Winning a championship in the WWE should be the highlight of any wrestlers's career, so what does it say about the person when their title reign is completely forgotten? Whether it's a case of a superstar who simply didn't deserve the honor of being champion in the first place or a wrestler being completely overshadowed by what else they had accomplished, these 15 guys wish people could focus more on their days near the top of the WWE. Assuming we all know the World Champions that have come and gone we're going to focus on the lower level titles from Intercontinental to Tag Team and everything in between.
The list of champions that have come and gone throughout the WWE is seemingly endless, so it should be no surprise that there are people on this list that you have completely forgotten about but they only make up a part of this list. While it is interesting to search your memory banks for names that you didn't remember ever existed, it's even better when there was a legend that held gold in the Fed but had a title reign that was so unremarkable that most fans can't be bothered to remember it.
When you first think of The Rock, do you imagine him doing his signature turnbuckle pose while throwing the belt over his shoulder? Can you even picture old school HHH coming to the ring without the big gold belt around his waist? How about when you hear "Real American" and see Hulk Hogan coming down to the ring, does he have the Winged Eagle strapped around his abdomen? Everyone that makes up this list is the complete opposite of those guys in that you may remember the name, but no one remembers that they had championships.
15 15. Pete Gas
The history of the WWE Hardcore Championship reads like a who's who of wrestling, by which I mean it leaves you asking "wait, who?" A prime example is the former member of the Mean Street Posse, Pete Gas, getting a run with the Hardcore belt. It certainly wasn't much of a run, as Gas would lose the title the same day he won it, but the reign was notable for one thing, being the first time the title changed hands under the 24/7 rules that the Hardcore Title would become infamous for. Both before and after Gas won the title at the Newark Airport, yes you read that correctly, he would stay in the background mainly getting used as a punching bag for those above him on the card.
14 14. Mideon
Mideon becoming WWE European Champion back in 1999 really showed just how little anyone thought of him or the title at that point. Shane McMahon was champion but would retire the belt, however, the championship was brought back and awarded to Mideon by Shane-O-Mac when he found the belt in McMahon's bag. You know that's real because even I couldn't come up with something that ridiculous. That wasn't Mideon's only utterly forgettable title reign however, as years earlier he and his "cousin" formed The Godwinns, winning the Tag Team Titles on two separate occasions. Despite his huge transformation from the simpleton farmer Phinias Godwinn to the member of the Ministry of Darkness Mideon, there was one thing that always remained, no one cared to remember him.
13 13. The Mountie
What could be more forgettable than being handed a championship? How about winning the title on a non televised house show only to drop the belt during your first title defense? That's the situation The Mountie found himself in back in early 1992, defeating Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship just to drop it to Roddy Piper at the Royal Rumble a mere two days later. The man who sang his own theme song on the way to the ring with a gimmick so offensive to Canadians that he wasn't allowed to portray it north of the border seemed like it should've been a natural heat magnet. When you're most memorable moment is getting "arrested" and having to spend a night in jail courtesy of losing to The Big Boss Man, you're probably not even cut out to hold the IC Belt.
12 12. Chris Kanyon
After spending roughly the first six years of his career toiling away in WCW, Chris Kanyon was one of the many "stars" that made their way over to the WWE for the Invasion story line in 2001. Once he was in the trenches, Kanyon was gifted the WCW United States Championship by Booker T and even managed to become a double champion when he captured the WWE Tag Team Titles with a partner that we'll get to later. The decision to put not just one, but two belts on someone who was a perennial curtain jerker is certainly an odd one but to have him capture the tag titles just to feed him to The Brothers of Destruction slightly over two weeks later makes the reign not worth remembering in the slightest.
11 11. Marc Mero
When someone mentions the name Marc Mero, the first thing that comes to mind isn't the man himself or any of his accomplishments, it's Sable. Everything Mero did was overshadowed by the buxom beauty that would accompany him to the ring, including his reign as Intercontinental Champion in 1996. All the momentum and popularity Mero had built up in WCW as Johnny B. Badd was gone by this point, as all the storylines and fan attention went to his vivacious valet instead of the former New York Golden Gloves winner. Ask wrestling fans about Mero today and you'd get responses varying from "who?" to "the guy that got beat up by Sable?" with nothing in between.
10 10. Tazz
Looking back, it's hard not to feel a little bad for Tazz. The human suplex machine was as hot as any star back in his ECW days, competing for World Titles and putting on some truly incredible matches. He even came into the WWE like a ball of fire being the first man to defeat the Olympic Hero Kurt Angle, but that would prove to be the highlight of his WWE career. Even while holding the ECW World Title, Tazz was never given a real chance to shine being relegated to picking up wins in the hardcore division but losing against anyone even near the main event scene. Tazz picked up a total of three reigns with the Hardcore Title and even had a run as tag champion alongside Spike Dudley, but all of his WWE accomplishments are easily overshadowed by his run in ECW and even his time spent as a commentator.
9 9. Chris Candido
Chris Candido is a man remembered more for his time in ECW and relationship with the train wreck known as Sunny than anything he did during his nearly two years spent in the WWE. While on the extreme brand of wrestling, Candido was recognized as a true talent and was given opportunities to shine without holding gold. Sadly, that wasn't exactly the case in McMahon land. Known as fitness guru "Skip," Candido teamed with Sunny and his tag partner "Zip" to capture the Tag Titles away from the Godwinns for Chris' only title reign with the company. Their time on top of the division was brief as they held the titles for about two months before fading back into obscurity and out of everyone's collective memories.
