Day of The Destroyer, Part Two
After the shocking appearance of The Destroyer on Raw, Smackdown was placed on high alert that week. Stephanie McMahon brought in extra security and locked the building up tighter than a drum. Every car coming into the arena was stopped, even Vince’s limo.
“Could I have your identification, sir?” asked the lead security guard, quite politely, although the team of black-suited men behind him made it quite plain that this was not a request. Vince’s answering smile held no trace of amusement.
“This is a joke, right?”
“Sir, I’m going to need to see some identification before I let you in,” responded the guard.
“I’m Vince McMahon, dammit! Everybody knows who I am! Now, let me in, before I have you fired!” Suiting his actions to his words, Vince began walking forwards. Immediately, the guards moved to block his path, determination etched on their faces. As the cameras returned to Michael Cole and Tazz at ringside, it was obvious that some sort of confrontation was in the offing.
Cole: “Well, it certainly seems as if Mr McMahon’s not having a good day!”
Tazz: “Hur hur! You can say that again. He’s serious, though, those guards are gonna be lookin’ for new jobs by the end of the night.”
Cole: “They’re just doing their jobs, Tazz. Folks, some of you at home may be wondering what all this security is about. We’re going to take you back to Raw this past Monday, where you’ll see the shocking arrival of the man they are simply calling The Destroyer.”
A recap then played of Monday’s events, before Smackdown got back to its usual business.
Later on, Vince, having apparently made his way past the security force at last, was in his daughter’s office.
“Stephanie, I appreciate the need for security but, quite frankly, I do not expect to have to identify myself at my own damn show!”
Stephanie’s reply was to the point. “Well, firstly Dad, Smackdown is MY show. That’s the decision you made when you made me General Manager. So, what can I do for you?”
Swallowing his anger, Vince continued. “Where’s The Undertaker? I want him with me until this Destroyer business is done with.”
“He’s not here. I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks. I believe he’s gone looking for the Chosen One that the prophecy mentioned.”
Vince turned purple with rage for a moment and struggled to speak. Then, slowly, he regained his composure. “Ok, fine. If that’s the way he wants to play it, fine. I know he’s up to something. Chosen One! This is WWE, not Bessy the Vampire Slayer!”
“Buffy,” interrupted Stephanie, perhaps a little unwisely. “It’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
“Whatever,” growled Vince. “My point is that it’s all BS. Still, like I say, if that’s the way he wants it, fine. Get me The Big Show. I need to talk to him.”
Next Monday’s Raw saw similar levels of security, although these guards were aware of who Vince McMahon was. In the ring, World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg was addressing the crowd.
Goldberg: “No Mercy is less than a week away and I still don’t know who I will be defending my World Heavyweight Championship against. Last week, Kane and Triple H had a number one contender’s match which ended in a no-contest. So, who is the number one contender? If Eric Bischoff were here, I might think this was a set-up, some way to try and put me in a Triple Threat match. Well, that’s just fine with me. I will take on anybody and everybody to defend my title. All I want to know now is, WHO’S NEXT?!”
At that we hear the familiar strains of “No Chance” and Vince McMahon comes to the arena, accompanied by his son, Shane.
Vince: “Firstly, Goldberg, let me assure you that nobody is trying to set you up here. Now, as it relates to the situation of who the number one contender is, quite frankly Triple H and Kane are in no condition to compete tonight, or Sunday at No Mercy. Therefore, in this very ring tonight, there will be an over-the-top rope Battle Royal. The winner will face you at No Mercy. And, just to make sure that there are no…unexpected occurrences this week, my son Shane and I will be at ringside, acting as referees.”
Later on, Shane questioned Vince backstage.
“Are you sure this is such a good idea? That guy took out Kane and Triple H pretty handily.”
“Relax! Nobody is getting in here tonight without my say so. No one could get past all my security guys.”
Shane still looked doubtful. “No one normal, maybe. What if this prophecy business is genuine, though?”
“Not you as well!” Vince could hardly believe his ears. “This whole prophecy thing is a bunch of bull. It’s just Undertaker trying to screw with me. This is just another attempt to destabilise my empire and it’s not going to work.”
“If you say so…”
Most of Raw seemed to go reasonably well. By the time the show was almost over, there were just four men left in the Battle Royal, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Christian and Mark Henry. The three smaller guys were all trying to gang up on Henry and force him over the top rope when, suddenly, the lights went out and the evil voice was heard once more.
“The Destroyer is here!”
When the lights came back up, The Destroyer was in the ring. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were laid out at his feet, seemingly unconscious. Standing about 6’ 4”, The Destroyer cut an imposing figure. His arms looked like a cross between those of Batista and Brock Lesnar, while his costume gleamed like some form of black armour. Hoisting up the unconscious wrestlers, The Destroyer began shoving them over the top rope and out of the ring. Taking his chance, Christian delivered a clothesline to The Destroyer’s enormous back. Turning, The Destroyer snarled at Christian, who quickly stepped back behind The World’s Strongest Man.
The crowd gasped as Mark Henry faced this muscle-bound titan. The shocked McMahons began to climb on to the ring apron as The Destroyer and Henry collided, shoulder-to-shoulder. Neither man gave an inch. Henry charged again but, this time, The Destroyer neatly sidestepped him, before catching him with an arm-drag that sent him straight into Vince McMahon, knocking the billionaire to the floor. Christian leapt out of the ring and fled, while Shane went to check on his father. With everyone occupied, The Destroyer, to the shock of the audience, pressed Mark Henry above his head before dropping him a thud. At this point, Shane entered the ring with a chair and smacked The Destroyer firmly on his back. He might as well have hit an elephant with a fly swatter. The Destroyer turned to face him and delivered a right hand to the jaw that knocked Shane head over heels, leaving him unconscious. With no one left to face him, The Destroyer pushed Mark Henry over the top rope and let out a roar of triumph. With that, the lights went out again. In the darkness, the deep and eerie voice spoke once more.
“The gladiators fall. Their arena will be mine!”
The lights came back up. The Destroyer was gone, but the prone bodies of Vince McMahon, Shane, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and Mark Henry lay scattered around the ring. Excitedly, Jonathan Coachman and Jerry Lawler debated what they had seen.
Coach: “What does this mean for No Mercy? Is The Destroyer the Number One Contender?”
Lawler: “Never mind No Mercy! What does this mean for Raw? Who’s going to stop this freak?”
The show went off the air with the two of them still arguing, as paramedics began tending to the wrestlers.
Looking at Next Year’s Opponent for The Undertaker
This is an old post. For my predictions regarding Undertaker at Wrestle Mania in 2013, click here.
