debut in 1986, a plan was in place for Jake to feud with then champion, Hulk Hogan. However, the fans shockingly cheered Roberts when he DDT’d Hogan on an episode of his own “Snake Pit” segment, and the angle was immediately nixed. Roberts would never again see the world title scene.
However, just because Roberts didn’t win a title in WWE, does not mean his stats were bad. He won over 500 matches, was a finalist in the 1997 King of the Ring, and for all his importance to the company during some tough years, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014. Roberts was one of those guys that had he surfaced during another time, may have been a multiple time world champion. His talent and character were as strong as anybody during his WWE tenure, and he will almost certainly be recognized as one the company’s true pioneers.
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6. “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig
Hennig hits this list at number six, but if we were just basing the requirements on best in-ring workers to never win a world title, he would be number one. A master mat technician by trade, Hennig also had the ability through top-notch selling and stellar in-ring psychology to be one of the best performers the wrestling world has ever seen. After having a quick cup of coffee with the company in the early 80’s, Hennig used a stint in the AWA to hone his craft. So when he resurfaced in the WWE in 1988 as “Mr. Perfect”, the man who do no wrong, expectations were high. He started off his WWE career on a near 18 month undefeated run that included a couple of count out wins over then champion, Hulk Hogan. Unfortunately for Hennig, that’s the closest he would ever come to the top prize in the company.
Although Perfect’s world title aspirations never materialized, his contributions to the mid-card were immense. He won two Intercontinental championships, the latter of the two ending in an absolute classic with Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1991 which firmly put “The Hitman” on the map as a future main event superstar. However, a number of back injuries shelved Perfect for the majority of the remainder of his WWE career. He sat out almost all of 1992 before making a comeback the following year. However, by 1994 and at just 35 years old, it looked like Hennig would never wrestle again. He stayed with the company until 1997 before leaving for the WCW where he did rekindle his in-ring career.
Much like Roberts, Hennig battled his own demons that resulted in his shocking 2003 death at just 44 years old. Four years later, Mr. Perfect was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. When it’s all said and done, Hennig won’t be remembered as a guy who never won the big one. But as a guy who was one of the most talented men to ever step foot in a ring. His list of accomplishments may not be as lofty as some other industry giants, but his reputation will live on forever.
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5. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
When Ricky Steamboat was signed to the WWE in 1985 at 32 years-old, he already had a resume that most pro wrestlers would dream of. He’d spent the previous eight years wrestling in Jim Crockett’s NWA and managed to capture every title belt that federation had to offer. So when he brought his talents to the WWE, many believed they were looking at a future world champion. A natural baby face, in fact, maybe the best baby face to ever lace up a pair of boots, Steamboat took the company by storm. His flying ability and pin-point wrestling technique turned heads, and along with his charm and likeability, he quickly became a popular figure in the company.
He used that initial success to defeat Randy Savage in what has become known as one of the best wrestling matches in WWE history at WrestleMania III for the Intercontinental Title, and it looked like the era of The Dragon was just beginning. So when he dropped the belt just 65 days later to The Honky Tonk Man, it left the fans in shock. Reports surfaced afterwards that Steamboat asked for some time off to spend with his wife who just gave birth to their first child. Call it revenge or bitterness from management, Steamboat dropped the belt and never got back anywhere near the top of the heap again where he belonged. Want to know how badly he got demoted? In his first two years in the WWE, 1985 and 1986, his combined record was 259-28 (cagematch.net). In 1987, the year when he asked for time off, his record was 58-43. And he really only took about six weeks off to be with his family. A bit of an overreaction from the company, maybe?
Steamboat left the WWE in 1989 and joined WCW briefly. But in that brief stint he battled Ric Flair over the NWA Championship in some of the greatest wrestling matches in the history of the sport. At that time WCW valued in-ring action over mic-skills and overblown characters and that may have exactly the reason why “The Dragon” never reached the next level in the WWE. Steamboat got his deserved induction in to the Hall of Fame in 2009 but with such immense talent, one has to wonder what might have been.
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4. Tito Santana
Want to hear a head-turning statistic? Texas’ Tito Santana, in his WWE career, won over a thousand matches. That’s right, the eventual “El Matador” is in the quadruple figures in the win category during his 12 years in the promotion. Only seven other superstars in WWE history have accomplished that feat and all seven have been world champions. In fact between those men, John Cena, Randy Orton, Kane, The Big Show, The Undertaker, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels, we’re talking about 51 world titles between them. Even more telling, Santana has more wins than the likes of Hulk Hogan, Triple H, and Randy Savage. Yet, Tito could just never make that leap to the main event.
Unfortunately for Santana, he was a victim of poor timing. His in-ring ability really peaked in the early to mid-80’s and by the time the company was main stream, Hulk Hogan was the biggest star in the business. And with what we now all know about Hogan, with him being the top baby face, there was no room for another at that time. However, the argument can be made that Santana was the second-most over good guy in the 80’s. With his fiery comebacks and endless passion, Santana had the baby face character of that era pegged. His lengthy feud with Don Muraco over the Intercontinental Title between 1983 and 1984 was about as compelling as any program in the company at that time. His follow-up programs with Greg Valentine and Randy Savage were a lot of the same. And when his two IC title reigns ended, he teamed with Rick Martel to to create Strike Force who captured tag team gold in the fall of 1987.
