9 WWE Wrestlers Who Won ONLY World Championships

8. Buddy Rogers

Paul Heyman Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

Now, onto the more legitimate entries. And who better to be the technical "first entry" than the first-ever WWE Champion?

In 1963, Buddy Rogers was officially recognized as the first-ever world champion for the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation. According to the WWWF, Rogers won a tournament for the championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but truth be told, such a tournament never happened. Promoters Toots Mondt and Vince McMahon Sr. simply wanted a top draw to represent their company as champion, so they handed the belt to Rogers.

Unfortunately, the 42-year-old's reign was cut short by a mild heart attack that negatively impacted his in-ring performance. In a panic, McMahon and Mondt booked Rogers to drop the title in a measly 46 seconds to young up-and-comer Bruno Sammartino, who would hold onto it for a remarkable and record-breaking 2,803 days.

They didn't want to have to bury Rogers so handily, but the looming possibility of a more-severe heart attack left them with no other choice. Rogers' health issues made it so his 36-day reign with the championship was his only one, as his in-ring career largely slowed down after 1963.

Though he made valiant efforts to return, his endurance was never the same, and his cardiovascular issues ultimately contributed to his death in 1982.

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