9 WWE Wrestlers Who Won ONLY World Championships

Madison Square Garden is only ever quiet when it's empty. But perhaps the closest it's ever been without being empty was the night that 'The Russian Bear' Ivan Koloff ended Bruno Sammartino's nearly-eight-year reign with the WWWF Championship in 1971.

Infamously pinning Sammartino following a top-rope knee drop, the newly-minted champion rushed out of New York City, fearing that the fans would incite a riot. Thankfully, the NYC fans did not have to remain angry for too long, as Koloff dropped the title just three weeks later to Pedro Morales in the very same arena.

Now, remember in the last entry, when I said that Stan Stasiak was "arguably the reason for the term 'transitional champion'"? Well, I said "arguably" because Ivan Koloff existed.

It was apparent that the only reason Koloff won the belt in the first place was because they wanted Morales as champion, but they didn't want him to have to wrestle Sammartino to get it. So, they once again needed a selfless heel to do the three-second tan for Morales, who would remain champion for an astonishing 1,027 days.

Koloff, meanwhile, wrestled for the WWWF on and off from then until 1983, but he never again held gold within the company.