The wcw The World Heavyweight Championship was one of the most prestigious championships in professional wrestling history. The Great Golden Belt represented the title, and countless legends held the gold. Ric Flair, Sting, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage, among others, have won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship multiple times.
In March 2001, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship became the property of WWE and was renamed the WCW Championship and the World Championship after survival series 2001. So, there were several wrestlers under the WWE banner who challenged for the WCW Championship, and it’s easy to forget that they had a shot at the title. There were a plethora of random challengers who wrestled for the WCW Championship in WCW before it became WWE property, and they too were forgotten about.
10/10 Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and he owned WCW. In unforgivable In 2001, he teamed up with Booker T and they challenged The Rock for the WCW Championship in a handicap match, as they sought to bring the Big Gold Belt back to the Alliance.
Test interfered in an attempt to help Shane and Booker. Bradshaw interfered to remove Test from the equation, but Shane and Booker had the upper hand. However, it’s easy to forget that Shane challenged for the WCW Championship, but he didn’t take the blame when Rock put Booker in Rock Bottom.
9/10 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 reigning WCW World Heavyweight Champion Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, and The Harris Brothers. This was a terrible War Games match with Nash retaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
8/10 spear storm
Lance Storm had a successful career in WCW, where he won five championships, most notably the WCW United States Championship three times. 24 hours eliminated after losing the Intercontinental Championship to Edge at summer festival 2001, Storm challenged the newly crowned WCW Champion The Rock for the title at Crude.
Rock and Storm had a decent match for the WCW Championship, and Storm had a chance to defeat the Great One. However, Rock’s first reign as WCW Champion continued when he connected with Rock Bottom to win.
7/10 dudley boys
The Rock’s WCW Championship reign was in great jeopardy when he defended his title against the reigning WWE World Tag Team Champions, the Dudley Boyz, in a handicap table match on the October 1, 2016 edition of Raw. 2001. The Dudleys dominated the match and Shane McMahon interfered.
Shane O’Mac put Rock on the table and the Dudleys tried to claim the win. Rock executed the Rock Bottom on Bubba Ray through the table to retain the WCW Championship.
6/10 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. His match was contested on the December 13, 2000 edition of WCW Thunder.
This was a hard-hitting match in which neither held back. Their battle spilled over to the outside of the ring and Midajah got involved by climbing on Meng’s back. However, Big Poppa Pump retained the title from him with the Steiner Recliner.
5/10 Chuck Palumba
Booker T was the reigning WCW World Heavyweight Champion on the August 21, 2000 episode of nitro, and defended the championship against Chuck Palumbo. Tag team wrestling was Palumbo’s specialty and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Vince Russo oversaw the proceedings as a special guest referee. Nash attacked Booker with a gun, and Palumbo nearly pulled off the upset when he pinned Booker for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. However, the decision was overturned by Ernest Miller, and he refereed the match with Booker retaining with Book End.
4/10 the undertaker
The Undertaker is a seven-time WWE World Champion, but has never won the WCW Championship. However, once the WCW Championship became WWE property in March 2001, American Badass was seeking the title from Booker T on the August 2, 2001 episode. Slap.
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 in a no contest with The Rock getting involved in the mayhem.
3/10 Horace Hogan
Hulk Hogan’s nephew, Horace Hogan wasn’t the greatest athlete, but he was involved in notable storylines. He had the opportunity to emulate his uncle by challenging for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the June 28, 2000 episode of WCW Thunder against Jeff Jarrett.
There was nothing special about their title fight. Hogan attempted to hit Jarrett with a steel chair, but the referee stopped him, and while Jarrett pleaded, he was smart when he landed the steel chair strike to remain WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
2/10 Christian
Christian was presented with a golden opportunity when 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 got physically involved.
This was a brilliant performance from Christian as he was desperate to become World Champion for the first time in his career. Rock beat the odds by finishing off Christian with a Rock Bottom. Christian’s work was far from over that night when he betrayed his brother Edge.
1/10 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 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. However, Rock received a helping hand from Tajiri, who spat green mist in Regal’s face, and Rock retained the WCW Championship with the sniper.