10 Wrestlers Who Gained Nothing By Being WWE World Champion

10. Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam WWE Champion
WWE.com

Which Belt: WWE Title.

Why They Gained Nothing: Rob Van Dam deserved to be WWE Champ at some point. He'd lit up the original ECW and become a phenomenon when he joined the company in 2001. After some early struggles, RVD was granted the belt at One Night Stand 2006 by beating WWE golden boy John Cena in front of an impassioned hardcore audience.

22 days later, Van Dam lost the title to Edge and (24 hours after that) also dropped the ECW Title to Big Show after being suspended for getting into trouble with the law over a recent drug possession arrest. Suddenly, 'Robbie 2 Belts' was left with nothing and was never given another real run at the top prize again.

In other words, his run-in with the police left in WWE's doghouse, and they subsequently lost confidence in Van Dam. His career didn't exactly take off after becoming WWE Champ. It had actually taken off before he won the belt.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.