10 Awesome One-Time WWE Champions

Admit it: JBL was awesome. His matches weren't anything to write home about, but in terms of character work and getting us to root for the baby-face, few heels this side of the 21st century have come anywhere close to emulating him.

For all of that, the self-proclaimed Wrestling God only got his mitts on the WWE Championship once, holding the thing for nearly a full year between 2004 and 2005 before having his dreams cruelly shattered by John Cena at WrestleMania 21.

For once, there will be no complaints about that. JBL's whole shtick was that he was a cowardly paper champion. It made perfect sense for him to hold the title once and then never again. If he had kept winning it, it would have ruined the illusion.

Plus, his main event run came far too late in his career for him to accumulate Triple H or Randy Orton numbers. It was only about a year after his loss to Cena that he took up a cushy role behind the commentary desk instead.