10 Unlikely WWE Champions With Hugely Memorable Title Runs
The best way to get somewhere, is to act like you already belong there.
In the storied history of the WWE Championship, the list of men to hold the coveted gold reads like a who's who of the wrestling industry.
The WWE Championship is the Academy Award of professional wrestling and proof that a performer is one of the very best. As such, 23 former WWE Champions have gone on to become WWE Hall of Famers. However, not all champions look like The Ultimate Warrior and not all titleholders can boast the in-ring skill of Shawn Michaels.
There have been several WWE Champions over the years who have that raised a curious eyebrow or two when they lifted the strap, proving that Vince McMahon's choice of champion hasn't always been met with widespread agreement. In fact, certain title wins have incited outrage among fans, while others have even been met with resistance from the office itself.
Regardless of the original reaction, many of these dubious champions went on to prove themselves more than worthy of the title, while others simply left a notable mark in the history books. Whichever category these ten titleholders fall into, their respective runs with the gold were unquestionably memorable.
10. Jinder Mahal
When Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton, it was a huge shock to many WWE fans across the globe... and probably equally as shocking to Mahal himself.
After losing on the WrestleMania pre-show, Mahal suffered subsequent losses to Sami Zayn, Finn Bálor, and Mojo Rawley, all in three minutes or less. In spite of this booking, Mahal would go from jobber to number one contender in the space of just two weeks. This fact did him no favours and left Mahal fighting an uphill battle for credibility when he eventually did win the WWE Title at Backlash.
Nevertheless, Mahal's shock victory was historic and made him the first ever WWE Champion of Indian descent. The ascent from out of nowhere only multiplied the surprise factor tenfold, making him a talking point of the industry - for better or worse.
Mahal's dominance on SmackDown throughout the summer of 2017 saw him chalk up high profile wins against Randy Orton, Baron Corbin, and Shinsuke Nakamura, with the latter even coming at WWE's second biggest event of the year, SummerSlam.
While his track record since becoming champ has been largely unblemished, his jobber-like status before it makes his WWE Championship credentials undeniably sketchy. Ultimately, whether his run is looked back on as a huge mistake or a brave innovation, Mahal's reign will always be memorable.