10 Best Simultaneous WWE Heavyweight Champions

7. John Cena (WWE) & The Great Khali (World) - 2007

Edge Kurt Angle
WWE

No, you're joking.

Shortly following John Cena being forced to prove his mettle against Shawn Michaels between WrestleMania and an hour-long Raw scrap in April 2007, 'The Champ' enhanced a growing reputation as an unlikely superworker in a programme with The Great Khali that too enhanced the giant's own stature. Literally hauled around by 'Big Match John' in their astonishingly good One Night Stand pay-per-view main event in June, he was miraculously a champion in his own right a month later after Edge was forced out of the spot with an injury.

Khali still had stinkers in him, but there was something fiercely believable about the biggest man holding the biggest title hostage, particularly considering how satisfying his scraps with a dwarfed Batista were in the wake of the Cena classic.

Crucially, he was a draw, too. Delivering everything in India Jinder Mahal never could, Khali was established as a money-making megastar elsewhere in the world, with his box office appeal as World Heavyweight Champion transcending generations - his matches on WWE's official YouTube crack 60-70 million views with ease. Mahal had to go to a golf course with R-Truth just to get to seven figures.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett