It's every new WWE signee's dream to one day make it to the very top of the company and hoist up that WWE World or Universal title above their head, celebrating in front of thousands of cheering fans - or booing fans, if you are a heel or happen to be named Joe Anoa'i in real life. That's the ultimate sign that you've made it in the business, and in most cases, it leads to greater fame, better pay come contract renegotiation time, better endorsements, and tons more perks.
But as is the reality in the world of pro wrestling, only a few can win these main event titles. And on the flip side of things, there are countless examples of wrestlers who retired or left WWE, never to return again, without ever holding a main event title for the company.
That said, this list will focus on wrestlers who have yet to win the Universal or WWE World titles. Before we look at these 15 wrestlers and assess their chances of winning a belt, we should establish some qualifications. The wrestlers in the list have to be:
a) Male, as we don't think WWE will ever allow intergender matches like they did in the days of Jeff Jarrett or Chris Jericho vs. Chyna.
b) Currently pushed as, and/or better-known over their WWE career as a singles competitor. As such, The New Day, Enzo and Cass, Gallows and Anderson, etc. are not included.
c) Part of WWE's main roster as of this writing, but not a Cruiserweight. That means no Samoa Joe, TJ Perkins, etc. included in here either.
d) Not too far down on the card at the present. Hence, no Jinder Mahal, Curt Hawkins, or Curtis Axel. And no James Ellsworth either!
e) Most importantly, they must not have held either one of WWE's main event titles, meaning the WWE World Championship or the WWE Universal Championship.
25 15. CESARO
Sad to say, but the clock may be running out on Cesaro and whatever hopes he may have to become a main event champion. He's turning 36 before the year is over, and while his "odd couple" tag team partnership with Sheamus is finally gaining traction (as what looks to be the APA with a European twist), it appears as if WWE has no plans to push the Swiss Superman as a credible threat for the Universal Championship on RAW.
Of course, there's the possibility he will one day be traded to SmackDown, as has been rumored in recent weeks. If he makes it there, he could potentially step up as a challenger to AJ Styles' WWE World Championship, and if the chemistry is right, that could make for some terrific matches. That may be Cesaro's best hope now, as he doesn't have much of a chance to win the Universal belt in a brand that also features Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Brock Lesnar, and lest we forget, Roman Reigns.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: FAIR
24 14. THE GOLDEN TRUTH (GOLDUST AND R-TRUTH)
The RAW brand's oldest tag team (with vast experience in singles competition, hence their inclusion) provides decades of combined experience from both men in the team, but zero chance of main event gold at this point in their careers.
In a career that's spanned over 25 years, Goldust has won his share of midcard titles in wrestling's big leagues, but he has never won a main event title. That's all you need to know about the Bizarre One's chances of winning the Universal or WWE World title at 47 years of age.
Remember the time when R-Truth was once a contender for main event titles? I knew you didn't. But back in the early-2010s, R-Trizzle was part of the first Elimination Chamber pay-per-view main event, as one of the six men fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship. He was also a number one contender for the WWE Championship then held by John Cena. He was largely fodder in both cases, but that served as proof that this two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champ (during TNA's early days) had once sniffed WWE's main event picture. These days, even Little Jimmy has a better chance of winning a main event title than R-Truth does.
THEIR CHANCES OF WINNING: SERIOUSLY?
23 13. BARON CORBIN
You know what, I may be regretting calling him "Boring Corbin" for most of his time in WWE's main roster. His moves are still mostly rudimentary and his promo skills need a lot of work, but he has shown some nice improvement in all areas as of late. And yes, his current feud with Kalisto actually makes a lot of sense. WWE wants you to see Baron Corbin as a bully who hates small people, and the Lone Wolf is playing the part surprisingly well. We should also mention his very Vince McMahon-friendly build, as he stands about 6'6" and carries close to 300 solid pounds of muscle.
The Kalisto feud is a clear sign that WWE has some big plans for the former NFL offensive lineman and Golden Gloves boxer. As SmackDown Live has a heel champion in AJ Styles and Corbin still needs more improvement in the ring and on the mic, it may be too early to put him in the main event. But if you give him six months to a year, we may be seeing him fight for the WWE World or Universal Championship.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: GOOD
22 12. SIN CARA
For the purposes of this list, it's probably best to refer to Sin Cara as "Sin Campeonato." You know, Spanish for "no championships."
To be fair to Jorge Arias, his taking over from Luis Urive in the Sin Cara role was a big step up from his old Hunico character, which was barely on WWE TV at the time. Together with Kalisto, The Lucha Dragons had multiple chances to become WWE Tag Team Champions, but with the brand split breaking them up, Sin Cara is now back as a directionless singles competitor, usually used as fodder in cruiserweight matches, or in what is essentially a jobber role against much larger competitors like Braun Strowman.
Sin Cara is almost 40, and it hasn't helped that he's been on the outs with WWE since his backstage argument with Chris Jericho. Don't expect him around for much longer, much less win a main event title.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: FORGET IT!
21 11. BRAY WYATT
As we saw at this year's TLC pay-per-view, Bray Wyatt has finally become more than that (title) belt-less guy cutting cryptic promos and trumpeting his delusions of grandeur, but almost always losing on PPVs. With newly-turned Randy Orton joining The Wyatt Family, Bray is now co-holder of the SmackDown Tag Team titles, and it's a well-deserved win for the man who was once unfortunately known as Husky Harris. But can he win a singles title, especially one of WWE's two main event belts?
The most obvious thing working in Wyatt's favor is his age. He's only 29, and that means lots of chances for WWE to take their chances on a Bray Wyatt title run as a singles competitor. And while such singles title run may likely start out with a midcard belt, it wouldn't be surprising if the Eater of Worlds becomes a Holder of (Singles) Belts, particularly those of the main event variety. He's got youth, a good gimmick, and the all-around skills. All he needs are the breaks.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: VERY GOOD
20 10. ZACK RYDER
Right now, Long Island Iced Z is enjoying a bit of a career revival as one-half of the Hype Bros, though it's not as big a revival as it would have been had The Miz not beaten him just one day after he won the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania 32. The Hype Bros are, more often than not, destroying heel jobbers like The Ascension and The Vaudevillains, and while Zack's teammate Mojo Rawley can often be grating, the former Internet Champion still has lots of entertainment value.
As of now, Ryder's far from being considered old. He's been in the WWE for what seems like forever, but he's only 31 years old and has lots of wrestling left in him. But it looks like he's destined to finish his WWE run, whenever that happens, right where it started — in the lower midcard.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: VERY POOR
19 9. NEVILLE
Not surprisingly, a lot of people have taken to calling Neville the "Man That Creative Forgot." It's been quite a while since he returned from his most recent injury, but the English high-flyer's push and exposure have gone completely south since his promising 2015 main roster debut. And like many others on this list, this former NXT Champion is one of WWE's equivalents of a highly-decorated, talented college player who couldn't quite cut the mustard in the pros. In short, a draft bust.
All things considered, it's not too late for Neville to become something special in WWE, and maybe win a main event belt. As his promo work is his Achilles heel, he could use a good manager to serve as his mouthpiece. WWE may also want to make his persona more interesting. Either way, the in-ring ability is there, and that's what gives him a borderline fair chance at main event stardom.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: FAIR
18 8. APOLLO CREWS
Few wrestlers' stock had fallen so quickly than that of Apollo Crews in 2016. Once one of NXT's hottest prospects, the former Uhaa Nation was, at least, a viable midcard title threat in his early months in WWE. But Crews has lost so much momentum that the best he can hope for right now is a go-nowhere feud against Curt Hawkins, whom WWE brought back this year to take up the lowest rung on SmackDown's singles totem pole. He's also frequently used on house shows as a fifth man in five-on-five tag team matches that feature two tag teams per side, and that isn't a good sign either for this immensely talented individual.
It would seem that Vince McMahon and WWE Creative has soured especially quickly on Crews, whose main drawbacks remain a lack of charisma and promo skills. Unless he reveals a hitherto-unseen ability to captivate fans like The Rock did after dropping his Rocky Maivia shtick, Crews has a better chance of being future-endeavored than he does of winning a WWE Universal or WWE World title.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: POOR
17 7. RUSEV
After being pushed as a dominating force with a long winning/unpinned/unsubmitted streak, it seems as if Rusev had plateaued somewhere around WrestleMania 31. Fortunately for the Bulgarian Brute, he's more than erased the bad memories of his 2015 feud with Dolph Ziggler, but shouldn't he be doing more than beefing with Enzo Amore because the Certified G has been accidentally-on-purpose flashing, then seducing his wife Lana?
