10 Most Hated WWE Champions
Boo-Boy Prize
Vince McMahon's WWE dominated the 1980s with the steadfast bedrock of a babyface standard-bearer. Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan spent literally thousands of days as Champion, whilst Macho Man Randy Savage had a full year on top before wickedly turning on 'The Hulkster' in preparation to give the strap back.
It flew in the face of the National Wrestling Alliance's attitude towards the prize, with travelling titleholder Ric Flair having the competence and charisma to give each territory's local hero a realistic shot before ultimately escaping to the next town with his '10 pounds of gold' in tact.
The thrill-of-the-chase arc as a financially fruitful philosophy in WWE wasn't truly harnessed until Stone Cold Steve Austin began his rivalry with cruel c*ck-blocker Vince McMahon in the late-1990s. Heel Champions became the norm, allowing unprecedented biliousness that was unfortunately subverted when the babyfaces themselves became figures of hate. Ordinarily, mean equalled green, but the changing make-up of the WWE 'Universe' in the mid-2000s rocked the boat again.
Once simply the symbol of a performer's box office or technical excellence, a top title in the wrong hands became the vision of creative malaise. Empty characters drained audiences of empathy, with disparate derision outmuscling old fashioned heat. In pro wrestling, hate should just be great - not an irate weight that seals a babyface's fate.
10. Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon Sr never even wanted son Vinnie to be a wrestler, and only let him into the family business at all because he made good on a deal to turn a dead Maine territory around. Jr subsequently lived out all his pro wrestling dreams when his father passed, with his aggressive national expansion growing the organisation and McMahon himself proving to be the key heel in the company's second boom period.
A perfunctory title win during a typically chaotic Attitude Era scene had more innocence about it that Vince Russo's own WCW ego trip a year later, but it still crossed the single line the Mr McMahon character should never have been permitted to go near.
If the boss can win the belt, why would he pay the wrestlers? And why would the business even exist? The door to existentialism in wrestling must remain slammed shut for quandaries such as these. His placement amongst the industry's elite remains contentious to this day.