10 Worst Final Champions In Wrestling History

These famous championships all went out with a whimper, rather than a bang.

Hornswoggle Cruiserweight Champion Studio
WWE.com

As the old saying goes, it's how you leave 'em. 

First impressions are extremely important, but sometimes, it's the final imprint of an event or person that people remember the most clearly. Wrestling is a great example of this - was anybody thinking about Kurt Angle's great victories when he lost to Baron Corbin in his final match? Kurt Angle certainly wasn't. 

Wrestling championships are no exception, as the last person to hold a belt is just as important as the person who did it first. 

Charlotte Flair being the final holder of the Divas Championship symbolised a transition away from the old perception of women in WWE, whilst Tyler Bate was a great choice as the final NXT UK Champion, seeing as how he was the first one to hold the title. 

However, not every last champion can be as good as those ones. Sometimes, the bookers get it totally wrong and put the gold around the waist of somebody who probably shouldn't have held the thing at all, let alone gone down in history as the final entry in a historic lineage. 

10. Chris Jericho - WCW Championship

Hornswoggle Cruiserweight Champion Studio
WWE.com

Did you know that Chris Jericho defeated The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin on the same night? He never mentions it... 

This oft-heralded feat went down at Vengeance 2001, as part of a four-man tournament to crown the first Undisputed Champion. After a year's worth of outside interference in one match, WCW Champion Jericho pinned WWE Champion Austin to walk out of the pay-per-view with both belts. 

This was a great personal moment for Y2J, however, it was a dark day for one of the titles. 

The WCW Championship, once held by the likes of Sting, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and countless other legends, was now gone. Not only had the belt's lineage been liquidated, but its final champion had been a guy who was famously treated as a midcarder in the original WCW and, unfortunately, was never seen as a proper main eventer by the WWE. 

See Jericho's Undisputed Championship reign for further proof. 

It could have been much worse for the Big Gold Belt, but considering the title could have died in the hands of Austin or The Rock, this was not the optimal ending. 

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.