While it may seem a bit early to be worrying about this just yet, one consequence of the Shawn Michaels – Undertaker confrontation at Wrestlemania 26 is a general sense of uncertainty as to who Undertaker’s next ‘Mania opponent could or should be. In the last decade the Undertaker’s streak has become one of the biggest drawing tools for Wrestlemania that WWE have in their locker but, after the outstanding matches and build-up that we have witnessed for the last two years it is almost impossible to see how they can possibly follow up. If Shawn couldn’t get it done, how are we expected to believe that anyone can possibly beat the streak?
Candidates for the match are already pretty thin on the ground. After Wrestlemania 25 people remarked that the only marquee stars left in WWE that ’Taker had not faced at Wrestlemania were Chris Jericho and John Cena. As yet, that situation has not changed. On the face of it, both men offer a fairly enticing prospect as opponents for the Deadman. Firstly, both men have had relatively little to do with Undertaker over the years. John Cena met ‘Taker at Judgment Day 2003, during Undertaker’s American Badass run but, since then, has only wrestled him in a handful of showpiece TV matches, and Jericho has never wrestled Undertaker at pay per view, so both matches would be pretty fresh, as would the feuds leading into the matches.
Looking at them individually, each has strengths and weaknesses as potential Wrestlemania match-ups. Without wishing to sound like a Cena-hater, one would have to say that, from a wrestling standpoint, Chris Jericho offers the better prospect. Jericho is versatile, talented, experienced and consistent and has wrestled pretty much every kind of match under the sun. Further, his relatively small stature would allow the classic big man-little man dynamic, should the wrestlers wish to employ it. Jericho’s exceptional verbal skills also mean that the promo aspect of the build-up would likely be extremely entertaining as well. The big problem, however, is that Jericho just would not be a credible threat to the streak. His Wrestlemania record is spotty, at best and, although undoubtedly a “top guy”, Jericho is not the kind of ultra-dominant wrestler who carries that threat of real danger with him. Critics would argue that he has put too many guys over to seem as big a threat to the streak as, say, Triple H or Batista did. Then again, the same argument could easily have been made for Shawn Michaels but he managed to convince the crowd for two years running that, just maybe, he might be the guy to do it, despite a ‘Mania record tilted heavily towards the loss column, and a recent history of putting guys over. So, maybe that’s not a killer issue.
John Cena, on the other hand, certainly would carry a credible threat. With an incredibly dominant Wrestlemania record, including more championship victories than anyone else in history, no one could dismiss him. Moreover, beyond kayfabe results, the fact that he is, and seems destined to remain for some time, the poster boy of the company would mean that everybody would have to take the possibility of a Cena victory seriously. As a match, I could see this being really exciting. Even their Judgment Day 2003 match, where Cena was a clear underdog and there was nothing in particular on the line, was highly entertaining – this could be something else altogether. The promos, on the other hand, fill me with dread. The thought of Cena spending weeks doing his “I can’t see how I’ll win but I’ll do my best” routine is not enticing but would almost certainly be the way that WWE would go. If Cena were to be arrogant, confident, cocky even, then that would be a different story. For some reason, WWE seem to think that Cena needs to be presented as a humble hero, when the record of Austin and The Rock should have proven long ago that the WWE audience prefer cocky heroes.
Of the two, on balance Cena seems to be the best option. Although Jericho might wrestle a better match, the fact that the outcome would be so much more uncertain with Cena would probably mean that his match would end up being more exciting. Are these our only options, though? It’s true that they’re the only big names yet to wrestle Undertaker at Wrestlemania but that surely doesn’t mean that they’re the only possible candidates. We have almost a year to go, after all. Might not someone else be ready by then? Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, The Miz and even John Morrison are all people who may have hit the heights by then. Of them all, I see Sheamus as being the most likely. If he continues in his present vein, by early next year he should have built up a formidable record as a dangerous opponent. Drew, I fear, may struggle a little now if the rumours about Vince retiring the “Mr McMahon” character are true. Hopefully, he is established enough now that he no longer needs that crutch. He is also still playing catch-up with regards to Sheamus who, as a former world champion feuding with Triple H, is clearly some way in front of McIntyre in storyline development. The Miz is an unpredictable possibility – if he continues to improve as he has for the last couple of years he may well be one of the top guys in the company soon but, like Jericho, he may not quite come off as a credible threat. Morrison needs a lot of work and, possibly a heel turn but certainly is another guy to watch.
Does Undertaker’s opponent have to be new to him? It’s another valid question that must be asked. A rematch with one of his former opponents might be just as satisfying. Triple H is an enticing possibility. He carries with him a permanent aura of danger and confidence, and would have the obvious storyline spur of “getting revenge for Shawn”. Moreover, as Kevin Eck pointed out in his recent blog on this subject (I heartily recommend Eck’s column, Ring Posts, which you can check out on the Baltimore Sun’s website – just follow my link) Wrestlemania 27 will be the tenth anniversary of Triple H’s first Wrestlemania clash with Undertaker, an awesome match in itself. Edge and Batista probably met Undertaker too recently at ‘Mania but a second clash with Randy Orton might have some possibilities. Orton is a totally different proposition nowadays, compared to where he was at Wrestlemania 21 when they first met, so I could go with that.
The Big Show is always a believable threat to anyone, of course but Undertaker-Big Show clashes have been done to death now and, given ‘Taker’s age and physical condition, he probably needs a more agile and athletic opponent these days. Similar logic probably rules out Kane, although there is still a core of fans that remain fascinated by the “brothers’” relationship. If next year’s ‘Mania is certain to be Undertaker’s last then, maybe Kane would be the right opponent. However, Kane would need a lot of rehabbing before such a match. I would think he would need to be extremely dominant from now on, probably even picking up a world title, if fans were to take the match seriously. Still, much like Stone Cold and The Rock, it would be rather nice if Kane was Undertaker’s last Wrestlemania opponent.
Another possibility is CM Punk. He has not faced ‘Taker at ‘Mania yet but he has, of course, recently feuded with him. Unfortunately, Punk was pretty much owned during that feud so, again, he would need to be built up somewhat before any potential clash. If the Straight Edge Society are still together next year then their presence may just throw a bit of doubt into the equation. Other than that, I don’t see any possibilities on the current roster. An SES break-up might lead to a push for Luke Gallows but I don’t see him reaching that level that quickly. Christian has the skills but not the credibility and Kofi Kingston would need serious pushing to be a genuine threat.
