Ranking EVERY WWE Champion From Worst To Best

50. Kane

WWE Champions Ranked
WWE.com

With only one day to his name as WWE Champion as opposed to the additional time he spent as the secondary World Heavyweight Champion years later, Kane wasn't trusted with the industry's richest prize for very long. But as far as 24-hour stints go, his was unquestionably the best of the lot. 

'The Big Red Machine' popped a pay-per-view number for being willing to set himself on fire if he lost to Stone Cold Steve Austin at King Of The Ring 1998, then scored a huge television rating for a Monday Night Raw rematch with 'The Rattlesnake' the next night. Effective as needle-mover because of how over and threatening the character still was following the introductory programme with his storyline sibling, a fleeting reign also served to kickstart a new chapter of the Undertaker saga. It was at this point that the 'Brothers Of Destruction' were being teased as reuniting on the sly, all in an effort to win the gold so hurriedly ripped from Kane's grasp. 

He set fire to ringposts for two more decades following the story's peak, but he was never as hot as this moment in the sun. 

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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