10 Saddest Times Wrestlers Couldn't Finish The Story
6. Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase always tops lists of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history to never win the biggest prize in the business.
That's not to say he didn't get his hands on the belt once...
Back in the late '80s, WWE ran a storyline with DiBiase trying to straight-up buy the WWE Championship. It all came to a head after Andre the Giant controversially won the title from Hulk Hogan on The Main Event in 1988. Instead of celebrating winning the strap from a longtime adversary, Andre handed the belt straight to Ted, who raised the strap above his head like he'd won it himself.
It was bizarre, but DiBiase was the WWE Champion; he even defended the title at a house show later the same week.
Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. WWE President Jack Tunney announced you couldn't trade cash for the belt, then hit the reset button and declared the title up for grabs in a tournament at WrestleMania IV. Randy Savage ended up winning the championship at 'Mania, leaving the "Million Dollar Man" empty handed.
DiBiase would never officially hold the belt, despite being one of the top stars in WWE at the time. Even though he didn't finish this story, he did start one of his own when he introduced the Million Dollar Championship, so that's something.