10 Wrestlers Who Gained Nothing From Becoming World Champion
8. Ultimate Warrior
The Ultimate Warrior is one of the most widely criticised wrestlers of all time, but he was an absolute megastar at his peak. Though extremely limited between the ropes, Warrior was massively popular among the fans, and was given a monstrous main event push intended to establish him as Hulk Hogan's successor as the face of the company.
Trouble started brewing between the two at the 1990 Royal Rumble, and Warrior was soon booked as Hulk's opponent for WrestleMania VI. Dubbed 'The Ultimate Challenge,' it put both Hogan's WWE Championship and Warrior's Intercontinental Title on the line, and Warrior was victorious, pinning 'The Hulkster' in front of over 60,000 fans.
Becoming WWE Champion was the beginning of the end for Warrior's success. His reign got off to a bad start as Hogan effectively stole his thunder by joining the post-match celebrations, and the fans just didn't take to him as "the guy."
He was the champion, but he could never escape Hogan's enormous shadow. Warrior's sole WWE Title run lasted 293 days in total, but his popularity took a clear downturn with him as champion, and his career started unravelling following a major contract dispute in July 1991.