10 Saddest World Title Reigns In Wrestling History

10. Tommy Rich

'Wildfire' Tommy Rich was the prototypical early '80s white meat babyface, perfectly positioned to challenge the Terry Funks and Harley Races of that era's NWA. He was popular enough, but he was no Dusty Rhodes, no Magnum T.A., no Barry Windham, and not even the babyface version of Ric Flair. He was a particularly successful version of Your Hometown Hero that took the reigning NWA champ to a time limit draw at the armory, but not really suited for the gold himself.

Nevertheless, on 27 April 1981, Wildfire dethroned perennial champion Harley Race to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Augusta, GA. After an illustrious reign lasting all of four days, Rich lost the title back to Race in Marietta, GA. That's right, Rich couldn't even make it out of state with the title intact.

Evidently, Rich's blink-and-miss-it reign was designed to boost flagging gates within the Georgia territory, over which booker Jim Barnett was trying to consolidate control. So, like, the lowest-possible-stakes version of Giant Baba winning the belt on a tour of Japan.