Vince McMahon is always trying to find and search for the WWE's next "big thing" or at the very least, a newfound keystone star for Raw or SmackDown, whether the talent is positioned in the main event WWE Championship scene or the US/Intercontinental Title midcard scene. Over the years, Vince has attempted to push an enormous sum of wrestlers, and as you're likely aware, only a few of them made an everlasting impact on the business. Quite often, wrestlers in WWE fade out just as quickly as they rise to prominence because, without question, Vinny Mac has the tendency to either lose faith in a certain talent or just lose interest altogether - either way, it spells doom for many aspiring Superstars.

Unlike other sports such as MMA, winning a championship belt certainly doesn't secure a good spot in the WWE long-term, and many champions end up becoming what some like to call "one-hit wonders" over the long haul. Now you've likely heard the term one-hit wonder to describe music artists who faded into irrelevancy following their one or two big hits, and the same can apply for WWE Superstars. Over the years, many WWE Superstars have been given a push by Vince to see what they're made of, and nearly just as many of them were never the same after they lost their gold. Now, this is sometimes the wrestler's fault for failing to capitalize on their title reign and push, but almost just as often, Vince is the "evil culprit" behind many worthy Superstars' demise. Today, we will look at 20 one-hit-wonder WWE Champions who were never the same after losing the title...

20 Ryback (Intercontinental Championship)

The Intercontinental Championship definitely wasn't Ryback's first chance at success in WWE, but without a doubt, it was The Big Guy's last... Not surprisingly, many WWE fans have since forgotten that Ryback managed to capture the IC Championship, but for those who've since forgotten, yes, Ryback did, in fact, have a brief and uneventful run as the Intercontinental Champ back in 2015.

It's clear Vince was retesting the waters with Ryback to see if the Big Guy had what it took to reemerge in the main event scene, but following a couple of rather sad feuds with the Big Show, Miz, and Kevin Owens, Ryback fairly quickly dropped the gold to KO and was demoted down the card once again. This was the first (and final) championship Ryback would capture in WWE, as he would end up departing WWE a year later due to frustration and health reasons.

19 Alicia Fox (Divas Championship)

Alicia Fox was never the WWE's "chosen one" when it comes to a top Women's Division Superstar, but Vince still gave Alicia the opportunity to succeed a number of years back when she was given a brief run as the Divas Champion. As most of you can attest to, Fox was never the greatest in-ring performer nor was she anything particularly special on the mic, so Alicia's demotion was just as quick as her rise to the top of the now-defunct Divas Division.

With that said, Alicia Fox has managed to remain employed by WWE despite being an undercard Superstar who rarely gets the spotlight, so in one sense, we suppose you could refer to Fox as being a success seeing she has been a WWE contracted talent for nearly a decade now. However, after Fox's flopped Divas Title run, that certainly spelled the end of her push in WWE.

18 The Great Khali (World Heavyweight Championship)

The Great Khali is a Superstar Vince McMahon refused to give up on within a reasonable time period because unlike other lumbering and somewhat untalented behemoths who were buried after the slightest sign of being terrible, McMahon was adamant that Khali would be a success story. By the time 2006 came to a close, it was evident that The Great Khali was a complete lost cause in the ring, and many fans were convinced that Vinny Mac was going to pull the plug on Khali's terrible main event run.

However, despite taking a few losses, The Great Khali truly received his big push in 2007 when The Punjabi Nightmare captured the World Heavyweight Championship, and for fans, this meant a long and boring stretch of SmackDown television... It's clear Vince came to his senses in 2008 following Khali's awful World Title run, and The Great Khali certainly was never the same after losing his one and only championship accomplishment in WWE.

17 Bo Dallas (NXT Championship)

It's rather surprising to reflect on the fact that Bo Dallas is a former NXT World Champion because, over the past two and half years, that accomplishment definitely hasn't reflected Bo's position on the WWE's main roster whatsoever. Triple H was certainly fond of the third-generation Superstar, and his push to the top of NXT was all because of Hunter. However, once Dallas lost his NXT Title and was called up to the main roster, following a truly short push, Dallas was buried beyond comprehension.

Despite capturing the Raw Tag Team Titles fairly recently alongside Curtis Axel (another entry on this list), there's no denying The B-Team were a comedic duo and their title run was as such - a prolonged comedy segment... Bo Dallas was never the same after losing his NXT Championship, and Bo becoming an afterthought is entirely on Vince's conscience.

