10 Worst Simultaneous WWE Heavyweight Champions

8. The Big Show (WWE) & Shawn Michaels (World) - 2002

Kofi Kingston Seth Rollins
WWE

The good will felt almost entirely isolated to the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden when a Shawn Michaels unexpectedly scooped a final World Title win in the second of his two impactful 2002 return efforts at November's Survivor Series.

It was easy to be cynical - despite these strong showings, Michaels' comeback wasn't yet fleshed out as the real deal, and the glad-handing of Raw's top prize between Triple H and his best buddy (at the expense of a roster 'The Game' had started to systematically destroy at the time) overpowered their programme in the end.

SmackDown was at least a welcome distraction to some of the horsesh*t on Raw. Astutely penned by Paul Heyman and his team, the blue brand offered up slabs of banter so broad that Vince McMahon was too heart-eyed to notice the quality pro wrestling taking place elsewhere under his banner. Brock Lesnar was front and centre of the uprising, but his undefeated streak's termination at the typewriter-hands of The Big Show felt entirely unearned.

'The Beast' was working hurt and needed babyfacing before WrestleMania the following year, but (as with 'HBK's own reemergence on the same show), thinking about the future shouldn't have (yet again) involved visions of the distant past.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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