10 Worst World Champions In WWE History
Ego, experiments and excreta.
Over the 54-year history of WWE, dozens of men have reigned as World champion. Though the company's business hasn't always been consistent - especially in the 21st century - there's usually been a talented star (or two) doing some good work at the top of the card.
Clearly, though, some World champions have been better than others. Men like Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart, and John Cena - who gave the titles real stability and anchored the promotion as champion and top draw - became associated with the belts for the lengths of their careers. Meanwhile, though, less successful champs simply became marks on the prestige of the championships they held.
This list looks at the worst of the worst - World champions who are better off forgotten, whose title reigns did nothing to help their careers, and who didn't even create compelling television in the process.
Disclaimer: for the purposes of this article, the focus will be placed on the WWE Championship and belts that were portrayed as its equal - the World Heavyweight Title and the Universal Title. The revived ECW Championship and the NXT Championship won't be counted as true "World" titles.
10. Rob Van Dam
For many years, Rob Van Dam was considered one of the greatest wrestlers to not hold a World title. Even in ECW, where he made his name, he only got as far as a two-year reign with the Television Championship.
Finally, at One Night Stand 2006 - a pay-per-piew thats served as the launch pad of the revived ECW brand - RVD defeated John Cena to capture the WWE Championship. That gave increased legitimacy to the ECW World Championship, which was brought out of mothballs and presented to Van Dam on the first episode of ECW on SciFi.
Just three weeks later, though, Van Dam and Sabu got pulled over and arrested for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Both men were suspended for 30 days, though in Van Dam's case, he lost both of his championships before his unfortunate vacation.
RVD's one and only reign as WWE Champion ended at an uneventful 22 days.