16 Curtis Axel (Intercontinental Championship)

We certainly couldn't only include Bo Dallas from The B-Team on this list, because much like Bo, Curtis Axel has suffered the same fate in WWE following his run with a prestigious piece of championship gold. Now there's no denying the fact that Axel never looked to be a future main eventer in WWE due to his lack of charisma and mic skills, but ring-wise, Axel is about as good as you can be.

In 2013, "Michael McGillicutty" became Curtis Axel, and a newfound push to the Intercontinental Championship soon followed, along with a pairing with Paul Heyman. However, Axel's push was very short-lived, and after he dropped the IC Title, it wasn't long before Axel was buried into the undercard never to see the spotlight again. Curtis has sort of bounced back in recent times alongside Bo Dallas, but "The Axeman" has truly never recovered from his IC Title loss. Talk about a real "one-hit wonder" champ in WWE...

15 Kalisto (Cruiserweight Championship)

Kalisto is a case of a guy who was given the ball to run with multiple times in WWE, yet squandered away all of his opportunities in dismal fashion... Before the Cruiserweight Championship, Kalisto was given a couple of pushes into the U.S. Championship scene where he defeated the likes of Alberto Del Rio and Ryback, but following a couple of uneventful title reigns and a whole bunch of botches and underwhelming segments (let's not forget those "good lucha things"), Vinny Mac threw in the towel temporarily and demoted Kalisto into irrelevancy.

However, Vince was willing to give Kalisto yet another chance in the Cruiserweight Division last year when Kalisto defeated Enzo Amore for the CW gold, but once again, Kalisto didn't establish himself as a worthy titleholder during his extremely short reign, and it wasn't long before Kalisto dropped the title back to Enzo. Kalisto simply doesn't have "it," and he hasn't been the same since losing the Cruiserweight Title.

14 Damien Sandow (2013 Mr. Money In The Bank)

Damien Sandow had all the potential in the world to become a breakout star in WWE, but due to Vince McMahon's lack of interest or overall stubbornness, Sandow never reached his true potential. Clearly at the beginning, Vince saw something in Sandow, which made McMahon decide to give Damien the 2013 Money In The Bank win, but regardless, WWE soon lost interest altogether in Sandow, and following the Intellectual Savior's MITB cash-in fail on John Cena, Sandow was buried in typical Vince McMahon fashion.

Losing a couple of feuds followed by becoming a complete and utter comedy character, without question, Damien Sandow is only a one-hit wonder champion in WWE due to the company's lack of interest or faith in him. Because had Sandow been given the ball to run with, he would've easily become a top star - in all fairness, Damien Sandow could've become what Elias is today in WWE or better.

13 Zack Ryder (Intercontinental Championship)

Zack Ryder was never one of Vince's or Triple H's favorites, and this fact undoubtedly sealed Ryder's fate in WWE over the long haul as an underutilized and underrated Superstar. This has been a career which has seen "The Long Island Iced-Z" have a huge moment, followed by months of being buried. Just a couple of years ago, Zack Ryder won the IC Title on "The Grandest Stage of Them All," much to the shock and surprise of the fans at WrestleMania 32.

However, Zack Ryder would lose the Intercontinental Championship to The Miz the next night on Raw, and since then, Ryder simply hasn't been the same. Ryder was somehow able to bounce back from his U.S.Title run a number of years back but after his IC Championship reign? Zack was buried into oblivion and he hasn't even had a Raw match this year in 2018, which speaks volumes of how irrelevant he currently is.

12 Jack Swagger (World Heavyweight Championship)

When we look back into the WWE history books to remind ourselves of who ranks among the worst World Champions in the companies history, Jack Swagger unquestionably finds himself in that list of Superstars. Despite being rather generic and cookie-cutter, Vince McMahon tried his best to morph Swagger into a top-tier star, but unfortunately, Vince's efforts were completely fruitless.

Swagger went on to have one of the worst World Title reigns in recent WWE history, and as many past Superstars have stated, "The championship doesn't make the champion, the champion makes the championship". Regardless of the fact that Swagger was featured with the World Heavyweight Championship around his waist, few fans took him seriously, and once Swagger lost the big gold belt after an underwhelming title run, he was demoted down the card and was never again featured in a prominent spot.

11 Ezekiel Jackson (ECW & Intercontinental Championship)

Ezekiel Jackson certainly looked like a talent Vince McMahon would go loony for, and not surprisingly, McMahon gave Zeke two title runs to test the waters so to speak. One of them was the ECW Championship, and the other was the Intercontinental Championship. Now it's clear Vince should've got the memo that Jackson wasn't fit for a push after his lackluster ECW Title run, but regardless, Vince gave the lumbering Ahmed Johnson-lookalike another opportunity in the form of the IC Championship.

