Most Boring World Champions

The mark of a good world champion is different depending on each wrestler that has held one of the top prizes in a wrestling promotion. Some of them are fighting champions who take on every challenger and others can put on a good match with anyone. Wrestlers like Ric Flair and John Cena have built their legacy on being worthy world champions who have helped raise the prestige of the championships that they are holding. Unfortunately, not all world champions are created equal.

In the history books of each of the world championships across professional wrestling, there are champions that seem like they just do not belong. Despite their best efforts, some world champions struggle to live up to the mantle of other champions and their title reigns are not fondly remembered. In fact, some former champions just do not connect with fans for a simple fact – they are boring to watch and do not provide any exciting moments while they have championships around their waist.

UPDATE: 2024/04/16 20:00 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA

Championships are the epitome of success in professional wrestling. Some wrestlers, such as John Cena, Steve Austin, Roman Reigns, and more have had some of the very best all-time runs with the titles they held. They helped to elevate the championship to a place of prestige that set the tone for others who followed in their footsteps. Other champions, however, were not as lucky. Some had reigns that were simply uninteresting, uneventful, or just plain boring.

Bob Backlund Had A Historic WWE Title Reign

He Is The Second Longest Reigning WWE Champion

• Backlund held the WWE Title for 2,135 days.
• His second WWE Title reign was three days.
• Backlund lacked personality.

When it comes to celebrating the greats of technical wrestling, Bob Backlund is in the conversation for one of the greatest of all time. With a legitimate background in amateur wrestling, Backlund was a dominant champion and the second longest-reigning WWE Champion in history.

However, as talented as Backlund was between the ropes, his personality left much to be desired. While initially a respected champion, fans began to grow tired of his clean-cut image. Refusing to change with the times, Backlund got left behind as fans craved charisma in addition to substance, and Backlund just could not deliver.

Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title Was Shocking

He Defeated Randy Orton To Win The Title

• It was the most shocking WWE Title win ever.
• He defeated Randy Orton at Backlash 2017.
• He held the title for 170 days.

There are few moments that were more shocking than Jinder Mahal becoming WWE Champion in 2017. Even after getting released from WWE and surprisingly returning in fantastic shape a few years later, there were still few fans that pegged Mahal as a future world champion.

Unfortunately, the shock factor of Mahal winning the title was as exciting as his reign became. His 170-reign as champion was filled with unexciting moments and matches that left fans wanting more, which they never received. The fact that Mahal never returned to the main event scene should be telling enough about the quality of his reign.

Jack Swagger Had A Poor Reign

He Won The World Heavyweight Title

• Swagger is a former ECW Champion.
• He cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract on Chris Jericho.
• His reign was 82 days.

As one of the projects of WWE’s developmental system, Jack Swagger seemed poised for the main event scene from when he debuted on WWE television. After quickly rising through the ranks in ECW to become ECW Champion, he set his sights on larger prizes in 2010.

After winning Money in the Bank, Swagger cashed in to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Chris Jericho in what should have been an exciting moment. However, Swagger’s championship reign came in between solid reigns by Chris Jericho and Edge, so he quickly lost his footing and became a lame-duck champion who is often forgotten about.

The Big Show Never Got A Solid Title Reign

He Won Titles In WCW And WWE

• The Big Show should have had more from his world title reigns.
• His longest title reign was with the ECW World Heavyweight Title.
• He is a two-time WWE Champion.

The Big Show’s long WWE career certainly had its ups and downs, but through the numerous heel turns, he developed a reputation for being a reliable legend who could be depended on to elevate younger talent. Unfortunately, that reputation was not enough to carry him to be a credible champion through any of his five world championship runs in WWE or WCW.

Whether it was the WWE, WCW or World Heavyweight Championships, The Big Show’s wrestling style never created memorable championship runs. Despite his incredible size and strength, he always left fans wanting more from him as champion, and none of his reigns materialized into long ones that kept audiences happy.

The Great Khali’s Reign Was Boring

He Was SmackDown’s World Champion

• He held the World Heavyweight Title.
• His reign lasted 61 days.
• He was limited in what he could do in the ring.

