10 WWE Title Reigns That Never Lived Up To The Victory
8. Diesel (1994)
When Diesel pinned Bob Backlund in Madison Square Garden in eight seconds in November 1994, it was the crescendo of a monster push that looked certain to create the next big star.
Having paid his dues as Shawn Michaels’ effortlessly cool bodyguard, ‘Big Daddy Cool’ embarked on a popular WWE Intercontinental Championship run, as well as a star-making performance in the Royal Rumble. Diesel was a made man.
The ensuing one-year title reign, unfortunately, never lived up to the hype. A logical feud with a jealous HBK saw the two fight at WrestleMania XI, but after that, Diesel embarked on the most critically and commercially unsuccessful World Title reign in company history.
It wasn’t entirely his own fault, but cumbersome matches and feuds with the likes of Sycho Sid and Mabel (what were they thinking?) meant the excitement around Diesel quickly diminished. Almost a year to the day after he won the strap, the former Vinnie Vegas dropped it to Bret Hart. Less than a year later, Kevin Nash defected to WCW.
Sure enough, Nash bounced back to have a great career on Ted Turner’s dime, winning multiple WCW World Championships, but he never recaptured the same aura with the WWE faithful.