10 WCW Championship Reigns That Ended In The Worst Possible Way

While wresting is a scripted sport, there is still a ton of pride in being a champion. It shows the company believes in you and your ability to tell stories both in and out of the ring. It also means more often than not, when you’re booked to lose it, you want to look as strong as possible even in defeat.

In the world of WCW booking, a title was able to change hands in all sorts of strange ways. Sometimes, even within the same show. While there was a lot of great things about the former promotion, there was some questionable booking when it came to a lot of title changes.

10 The Strangest Bear Hug Of All Time - Halloween Havoc 1995

WCW always tried to bring out spooky themes for the Halloween Havoc events. But the 1995 debacle should have been the end of doing these themed PPVs. First off, Hulk Hogan tried to murder The Giant in a monster truck. Then during their actual WCW World Title match, a mummy arrived, even though he was “The Ye-tay!” and the two massive monsters had the weirdest looking double bear hug, which cost Hulk the world title only for it to be declared vacant.

9 The Streak Ends - Starrcade 1998

After captivating the wrestling world by being an unstoppable monster, Goldberg became a huge name in the industry in a very short amount of time. Eventually though, you have to pay off that story with a huge moment.

The powers that be in WCW thought that would mean chicanery from The Outsiders - a stun gun from Scott Hall and Kevin Nash becoming the champion to do it. The big payoff seemed completely ridiculous and all of the rumors that Nash had booked it himself didn’t do any favors to make the angle work.

8 “You’ve Got No Guts!” - Thunder January 8, 1998

For over a year, Sting didn't say a word. He stalked the nWo from the shadows and finally defeated Hollywood Hogan in a strangely booked Starrcade showdown. Just a few weeks later, Sting, the vigilante who fought for WCW was stripped of the title due to the shoddy decision. He finally found a reason to speak and screamed at JJ Dillon, telling him “you’ve got no guts!” while also telling Hulk Hogan he was a dead man. Sting and Hogan would once again clash at SuperBrawl and The Stinger was once again able to take Hollywood out.

7 Bret’s Career Is Over - Starrcade 1999

While every superstar knows full well that “it ain’t ballet,” Bret Hart knew all too much how accidents can happen in the ring. He also knew that Goldberg was trained less than a goldfish. After specifically asking big Bill not to hurt him, Goldberg decided to attempt to remove Bret’s head from his body. The Hitman continued the match and kept making appearances for the next few weeks, but he had no choice but to relinquish the title and his career, as the damage gave him a career-ending concussion.

6 The Reboot - Nitro April 10, 2000

Eric Bischoff VInce Russo And The New Blood

As WCW was bobsledding towards the cemetery and WWE purchase, the powers that be in the company were trying anything and everything they could to stem the tide.

After hiring Vince Russo and realizing that he couldn’t do it alone, they brought back Eric Bischoff to work in tandem. Their grand idea was to reboot the entire company, that meant stripping every champion of their title.

5 DDP Loses To David Arquette - Thunder April 25, 2000

Here’s something that hasn’t been spoken about very much when it comes to the former WCW Champion, David Arquette. The third generation entertainer is actually also a second generation sports-entertainer. His father, Lewis Arquette was the voice of Jimmy Superfly Snuka on the Rock N Wrestling Cartoon. But seriously, he should have never defeated Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW title.

4 Controversy At The Beach - July 9, 2000

Not only did the debacle that happen at the 2000 Bash at the Beach ruin any credibility Vince Russo had, but it was one of the big nails in the WCW coffin. Hulk Hogan exercised his creative control to defeat Jeff Jarrett for the WCW title. When Russo balked at the idea, he told Jarrett to lay down. Depending on what story you subscribe to, it was a worked-shoot gone horrible wrong when Russo cut the scathing promo. Nevermind Arquette, this was the moment that the WCW title truly lost all credibility.

3 Losing To The Renegade - Great American Bash 1995

Despite never winning a world title, 'The Enforcer' Arn Anderson is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He has repeatedly mentioned on his podcast that he had always considered the Television Title was his world title. Knowing that makes losing the title to a completely green faux-Ultimate Warrior, The Renegade even more bittersweet. This was the last TV title Arn would win during his career.

2 Booker T Got Injured - Live Event July 14, 1998

Injuries are always unexpected in wrestling, but when a superstar suffers an injury and has a title, it must stink to have to hand it back to the promoter. Booker T was the defending TV champion when this happened.

His brother Stevie Ray would claim power of attorney to try and keep the title in the family. But he wasn’t able to hold onto the title for his brother and lost the title to Chris Jericho on Nitro in less than a month.

1 The Steiners Getting Stripped - Nitro, January 27, 1997

The Steiner Brothers had been chasing The Outsiders and the WCW tag team titles for some time. They got the chance to not only beat them, but do it at the nWo’s first ever PPV, Souled Out. Along with the help of disgraced referee, Randy Anderson, the Steiners were able to do just that. Unfortunately, a few nights later on Nitro, a power mad Bischoff humiliated both the Steiners and Anderson. He fired Randy Anderson live on Nitro and stripped Rick and Scott of the tag titles.