10 WWE Jobbers Who Became World Champion

10. EC3

'Derrick Bateman: WWE Champion' was never meant to be, but the dude had a real shot at greatness once he returned to the WWE fold following a successful period in TNA as Ethan Carter III (EC3). That 2019-2020 stint proved to be yet another false dawn for him though, sadly. Vince McMahon rather blatantly had no clue how to book EC3 effectively on the main roster after he'd gained some traction down in NXT.

Still, at least Carter could point to a resplendent 101-day reign as TNA World Champion between June-October 2015. Back then, he'd remodelled himself into a star who delivered the goods in-ring and on the mic. Some of EC3's cutting backstage promos were shared around with glee on social apps, and deservedly so. They were really, really good, and it seemed the guy had found his calling as Dixie Carter's spoiled brat family member.

EC3 experienced practically none of that excitement during his time as Bateman in WWE's FCW developmental territory or on the earliest incarnations of Tough Enough extension (sort of) NXT between 2009-2013. In fact, Derrick seemed kinda geeky and was typically used as a warm body to put others over. That continued once filming for each season wrapped up and he returned to smaller spot/trainee shows.

Carter would never showcase his true skills on WWE's largest stages, but TNA was a blessing for his career. There, he looked every bit the main event level talent and can boast multiple World Title runs. If only Triple H had been in charge, eh? Things might've been different on the Raw/SmackDown side.