That leaves us to consider the possibility of someone from outside the current roster coming in for a match? Fans are mentioning two names frequently: Goldberg and Sting. Goldberg is known to be signing a merchandise deal with WWE at the moment. Wrestlemania 27 is in Atlanta, where Goldberg has just a little support! Although he does not admit to any particular desire to have another match, at the same time he has not ruled it out. He is also a likely candidate to go into the Hall of Fame next year. Still, I don’t see it myself. By then, Goldberg will be 44 years old himself and, assuming he doesn’t have a match between now and then, will not have had a pro wrestling match for about seven years – that’s a lot of rust. The “unbeatable” aura he once carried has eroded to a considerable extent and many of the current generation of WWE fans will not even remember his disappointing WWE run, much less his glory days back in WCW. Then again, we might have expected the same to be true of Bret Hart but the crowd still popped for him. Also, with Goldberg it would be too obvious that he was just wrestling “one more match” and, therefore, it is unlikely that anyone would really buy him as a possible winner. If Goldberg does wrestle at next year’s ‘Mania, it should be against some cocky young smart-mouth heel that he can spear, jackhammer and pin in short order to get a nice pop from the fans, create a feel-good ‘Mania moment and give himself a nicer farewell to the business.
Sting is another kettle of fish entirely. Ever since he donned the trench coat and adopted the Crow style face-paint fans have tended to see him as WCW’s answer to The Undertaker. Despite his age he is still in good shape and works to a high standard. His status within the business is also truly legendary. The problem of recognition amongst the current WWE audience remains, however, as does the fact that he is approaching retirement. Like Goldberg, it would probably be an obvious one-off appearance, so the outcome would be all too predictable. Also, in both men’s cases one has to question whether or not they would be willing to do the weeks or even months of TV build-up and promotion that WWE would want for such a match. Moreover, Sting has never once even hinted at any desire to go to WWE and seems perfectly happy in TNA at the moment. Finally, even if he leaves TNA and decides he wants to go to WWE, there is no guarantee that they would put him on the ‘Mania bill. WWE give Wrestlemania spots to people because they think they will draw, not because they deserve it. Otherwise Jerry Lawler would have been booked on a Wrestlemania card years ago. I don’t see Goldberg-Undertaker happening but I see even less likelihood of Sting-Undertaker.
So, after all that we are still left with John Cena as the likeliest opponent and WWE may well go that way, though many speculate that an interim opponent will be found next year and Cena will be saved for the one after, the twentieth Wrestlemania match of The Undertaker and an obvious round number to finish his career with. There is yet, however, another possibility which I would advocate as utterly changing the dynamic. Simply put, why not book Undertaker in a tag team match? This would give a whole new angle to the situation as, for the first time, Undertaker’s streak would not be entirely in his own hands. WWE would be able to play up the possibility that ‘Taker’s partner might be pinned and thereby cost him the streak. The obvious partner would be Kane and he has enough “tweener” mystique to muddy the waters even further, by hinting in promos that he might actually want to lose just to cost his “brother” the streak. A tag match, with a partner of dubious loyalty would be a whole new spin on the streak and could breathe life into it.
Moreover, if next year did turn out to be Undertaker’s last hurrah, then what better way to go out than teaming with his storyline brother? Of course, their opponents would need to be carefully chosen. If it had been this year, I would have said D-Generation X would have been perfect for the job. However, I would like to see the team of ShowMiz, The Big Show and The Miz kept together and remain champions all the way through to next year’s Wrestlemania for the purpose. By then they would be established as a fantastically dominant team and The Miz is young enough and athletic enough that he could do the majority of bumping to keep the match going at a fast pace despite the more advanced ages and huge size of the other participants.
Another possibility would be for The Undertaker to take on a “dark apprentice”, a character that could maintain the “occult” gimmick after Undertaker himself calls it a day. This would give another young wrestler the rub and allow WWE to use the match to help create a new star while, at the same time, casting doubt on the outcome through the device of the opponents targeting the inexperience of Undertaker’s partner. This would, of course, be dependent on finding a young talent with the necessary aura and charisma to take on the role convincingly. Perhaps a young man like NWA star Mikael Judas might fit the bill. This would, however, be similar to what WWE tried to do in 2003 with Nathan Jones, only for Jones to prove unsuited for the role so they may well be leery of trying it again.
In conclusion, then, my preferred option for The Undertaker would be to see him team with Kane against an incredibly dominant ShowMiz at Wrestlemania 27. The only problem with that is that it would prevent The Hart Dynasty from winning the tag titles in the meantime (unless they won them then dropped them back to ShowMiz during the year) but, given the youth of the Harts, I don’t think this is a major problem. This match would be a genuinely less predictable contest and would also achieve the bonus of giving Kane something worthwhile to do at next year’s event, rather than merely making up the numbers in the Money in the Bank ladder match.
The Sky’s The Limit: the Fastest Journeys to the Top of WCW!
Following Jack Swagger’s capture of the World Heavyweight Championship on Smackdown last week, and in view of the continuing popularity of my earlier article Strapped to a Rocket: the Fastest Journeys to the Top of the WWE! I thought it might be fun to take a similar look at the World Heavyweight Title’s antecedent, the WCW Championship. Here, therefore, in reverse order are the eleven fastest journeys to the top in WCW history. I should point out that I have not included anyone who had already been NWA Champion.
11 Ron Simmons.
Damn! Long before his time with WWE, Simmons was a successful tag team wrestler as one half of Doom, the other being Butch Reed. The team debuted in late 1989 and were tag team champions within about six months. Their reign was long lasting and saw them recognised as the first WCW Tag Team Champions when the company transitioned from the NWA titles to the new belts. During this period they feuded with just about everyone who was anyone in the tag business – the Steiners, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and so on – so it was no surprise, when the team broke up, that WCW looked to make individual stars of them. Simmons took the babyface role and was initially pushed hard but failed to take the championship at Halloween Havoc 1991. It was not until August of 1992, 1009 days after his debut, that Simmons finally captured the gold and, given that he had spent the majority of his singles run in mid-card feuds, it was something of a surprise. Simmons beat Vader to win the title and, in the process, become the first African-American World Wrestling Champion. Other African-Americans had held various “world titles” before then but this was the first time that one of the big organizations had officially recognized an African-American champion and, for that reason alone, Simmons’ reign is immensely significant. As title reigns go, it was not considered one of the more memorable. His title defences were mostly against lesser lights and he returned to the mid-card when he lost the belt about three months later. Even so, Ron Simmons had made history and, given the man’s work ethic and overall contributions to the business, one can hardly begrudge him his day in the sun.