Just like Cesaro, Rusev has to deal with how RAW is so top-heavy with established stars still in the prime of their careers. But if WWE takes into account his in-ring and on-mic skills and eases up on the irate (but mostly justified) husband shtick as an expansion of his anti-American heel character, he could be a main event champion in a year or two. He's still 31 years old, so there's a lot of time for him, and lots of time for WWE to book him better.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: GOOD
16 6. DARREN YOUNG AND TITUS O'NEIL
One of three duos in this list, Darren Young and Titus O'Neil were best-known as the Prime Time Players, but as they're now working in singles and feuding on-and-off with each other in matches nobody cares about, we're listing them in here anyway.
As we've seen earlier this year, Young's team-up with Bob Backlund hasn't done either man any good, and O'Neil is probably never going to get that late-career skyrocket to the main event like JBL did over a decade ago. And that brings us to another issue; Titus is 39, and Young isn't that young anymore, no pun intended, at 33. (Or 37, as some sources claim.) Their best career prospects going forward may be an umpteenth Prime Time Players reunion, but as singles competitors, that's not going to be the best way for them to make "millions of dollars."
THEIR CHANCES OF WINNING: VERY POOR
15 5. BRAUN STROWMAN
This writer is still not a fan of Braun Strowman's ring work. But his mic work has recently surprised me, and he does seem to keep getting better in the ring, with WWE doing its best to maximize his strengths and hide his weaknesses. And, once again, he isn't half as awkward, uncoordinated, unskilled, or totally hopeless as The Great Khali or Giant Gonzalez. He's also been a pleasant surprise in separate backstage segments featuring Chris Jericho and James Ellsworth.
At the present, Strowman is feuding with Sami Zayn, having gotten tired of local jabronis and now willing to bully the smaller guys on the RAW roster around. As he's got the size and the look Vince McMahon has always favored, it might not be long before he starts chasing after the bigger fish, and since Big Show and Mark Henry are both at the tail-end of long pro wrestling careers, WWE might want to push Braun as their next monster heel champion.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: VERY GOOD
14 4. KALISTO
It's just hard to find someone who can truly turn out to be the next Rey Mysterio, just like it's similarly hard to scope out the "next Michael Jordan," "next Tom Brady," or whatnot. But sports pundits will always be quick to herald somebody as the next someone-or-other, and that was the case with Kalisto. As he is a diminutive, high-flying masked wrestler of Mexican-American heritage, the Mysterio comparisons were inevitable, though at this point in his career, it's probably safe to say he wont be coming close to matching Rey Rey's accomplishments in WCW/WWE.
That said, Kalisto is still an extremely talented competitor, and like a lot of the wrestlers in this list, he's got youth on his side. It's just that WWE doesn't seem too interested in giving him better than a midcard push, with the odd midcard title reign or title shot here and there. We're also thinking Vince McMahon might be gun-shy with Kalisto due to Mysterio's main event title runs failing to live up to expectations, to say little of Vince not being much of a fan of the little guys.
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: POOR
13 3. BO DALLAS
No matter what he does, Bo Dallas can't seem to convince WWE Creative to "Bo-lieve" in him. A former NXT Champion, the younger son of Mike "IRS" Rotunda was once a red-hot prospect, and was only 22 when he had a quick cup of main event coffee, before returning to NXT and developing the insincere, patronizing character he's best-known for these days. As 2014 rolled around, WWE thought that it was time to bring him back to the main roster, and to give him a 17-match winning streak to underscore his potential.
Alas, that streak was broken by an aging R-Truth, and Bo has floundered since then, with his entertaining "inspirational" gimmick failing to get over with WWE audiences, and most probably Vince McMahon himself. At 26, he is the youngest wrestler on this list, and that's why he ranks a tad higher than his current push suggests. But it looks like there are only two things that could give him a good shot at bigger things: a spot on The Wyatt Family with real-life brother Bray Wyatt, or a more believable (and no, not Bo-lievable) heel character that's more in line with WWE's so-called "Reality Era."
HIS CHANCES OF WINNING: FAIR
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11 2. LUKE HARPER AND ERICK ROWAN
The third of our three duos, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were often used as a tag team as part of The Wyatt Family, but they also take part in singles matches while officially affiliated with the stable.
Harper is, without a doubt, one of the most talented big men in WWE in terms of wrestling skills. And Rowan isn't too shabby in the ring either. But neither man is especially strong on the mic, and given the fact that they're both in their mid-30s and didn't do too well when Bray Wyatt turned them loose (Harper's brief Intercontinental title run notwithstanding), we're not too optimistic on their chances of winning the WWE World or Universal titles in singles. They may be better off as mostly-silent lackeys to a much bigger star, just like they're currently doing as Wyatt Family henchmen.
THEIR CHANCES OF WINNING: POOR