The WWE Championship is and has always been the most important title for the company. Even when the company adds a second world championship, it usually falls behind the WWE Championship. The company never booked the World Championship with the big gold belt as strongly as they did the historical title for the company. Today’s Universal Championship feels like it’s cursed with most title holders having disappointing runs not as strong as the WWE Title.
Unfortunately, not every wrestler to win the WWE Championship will get a second run to add more to the legacy as a champ. The biggest stars like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and The Rock would get many reigns due to their star power, but that is not the case for all talented performers. We will look at ten of the best WWE Champions that never had a second reign with the championship.
10 Chris Jericho
It is a bit surprising that Chris Jericho never held the WWE Championship after his first reign. The one run as WWE Champion came when Jericho unified the WWE Championship and WCW Championship to become the Undisputed Champion defeating Steve Austin and The Rock in the same night.
Jericho’s title reign did not last as long as most hoped for, but he was able to deliver the usual entertainment we expected from him. WWE would never have Jericho hold the WWE Championship again, but there were three World Championship reigns for Jericho during the brand split years.
9 The Miz
As an active wrestler, Miz is one wrestler that has a chance to remove his name from this list. Time will tell if Miz can have a second WWE Championship reign, but it has not happened in the eight years since losing the title.
Miz defeated Randy Orton by using the Money in the Bank title shot. The peak of Miz’s reign came when he beat John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 27, even though the match disappointed most fans. Miz had solid moments as champion including great matches with John Morrison and an underrated feud with Jerry Lawler.
8 Ultimate Warrior
Most fans from the 80s have nostalgia for the WWE Championship reign of Ultimate Warrior. The moment of Warrior defeating Hulk Hogan in the main event of WrestleMania 6 was incredible and that alone made the title run worth it for the company.
However, Warrior could not draw as well as Hulk Hogan which led to the title reign ending just under a year. Sgt. Slaughter defeated Warrior to then drop the title back to Hogan. Warrior’s WWE run started to fizzle out after losing the title with no second title run ever coming his way.
7 Diesel
Kevin Nash was one of the select few wrestlers of the 90s to have reigns as both WWE Champion and WCW Champion. The WWE Championship run came first for Nash during his time playing the Diesel character. Diesel surpassed Shawn Michaels after working as his bodyguard for months to win the title first.
The shocking moment came in one of the few house show title reigns where Diesel defeated Bob Backlund in under 10 seconds to win the prize. Diesel’s WWE Championship run had its fair share of bad moments, but the matches with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were huge successes. It was his only title reign before jumping ship to WCW.
6 Bray Wyatt
The one WWE Championship run of Bray Wyatt came in the Elimination Chamber match where he ended John Cena’s reign. Wyatt would only have a reign that lasted 49 days before losing it to Randy Orton in a disappointing match at WrestleMania 33.
There were some positive moments with Wyatt’s win coming off in impressive fashion with good defenses against John Cena and AJ Styles on television. WWE cut the title reign short and Wyatt lost all momentum shortly after. However, his recent return as The Fiend may give him the second chance he’s looking for in more ways than one.
5 Kane
Kane’s solo WWE Championship reign would only last one day, but he did make it count. The moment of Kane defeating Steve Austin in a First Blood Match came in controversial fashion. However, fans did view Kane as a credible threat and the win showed he could thrive in the role.
WWE however opted to end the title run the following night on Raw with Austin winning the title again. Austin was just too popular in 1998 for WWE to risk having him without the belt for too long. Kane surprisingly never had another WWE Championship reign, but he did have runs as World Champion and ECW Champion.
4 Rob Van Dam
Fans were ecstatic when Rob Van Dam finally had his first world title reign in WWE. Many years of coming up short would see RVD have his moment in the best way possible. Van Dam defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship at ECW One Night Stand 2006 to start the new ECW brand relaunch.
Paul Heyman awarded RVD the ECW Championship as well to make him a rare duel champ defending on both shows. The audience was invested in Van Dam’s reign until it was forced to end abruptly. RVD and Sabu were arrested for having marijuana in their car which led to a suspension for Van Dam. His one reign ended quickly with no second chances.
3 Jeff Hardy
Many of the best moments in the linage of the WWE Championship featured a fan favorite finally winning the title after a long journey to the top. Jeff Hardy was the best case scenario of this story when he finally won the prize by defeating Triple H and Edge in a triple threat match.
The finish of Hardy winning received one of the biggest ovations in WWE history. Hardy would hold the title for 42 days before losing to Edge. WWE would give Hardy a few more runs as the World Champion, but this was his only WWE Championship reign.
2 Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose is one of the few recent WWE Champions to willingly leave the company for a fresh start elsewhere. WWE was always going back and forth on how far they wanted to push Ambrose. The peak of his singles career came when using his Money in the Bank title shot to defeat Seth Rollins.
Ambrose’s run as WWE Champion lasted almost three months before losing it to AJ Styles. The defenses against Rollins and Roman Reigns made him a credible champion, but WWE ended the reign early before moving him back into the mid-card. Ambrose never came close to another title run before leaving the company.
1 Eddie Guerrero
The legendary Eddie Guerrero is remembered for having a strong WWE Championship reign despite it only lasting a few months. Fans were ecstatic when Guerrero pulled off one of the biggest upsets in WWE history defeating the larger Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship.
Guerrero had great matches with Kurt Angle and JBL during his title reign. WWE eventually ended the reign short after 133 days by going with JBL as the new top heel. Guerrero would never get another title run partially due to his unexpected passing, but he is viewed as an all-time great WWE Champion for his one reign.