10 Kevin Nash
The first of several disputable entries in this list, Kevin Nash won his first WCW World Heavyweight Championship 930 days after debuting for WCW as part of the Outsiders at the start of in the infamous NWO angle. However, Nash had, of course, spent almost three years in WCW in an earlier run. Given that that run had seen Nash use several different gimmicks, none of which had anything to do with his NWO run, I don’t think that that is really an issue. Nash, of course, was also a former World Wrestling Federation champion by this point so it is perhaps unsurprising that he climbed to the top of WCW relatively quickly on his return to the company. I won’t recount the convoluted history of the storylines that led to his ascension; suffice it to say that Nash remains one of the most controversial world champions in modern pro wrestling history. Detractors claim that he was a poor draw as champion, an inferior worker and that he used his political clout to put himself over, most especially in his title victory when he beat the then-undefeated Goldberg after Scott Hall interfered with a taser. On the other hand, one could argue that Nash only took as long as he did to win the WCW title because he himself was being held back by Hulk Hogan’s political manoeuvring.
9 Vader
Vader made his debut on WCW television on July 7th 1990 and was champion not much more than two years later, on July 12th 1992. However, this 736-day period actually felt much shorter, as Vader’s appearances were sporadic, at best, until 1992. It was actually only in 1991 that Vader signed a full-time contract with WCW so, to most fans, it probably seemed as if the big man had won the title in not much more than a year. Vader, at this point in his career, was undoubtedly championship material. An amazingly athletic big man, Vader was the perfect bad guy to heroes like Sting, and even Ron Simmons looked like an underdog next to him. This was only the first of three championship reigns and only lasted three weeks, an injury forcing him to lose to the title to Simmons. Nevertheless, one could hardly suggest that it had come too soon. A taste of the domination that was to follow had been given to WCW fans in this first title reign.
8 Bret Hart
Given the fact that Bret Hart arrived in WCW as the injured party in the hottest wrestling angle of all time, and that he was only the second five time WWE champion in the company’s history (the first being Hulk Hogan, of course) it is frankly astonishing that WCW waited almost two years, 706 days, before putting their top belt around his waist. WCW’s handling of Hart must go down as one of the greatest examples of poor booking in the history of the business and Hart’s WCW title reigns are little more than a footnote to his career. However, it is worth noting that this saw Bret Hart become one of only a handful of men to hold both titles before Vince McMahon acquired total control of the business and that he was never actually defeated for the WCW title; both of his reigns ended when he forfeited the belt due to injury.
7 Randy Savage
Yet another man who was already a household name when he entered WCW. It is a testament to the star quality of Savage that, despite joining the company at the height of Hulk Hogan’s dominance, in December of 1994, Savage was still champion within a year, just 364 days later. Savage actually won the first of four WCW titles in one of WCW’s World War Three battles royal, a three-ring, sixty man contest. However, not one of Savage’s WCW title reigns lasted for more than a month. It is a clear indication of how the business had changed during Savage’s career that titles now switched hands frequently where earlier times had seen them won and lost only rarely. Savage had gone to WCW with something to prove after Vince had made it clear he felt that the Macho Man’s in-ring days were over; for better or worse, he certainly proved it.
6 Goldberg
The first of three names that appear on both of my lists of fastest champions, Bill Goldberg’s 287-day rise to WCW Champion is almost legend. This early part of his run was handled almost perfectly by WCW and absolutely caught the imagination of wrestling fans everywhere. His awesome entrance, his refusal to speak and most of all, his ever-inflated winning streak, were something very new in WCW at the time. Often compared to Austin at this time, the comparisons seem to be based on three things: their bald heads, goatee beards and the fact that they became faces of their respective companies at about the same time. As wrestlers, they could scarcely have been more different. The mistakes, of course, came once Goldberg had made it to the top. First, WCW gave his title victory over Hulk Hogan away for free on television instead of making a killing on pay per view, a decision which can be understood in terms of wanting as large an audience as was possible to see the “changing of the guard” but which, nonetheless, simply gave away money. Then, there was the infamous end, when Scott Hall and a taser combined to give Nash the first victory over Goldberg. All that can be said for this is that Goldberg had to lose sometime and at least the interference helped to keep him strong. With hindsight, the smart thing to have done would have been to ride the horse for as long as it had legs, possibly leaving the title with Goldberg until the audience finally began to get bored, at which point he could have been turned heel. Or, he might have been stripped of the title, or lost it on a DQ or similar, in order to gain a sense of injustice. It’s easy to say with hindsight and, the fact is that with Hogan, Nash, Savage, Hart and so on and so forth all in the same company, often with a fair amount of creative control, no one was going to stay on top for very long.
5 Jeff Jarrett
Another contentious entry here, as Jeff Jarrett could be placed as low as seventh on this list if we consider the fact that his first title reign came only during his second spell in WCW. Jarrett, the “Chosen One”, won his first WCW title just 181 days after returning to WCW in October of 1999. However, he had previously spent about a year working for the company earlier in the decade. Either way, he had not clocked up a lot of “company miles” when he became the champion. In many ways, Jarrett was an odd choice for the top spot, having spent most of the nineties as a successful but distinctly mid-card wrestler. That he was a solid and reliable in-ring performer, few would dispute, although just how good remains open to debate. I personally consider him to be a very consistent and entertaining performer in the ring but not all would rate him as highly as I do. Even so, Jarrett didn’t quite seem to have that “it” that a main-event wrestler should have. Although this was the first of four WCW titles, it has to be said that Jarrett won them only during the company’s desperate last couple of years.
4 Vince Russo
No, I can hardly believe I just typed that either but I’m afraid it’s true. On September 25th of 2000, 181 days after making his TV debut, Vince Russo won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. What can we say? To be fair to Russo, he wasn’t simply booking himself to be superman here, since he “won” the title only by escaping a steel cage when Goldberg speared him through it. Moreover, he relinquished the title the next day. The fact is, Russo was just plain desperate at this point and would try anything if he thought it would get WCW some publicity which might just lead to more viewers. This is evidenced by the fact that Russo was actually the ninth of ten different men to hold the belt during 2000. Given that several of these men held the title more than once that year, one can easily see how often Russo was booking title changes. It is probably this, along with another disastrous booking decision that we’ll come to later, more than anything, that is responsible for Russo’s reputation today.
3 The Giant
The second man to appear on both lists, Paul Wight, who would go on to become The Big Show in WWE, is probably the fastest real rise to the top in WCW history. It took just 161 days from his first appearance for The Giant to become WCW’s top guy, knocking off Hulk Hogan in October of 1996. Although he would soon lose the title, he would get it back again, from Ric Flair making him one of only two men (the other being Sting) to win world championships from both Hogan and Flair. In all honesty, Wight was a guaranteed champion from day one. His size and willingness to learn and improve meant that he just had to go all the way. Although not then as good a wrestler as he would become, Wight was much lighter and more athletic back then, which allowed him to hit a wider variety of moves. He probably should have had more championship success in WCW than he actually got.
