10 Wrestlers Who Were Only World Champion Because Of The Brand Split

1. Eddie Guerrero

JBL title
WWE.com

As sad as it is to say, without the brand split we likely never would have seen Eddie Guerrero as the WWE Champion.

Eddie landing the Frog Splash on Brock Lesnar and then taking off into the crowd as the new WWE Champ is a moment that holds a special place in the heart of many a wrestling fan.

At the time that Eddie was WWE Champion, Chris Benoit became World Heavyweight Champion shortly after. If there was only one brand and one World Champion then you'd have to think that Benoit would've been the one to get the nod at this point, especially as he'd been involved in main event angles and PPV matches plenty of times previously.

In fact, if there was only one brand and World Champ back in 2004 then the chances are that the main title feud of the year would likely have revolved around Brock Lesnar and Triple H.

Eddie is an undoubted all-time great performer, but without the brand split we sadly would've never got to see Latino Heat reach the top of the mountain. 

And whilst Eddie wouldn't have been World Champion, you'd have to think that Rey Mysterio would still have been given the Big Gold in 2006 as WWE sadly made the most of Eddie' passing.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.