8 8. Haku
Meng, or Haku, is a man very well known across wrestling circles as possibly the toughest man to ever step foot inside the ring. His tales outside the squared circle include the time he bit part of someone's nose off, the time he snapped the handcuffs police put on him, the time he popped a fellow wrestler's eye out of the socket... and the time he was a Tag Team Champion with Andre the Giant. That part is the last thing anyone would mention about the former Tonga Kid as their short lived title reign pales in comparison to some of the other stories floating around about Meng. Rightfully so to be honest, as some of these stories are certainly worth remembering. If he ever asks if you remember his title reign though, you better say yes.
7 7. Mike Awesome
Two things immediately come to mind when you hear the name Mike Awesome. First and foremost is his time spent in ECW as their World Champion and the unbelievably hard hitting and brutal contests that he put on with Masato Tanaka. The second thing that should pop up is his stint as the Fat Chick Thriller in WCW obviously! Honestly, everything else that Awesome had done in his career is more memorable than the run he had as Hardcore Champion from June 25th to July 12th back in 2001. In fact, his entire year and a half run in the Fed is worth forgetting as he was at his best when he could recklessly throw his opponent through a table.
6 6. Perry Saturn
There's really only one word that needs to be said to sum up Saturn's time spent in the WWE, and that word is "Moppy." Perry went from being a tag champ in ECW as one half of The Eliminators, to holding the TV and Tag Titles in WCW, to being one of the four Radicalz, to being emotionally connected to a mop. Amazingly enough, it was after all of this that he was finally given a chance to carry gold in the WWE winning the European Championship from former stablemate Eddie Guerrero. When you look back at the career of Saturn, however, that's hardly even considered a footnote, even if you only take into account his time spent in WWE. It was when he was overshadowed by literally every other member of The Radicalz and when he wasn't even as over as his freaking mop that everyone will remember.
5 5. Shane Douglas
The Franchise has left quite the legacy in professional wrestling, with the time he declared ECW as their own brand separate from the NWA possibly being his crowing achievement. To this day, the man is tied to ECW and hardcore wrestling in general as he puts on his own extreme shows to try and recapture his glory days. What would be far easier to re-create would be his utterly forgettable reign as Intercontinental Champion. Back when he was known as Dean Douglas, Shane was given the IC Belt after Shawn Michaels was unable to compete but was scheduled to defend it against Razor Ramon that same night. Douglas lost that contest and went back to ECW less than two months later.
4 4. DDP
Diamond Dallas Page is an incredible success story, starting at the absolute bottom of the ladder while working his way to the top using nothing but sheer grit and determination. DDP started off as a simple manager but kept chasing his dream of being a star until one day he was finally given his chance, becoming one of the biggest draws in WCW. Unfortunately for him, he had to join WWE after WCW closed their doors, ruining the last chance at being a top guy DDP had along with them. Page was given a short run as Tag Champion with Chris Kanyon, as well as a two month run as European Champion but he'll never be forgotten as the upstart face of WCW and more importantly as the man trying his damnedest to save Scott Hall and Jake Roberts' lives.
3 3. Arn Anderson
The enforcer for the iconic group The Four Horseman brings with him memories of pretty much every major promotion except for the WWE. The group reigned supreme in the NWA and WCW while picking up nearly every title that the companies had to offer. It was when he and teammate Tully Blanchard expanded out of the group that Arn Anderson picked up the only WWE gold on his resume. Known as The Brainbusters, Anderson and Blanchard captured the WWE World Tag Team Championship from Demolition, holding the gold for about three months before dropping the titles back to the face painted freaks. Anderson is known as one of the crispest in ring workers of all time and as a founding member of the Four Horseman, but he certainly isn't remembered as a WWE Tag Team Champion.
2 2. Terry Funk
There isn't enough space in this column to sufficiently sum up all of the titles and accomplishments that Terry Funk has wrapped up in his career. After all, his first match was in 1965 for goodness sake! One of the undisputed kings of the hardcore and deathmatch style of wrestling has seen and done nearly everything one could do in a career of professional wrestling with the one exclusion being a memorable run in the WWE. His run as Chainsaw Charlie is easily the most forgettable run of Funk's legendary career but it did lead to him picking up his only taste of gold with the company. Funk teamed with Cactus Jack to snag the Tag Team Titles away from The New Age Outlaws, holding the belts for one night.
1 1. Kerry Von Erich
As a member of one of the most legendary families in all of wrestling history, it seemed as if Kerry's future was set in stone from an early age. The Von Erich's absolutely ruled the state of Texas from 1966 when patriarch Fritz Von Erich first opened WCCW to the company's closing in 1990. Having a shadow the size of Texas following you throughout your career would be impossible for anyone to shake, with Kerry being no exception. His family's reputation followed him to the WWE where Kerry was re-dubbed "The Texas Tornado" even managing to defeat Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title roughly a month after his debut. Unfortunately, due to the tragedies that haunt the Von Erich's to this day, along with the personal demons Kerry was facing and the fact he was from wrestling's first family, his run as IC Champ is the last thing on people's minds when they hear the Von Erich name.