2 Hulk Hogan
Well, obviously! The third man to appear on both lists, it is perhaps amazing that Hogan didn’t top this one, given that he entered WCW as already being the biggest star in the history of pro wrestling. Just 36 days after signing his contract, he had defeated Ric Flair for the title. Hogan would go on to be associated with much that was good and more that was bad for WCW over the following years but, at this point, it cannot be doubted that he was an enormous asset for the company. Still a massive draw, the pay per view figures alone show that he was a worthy acquisition. This was the first of six reigns that saw Hogan clock up more days as WCW champion than any other wrestler – more than twice as many as Ric Flair, even.
1 David Arquette
I told you that we’d get to another of Vince Russo’s disastrous booking decisions! Following his role in the movie “Ready to Rumble”, Arquette joined in WCW programming on an episode of Thunder, broadcast April 12th of 2000. Two weeks later, he had pinned Eric Bischoff in a tag team match to become WCW champion in what many regard as the worst piece of booking in the history of pro wrestling. To be fair to him, Arquette knew exactly what the reaction of wrestling fans to his title win would be, since he was a fan himself. Nevertheless, as I’ve stated above, WCW was in dire straits at that time and Russo felt compelled to take chances. He obviously felt that the sheer scale of publicity it would garner would more than compensate for the negative reaction the title change would bring. In the event, Russo managed to prove that sometimes there is such a thing as bad publicity. David Arquette proved himself to be a class act by donating his earnings as champion to the paralyzed former wrestler Droz and the families of the sadly deceased Owen Hart and Brian Pillman.
Replaying the Game – a look back.
From the late summer of 2002 to Wrestlemania 20 in 2004, Triple H was the undisputed king of WWE and, most especially, Raw. During this period he was champion almost the whole time and was the top contender for practically all of the rest. In fact, there were only three title matches on the Raw brand that did not feature Triple H in the whole of this time, and he interfered in one of those! Consequently, this more than any other was the period that gave rise to the long-standing criticism that Hunter used his political clout to put himself over, bury any potential rivals and dominate the show that has, to a certain extent, informed all assessments of Triple H ever since. Even here, however, during the most dominant period of his career, there are arguments to be made that WWE had fewer choices than critics might have supposed. Now, as we head to Wrestlemania with both Raw and Smackdown building entertaining storylines involving a whole host of superstars, it is worth looking back a few years to remind ourselves how different the WWE landscape was back then, and perhaps to reassess a period which most people have already made up their minds about.
Summerslam 2002 was, in some ways, a watershed moment for the not long renamed WWE. Brock Lesnar had defeated The Rock for the Undisputed Championship, a real “out with the old, in with the new” moment that saw Rocky leave WWE on his second movie-related hiatus in as many years. Coupled with the recent departures of Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan, that meant that in a space of no more than three months the company had lost arguably the three biggest babyface draws in modern wrestling history. Triple H himself had just recently turned heel so, when Brock Lesnar announced that he would no longer be appearing on Raw, in the immediate aftermath of Summerslam, it left WWE’s flagship show without a champion or a top babyface. The champion part they solved easily.
On the September 2nd edition of Raw, Eric Bischoff awarded the “World Heavyweight Championship” to Triple H. Ostensibly, this championship was the successor to the WCW/NWA heavyweight titles, leaving the WWE Championship on Smackdown. While the belts have swapped shows on several occasions since, this has remained the basic format of WWE programming ever since. In my opinion, this was where the company made their first big mistake of this period. Personally, I’m not a fan of having two top guys in one company anyway but, as long as the two shows are kept pretty much separate I can see the logic and I don’t think it’s a major issue. However, the title should never have simply been awarded to someone. It is true that Bischoff simply handing the title to Triple H put more heat on both of them but, frankly, Triple H was already running pretty hot as a heel for his actions against Shawn Michaels. The Raw champion was always going to be at a disadvantage compared to Smackdown’s, since he would not have beaten Brock Lesnar. Now, the lineage of the Raw title was made even weaker, since it had not even been won in a wrestling ring at all.
Worse yet, this was the ideal time to build up a new contender. Had Bischoff started a tournament to determine Raw’s first World Heavyweight Champion, WWE could have used those matches to build up a new baby face challenger while still ending up with the same result of Triple H being the champ. September’s pay per view, Unforgiven, saw a main event for which Triple H does indeed remain unforgiven with many fans. Hunter’s first challenger on ppv for his new title was Rob Van Dam and Triple H defeated him when Ric Flair turned heel and attacked the challenger. Now, in fairness, no one could really have expected Triple H to drop the new title at the first match. The problem for many fans, however, was that RVD was thrown into the match with relatively little fanfare and basically ejected from the main event scene as soon as he lost that match. Now, personally (and I risk being ostracised from the IWC for saying this) I never really bought RVD as a main-event wrestler. I liked his work and I have plenty of respect for the man himself but something just didn’t quite click for me. That said, he has an undeniable connection with the fans and that could have been used. If the Unforgiven match was the final match of a tournament, RVD could have been booked over a couple of other big names in the run-up to the show, making the match a bigger deal.
For whatever reason, Unforgiven seems to have been a one-time only deal for RVD. It was to be many years before he would end up capturing the WWE title and that happened solely because WWE wanted to promote their new ECW. Whether because they didn’t believe in him as a main event star, his reputedly stiff style or because Triple H buried him, Rob was not booked in one on one ppv title match again. Personally, I have to say that WWE missed the boat here. Maybe RVD was the answer to their prayers and maybe he wasn’t but he could have been built up and presented a whole lot better, and this storyline needed to go on longer to really prove whether he was the man they needed or not. Still, for those who blame Triple H personally for this, I think we have to accept that it all comes down to what you want to believe. It’s certainly true that some wrestlers have accused Triple H of playing politics, burying guys behind their backs, sabotaging pushes and so on. It’s also true that other wrestlers have described him as a great guy, friendly, helpful and pleasant. What are practically impossible to find are attributable, verifiable quotations from Hunter burying anybody. It’s always anonymous sources who say “Triple H says wrestler x isn’t safe, of doesn’t know how to work, or the fans don’t like him” or whatever. Until we get real proof, believe what you will.
