Despite defeating the legendary Bruno Sammartino and ending his almost 3,000-day reign, Ivan Koloff was little more than a transitional WWWF Heavyweight Champion. In truth, the belt could have simply been handed to Sammartino's true successor instead, but it was decreed that the heel Koloff should be the one to carry the strap briefly in 1971. All in all, he only held the title for 21 days. After the brief run, Pedro Morales was installed. Morales was Bruno's spiritual successor, so fans were delighted to see him win the belt. Koloff existed merely as padding, so that Morales would be cheered for prematurely ending the run of the villainous 'Russian Bear'. So, what exactly made Koloff such an unpopular champion? In short, it was who he beat to win the belt. Bruno Sammartino had been WWWF Champion for an incredible length of time. From 1963-1971, he was the top babyface in the territory, and fans dearly loved him. Ivan Koloff is therefore one of the more classic examples of an unpopular champ on this list. He was detested due to ending Sammartino's lengthy reign, and because he was such an effective heel.
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.