WWE is often referred to as the land of giants due to Vince McMahon’s proclivity for larger-than-life athletes on his roster. While these athletes certainly add to the mystique of professional wrestling, the amount that can put on exciting matches is few and far between.

The Great Khali is certainly spectacular to look at due to his height, size and strength, but his World Heavyweight Championship reign remains one of the Smackdown brand’s most boring time periods. Due to his limited mobility and wrestling experience, Khali was unable to put on exciting matches or storylines and the legacy of the title suffered during his reign in 2007.

Steve Corino Was One Of ECW’s Last Champions

His Reign Was Not Remembered Well

• He was known “King of the Old School.”
• He was not popular as champion.
• He had a 63 day title reing.

Extreme Championship Wrestling earned its moniker for putting on incredibly violent and bloody matches during its heyday. Fans of the promotion were blood-thirsty for the ECW style and craved matches that included weapons and bloodshed, and took their anger out on those who did not deliver on their expectations.

Steve Corino’s “King of the Old School” gimmick, while he was one of the last to hold the ECW World Championship, may have been a genius idea for annoying the ECW fans, but it did not make him a popular champion. By admonishing the hardcore wrestling style and denouncing any weapons, he did not make many friends among the fan base and is not a fondly remembered champion.

Tommy Rich Was A Transitional Champion

He Won The Title From Harley Race

• He held the NWA World Championship.
• It was the result of a power struggle in the NWA board of directors.
• It was done to appease people.

Transitional champions are designed to get a championship belt off of one wrestler and onto another without having them lose to each other. In other cases, it can be done for political, behind-the-scenes reasons in order to ensure certain people remain happy.

Unfortunately for fans, Tommy Rich was one of those transitional champions that broke up one of Harley Race’s strong NWA World Championship reigns in the early ’80s. Rich’s title reign only occurred due to a power struggle within the NWA board of directors and was done to appease certain territories. However, it was the fans that ended up losing out during his short and uneventful reign.

Ezekiel Jackson Was The Final ECW Champion

He Held The Title Briefly

• Ezekiel Jackson was the last champion of the ECW reboot.
• He won the title from Christian in 2010.
• It was immediately deactivated following his win.

When WWE rebooted ECW as its own brand in 2006, fans quickly realized that it would not be like the original incarnation. However, it departed so far away from the original intention of the promotion that fans quickly soured on the product as a whole, even if there were still good matches occurring.

However, the final straw for any ECW-faithful fan still clinging on was the final ECW Champion that was crowned. Ezekiel Jackson won the title from Christian to such little fanfare that no one cared when the title was deactivated following his win. Had the title continued, Ezekiel surely would have been one of the most boring wrestlers to ever hold an extreme championship.

Matt Taven Dropped The Quality Of The ROH Title

Fans Were Not Interested In His Title Reign

• He held the title for 174 days.
• His reign was unimpressive.
• ROH struggled after his title win.

On the list of former Ring of Honor World Champions, there are some of the best technical, high-flying and power wrestlers in independent wrestling history. With names like Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe and Claudio Castagnoli on the list, there have been some epic clashes over one of the most prized titles in the game today.

However, Matt Taven sticks out on that list like a sore thumb. Despite Ring of Honor being an incredibly hot product for many years, Taven is credited as single-handedly dropping the quality of the product due to his single world championship reign. Fans were so disinterested in Taven’s title reign that the promotion saw fans leave in record numbers, and they struggled to ever recover.

Jeff Jarrett Had His Own Reign Of Terror

His NWA Title Reigns Were Hated By Fans

• Jarrett held the NWA World Heavyweight Title six times.
• His reigns were too long.
• Fans did not enjoy him as champion.

In WCW’s final years, there were many questionable decisions made by the creative team that resulted in the company losing its lustre and ultimately going belly up. Some fans cite the decision to make Jeff Jarrett the cornerstone of the company as one of those decisions.

With a slow and methodical style that did not encapsulate fans during this time period, Jarrett’s matches were never exciting. Coupled with WCW’s creative at the time, Jarrett’s championship reigns were tough to get through. Combine that with how each of his NWA World Championship reigns was entirely too long, and it is the recipe for a very boring world champion.