From 1982 until 1993, Santana was a mainstay on the roster and one of the most consistent ones at that. In those 12 years, he worked over 100 matches for each of them expect one. He was the perfect mid-card baby face who made everyone he faced look better. He did get the credit he deserves when he entered the Hall of Fame in 2004 but with the amount of wins to Santana’s name, he probably deserved more. He was the definition of a loyal employee, never jumping ship despite his ability and mid-card booking. Based on that alone, he deserved world title gold but despite not attaining in it, Santana will forever be remembered as a guy who gave everything to the sport and never looked back.
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3. “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a guy that just always seemed to get over. From his humble beginnings as a fresh faced 23 year-old member of The British Bulldogs with partner Dynamite Kid, to his three follow-up runs with the company, he just always seemed like he was a hair away from taking the final step towards a world title, only to come up just short. A former two-time tag champion, two-time (and inaugural) European champion, and former Intercontinental champ, The British Bulldog exemplified what it meant to be a WWE superstar in the 90’s. He had the physique, the in-ring ability that was just stunning for a guy his size, and a personality that captivated audiences whether he was playing heel or baby face.
Now unlike a lot of the superstars discussed so far, Davey Boy had his chances at world title gold. Between 1991 and 1999, he had title opportunities against The Undertaker, Bob Backlund, Diesel (he actually won a match for the belt against Diesel on PPV by count out), Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and The Big Show. Towards the end of his final run with the company, he even managed to get himself into the main event of the 1999 Unforgiven in a six-pack challenge match. But although he was never able to win the big one, Smith proved that he belonged in those matches almost every chance he got. His pay per view wars with brother-in-law Hart, and long-time rival Michaels are some of the best matches in WWE history. To this day, it’s a wonder why those performances were not rewarded with a world title win.
Along with all his other accomplishments, Smith managed to win close to 900 matches broken up into four stints with the WWE. Add everything up and this guy may have had the very best resume of everyone on this list. Another superstar taken way too early from us as he passed at just 39 years old back in 2002, Smith is an eventual lock for the Hall of Fame.
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2. Razor Ramon
Scott Hall, AKA Razor Ramon, was a late bloomer to the pro wrestling business. He started his training at 26 years old and spent eight years working the industry before being snatched up by the the WWE in 1992 after a failed run as The Diamond Studd in WCW. Then at 34 years-old, Hall didn’t have too much time to waste in making a run to the top of the WWE heap and was an almost immediate success in the company as in just over a year had captured his first Intercontinental title. Over the next three years, Razor would go on to capture three more IC titles, a record at that time, while also producing two of the most influential matches with Shawn Michaels as the duo did battle in the first two ever ladder matches. To say Razor was off to a good start would’ve been an understatement.
And honestly, what wasn’t to like about the guy? Billed at 6’9′, 280 pounds, Hall had every tool to be a world champion. We all know Vince loves those big guys, but Hall was that and so much more. He was a pure athlete with fluid in-ring ability that not too many guys his size could even dream of having. And he played his Cuban-American bully character with such ease and grace you’d think that’s who he actually was. And wow, what a talker. Hall cut some of the best promos of the mid-90’s that were better than anything any of the top stars could produce. For some reason though, Hall never got the chance everyone thought he would. While guys like Bob Backlund and Sycho Sid won the belt, Hall only got once chance, a title shot at Bret Hart at the 1993 Royal Rumble. Hall put in a terrific effort, but came up short.
There can be an argument made that had Hall stuck with the WWE as opposed to jumping ship to the WCW that he may have found world title success, but the way things were trending, that was probably not the case. After dropping his last IC Title to Goldust in January of 1996, he was essentially written off TV until May when he lost a pay per view match to Vader. His jump to the WCW didn’t turn out much better. After some initial success, his personal demons got the best of him and he was the never the same guy. Since then, Hall had his ups and downs, well mostly downs. But in 2013, with the help of Diamond Dallas Page Yoga, Hall got his life together and was inducted into 2014 Hall of Fame. To see Hall turn his life around and be a healthy and happy hall of famer, makes the idea of world title-less career not seem so important.
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1. Owen Hart
It truly is the saddest story in the history of professional wrestling. Owen Hart, husband and father of two, plummeted to his death during a stunt in Kansas City, Missouri at the Over The Edge pay per view. Known as “The Black Hart”, Owen was at a place in his career where it seemed like things were really going to pick up for him. Finally out of the shadow of his big brother and superstar, Bret Hart, Owen seemed poised to finally make a run at a world title that was eight years in the making. Everyone knew the extent of Owen’s talent. Trained in his father’s Dungeon, Owen came to the WWE in 1991 looked pretty green at first. But it didn’t take long before he began turning heads with his dynamic in-ring arsenal and gritty passion for the business. It wasn’t long before people started predicting him as a future main event superstar.
Owen’s first break came at the 1994 Royal Rumble, after becoming frustrated with Bret in a tag title match with The Quebecers. He viciously turned on his brother, which led to a match at WrestleMania X. The match not only turned out to be one of the best matches in the company’s history, but it was also a shocking upset win for Owen. He parlayed that victory into his first ever title shot at the following SummerSlam against Bret inside a steel cage, in which the two created another all-time classic. Although unsuccessful at SummerSlam, Owen used that momentum to start snatching up titles and honors all over the company. After winning the 1994 King Of The Ring, Owen would go on to four tag team championships, two Intercontinental championships, and a European Title. He had one last mountain to climb before it all ended so suddenly.
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To this day Owen’s legacy lives on in the WWE as many see him as the biggest case of what might’ve been. Word is that Triple H’s “The Game” nickname was originally intended for Owen. Triple H won 14 world titles. That sounds about right for Owen. Even though he was 34 at the time of his passing, Owen was just getting started in what would’ve been – and still is – a Hall of Fame career. Even though it all ended, he will forever be remembered for what the future of the company represented.