The next challenger up for Triple H was Kane. Now, as big a Kane mark as I am, he was clearly not going to replace the likes of Stone Cold or The Rock but then again, who could? The point was that this was the hottest streak Kane had been on since his initial run following his debut. Kane had returned from a torn bicep in August and was on an awesome run. The crowd had popped huge for him and the company had booked him really strongly. In short order he captured the tag team titles and the intercontinental title. If ever there was a good time to put the belt on Kane, this was it. He met Triple H at No Mercy in a title unification match but, like RVD before him, fell victim to outside interference and a dubious finish. Triple H, however, could not be blamed for this.
This was the notorious “Katie Vick” storyline, one of the lowest points in the history of WWE creative. It had started well enough. On the October 7th Raw, Kane’s tag team partner, The Hurricane, was taken out by Flair and Triple H, forcing Kane to defend the tag team titles alone in a fatal four-way. Victorious against the odds, Kane was shocked to hear Triple H mention the name “Katie Vick”. The show ended with Triple H telling Kane “you’re a murderer”. It was a dramatic finish that I can well remember left me anticipating the following week’s show very keenly. Unfortunately, rather than maintaining the dramatic tone, the storyline descended into a string of puerile jokes about necrophilia. The public were outraged, WWE dropped the storyline and there could be no possibility after that that Kane would actually win the belt. Another opportunity dropped by WWE but in no way due to Triple H.
The Elimination Chamber debuted in November 2002 at the Survivor Series. This saw Triple H defend his title against five others: Chris Jericho, Kane, RVD, Booker T and the returning Shawn Michaels. In the event, Shawn Michaels won the title. RVD was involved in a spot in which Triple H got hurt, which may or may not have contributed to this being Rob’s last ppv title shot, even in a group, for a looooong time. Shawn Michaels won the match, sparking further speculation that Hunter was playing politics. His long-time friendship with Michaels hardly being a secret, many speculated that Hunter was willing to lie down for his friends, if for no one else. In truth, Michaels might well have been the perfect guy to fill the void left by Austin and The Rock, if not for two drawbacks. One was that Shawn did not feel up to the rigours of a championship schedule and the other was that, since the Chamber was only his second match back since his retirement in 1998, no one else was really sure if he was up to it either.
Besides, WWE were already lining up their next big babyface star. They had, in fact, debuted him at the Survivor Series, so it was no surprise when Triple H recaptured the title at Armageddon, to close out the year as champion. The man WWE were banking on to rescue their falling ratings and buy-rates was Big Poppa Pump, Scott Steiner. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that anyone ever thought that this could work. Steiner had come into the company carrying injuries, so WWE kept him out of the ring for as long as possible. First, they ran a storyline in which Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon competed to sign Steiner. Then, it was a “hands-off” build to a match between Steiner and Triple H at the Royal Rumble of 2003. The result was a match that probably has to go down in history as the worst match in Triple H’s career. Part of the problem was that, by keeping the two apart, WWE had raised expectations for this match going in. Part was Steiner’s injuries still not being quite right. Still another factor was that Scott Steiner is not, and never has been, a natural singles babyface. By the time the match was over, I could tell watching at home that this storyline was done. Steiner was given a re-match at No Way Out, quickly beaten and never let near the televised main event again in WWE.
So, Triple H was hogging the belt again. He had now been champ for five out of six months and was heading into Wrestlemania. Still, it wasn’t like this was entirely unreasonable. RVD perhaps should have been given more chances but Katie Vick had torpedoed Kane. Shawn Michaels wasn’t interested in the top job and Scott Steiner wasn’t suited for it (which is not to say that WWE couldn’t have got more out of him than they did). Maybe Triple H had sabotaged RVD’s chances but that is the most that he could fairly be accused of at this point. None of this had solved the main problem, which was that Raw was still lacking a top babyface. Maybe moving Kurt Angle, Undertaker or Brock Lesnar over from Smackdown might have been the answer but Smackdown was going great at the time and it made little sense to solve the problems of one show by creating them on another. Instead, WWE looked from within once more. This time, to Booker T, the former WCW world champion who was beginning to really catch on as a babyface on Raw.
Booker’s match with Triple H is another example of a match where Triple H has been blamed for sabotaging the career of a rising star. In this case, I do think that WWE made a big mistake. That, however, is the benefit of hindsight. I do not think that, regardless of whether or not it was Hunter’s call, WWE ever had any intention of using Booker as anything other than an interim challenger. By the time Wrestlemania took place, WWE had already signed Goldberg to a contract. Goldberg had been the hottest thing WCW produced in the 90s and the only babyface potentially on the level of a Rock or Austin still out there. So, sure, if people want to blame Triple H for not putting Booker T or Kevin Nash over for the next few months they can. I remember personally being really disappointed when both of those guys failed to capture the belt. The fact was, though, that WWE were now simply marking time for the introduction of Goldberg to the main event scene.
By the time that Goldberg got his shot, it was Summerslam, and Triple H had been champion for about ten of eleven months. Hunter was injured going into this match and so the decision was made to leave the belt on him until he could drop it to Goldberg “properly”. Of course, one might just as easily argue that, if he was unfit the belt should be taken off of Triple H as soon as possible. The match was an elimination chamber, so having his pod open last and then wrapping the match up quickly could easily cover Hunter’s limitations. In the event, Goldberg was a rampaging monster until Triple H emerged and whacked him with his trusty sledgehammer. At the time, many felt that not handing the title to Goldberg at the first opportunity was a mistake but, regardless of that, Goldberg ended Triple H’s near year of dominance at Unforgiven the following month.
Goldberg’s reign lasted less than three months, however, before he dropped the title back to Triple H in a triple threat match with Kane at Armageddon, ensuring that Hunter ended 2003 as he had begun it, World Heavyweight Champion. Goldberg, like Steiner before him, had failed to take off as the lead babyface that WWE wanted. How one feels about that is, once again, a matter of perspective. Some felt that Triple H had himself sabotaged Goldberg’s push by refusing to lose the title at Summerslam. Many felt that WWE had dropped the ball by not booking Goldberg in the same ultra-dominant fashion that WCW had during Goldberg’s first amazingly successful run. Personally, I’d have to disagree. I almost feel bad writing this because, by all accounts, Goldberg is a really nice guy but, to me, if the only way a wrestler can get over is by being booked to squash every one of his opponents in less than five minutes, then they don’t really have any business at the top of the card anyway.
The problem with booking the way people wanted it done is that it leaves you nowhere to go. Once Goldberg has squashed all of his contenders, what do you do? Sure, you can move him to Smackdown and do the same there but, after that, all you have left is a roster full of bums and a champion with no one to wrestle. Even as desperate as he was for a new star, Vince McMahon was never going to squash the characters he had so carefully built up simply in exchange for a short-term ratings spike. Moreover, we have to bear in mind the fact that Goldberg, reputedly, has never really been in the wrestling business for the love of it. If he’d upped and left, deciding he’d made enough money, Vince would have been left with a shattered roster with no way of getting their heat back.