As expected by most fans, Ezekiel Jackson's IC Title reign was as underwhelming as it could've possibly been, and Vinny Mac was given no choice but to demote Ezekiel down the card. Long story short, Jackson was undoubtedly a one-hit wonder champion in WWE, as the big man had no ability to be a long-term top star by any stretch, unfortunately.

10 Bray Wyatt (WWE Championship)

Unlike some of the other Superstars on this list who were one-hit wonders due to their lack of talent or drawing ability, Bray Wyatt's status among the one-hit wonders is entirely due to WWE's terrible booking. Despite easily being one of WWE's best natural talents, Bray Wyatt has never been booked as he should be, and this clearly stems from the fact that Vince McMahon simply lacks faith in Bray's abilities for whatever strange reason. Although Jinder Mahal is widely considered to be the worst WWE Champion in 2017, Bray certainly isn't far above Jinder's ranking...

Bray Wyatt's WWE Title run in 2017 was completely uneventful, and it did little for Wyatt or the championship itself as surprising as it may seem. Now on paper, it would seem as though the WWE Championship would solidify Bray as a force to be reckoned with, but unfortunately, it did the complete opposite. After losing the WWE Championship, Wyatt was slowly but surely buried by WWE, and his move to Raw solidified his fate as a missed opportunity.

9 Bobby Roode (U.S. Championship)

Now you may be wondering, how could Bobby Roode possibly be considered a "one-hit wonder" considering he was a great NXT Champion and was pushed afterward? Well, as most of you are well aware, NXT and the WWE main roster are two completely different things, and we're simply referring to Bobby's tenure on SmackDown and Raw. Despite joining the WWE main roster as one of the hottest acts from NXT, that did little to convince McMahon that Bobby was worthy of any sustained push.

Shortly after getting called up, Roode was inserted into the U.S. Championship scene where he fairly quickly won the gold. However, this was anything but positive for the former Impact standout, looking back now. After Roode lost the gold to Randy Orton, a series of "unfortunate events" unfolded for the Glorious One. Vince McMahon seemed to have lost interest in Roode entirely after his U.S. Title program with the likes of Orton and Jinder Mahal, and since coming to Raw, Roode has been a complete irrelevant afterthought despite his recent tag team title win with Chad Gable.

8 Orlando Jordan (U.S. Championship)

There's absolutely no way of twisting or turning it, Orlando Jordan was a definite "one-hit wonder" champion in WWE. Much like some of the other one-hit wonders featured on this list, Jordan's rise to the top (well, to the top of the midcard) was shorter than his fall from grace which came very quickly afterwards where Orlando was completely embarrassed and lost in convincing fashion (23 seconds) to Chris Benoit for the U.S.Championship.

Right from the get-go, it was evident that Vince McMahon had no long-term plans for Orlando Jordan, and Jordan's U.S.Title reign was nothing more than a way to add fuel to JBL's feud with John Cena. In all honesty, most fans probably don't even remember Jordan, let alone his run as the US Champ, and Orlando's title run actually hurt his career more in the long run than had Jordan been built up gradually and then inserted into the title hunt.

7 T.J. Perkins (Cruiserweight Championship)

T.J. Perkins undoubtedly ranks among WWE's greatest failures in recent times. WWE had tons of momentum going for their soon-to-be-announced Cruiserweight Division during their CWC program, and both Vince and Triple H clearly had faith in Perkins' ability, considering TJP won the tournament and was crowned the inaugural reintroduced Cruiserweight Champion, but it certainly wasn't long before most fans lost complete interest in 205 Live, and this was partly due to the overall lack of appeal or interest in the Fil-Am Flash.

Despite being a solid wrestler, there really was nothing that interesting about T.J. Perkins that made fans want to tune into WWE's new show, and Vince McMahon clearly got wind of this reality and demoted TJP just as quickly as he was pushed. TJP is no longer even considered to be one of the top performers on 205 Live anymore, so without question, he was an absolute one-hit wonder.

6 Sheamus (WWE Championship)

Clearly, WWE failed to learn their lesson when it came to Sheamus on a number of different occasions, and as hard as it may be to write this down, "The Celtic Warrior" is a four-time WWE World Champion - just two reigns below one of the all-time greats, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Now some of you may point out to the fact that Sheamus won the title on multiple occasions, so how could he be a one-hit wonder, but when you look at the quality of Sheamus' title reigns, following his first WWE Championship run, he was never portrayed the same again.

Vince clearly realized that Sheamus wasn't a believable top star after his lackluster first reign as champ, and ever since then, Sheamus had been given nothing but placeholder title reigns - Sheamus' 2015 WWE Title reign is a perfect example of this. Sheamus has been given countless titles throughout his career, but when it's all said and done, few fans will remember Sheamus' time at the top.

