The 10 Best Wrestlers Who Never Won A World Title

There have been plenty of territories and world titles over the years but as far as history is concerned the major ones that most fans will know of are the NWA, WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA, NJPW, and now AEW. There are a lot of places to head to ply your trade and make yourself famous. There's also a humongous list of wrestlers each fan would consider part of their Mount Rushmore.

That being said, no matter how good a superstar is, sometimes that coveted tippy top spot of being the world champion eludes even some of the best and most beloved superstars of all time. Some people like to say something to the effect of “well, he didn’t need a belt.” He might not have, but a title would have pushed their careers even farther.

10 Luna Vachon

Despite being with WWE through both the Alundra Blayze and Attitude Era, for some reason, Luna Vachon never got the respect that she deserved. During her feud with Blayze, Luna was used more as a manager, seconding Bull Nakano to the ring. Later on, she was able to help get Sable over and have a passable match with her in the ring. Unfortunately she was never booked to be a strong heel champion. Had she been around when WWE put more emphasis on the women's division, perhaps things would've turned out differently.

9 Mr. Perfect

Despite being a former AWA champion, by the time Curt Hennig won the strap, the promotion was on its last legs and nowhere near as prominent as it once was. When he got to WWE, Mr. Perfect almost immediately assumed dominance over the midcard as the Intercontinental Champion.

Why one of the most capable, legendary, and respected wrestlers of all time never got a run with the gold is a little head scratching.

8 Dustin Rhodes

With several breaks in between his WWE stints, from late 1995 until 2019 Goldust was a huge fixture all across WWE. First, he burst onto the scene as one of the most controversial characters of the New Generation and The Attitude Era. Next, he would be teaming up with everyone from Booker T to R-Truth to his brother Cody. Despite various Intercontinental and tag team title victories over the years and some marquee feuds, he never got a shot to run with the real gold.

7 Cesaro

Hopefully, Cesaro being on this list might soon change. But history has shown that to be not very likely. For whatever the reason, Vince McMahon just doesn’t see the appeal. Apparently it’s not very appealing to have a man who speak five languages, looks like Jason Statham, and consistently has one of the best matches on the card every night. Perhaps being one of the most respected hands in the locker room or having his own cheering section when there are crowds should be appealing. But when the WWE is really for an audience of one and the one doesn’t see it, Cesaro just won’t be champion.

6 Ted DiBiase

Nope, buying the WWE title from Andre The Giant or having your own title commissioned to be made out of gold and diamonds doesn’t count as ever being world champion. Ted DiBiase was one of the few top heels that had a run in nearly all of the Hogan Era, and the entire time, he was always in a decent if not top spot. There was a rumor that he was supposed to win the WrestleMania IV tournament and had that have happened, he would have been the first ever heel and the first ever superstar to debut in the main event and walk out with his hand raised.

5 Owen Hart

Owen Hart was such a great worker that the tragedy for his fans is that his true potential was never realized. At the time of his passing, the WWE was just months away from a huge influx of talent to their roster.

While he chose to be a goofball during The Attitude Era and not engage in the absurd storylines, in just a few years, he would have been having five star matches nightly with the new crop of superstars (The Radicalz, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, etc...) and certainly would have been at the top of the heap.

4 Arn Anderson

For every Shawn, there’s a Marty; every Eddie, there’s a Chavo; but at the top of heap for the best second man in wrestling, no one holds a candle to Arn Anderson. The Enforcer, Double A named The Four Horsemen and invented The Spinebuster. Not to mention he was perennially either a TV or tag champion nearly his entire career. But when you’re constantly backing the world champion, Ric Flair, you seldom get a chance to run with the title belt. In Arn’s case, The Enforcer seldom even got a shot at the ten pounds of gold.

3 Scott Hall

Perhaps because of the way he glided to the ring, or maybe because he was standing next to Kevin Nash for most of his career, it gets lost in the shuffle of just how big Scott Hall is. He’s just the right height and weight for Vince McMahon to fall in love in with - 6-foot-7 and 285; only 18 pounds lighter than Hogan. But Scott Hall, perhaps because of his demons, was never put on top as the main guy. By the time he got to WCW, his role became more of a tag team superstar and founding member of the nWo.

2 Jake The Snake Roberts

For many old school fans, it was Jake The Snake Roberts that were their first introduction to a truly scary character. He carried a snake around with him for crying out loud! Even when he was a babyface, there was also an element of danger to watching Jake work; he could end any match at any time with The DDT (long before everyone bastardized it).

But because of that air of danger, mixed with Damien and some of the best promos of all time, Jake Roberts had no chance at becoming champion while Hogan was around - as evidenced by their teases at a feud together, Roberts was more over than Hulk in some markets.

1 Rowdy Roddy Piper

Out of everyone in this list and others that didn’t make it, only two men truly didn’t need a world title or any other title for that matter to get over and stay over. The aforementioned Jake, the legendary mouth that roared - Hot Rod Rowdy Roddy Piper. As he said on his recent A&E Biography special, give the man a mic and get out of his way. Piper was able to say whatever he wanted to get the white hot heat that made him famous, infamous, and beloved to fans worldwide. No world title can top that kind of heat.

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