10 Best Wrestlers Who Never Held The WWE Title (And When They Should Have Won)
5. Vader (SummerSlam 1996)
Of all the men who didn't get to become WWE Champion, few came as close as Vader. "The Mastodon" arrived in WWE in early 1996 and rode a wave of momentum all the way to SummerSlam, where he challenged Shawn Michaels for the belt.
According to rumour, Vader was initially supposed to win the match, but Shawn refused to drop the title to him and the finish was changed. Vader never recovered his momentum, and he slowly fell down the card before leaving in late 1998.
Had Vader won, he would have made a great monster heel champion, defending the title against Michaels and a returning Bret Hart in awesome encounters.
The Undertaker still could have challenged for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 13, but instead of a subpar encounter with Sycho Sid, he could have tore it up with Vader en route to becoming a two-time titleholder.
Moreover, a victory for Vader would have given him an incredible distinction - he'd be the only man to hold heavyweight gold in WWE, WCW, New Japan, and All Japan.
Instead, he'll have to settle for being the only one to win three out of the four.