Top 5 Most Unlikely World Champions
Some characters in wrestling are larger than life - enough to be given the moniker of world champion, such as Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena. However, there are wrestlers who looked down upon as being too small, or not having “the look”. Here are five wrestlers that became unlikely world champions.
5. Chris Jericho: After a stint with both Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, Chris Jericho joined World Championship Wrestling in the fall of 1996. Jericho was a staple of WCW’s Crusierweight Division, with his best moment coming on an episode of Monday Nitro, when he delivered the infamous, “1,004 holds” promo, which was directed at Dean Malenko, who was “The Man of “1,000 Holds”. In 1999, Jericho jumped to the World Wrestling Federation - interrupting The Rock, and debuting his Y2J persona. As someone who would be a midcard wrestler in Vince McMahon’s “Land of the Giants”, Jericho did the unthinkable by defeating The Rock and Steve Austin in a triple threat match at Vengeance 2001 to become the undisputed world champion.
4. CM Punk: To suggest that CM Punk was an independent wrestling star in the early-2000’s would be a huge understatement. Punk’s best work was in Ring of Honor, specifically his trilogy of matches with Samoa Joe in 2004. The WWE would sign Punk to a developmental contract in 2005. The following year, he would debut for the revived ECW brand in 2006. Despite backstage politics, Punk would capture the WWE world title on the June 30th, 2008 episode of Monday Night Raw by cashing in his Money In the Bank case against Edge.
3. Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson): Like CM Punk, Bryan Danielson was also quite the darling of the independent wrestling scene during the 2000’s. Trained by Shawn Michaels and William Regal, Danielson arrived to WWE in 2010, where he participated in NXT, back when it was positioned as a reality show. He was given the name Daniel Bryan, and was made to look like a geek - to the point of a heel Michael Cole saying that Bryan would never make it in WWE. Danielson was initially fired by the company for choking out former WWE and current AEW ring announcer Justin Roberts with Roberts’ tie. The image was deemed “too graphic” for WWE’s PG product. However, Danielson was brought back in short order. At the December 2011 pay-per-view, Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Danielson cashed in his Money In the Bank case against the Big Show. Although that was Danielson’s first World title reign in WWE, it’s the one at Wrestlemania 30 that people remember most, when he defeated Batista and Randy Orton in a triple threat match.
2. Diamond Dallas Page: While most train to become wrestlers as a teenager, or in their 20’s, Diamond Dallas Page took a much different route. At the age of 35, DDP trained to become a professional wrestler. He debuted for WCW in 1991, teaming with the Diamond Studd (Scott Hall). Managed by his former real life wife Kimberly, Page was positioned as a midcarder in the mid-90’s. Despite being a heel, he was starting to get over by using his finisher, the Diamond Cutter. After turning babyface, it was Page’s feud with the Macho Man Randy Savage in 1997 that really put him on the map. At Spring Stampede 1999, Page would walk out as WCW World champion in a Four Way Dance against Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Sting. To this day, Page has been referred by many as “The Working Man’s Champion”.
1. Eddie Guerrero: In 1995, Eddie Guerrero wrestled Dean Malenko in a series of terrific matches in ECW. Both men were about to leave the company, for WCW, and had a two out of three falls match. After the match, the ECW faithful chanted to each “Please don’t go”. Guerrero’s best matches in WCW were with Rey Mysterio, most notably their encounter at Halloween Havoc 1997. Guerrero, along with Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn, would join the WWF in 2000 to form The Radicalz. Shortly after, Guerrero would involve himself in a romantic storyline with Chyna. In November of 2001, Guerrero was arrested for drunk driving, and subsequently released by WWE. After stints with Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling, he returned to WWE in April of 2002. Over the next couple of years, Guerrero’s popularity soared with fans, especially on the Smackdown brand, with his lying, cheating and stealing persona. Deemed with being too small, as well as personal issues, Guerrero’s biggest moment came at the 2004 No Way Out pay-per-view, when he defeated Brock Lesnar to be crowned WWE champion for the very first time. Even after his death in 2005, Eddie Guerrero’s legacy still lives on.