In any case, whether you agree with that or not, the fact was that we were once again stuck with Hunter as champion. Personally, by this point I was heartily sick of his reign and would have welcomed a comeback by The Ultimate Warrior if it meant a new champion (at least for one week). Looking back, though, it seems that it is unfair to blame Triple H for holding onto the belt too tightly. That whole period was a quest to find a new star and, every time it failed WWE were left with the option of keeping Triple H as champ. The question really comes down to this: do you believe that Triple H is responsible for the creative errors that led to his being without a viable challenger? Do you believe that the reason that Triple H stayed champion for so long is that he was refusing to put guys over, even when there are at least arguable business reasons for why those guys should not have been champions? At Wrestlemania 20, in 2004, Triple H lost the title to Chris Benoit in a triple threat match. The man who apparently refused to put anyone over tapped out to a submission hold, from a guy who’d come from WCW and spent most of his WWE career in the midcard, on the grandest stage of them all. It was clearly an example of putting someone over. Triple H still had many more title reigns to come – heck, he probably still has some more to come – but he would never again be quite this dominant over such a long period. Although Benoit’s title reign would also not be quite what WWE were looking for, by the time it was over, WWE were ready to reap the rewards of the other purpose of Hunter’s long period of dominance – the maturation of Evolution.
Strapped to a Rocket: the Fastest Journeys to the Top of the WWE!
After Sheamus’ stunning victory for the WWE Championship this past Sunday, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the other fastest ascents to the top of the mountain in WWE history. Although many are protesting that Sheamus has won the title too soon, it may come as a surprise to find out that his is not the shortest run to the title in history. Here I present the list of those men that I believe to be the top eleven quickest world champions in WWE history, although one or two of them, as you will see, are somewhat arguable. I am here counting the number of days it took each of these men, starting from their television debut, to win the championship. I’ll count down in reverse order.
11: Bob Backlund. Later to become known for antics so wild and crazy that many fans remain unsure just what is a work and what isn’t, when he made his debut on February the 8th1977, Bob Backlund was the classic all-American babyface. An accomplished amateur wrestler (he was an NCAA Division II Champion), Backlund had become known for a clean, technical wrestling style and had already found a fair amount of success, and championship belts, in various other territories. Backlund was the perfect foil for the rule-breaking champion “Superstar” Billy Graham. It was not much more than a year later, just 377 days after his debut, that Backlund defeated Graham to begin his reign as the 7th WWWF Champion. And what a reign it was! Glossing over a couple of dubious decisions that are not recognized by the WWE, Backlund was champ for almost six years and faced practically everybody who was anybody in the business at the time, including a string of “Champion vs Champion” matches that pitted him against NWA Champions Harley Race and Ric Flair, and AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel. He even found time to team with Pedro Morales and win the tag team championships! Finally, The Iron Sheik was victorious where so many had failed, defeating Backlund with his notorious Camel Clutch when Backlund’s manager, Arnold Skaaland, threw in the towel. Backlund would famously return to the company and capture a shocking second championship from Bret Hart eleven years later.
10: The Undertaker. Debuting at the 1990 Survivor Series, The Undertaker took just 370 days, barely over one calendar year, to capture the biggest prize in the company. Now, over nineteen years since his debut, it is difficult to remember the wrestling landscape without the Deadman but back then, this character was a major gamble. Although the World Wrestling Federation was the home of larger than life, outlandish characters, The Undertaker, with his supernatural trappings, represented a leap into the unknown even for them. Add to that the fact that Mark Calaway was yet to really step into main-event level wrestling and the nature of the gamble becomes clear. Of course, the gimmick was actually insanely popular right from the word go, to the extent that Pat Patterson recalled that he was actually surprised that it took as long as it did for The Undertaker to reach the top! Making all of this more impressive was the fact ‘Taker won the title from Hulk Hogan himself, something few people could boast. Sure, it was a crooked win, and Hogan took the title back six days later but the fact remained: hardly a year into his wrestling career, The Undertaker had defeated the Immortal one and reached the top of the mountain.
9: Kurt Angle. If ever a wrestler had seemed destined to be WWE Champion it had to be Kurt Angle. After he won his Olympic Gold Medal in the 1996 Atlanta games, Angle found himself pursued by the WWE. However, at that point he wanted to try other career options and, when he contacted them again a couple of years later, he found that interest had cooled somewhat. Once they got him in developmental, however, that all changed! From the moment he made his debut at the 1999 Survivor Series it was clear that Angle had it all. His sense of entitlement, due to his amateur credentials, his infuriating smugness and his winning streak made him hated heel almost instantly and, as time wore on, and Angle resorted to ever more desperate means to preserve his unbeaten run, he became ever more hated. It was at No Mercy 2000, just 343 days into his WWE career, that Angle won the Championship from The Rock, ironically, the man who had handed Angle his very first pinfall loss. Once at the top, Angle never looked back. That first title reign saw successful defences against The Undertaker and Triple H, but the high point of it had to be the six man Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon, where Angle successfully held off the challenges of Rikishi, Triple H, The Undertaker, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. It really doesn’t get any bigger or better than that. Although Angle dropped the title back to The Rock at No Way Out 2001, just about four months after winning it, it hardly mattered. Kurt Angle had established himself as one of the top pro wrestlers in the business, which is what he has remained ever since.
8: The Big Show. Paul Wight came to the WWE in 1999 already a former world champion with victories over Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, thanks to his days in WCW, so it is hardly surprising that he found himself champ before the year was out, after a mere 273 days. Subbing in for the run-over Stone Cold Steve Austin in a triple threat match against Triple H and The Rock, Show could hardly have asked for a better way to become champion. However, his title reign would be somewhat anticlimactic. His only pay per view title defence came against The Big Boss Man at Armageddon the next month, in one of WWE’s more tasteless storylines. However, this match actually took place on the lower card, as the main event went to Triple H and Vince McMahon’s street fight. Show also made successful defences against The British Bulldog, Kane and Triple H, before Triple H finally got the job done on the first Raw of 2000. Still, a genuinely gigantic man, Big Show is the very definition of “over without the belt” and will remain a big star as long as he wants to be.
