8 Wrestlers Who Restored The Value Of Championships
2. Edge (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
When you have two “World Championships”, it’s impossible for one to not feel secondary, and when working with two supposed top belts, WWE have always struggled to put them on equal footing.
The World Heavyweight Championship had a few moments in the sun during the original Brand Split, but for the most part, it was treated as a less prestigious prize than the esteemed WWE Championship. Handed-out to the likes of Jack Swagger, the World Heavyweight Championship has had its fair share of questionable champions over the years, but nobody beats The Great Khali.
A slow, plodding giant who looked like he was having trouble walking let alone wrestling, Khali is one of the most universally-derided wrestlers in WWE history. Vince McMahon has always had a penchant for pushing giants, but he took it to a ridiculous level in July 2007 by putting the big gold belt over Khali’s massive shoulder. Its lustre had never been more diminished.
Mercifully, the reign lasted just a couple of months. Batista took the belt from Khali in September, but he was inheriting a poisoned chalice, and with his own basic in-ring style (although let’s be honest, Khali makes Batista look like Mitsuharu Misawa), Batista struggled to bring its prestige back.
It was Edge, whose vacation due to a pectoral injury allowed Khali to win the belt in the first place, that truly put it back on the map. A total package of charisma and pure wrestling ability, Edge’s feud with The Undertaker reduced the horrors of Khali’s reign to a distant memory, and while the World Heavyweight Championship would never quite match the WWE Title again, Edge helped make it worth something.