Every WWE Champion From The '90s Ranked Worst To Best
Jinder Mahal may not be the best champion, but at least he's not Vince.
There’s been a lot of debate lately about the state of the WWE Championship, particularly Jinder Mahal’s reign with it. While many have gotten a kick out of the modern-day Maharajah’s ascension, others decry it as devaluing the championship, making it fall behind the US title in terms of prestige.
Whether or not that’s true, it’s clear Jinder’s months-long title reign wouldn’t have happened in the old days. In the '70s and '80s, WWE had only a select few carry the top title in the company. Save for transitional champions who only held the belt for a few days, the top babyfaces from Sammartino to Backlund would carry the strap for several years at a time. The last of this group was Hulk Hogan, who from 1984 to 1988, held the WWF Championship for an uninterrupted 1474 days.
In the '90s, WWE decided to play faster and looser with who was champion. Be it through longer transitional reigns, more experimentation with the top babyface, or straight-up nonsense, a total of 19 men held the WWE Championship during the decade. They weren't all made equally.
19. Vince McMahon
Number of Reigns: 1
Total Length: 6 Days
In the fall of 1999, Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara left the WWF under the cover of darkness and emerged as the head of creative at WCW. However, before they departed Big Vince’s Box of Human Rocks, they decided to give fans the most illogical storyline in existence (which is saying a lot when you consider their WCW run).
Weeks after Triple H defeated Mankind for the WWF Championship, Vince returned to television, despite a First Blood match in July between Steve Austin and The Undertaker that stipulated if ‘Taker lost, Vince could never appear on TV again. So naturally, he was back a month-and-a-half later with a bone to pick with Triple H. Invoking his championship match clause which he earned from winning the Royal Rumble, Vince defeated Hunter via shenanigans on SmackDown, and then promptly vacated the title on RAW, with Helmsley winning it back at Unforgiven.
So yes, in the same year, Vince McMahon won the Royal Rumble and promptly rendered that victory pointless, then won the WWF Championship and promptly rendered that victory pointless. It was signature Vince Russo, and a taste for fans of what he was going to do to the WCW Championship.