The goal for any professional wrestler, regardless of company, is to win championship gold. Climbing the ranks and winning world championships, midcard belts, or tag team titles, are usually what defines the careers of many individuals. Many successful champions are recognised in the wrestling world, such as John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, and Edge, though some names go under the radar in terms of what they’ve won.
Whether it be due to bad booking, underrated work, or down to the fact that their success came outside of WWE, it's easy to miss the long list of championships that some talents have won over the course of their career.
10 Christopher Daniels
Whilst its unclear where Daniels stands in terms of his in-ring career going forwards, he’s currently an active backstage member at AEW. Despite never making a name for himself in WWE, he has achieved an illustrious career outside of the top company, winning championships in a wide array of promotions.
His runs in ROH and TNA found him amassing over ten tag title reigns, including runs with the NWA Tag Titles, also winning the X-Division Title four times, and winning both the ROH Television and World titles. While it would take a long time to list all of his championships from around the world, it’s worth also noting an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship reign alongside a certain American Dragon.
9 R-Truth
R-Truth has won the 24/7 Championship a ridiculously high fifty-three times to date. When taking into account championship reigns, it would be fair to ignore the title, due to its large insignificance. However, that doesn’t rule Truth out of having a surprisingly large amount of title wins. He is a former Hardcore, US, and Tag Champion in WWE, but his most success came elsewhere.
He is also a former two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, also winning the NWA and TNA Tag Team belts too. His success as a world champion isn’t often discussed, but its testament to his underrated work in the ring that he has his name in the history books alongside some greats.
8 Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes is somebody with many years of experience in the wrestling business, and despite being seen as either a good hand or comedic worker for a long time in WWE, he is a very distinguished champion in the wrestling world, even in WWE. During his run, he was a nine-time Hardcore Champion, three-time Intercontinental Champion, and a three-time Tag Team Champion.
Elsewhere, he won numerous titles in WCW, outside of his similarly awful gimmicks that superseded his WWE characters in terms of poorness, winning the US belt on two occasions, and winning several tag titles during his stint. Rhodes gets better with age, and it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility of him winning another championship at some point before the end of his career.
7 Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler has spent a long time in WWE without ever being granted the chance with a true run at the top. There have been times where WWE should have pushed him, but those chances were missed. Despite that, Ziggler’s longevity has served up a big résumé.
Although his reigns were short and unremarkable, he is a two-time World Heavyweight Champion, in addition to being a four-time Tag Team Champion, a two-time US Champion, and managing an astonishing six reigns as Intercontinental Champion, ranking up with some of the most reigns of that belt in history. It’s an impressive collection of titles, that should even arguably be richer.
6 Cody Rhodes
Still just in his thirties, Rhodes has already had a long career in wrestling. Starting out in WWE, he cemented himself as a promising young champion, winning the Intercontinental Championship on two occasions, and ending his run as a six-time Tag Team Champion.
When leaving WWE, he found extended success in several promotions, winning the IWGP United States Championship, and becoming World Champion in both ROH and the NWA. He is also the only two-time AEW TNT Champion to date and is sure to find more success within the company in the future.
5 Bobby Roode
It’s safe to say that Roode’s career in WWE has been a flop, especially following an impressive NXT Championship run. Whilst his time has been underwhelming, he was won a surprising number of titles in the company, being a three-time Tag Team Champion, US Champion, and 24/7 Champion to add to his time at the head of NXT.
Outside of the company, he is someone who achieved a lot of success as a six-time TNA Tag Team Champion, and two-time World Champion in the company, with a collection of other titles from around the world.
4 Sheamus
Sheamus burst onto the scene in WWE at the end of 2009, winning the WWE Championship in his rookie year. Two more reigns with the WWE Title, as well as a World Heavyweight Championship run, makes him a four-time world champion, something which seems odd considering his placement in the company. He is certainly an underrated individual, but his honours list more than makes up for that.
On top of his world title runs, he is a three-time United States Champion and a five-time Tag Team Champion. Throw in his Royal Rumble and MITB victories and you have one of the more decorated champions in WWE history.
3 Kofi Kingston
Kingston is someone who was long held back, constrained to the midcard in WWE, but eventually climbed the ranks to win the WWE Championship a couple years ago. In addition to becoming a world champion, he is also one of the most decorated tag team wrestlers on all time, with a massive fourteen tag title reigns alongside many different partners.
He has also amassed four Intercontinental Championships and three US Championships. He will undoubtedly win more gold before he hangs up the boots, but his record as a champion is truly phenomenal for somebody who was so rarely given shots at the top title.
2 John Morrison
When watching WWE programming, you’d think Morrison wasn’t all that important, but when looking at his accomplishments, its clear to see his prolonged career of golden pursuits. In WWE alone, he is a six-time Tag Champion, a three-time Intercontinental Champion, and an ECW Champion.
Outside of WWE, he became one of the more prominent champions in all of wrestling, winning titles in a variety of promotions worldwide. Most notably, he was world champion in AAA, Lucha Underground, and Impact, in addition to other title wins in those companies. If he were to leave WWE again, he’d be sure to continue that huge success.
1 The Miz
Often an underrated commodity, The Miz has the distinct honour of being the first two-time Grand Slam Champion. When looking back in years to come, many will view The Miz as one of the greater champions of all time, especially with him likely to win more titles before his career is through.
He is a two-time WWE Champion, retaining his belt in the main event of WrestleMania no less, a two-time US Champion, an eight-time Tag Team Champion, and his astonishing eight reigns of the Intercontinental Champion make him the second most celebrated champion in the belt’s long and prestigious history.