4 WWE Superstars who weren't given a fair chance as World Champion
In WWE, holding a world championship is the ultimate goal. Every wrestler who has stepped foot in the squared circle dreams of wearing the top prize around their waist.
Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a Title Unification Match at WrestleMania 38 to become The Undisputed Unified WWE Universal Champion. While The Tribal Chief has become a massive star, other superstars weren't nearly as fortunate, for they were never given a fair chance.
Let's look at 4 WWE Superstars who weren't given a fair chance as world champions.
#4. Kevin Owens was booked as a weak Universal Champion
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After the brand split, RAW Commissioner and General Manager Mick Foley introduced The Universal Championship in July 2016. The inaugural champion was Finn Balor, but he suffered an injury and relinquished his title 24 hours later.
Kevin Owens won the vacant Universal Championship a week later in a Fatal-Four Way Elimination Match with some assistance from Triple H.
The Prizefighter deserved the championship and fans were excited for him. Unfortunately, his near 200-day title reign was underwhelming. Far from the vicious monster fans had come to respect on NXT, Owens was booked as a cowardly champion, hiding behind his on-screen best friend Chris Jericho.
Owens had two major rivals throughout his reign: Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Jericho got involved in almost every Universal Championship match, including KO's Hell in a Cell match with Rollins.
Even when his best friend was locked inside a shark cage above the ring, The Prizefighter had to rely on outside interference to retain his Universal Championship at Royal Rumble 2017. Braun Strowman viciously assaulted Reigns and helped Owens to pick up the victory.
KO also lost his title in the worst way possible, dropping it to Goldberg in a squash match at Fastlane. He looked weak throughout his entire reign for a man whose character was built around winning championships and obliterating opponents.
#3. Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship victory was a fluke
At WrestleMania 33, Randy Orton won the WWE Championship following a horrendous match-up with Bray Wyatt. The Viper's first title defense was against Jinder Mahal, the perennial jobber who had meteorically risen to the number one contender's spot in a few weeks.
WWE's logic for backing Mahal was understandable. The company was appealing to the large wrestling fan base in India. So, in the most shocking title victory of the year, The Modern-Day Maharaja pinned Randy Orton to win the prestigious prize.
The victory was a fluke. Mahal's lapdogs, The Singh Brothers - Samir and Sunil Singh - distracted The Apex Predator and took a beating, allowing The Maharaja enough time to recuperate and execute the Khallas. A month later, the rematch at Money in the Bank had the exact same story.
At Battleground, Mahal brought back The Punjabi Prison Match, and this time, the returning Great Khali interfered to cost Orton the match. The Maharaja's only clean title defense came against Shinsuke Nakamura at Hell in a Cell.
WWE also casually took the foreign heel route with Mahal - an arrogant villain who despised America and its people, a narrative fans had seen countless times. Eventually, The Maharaja dropped the championship to AJ Styles a few weeks before Survivor Series.
Mahal never won the WWE Championship again, and another title reign seems unlikely. It was a forgettable reign that was poorly received and terribly executed.
#2. Kofi Kingston's WWE Championship failed to make him a massive star
You've never seen Kofi Kingston's #WrestleMania 35 victory like 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔.
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In February 2019, Kofi Kingston put on a career-defining performance that won over the WWE Universe and set the foundation for KofiMania. After weeks of torment, The Dreadlocked Dynamo fought his way to a WWE Championship match, ironically against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35.
With the entire crowd and locker room backing him, Kingston defied the odds to win his first WWE Title after 11 long years of dedication and consistency. However, the title reign was not memorable and has faded out of fans' collective memory.
The New Day veteran held the title for more than 180 days but didn't main-event a single premium live event. His opponents - Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton - were built stronger, and Kingston was the underdog every time. In several instances, he relied on Big E and Xavier Woods to help him retain the championship.
However, disaster struck when his reign ended in the most anti-climactic way possible. Brock Lesnar crushed Kingston in under 10 seconds to win the championship, and the fairy-tale run was over.
Kofi Kingston was never portrayed as a top star during his reign and almost always entered as the perennial underdog, a role he should've grown out of following his title win.
#1. Big E's WWE Championship run was underwhelming
When Big E cashed in his Money in the Bank contract over Bobby Lashley, fans were ecstatic. The Powerhouse of Positivity had long been pegged to become a top star, and he had finally climbed to the top of the mountain.
However, there were countless red flags throughout his reign. First, it is never the best idea to have likable babyface cash in the MITB contract to realize his dream. Besting Lashley in a clean and fair one-on-one fight or announcing the cash-in days in advance would've made the win more legitimate and meaningful.
Second, E played second-fiddle to SmackDown's Roman Reigns. In one night, he lost twice to The Tribal Chief, once in a six-man tag match and the other in a Triple Threat featuring Lashley. The WWE Champion would also lose a big fight to The Universal Champion at Survivor Series.
Meanwhile, Big E's feud with Drew McIntyre lacked fuel and heat. The outcome was inevitable as The Scottish Warrior was in no position to win the title, and fans didn't want it to happen.
The powerhouse's only legitimate rivalry was with Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens, who had turned heel to dethrone the champion. Even during the storyline, E's character seemed stale compared to his rivals. At WWE Day 1, The former IC Champion's dreams were crushed.
In his first main-event premium live event title defense, he dropped the championship to Brock Lesnar, a last-minute addition, in a Fatal-Five Way match.
There was nothing particularly memorable or eventful about Big E's WWE Title reign. The powerhouse soon fell down the pecking order and injured his neck in March. The title reign may have done more harm than good to his character.