The Attitude Era gave us a level of star power that would never be matched in wrestling again. WWE pushed their homegrown talents to the top while WCW struggled with the older legends. Fans fell in love with superstars like The Rock, Steve Austin and Mankind for WWE’s ascension back to the top of the industry. The WWE Championship became even more impressive with the names holding it.
We will look back at all the names to hold the WWE Championship between the start of the Attitude Era in late 1997 and the end of it in early 2002. Only major names would have title wins in this era. Some would develop stronger legacies than other when holding the top prize. Find out where your favorite star of the time ends up as we rank all the WWE Champions from the Attitude Era.
11 Mr. McMahon
The worst WWE Champion of the Attitude Era was one that didn’t even wrestle. Mr. McMahon won the title during an episode of Smackdown in a match against Triple H. The title change was done to create a shocking moment.
McMahon vacated the title just a few days later on Raw never once defending it. WWE wanted to run a new angle to create a new champion, but McMahon winning the WWE Championship felt like the weakest possible way to get to such a story playing out.
10 Kane
Kane’s WWE Championship win was a memorable moment when he defeated Steve Austin in a First Blood match at the 1998 King of the Ring event. The title reign of Kane only lasted one day as Austin used his rematch clause the following night on Raw.
Austin defeated Kane cleanly to restart his title reign after going without the title for 24 hours. Kane did a nice job in the transitional champion role. Scoring a title win over Austin is something only a handful of wrestlers can say, and Kane was one of them.
9 Big Show
WWE went all the way with Big Show as their new big star at the end of 1999. The hope was that fans would gravitate more towards the big man after he won his first WWE Championship in the Survivor Series main event vs Triple H and The Rock.
Big Show sadly was not ready for the role as he didn’t perform at the level of Rock, Triple H or Mick Foley. WWE ended the WWE Championship reign of Big Show after a few weeks when Triple H won the title back on Raw.
8 Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho was one of the last WWE Champions of the Attitude Era. The historic night saw Jericho defeat both Steve Austin and The Rock at Vengeance 2001 to unify the WWE Championship and WCW Championship for the first time.
Jericho was always an entertaining character, but the title reign didn’t go as expected. WWE did respect Jericho enough to have him hold the title until WrestleMania 18. The problem is the booking always made him look inferior to the other main eventers thus sacrificing the legitimacy of his title reign.
7 Kurt Angle
The emergence of Kurt Angle would see him win his first WWE Championship within his first official year on the main roster. Angle instantly became a top heel with the incredible character work pushing the buttons of the audience. The early improvements also saw him pick up the in-ring skills instantly.
WWE was confident enough in Angle come No Mercy 2000 to have him defeat The Rock for the WWE Championship. Wins over Rock, Triple H and The Undertaker made Angle’s first stint as the champ quite strong. Angle clearly hit a home run as a top star in the Attitude Era.
6 The Undertaker
The Undertaker had one of his four WWE Championship wins during the Attitude Era. A character change to the demonic version of Undertaker saw him lead the Corporate Ministry faction with Vince and Shane McMahon at his side.
Both McMahon men would stack the advantage in Undertaker’s favor giving him the WWE Championship win over Steve Austin at Over the Edge 1999. Undertaker had a strong one-month reign before dropping it back to Austin. Many fans consider this character the most entertaining of his career.
5 Shawn Michaels
The Attitude Era started around the time of Shawn Michaels changed his character to form D-Generation. Michaels’ WWE Championship win over Bret Hart during the Montreal Screwjob finish at Survivor Series 1997 essentially broke the last wall down in starting the new era.
The title reign of Michaels provided strong entertainment as DX became must-see television. Michaels would be the one to drop the belt to Steve Austin and continue moving WWE forward. The WWE Championship run was a hit for HBK and arguably the best of his career.
4 Mick Foley
Mick Foley broke out as a top star during the Attitude Era. A combination of his violent hardcore matches and the genuine personality made fans fall in love with him. Foley’s face turn against The Rock and the McMahon family pushed him even higher up the card.
Three WWE Championship wins would come for Foley throughout 1999. The title went back and forth between Foley and The Rock a few times in the early months of the year. Foley never had a long title reign, but the feelgood moments of his wins made him a memorable champion.
3 Triple H
The first five of Triple H’s nine WWE Championship reigns came in the Attitude Era. Triple H’s heel turn quitting on D-Generation X to join The Corporation won his first world title defeating Mick Foley with the help of Shane McMahon.
The momentum following the first win made Triple H the top overall heel in WWE. Triple H and The Rock dominated 2000 with a tremendous feud trading the title back and forth. The end of the Attitude Era would see Triple H beat Chris Jericho for the title at WrestleMania 18 as WWE moved towards the Ruthless Aggression Era.
2 The Rock
WWE found a new star in the Attitude Era when The Rock got over huge as a heel. The natural progression of Rock would see him win the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1998 when turning heel to align with the McMahon family and The Corporation.
Rock and Steve Austin had a tremendous feud that further established Rock as a top star. 2000 would see Rock get his run as a world champion in the face role feuding with Triple H. Rock had six of his eight total WWE Championship reigns in the Attitude Era.
1 Steve Austin
The obvious choice is often the right one when comparing wrestlers of historical importance. Steve Austin dominated the Attitude Era as the face of WWE for a few years. The first WWE Championship win of Austin over Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14 helped WWE reach new levels of success.
Austin thrived as the face of the company with memorable feuds against The Rock, The Undertaker, Mick Foley and many others. WWE broke all sorts of records with Austin as the face of the company. The Attitude Era was define by Austin’s five successful WWE Championship reigns.