10 Worst Wrestling World Title Reigns Ever

3. Triple H - December 15, 2002 To September 21, 2003

Randy Orton
WWE

A World Champion - a good World Champion - should elevate those underneath him in the build to and thrust of the match.

A good World Champion should have the ability to work two wrestlers on consecutive pay-per-views that couldn't draw as a dynamic between themselves. That's the test. The Champ is the main event almost irrespective of who is in the opposite corner.

Katsuyori Shibata Vs. Bad Luck Fale wasn't a main event, as an example, but Kazuchika Okada headlined consecutive big NJPW shows with both as part of his legendary fourth reign with the IWGP Heavyweight Title. On the night, he convinced the crowd that the switch was imminent without sacrificing his own invincible aura. That he did this every night convinced NJPW fans to accept even the most lowly of challengers, like Fale.

Triple H attempted to play this role between 2002 and 2004. He failed dismally at it; rather than get his opponents over in defeat, he ruthlessly exposed their limitations or treated them so dreadfully that the audience lost faith in what became an endless and infuriating paradox: Triple H haemorrhaged viewers on top, but sold it as a cyclical, just-the-nature-of-the-business deal that required a worker of his pedigree to shore up.

Kevin Nash: "Here are three paydays old friend."

Booker: took 23 seconds to be pinned at WrestleMania 23, which, yeah, f*ck Triple H.

Goldberg: went almost twice as long as RVD lost to win the title, as HHH laughed at the irony that word had taken on.

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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!