Sting is bidding to become the latest in a list of legendary Superstars to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship when he battles Seth Rollins at Night of Champions on Sept. 20 in Texas.
"The Vigilante" is a six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and four-time TNA Heavyweight Champion, but he'll look to add to his impressive list of accolades when he battles "The Architect." Despite his many achievements, he hasn't reached the holy grail of professional wrestling by winning the richest prize in the WWE.
Projecting The Likelihood Of All Possible Outcomes For Seth Rollins At Night of Champions
The WWE's biggest belt is the best title remaining in the wrestling world, and though Sting won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions, the title was also held by, of all people, actor David Arquette. One can argue that Vince McMahon also held the WWE Championship, but let's not get into semantics.
Buddy Rogers first won the WWWF Championship in April 1963 and when Rollins won the gold for the first time in his career at WrestleMania 31, he became the 120th champion in a list of star-studded wrestlers.
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With Sting being the latest high-profile name to try and win the crown, here's a look back at 10 of the greatest WWE Heavyweight Champions ever.
Due to the company's craziness with titles, we are combining the old World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship reigns as one, since that's how the WWE counts their champions. For instance, Cena won the World Heavyweight Championship (big gold belt) three times and the WWE Championship 12 times, so the WWE acknowledges him as a 15-time title-holder since the two belts were combined into one.
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Honorable Mentions: This is a difficult task, so before you rip us in the comments section for leaving someone out, here's an army of honorable mentions who just couldn't quite make the cut (in no particular order): Bob Backlund, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Edge, The Ultimate Warrior and Brock Lesnar
10) Triple H
"The Game" may be an executive now, but he had a storied career inside the squared circle, racking up eight WWE Championships and then winning the World Heavyweight Championship five times to give him 13 combined World Championship reigns. Triple H first won the gold on Monday Night RAW in August 1999 when he defeated Mick Foley just one night after the Hardcore Legend won the gold at SummerSlam.
His last run with a World Title started at No Way Out a decade later in 2009 and ended with a loss to Randy Orton at Backlash that April.
9) The Undertaker
"The Demon From Death Valley" is known for his legendary WrestleMania streak that ended at the hands of Brock Lesnar, but he also has had some tremendous success as the No. 1 Superstar in the promotion. "The Deadman's" first World Championship was notable as he shockingly defeated Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series 1991, only to lose it five days later at This Tuesday in Texas.
All told, 'Taker has seven combined World Championship reigns, with his last one to date being a World Heavyweight Championship win at Hell in a Cell in 2009.
8) Shawn Michaels
The "Heartbreak Kid" has had one of the most legendary WWE careers in history and his rise to superstardom truly took off when he defeated Bret Hart in a classic Iron Man Match at WrestleMania XII to capture the WWE Championship for the first time ever.
Michaels had four World Championships, earning his last one at Survivor Series 2002 in Madison Square Garden.
7) "Macho Man" Randy Savage
For years, no one could dethrone Hulk Hogan as the WWE's top draw, but the company had a surprise in store at WrestleMania IV in 1988. Savage won a 14-man tournament to capture the richest prize in the game for the first time in his career after defeating Ted Dibiase in the finals.
The Hall of Famer would go on to win the gold again four years later, knocking off Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII in 1992. Through his charisma on the microphone and in-ring prowess, Savage was one of the greatest champions in WWE history. It's a shame that the WWE inducted him into its greatest honor posthumously instead of giving him the spotlight sooner.
6) John Cena
The "Cenation" leader has carried the WWE for over a decade and as mentioned above, he has 15 World Championship reigns, which is just one shy of Ric Flair's 16. Cena first won the gold a decade ago at WrestleMania 21 by knocking off JBL for the WWE Championship to cement himself as the future of the WWE and 10 years later, he hasn't gone anywhere.
Love him or hate him, Cena has had a great impact on the wrestling landscape. His last reign to date started at Money in the Bank 2014 and ended with a loss to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam that August.
5) Bret "Hitman" Hart
The "Excellence of Execution" lived up to his "the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be" moniker by giving his all night in and night out and putting on five-star technical wrestling clinics on a near nightly basis. The WWE first gave Hart the ball in October 1992 when he defeated Ric Flair in Saskatoon to get his first taste of the WWE Championship.
The "Hitman" would go on to win the gold five times in his career, with his last reign infamously ending with The Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997.Despite the terrible ending to his reign on top, Hart was responsible for the WWE surviving after Hulk Hogan bolted for WCW by ringing in The New Generation.
4) Bruno Sammartino
There is an argument to be made that the Hall of Famer could be the No. 1 entrant on this list, but with all due respect to him, his reigns don't hold the importance of some of the others on the countdown. Sammartino became the second World Champion in history when he defeated Buddy Rogers for the WWWF Championship in May 1963.
After his first title win, Sammartino held the belt for a record 2,873 days before losing to Ivan Koloff in January 1971. His second reign lasted from December 1973-April 1977 (1,237 days) making him one of the greatest legends ever to grace the ring.
3) The Rock
If this was a list of most entertaining title-holders, "The People's Champion" would easily be No. 1. The Rock first won the gold by turning heel and defeating Mankind in a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion at Survivor Series: Deadly Game in 1998.
The Rock earned 10 World Championship reigns in his illustrious career, with his last one coming at the 2013 Royal Rumble, where he ended CM Punk's 434-day reign on top. The Rock then lost to Cena at WrestleMania XXIX that April. From the Attitude Era to his last reign, The Rock is undoubtedly one of the best of all time.
2) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
The "Texas Rattlesnake" could make a bid for the best ever as he is one of the reasons the WWE was able to surpass WCW in the Monday Night Wars. Austin's brass brawling style and cunning attitude put the WWE on the map and his rivalry with Vince McMahon was must-see television. The perfect storm was brewing and the WWE capitalized on it at WrestleMania XIV when Austin defeated Shawn Michaels to capture the WWE Championship for the first time in his career as the organization began to pull away from WCW.
Austin would go on to win the WWE Championship on six occasions, with his last reign starting on an October edition of RAW in 2001 and ending with a loss to Chris Jericho at Vengeance that December. Austin is one of the greatest champions in WWE history and had one of the most important reigns at a vital time for the company.
1) Hulk Hogan
Though his racist remarks are inexcusable, Hogan put professional wrestling on the map in the 1980s and helped propel Vince McMahon's organization into the spotlight when "Hulkamania" ran wild well into the 1990s. The Hall of Famer still gets a monstrous pop whenever he makes a return to the company (don't expect that anytime soon), showing the lasting effect he's had on sports entertainment.
Hogan grew the WWE into a cash cow and it all began when he toppled the Iron Sheik in January 1984 to start a reign that lasted 1,474 days and ended in controversy with the infamous twin referee angle and Andre the Giant. Hogan was a six-time Heavyweight Champion and had one of the biggest matches in WWE history when he defended the belt against Andre at WrestleMania III in 1987.
Upon his return to the WWE in 2002, he picked up his final reign at Backlash by defeating Triple H, and held it for less than a month before losing it to The Undertaker. Hogan's name is synonymous with wrestling and he is the greatest WWE World Heavyweight Champion ever.
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