10 Worst Simultaneous WWE/WCW Heavyweight Champions

9. Sycho Sid/Hollywood Hogan (1996)

Diesel Hogan 95
WWE

Though one was a revived giant draw and the other simply a revived giant, there was something rather maddening about the state of the industry's two top titles at the tail-end of what had been one of the most exciting years in recent wrestling history.

When Hulk Hogan turned heel to join up with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to form the New World Order, WCW found the formula to drag wrestling from the outhouse back to the penthouse following what had effectively been a six year financial slump. Reinvigorated as a villain, 'Hollywood' was certainly worthy as top titleholder, but his old political habits threatened to make the gimmick die hard.

Putting over Roddy Piper in December to give a babyface in WCW some credibility after the group steamrolled everybody that year, he didn't do it with the belt on the line because having the title still mattered most of all in wrestling. A point Vince McMahon was willfully missing when he gambled on Sycho Sid following Shawn Michaels' commercial failure the same year - Sid looked incredible but fans were getting thirstier for either good booking or good work, or ideally both. Sid, in contrast to his contemporaries especially, provided neither.

 
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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