10 Best WWE Champions ever
The WWE World Championship is technically no longer with us. The belt was either retired and/or split into two separate belts, the WWE Universal championship and the WWE Championship.
Still, the man who manages to capture the company's 'big belt' enjoys a certain level of prestige. It is the highest honor that can be bestowed up on a wrestler, the role of being the top draw in the company.
Over the years, the WWE World Championship has been held by a long list of legendary performers. Men like Macho Man, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, and Hulk Hogan spring to mind from the Classic era, while the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Undertaker dominated the Attitude Era.
But which of these champions was ostensibly the best of the best? We've narrowed a list of incredibly talented performers down to the top ten. These men either enjoyed epic, long historic reigns or multiple title reigns with the WWE World championship. Each of them have left an indelible mark upon sports entertainment, and their accomplishments echo throughout the halls of history.
Sportskeeda is proud to present the ten best WWE World Champions of all time.
10. Yokozuna
Number of title reigns: 2
Longest title reign: 280 days.
A member of the famous Anoa'i family, which includes such big names as the Rock, Roman Reigns, and Nia Jax, Yokozuna cut his teeth in Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association.
Known as the Great Kokina, he would be the one to end Gagne's career (in a story line) by severely breaking his leg. After a nine year run with AWA and Japanese promotions, he was signed the by the WWE in 1993.
During this era, the Cold War was over, but Vince McMahon sought to capitalize on American patriotism by turning Kokina into Yokozuna, a Japanese Sumo wrestler. He would defeat Bret Hart for both of his WWE World championship titles.
Why he makes number ten on the list: Yokozuna holds the honor of being the first Heel wrestler to retain a title at Wrestlemania. He helped garner sympathy for Bret Hart and turned him into a rock solid babyface, and also turned away the challenges of Lex Luger and the Undertaker. It was his ability to retain his belt against the dead man that was most impressive, as well as his lengthy 280 day title reign. Yokozuna had the tough job of filling the shoes left vacant by Andre the Giant, and he did a stellar job considering his age and health.