10 Wrestlers We Forgot Challenged For The WCW World Heavyweight Championship

May 2024 ยท 6 minute read

The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was one of the most prestigious championships in the history of professional wrestling. The Big Gold Belt represented the title, and countless legends held the gold. The likes of Ric Flair, Sting, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage among others have held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship multiple times.

RELATED: Every Wrestler To Win Both The WWE & WCW Championship

In March 2001, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship became WWE's property and it was renamed the WCW Championship and the World Championship after Survivor Series 2001. Therefore, there were several wrestlers under the WWE banner who challenged for the WCW Championship, and it's easy to forget that they had a chance of winning the title. There was a plethora of random challengers who battled for the WCW Championship in WCW before it became WWE's property, and they were also forgotten about.

10 Shane McMahon

Shane McMahon wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, and he was the owner of WCW. At Unforgiven 2001, he teamed up with Booker T, and they challenged The Rock for the WCW Championship in a handicap match, as they were looking to bring the Big Gold Belt back to the Alliance.

Test interfered in a bid to assist Shane and Booker. Bradshaw interfered to remove Test from the equation, but Shane and Booker had the upper hand. Nonetheless, it's easy to forget that Shane challenged for the WCW Championship, but he didn't take the fall with Rock putting Booker away with the Rock Bottom.

9 Kronik

Kronik's Brian Adams and Bryan Clark won the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice during their time in WCW. The powerhouses had a chance to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the September 4, 2000, edition of Nitro in War Games.

Kronik, Sting, Booker T, and Goldberg challenged the reigning WCW World Heavyweight Champion Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, and The Harris Brothers. This was a dreadful War Games match with Nash retaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

8 Lance Storm

Lance Storm had a successful run in WCW where he won five championships most notably holding the WCW United States Championship three times. 24 hours removed after dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Edge at SummerSlam 2001, Storm challenged the newly crowned WCW Champion The Rock for the title on Raw.

Rock and Storm had a decent WCW Championship match, and Storm had his chances to upset the Great One. However, Rock's first reign as WCW Champion continued as he connected with the Rock Bottom for the win.

7 Dudley Boyz

The Rock's WCW Championship reign was in huge jeopardy as he defended his title against the reigning WWE World Tag Team Champions the Dudley Boyz in a handicap tables match on the October 1, 2001, edition of Raw. The Dudleys dominated the match, and Shane McMahon interfered.

RELATED: 11 Tag Team Champions Who Got A World Title Shot

Shane O'Mac put Rock through the table, and the Dudleys attempted to claim the victory. Rock executed the Rock Bottom on Bubba Ray through the table to retain the WCW Championship.

6 Meng

Before Meng returned to WWE to reprise his role as Haku in the 2001 Royal Rumble match, he had a shot at Scott Steiner's WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Their bout was contested on the December 13, 2000, edition of WCW Thunder.

This was a hard-hitting match with neither man holding back. Their battle spilled onto the outside of the ring and Midajah got involved by getting onto Meng's back. Nevertheless, Big Poppa Pump retained his title with the Steiner Recliner.

5 Chuck Palumbo

Booker T was the reigning WCW World Heavyweight Champion on the August 21, 2000 episode of Nitro, and he defended the championship against Chuck Palumbo. Tag team wrestling was Palumbo's specialty and this was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Vince Russo oversaw proceedings as the special guest referee. Nash attacked Booker with a weapon, and Palumbo almost pulled off the upset as he covered Booker for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. However, the decision was overturned by Ernest Miller, and he refereed the match with Booker retaining with the Book End.

4 The Undertaker

The Undertaker is a seven-time WWE World Champion, but he never won the WCW Championship. However, once the WCW Championship became WWE's property in March 2001, the American Badass was gunning for Booker T's title on the August 2, 2001 episode of SmackDown.

RELATED: 5 Best Title Reigns Of The Undertaker's Career (& 5 Worst)

Undertaker and Booker's chemistry together is underrated as they had some competitive matches. Undertaker was closing in on the WCW Championship but Shane McMahon held Undertaker's wife Sara on the outside. The match ended as no contest with The Rock getting involved in the chaos.

3 Horace Hogan

The nephew of Hulk Hogan, Horace Hogan wasn't the best athlete but he was involved in marquee storylines. He had a chance to emulate his uncle by competing for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the June 28, 2000, episode of WCW Thunder against Jeff Jarrett.

There wasn't anything special about their title bout. Hogan attempted to hit Jarrett with a steel chair but the referee stopped him, and whilst Jarrett pleaded, he was smart as he connected with the stroke on the steel chair to remain as WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

2 Christian

Christian was presented with a golden opportunity as he challenged The Rock for the WCW Championship in front of his hometown fans in Toronto on the September 3, 2001, episode of Raw. Booker T and Shane McMahon made their presence felt at ringside, and they'd physically get involved.

This was a brilliant performance by Christian as he was desperate to become World Champion for the first time in his career. Rock overcame the odds by finishing off Christian with a Rock Bottom. Christian's work was far from over that night as he betrayed his brother Edge.

1 William Regal

William Regal is one of the greatest wrestlers to never win a World Championship in WWE. On the November 12, 2001, edition of Raw, the Alliance's Commissioner challenged The Rock for the WCW Championship.

The Rock had the crowd firmly on his side as they wanted to see him put Regal out of his misery. Nevertheless, Rock received a helping hand from Tajiri who spat green mist in Regal's face, and Rock retained the WCW Championship with the sharpshooter.

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