7: Kane. Kane’s meteoric rise to the top is somewhat arguable due to the fact that his debut was not actually his debut. Glenn Jacobs had actually signed with the WWE in 1995 and had competed as Jerry Lawler’s psychotic dentist Isaac Yankem and the fake Diesel in two very forgettable gimmicks. However, the character Kane, although teased for some time beforehand, did not make his televised debut until Badd Blood, on October the 5th 1997. Just 247 days later, at King of the Ring 1998, Kane was WWE Champion. Kane’s rapid ascent to the top was perhaps unsurprising given that, unlike most wrestlers, Kane was brought in as a main-event wrestler from the word go. His gimmick, as The Undertaker’s brother, meant that he was starting at the top. Kane, of course, would famously hold his championship for only one day, losing it back to Steve Austin the next night on Raw in what was regarded as one of the classic matches in Raw history. However, although Kane may not have reached such dizzy heights again, he has remained a serious player in the WWE. Although it is beginning to seem unlikely now, another title reign is not yet out of the question for the Big Red Monster.
6: Goldberg. Bill Goldberg differs from most of the men mentioned so far on this list because, when he reached the WWE in 2003, he was already an established main-event wrestler and former World Champion from his WCW days. Indeed, although he took only 174 days to take the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H at Unforgiven, most critics argued that, if anything the WWE had waited too long to push him to the top! One can also argue that Goldberg does not belong on this list because he never won the WWE Championship; personally, I think it’s clear that the WWE themselves regard the two titles as largely interchangeable, and therefore I see it as a rather pedantic point. Regardless of that, Goldberg’s run as champ in WWE was largely regarded as a disappointment. Whether one blames him for not adapting to the WWE style, or them for not booking him correctly, this title run did not even come close to matching his WCW achievements. It was barely three months later, at Armageddon when Triple H reclaimed his belt. By Wrestlemania 20, it was known that Goldberg was leaving the WWE. The man who had once been one of the biggest draws in the wrestling business left it, to a general response of apathy.
5: Sheamus. Well, we all know this story, don’t we? Sheamus’ victory over John Cena at TLC came just 166 days after the Irishman made his WWE television debut on ECW. Sheamus’ elevation in itself was not a surprise, but its speed has been, largely because he has only been booked with mid-card talent until, suddenly, he finds himself number one contender and champion all in the space of a fortnight. Where this will lead, we cannot say. I myself have been a fan of Sheamus’ for years, so I have every confidence that he will go on to be a long-term player in the company. However, nothing is guaranteed in this business.
4: Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar burst onto the scene on the Raw immediately following Wrestlemania 18 and was booked as an unstoppable force from the get go. By the time he defeated The Rock for the championship at Summerslam 2002, he had only been appearing on TV for 160 days! In that time he had accumulated a number of victories, most notably over Hulk Hogan, who he had supposedly retired. Lesnar’s first title reign was memorable for several reasons. Firstly, it saw the beginning of the Raw and Smackdown separate championships system that has persisted to this day. Secondly, because Lesnar turned babyface simply by being so brutal and destructive that people began to like and respect him for it. When, at Survivor Series, he lost the title to The Big Show, his awesome feats of strength displayed in suplexing and throwing the giant around, before finally lifting him to his shoulders for the F5, something which, at that point, had not been done before, meant that he was firmly established as a crowd favourite. Sadly, Lesnar’s heart was not in the business, otherwise who knows what he might have achieved?
3: Yokozuna. Yokozuna’s 144 day sprint to the top represents the fastest journey from TV debut to WWE champion of anybody who was not already established as a main-event star when they joined the company. Making his first televised appearance on October the 31st, his rise was even more astonishing than that of Sheamus and Lesnar, as Yokozuna won the Royal Rumble less than three months into his WWE career! Playing the typically anti-American foreign heel, Yokozuna was billed as a Japanese sumo wrestler when he was, in fact, Samoan wrestler Rodney Anoa’i, nephew of Wild Samoans Afa and Sika and cousin of Rikishi. However, if one thinks that Kane’s title reign, at one day, was brief, Yokozuna’s was real blink and you’ll miss it stuff! At Wrestlemania 9, Yokozuna, as Royal Rumble winner, took on then-champion Bret Hart, and defeated him after Mr Fuji, managing Yokozuna, threw salt in the face of Hart. The evil duo had little time to celebrate, however, as Hulk Hogan came storming to the ring. A challenge was made and answered, a match quickly set up and, before you knew it, Hulk Hogan was champion for the 5th time! It wasn’t all bad for Yokozuna, however. He would remain a top villain for some time, regaining the title at King of the Ring and holding it for an impressive 280 days. A memorable run with Owen Hart as tag champions also came. Sadly, however, Yokozuna’s weight just kept increasing. WWE could not use him anymore he proved unable to drop the excess weight. He passed away, aged just 34, in October 2000.
2: Ric Flair. The Nature Boy Ric Flair entered the WWE in 1991 calling himself the “real world’s champion” and it wasn’t long before he could call himself WWE Champion – just 132 days, in fact. Flair, of course, was already a legendary figure and multiple time NWA Champion, so it was merely a matter of when, not if, he won the title. Nevertheless, his title reign was remarkable for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Flair won the title as a result of winning the Royal Rumble match itself, the only time that this has ever happened. Secondly, Flair won the match from number three, going nearly an hour, which, at the time, was a record-setting performance. Flair did not hold the title for an especially long time, losing it to Randy Savage at Wrestlemania. He would regain the title once before returning to WCW.
1: Hulk Hogan. No surprise to find the Hulkster’s name at the top of a wrestling list. This one, however, is somewhat disputable. Hogan made his second televised debut for the WWE on December the 27th 1983 and won the championship from The Iron Sheik a mere 27 days later! However, Hogan had wrestled in the WWE before, in 1979, for around a year, albeit as a heel managed by Freddie Blassie, rather than the babyface who won the title in 1984. Even adding all that time together, however, Hogan’s rise was rapid. In the meantime, he had been a big star both in New Japan and the AWA. Indeed, legend has it that, so distraught was he to lose Hogan to Vince McMahon, Verne Gagne offered The Iron Sheik a considerable sum of money to legitimately break Hogan’s leg in their title match. Whether this is true or not is another matter entirely. Whatever the case, this was the title reign that started it all: Hulkamania, Wrestlemania, Rock ‘n’ Wrestling and so on. Hogan would hold the title for over four years on this occasion and, even when he finally lost it, he did so only be way of a screwy finish and a vacated title. I should also point out that The Iron Sheik also won the title in short order, just weeks after debuting in 1983. However, like Hogan, Sheik had worked for WWE back in 1979. Unlike Hogan, he had been using the same character and gimmick back then, which is why I excluded him from this list.
Anyone interested may also wish to check out my post on the fastest climbs to the top in WCW: https://marshalllaw2.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/the-skys-the-limit-the-fastest-journeys-to-the-top-of-wcw/
Marshall Law 