10 Best Wrestlers Who Were Never WWE Champion

4. Razor Ramon

Razor Ramon 1994
WWE.com

In 1995, Razor Ramon Hall asked Vince McMahon what more he could do to try and take further advantage of the "opportunity"-based pay structure within WWE.

In an era before McMahon offered guaranteed contracts, the talents were encouraged by their otherwise-paltry pay packets to work their way up the card for television and pay-per-view paydays beyond the per-night wages of the rank-and-file. Ramon had done so in short order after debuting with the organisation in 1992, but, as a multi-time Intercontinental Champion babyface, felt he'd hit a ceiling.

McMahon rebuffed his requests to turn heel and feud with The Undertaker, and simply never saw him on the same level as his best friends Shawn Michaels and Diesel. Ramon may have wanted the spot for the money first and foremost, but a run as WWE Champion wouldn't have remotely felt unearned from a performance perspective either.

Razor's in-ring record was sensational. Ladder matches against Shawn Michaels were instantly iconic, whilst feuds with The 1-2-3 Kid, IRS and Jeff Jarrett all elevated the opponents far beyond their prior status. Little about him wasn't money, and it remains confusing to this day why McMahon didn't see the megastar aura WCW were only too happy to spend big on in 1996.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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