5 Wrestlers whose first title win was the WWE Championship
Becoming WWE Champion is usually a result of years in the business, during which time you’ve accumulated numerous mid-card titles on your way to being thrust into the main event picture. For these five gentlemen, however, they broke the mould in a big way by winning professional wrestling’s most prestigious title before any other.
The amount of time it took them to accomplish this goal varies between each entry, but that’s not what this is about. It’s about applauding these performers for being able to reach the top of the mountain and whilst they were indeed put there by Vince McMahon, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have to work equally as hard throughout their careers.
Not all of these Superstars were tipped to become main eventers, and that’s not always a bad thing. Proving the doubters wrong has been a highly sought after trait for a long time now in this business, and being stuck with that underdog tag can only serve to benefit you in the long run.
Sure they all experienced setbacks along the way and a few never reached these heights again, but let’s focus on the positives.
With that being said, here are five wrestlers whose first title win was the WWE Championship.
#1 Jinder Mahal
All hail the Maharaja – Jinder Mahal is officially the WWE Champion and it still doesn’t feel right to say that out loud just yet. The former jobber to the stars has been rocketed to the top of the card over the last few months, with his rise being something that quite literally nobody would’ve anticipated in the build up to Backlash.
Despite being in the company for many years across two stints, Mahal had never won a Championship prior to lifting the belt up high in Chicago. Now, in 2017, he’s the world champion after pinning the legendary Randy Orton in the middle of the ring in the main event of a pay per view. Never say never, right?
The Next Big Thing has arrived.