5 The Miz (WWE Championship)

Out of the Superstars featured on this list, if there's one wrestler who has the potential to break out of the one-hit wonder WWE Champion list, it would most definitely be The Miz. However, until Miz receives another WWE Title run and makes it a success story, the A-Lister will remain on this list. Back in 2010, when The Miz was pushed to the top of the card after successfully cashing in his MITB briefcase on Randy Orton, it was evident that he wasn't quite ready for his newfound role.

Now, The Miz isn't the worst WWE Champion of all time by any stretch, but his run with the companies top gold certainly didn't solidify Miz as a top star, and if anything, it made The Miz's demotion shortly after losing the title even more noticeable. Despite being a pretty solid talent, The Miz wasn't one of Vince's golden boys, and once Miz was no longer WWE Champion, it wasn't long before he was wrestling on pay-per-view pre-shows.

4 Bayley (Raw Women's Championship)

Bayley may have been in Triple H's favorites list down in NXT, but once "Everyone's Favorite Hugger" made her way to the WWE's main roster, Bayley's career started on its downward spiral following a short run as the Raw Women's Champion. It was clear that Vince McMahon decided to make Bayley the Raw Women's Champ for a short stretch to help the companies Women's Revolution, but without question, Bayley was not a talent Vinny Mac had any long-term plans for whatsoever.

Shortly after losing the Raw Women's Title, Bayley was demoted down the card at an accelerated rate, and up to this point, the Hugger has yet to recover. Bayley definitely hasn't been the same since losing the Raw Women's Title, and it's truly unknown up to this point if she'll ever recapture her past successes. In all honesty, Bayley's best friend, Sasha Banks, hasn't fared much better...

3 Alberto Del Rio (WWE Championship)

Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus are truly one and the same, and their careers in WWE were very similar in the way that both Del Rio and Sheamus received massive pushes following their debuts, yet they both fell down the card shortly afterward despite having multiple World Title reigns. When Rey Mysterio's career in WWE was beginning to wind down, Vince McMahon was faced with a bit of a dilemma - WWE lacked a Hispanic Superstar.

Well, to alleviate this problem, Vince decided to insert Alberto Del Rio into the equation. Fans were quick to pick up on the fact that Alberto lacked the traits of a lasting top-tier star, but clearly, Vince wasn't so quick to pick up this truth. Vince tried multiple times with Del Rio, but each time ended with the same result - Del Rio was no further ahead in the fans eyes, and the titles were somewhat tarnished. After his final World Title, Del Rio was never again the same nor was he pushed nearly as hard.

2 Ahmed Johnson (Intercontinental Championship)

Had Ahmed Johnson remained healthy and injury-free, there's a very good possibility that he would be included on this list for not only the Intercontinental Championship but the WWE Championship as well. For those unaware, Vince McMahon had huge plans for Ahmed Johnson in the mid-'90s to become a new main eventer and WWE Title contender before injuries began plaguing Johnson's career, and instead of the WWE Championship, Vince decided to give the injury-prone Ahmed Johnson the IC Title in '96.

To make a long story short, Ahmed Johnson did absolutely nothing of significance with the IC Title during his 50-day run, and his reign ended unceremoniously considering Ahmed Johnson had to vacate the title due to kidney problems. Vince realized Ahmed Johnson was not a main event caliber talent after his dismal IC Title run, and when the lumbering giant returned from his kidney injury, he was no longer positioned as a top star thus making him a true one-hit wonder champion in WWE.

1 Jinder Mahal (WWE Championship)

Like many other wrestlers in WWE history, ones rise in the company can be outmatched with a downfall even quicker, and Jinder Mahal is definitely one of those Superstars. Prior to becoming a WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal was one of the lowest ranked wrestlers on the WWE totem pole, so when "The Modern Day Maharaja" captured the WWE Title in surprising fashion, many fans knew that it would only be a matter of time before Jinder's high-rise building came toppling down considering its lackluster foundation.

Jinder had not been properly built up before his huge push, and without a doubt, this is one of the main reasons Mahal's WWE Title run backfired severely. Jinder Mahal's downfall wasn't immediate after losing the WWE Championship, but it was a gradual demotion down the card. Jinder is now back to his original "Shanti" persona, and he's no longer a challenger for even a mid-card title, let alone the WWE or Universal Championship. Jinder may be a one-hit wonder, but considering few people ever believed Mahal would reach any sort of success in WWE, how can you hate the guy for surpassing everyone's expectations?