Ranking All 50 WWE World Heavyweight Champions - From Worst To Best

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin

WWE Champions
WWE

There was more money in wrestling by the time Stone Cold Steve Austin started breaking Hulk Hogan's box office records in 1998, but the fact that he managed to topple some of the highs of Hulkamania during the relatively tiny time he spent atop the industry only advertises the money-spinning magic of 'The Rattlesnake'.

Steve Austin was the answer to Vince McMahon's prayers after years of dropping to his knees and looking up, helping pull the company back from the brink and back into the same black that made up his simplistic, era-defining tights and boots aesthetic. At his in-ring peak in 2001, his matches far outstripped Hogan's too, even after his drawing power at long last began to diminish.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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