Triple H was the first ever World Heavyweight Champion in WWE. On an episode of Raw in September, 2002, the belt was simply handed to him by Eric Bischoff. There was no big match to determine the new champ, or even a tournament. Instead, 'The Game' was given the physical belt without lifting a finger. That could have worked from a storyline perspective if he didn't go on to dominate. Aside from a short spell in late-2002 when Shawn Michaels held the strap, Triple H held the World Heavyweight Championship until September, 2003. Only then did Goldberg beat him to win the thing, before Triple H regained it a few short months later. In 2000-2001, Triple H was one of the best in-ring workers in all of wrestling. By 2003, he was oddly out of shape, and featured in some of the worst title matches in years. Feuds against the likes of Rob Van Dam, Scott Steiner, Booker T and Kevin Nash were uninspiring. Throughout all of this, Triple H emerged unscathed. Only his rivalry with Michaels was worthwhile, and that - along with the RVD scraps - occurred in 2002. 2003 was a poor year for the man, and his title matches were regularly duds that did nothing for the shows they were on. What other unpopular WWE World Champions can you think of? Do you agree with the ones listed here? Let your voice be heard down in the comments section!
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
