10 Wrestlers Who Gained Nothing From Becoming World Champion
Getting to the top is difficult. Staying there is even harder.
Winning a World championship is supposed to be the zenith of a wrestler's career. Performers spend their whole lives working to reach the upper echelon, and when they get there, it should cement their status as the industry's top dog at that point in time.
Becoming a major champion isn't enough to enmesh a wrestler among the all-time greats, but winning the gold takes a near perfect set of circumstances, and should still be treated as a major achievement. As with everything else in wrestling, however, a great start means nothing without an effective follow up - and while most wrestlers prosper in the wake of a big title win, plenty have floundered.
Capturing the gold provides no guarantee of long-term success, and countless wrestlers have seen no benefit from being handed one of the sport's top prizes. Some weren't ready for the spotlight, others suffered through poor booking, while many were just the wrong guy at the wrong time.
None were elevated as a result of their supposed crowning achievement, and while the results are often manageable, unproductive title reigns have signalled the start of many a career downturn...
10. Goldberg
Goldberg’s return was one of WWE’s biggest talking points in 2016.
Though divisive at times, his comeback told the great story of a 50-year-old retiree drawn back to play superhero one last time, and regularly spiked WWE’s ratings throughout. Culminating in a great brawl at WrestleMania 33, the Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar feud was a net positive, and ultimately helped both participants.
The former WCW Champion’s popularity was extremely high for much of the run, but things took a clear downturn a few months into 2017. Portions of the crowd became fatigued as soon as Goldberg entered the Universal Title hunt after the Royal Rumble, and his reactions noticeably diminished. Bill eventually challenged Kevin Owens at Fastlane in March, and won in 22 seconds.
The title change was completely needless.
KO had struggled as champion, but Goldberg was already one of the company’s biggest stars at the time, and a six-month old belt with no history was never going to enhance him. Furthermore, Goldberg’s victory added fuel to the fire of the “part-timers” debate, and his 28-day run as champion ended as no more than a means of getting the belt back on Brock.