20 Incredible Images Of Wrestling "Champions" Who Never Were

Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

Owen Hart
WWE

Emerging out of Roman Reigns' brutal beating of his cousin Jey Uso, much of the conversation moved to how exciting it was to have a must-see wrestler in a must-see programme in an era begging for both. It cannot be understated just how important it is that the 'Tribal Chief' left Clash Of Champions with the Universal Championship as well as his cousin's lei.

He very quickly brought prestige back to that belt, snapping in the story as early as two weeks earlier when Jey merely touched the strap as they held it aloft following a tag team victory together. Reigns had seen this has a cardinal sin, just as most of wrestling has in general.

Without that veneer of protection, championship belts are nothing. For wrestling to even operate at a fundamental level, the gaudy prizes must instead represent the pinnacle of the profession at all costs. It is a contract fans and wrestlers alike have to mentally sign in order to justify anything that happens on a wrestling show. That's the main reason why they're not just handed to any challenger to hold before they've actually won it, and why it looks quite remarkable when a pretender briefly sits on the throne...

20. Ryback - WWE Championship

Owen Hart
WWE.com

Ryback always felt like an outside bet to dethrone John Cena so soon after 'The Champ' had gotten over his "bad" year by defeating The Rock at WrestleMania 29.

'The Champ' was surprised by 'The Big Guy' on the post-'Show Of Shows' Monday Night Raw, kicking off a series of contests between the two won handily by the Champion. Ryback taking the title and holding it aloft at least provided one glimpse of the alliterative outcome, though few ever bought this as a legitimate tease.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett