When WWE announced the merging of the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship last winter, they held a Championship Ascension Ceremony on Raw, with every world champion on the roster and several Hall of Famers in attendance. The ring was overflowing with such luminaries as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, The Miz, Jack Swagger and Great Khali present. It was intended to be a poignant moment, illustrating the significance of the pending title unification, but it also served to show just how many current WWE wrestlers could call themselves world champions. The current roster boasts 15 wrestlers who have held either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship, and that doesnt include part-timers like Booker T., The Rock, Triple H or Undertaker. But there is a solid group of WWE superstars who have held numerous titles during their tenure with the company, without every winning a world championship. These are wrestlers who are well-known and in many cases very popular with a large contingent of the fanbase. But what might surprise fans is just how many secondary, tertiary and tag titles these wrestlers have held without winning the big one. And it might be surprising to see who tops the list. In compiling this list, the WWE Hardcore Championship wasnt counted in totals. Otherwise, Raven would top this list with 27 reigns lasting all of 94 days. Since it wasnt sanctioned by WWF, the Million Dollar Belt also wasnt counted, or Ted DiBiase would have squeaked onto this list. Lastly, the ECW Championship isnt being counted as a WWE world title. Former champs are never referred to as former world champs on WWE programming. (Did they ever sing Chavo Guerreros praises as a former world champ?) The title was viewed as just a championship for WWEs third brand. Is one of your favorite midcarders among those who held numerous titles without ever winning a world championship? Only one way to find out
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
