11 WWE Stars Quickly Elevated From Secondary To World Championships

10. Bret Hart (1992)

Hart couldn't have had a better match when he dropped the Intercontinental title to Davey Boy Smith at SummerSlam 1992. Hart pieced together a technical masterpiece while walking a shaky Smith through nearly thirty minutes of brilliance before 80,000 of Smith's countrymen at Wembley Stadium. A little over seven weeks later, Hart was informed on Monday morning, October 12, 1992, that he was going over on Ric Flair that evening for the WWE Championship, in Hart's own home country of Canada. Flair had been disappointing company brass as champion, and Hart had already been earmarked for future greatness. If the title win didn't come at the TV taping that night, it would likely have down the line, as McMahon had come to depend on Hart's virtuoso performances, and calm, credible demeanor, to carry the company through turbulent times.