10 Worst Wrestling World Title Reigns Ever

1. Braun Strowman - March 26, 2020 To August 23, 2020

Randy Orton
WWE.com

The worst Universal Champion of all-time - literally, no alien wrestlers on any undiscovered planet could have mounted a reign as sh*tty as this - this was an atrocity of a run that in and of itself was emblematic of WWE's astonishing creative decline in 2020. Which is all the more astonishing, given that the company has been in decline for about 20 years.

Mercifully over, it was almost like the ultimate test to determine who has half-decent taste or has a rudimentary grasp of professional wrestling. If it is revealed that some benevolent deity descended from on high, with the divine purpose of draining the toxic swamp of wrestling discourse once and for all - and this deity created this title reign just to see who is and who is not an allowed an opinion - it would not come as a surprise.

You liked it?

Thou have sinned.

Thou shalt not say "If AEW did it".

Strowman won the title at WrestleMania 36 in a sh*tty match, that took a minute to lay out, that he didn't deserve to be in and for which no storyline explanation was given. WWE then reframed his real history with the Wyatt Family - he was a sh*te late addition when the plot had been lost - as this origin story of pivotal importance.

This materialised as two abysmal and excruciatingly corny acting classes masquerading as wrestling matches divided by a feud with The Miz and John Morrison based on pranks.

No good wrestling matches. No good promos. No good storylines.

Braun Strowman spent a summer drenched in gunge, swamp water and alligator sh*t, and some people called it "genius storytelling".

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!