Opinion

Steve Cook’s Top 5: Most Unlikely WWE Champions

Published

6 years ago

April 14, 2019

How many of us expected Kofi Kingston to win the WWE Championship this year? Cook takes a look at other unlikely WWE Champions.

If you say “me”, you’re lying. Kofi’s always been a well-liked Superstar, but he was never pushed at the level of a top champion. Heck, he was only in the Elimination Chamber match because Mustafa Ali got hurt. The WWE Universe got behind him, and all of a sudden he was beating Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania.

It’s one of the most unlikely WWE Championship ascensions I can remember. Here are five even more unlikely ones.

5. Sheamus

The Celtic Warrior was certainly an imposing fella when he made his debut on the ECW brand. Not too long afterward he moved over to the Raw brand and scored some dominant victories over Jamie Noble, forcing the poor man into retirement. He was building a little momentum, and all of a sudden he found himself in a “break-through battle royal” for Superstars that had never won the WWE Championship & Randy Orton. Sheamus won the battle royal, got a tables match with John Cena at TLC, and won his first WWE Championship 166 days after his debut on the main roster.

Sheamus was the anti-Kofi, in that he didn’t have to wait terribly long for his moment on top. It happened so soon that nobody was really expecting it. Sheamus has certainly had his ups & downs since, but I think most would agree that he’s proven to be a worthy championship-level competitor. He didn’t end up being an embarrassment to the championship.

Elisa looks great in her Chairshot t-shirts. You can too!

Get yours at https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/related/thechairshot.html

4. John Bradshaw Layfield

Bradshaw had been solidly in the middle of WWE cards for nearly a decade prior to his push to the top of SmackDown & the WWE Championship. He was a solid enough wrestler & occasionally he’d stiff the heck out of people to our amusement. After years of being the cigar-smoking beer-drinking redneck that hung out with Faarooq & got paid by other Superstars to protect them from their rivals, Bradshaw broke up with his tag partner and embraced the right-wing stock market expert side of his personality. This led to a feud with WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero & eventually winning the championship.

I don’t remember anybody calling for a Bradshaw world championship push, or a heck of a lot of people being happy with it when it did go down. Hindsight has led to many praising the JBL title run as a good piece of business, but it didn’t do a heck of a lot of business when it actually happened. The JBL title run was one of those title runs that enforced the idea that the Raw champion mattered more than the SmackDown champion.

WrestleMania VII Sgt Slaughter Hulk Hogan

3. Sgt. Slaughter

Slaughter had been a wildly popular face for most of the 1980s & was one of the men most identified with ‘MERICA before ‘MERICA was something people said. Slaughter was more used as a secondary babyface to wave the flag & feud with foreign heels while Hulk Hogan carried the strap & ran things on top of the card. Sarge was a good hand, and had the WWF Championship changed hands more often in the mid-80s, he probably would have been in contention for the spot.

When it finally did happen for him in 1991, it was the result of a series of shocking developments. Slaughter had been gone from the WWF for several years due to a disagreement over who should get Sarge’s GI JOE money. Sarge said he should, the WWF said they should. By the time that dried up, the news was all about Iraq & the idea was hatched that Slaughter could turn his back on his country & become an Iraqi sympathizer. This led to a title run from the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania, during which Operation Desert Storm came & went. The WWF’s crass attempt to capitalize off a war didn’t have the box office results they were hoping for, and Slaughter was asking for his old country back sooner rather than later.

2. Bob Backlund (1994)

Much like Slaughter, Backlund took a lengthy leave of absence from the WWF in the second half of the 1980s. By the time he came back in 1992, much of the viewing audience had no memory of him as WWF Champion. I was born four months after Hulk Hogan beat the Iron Sheik, and there weren’t a bevy of video tapes at Blockbuster with Backlund matches on them.

It was innocent enough at first. Backlund was a mid-card babyface that played by the rules. He served as a throwback to a different era. After losing a somewhat random title opportunity against Bret Hart on Superstars, Backlund snapped. He put the crossface chicken wing on countless unsuspecting fools before beating Bret for the championship at Survivor Series. Though he would point out that he had never been beaten for the championship, and was merely regaining the belt. As much as we all love Mr. Backlund to this day, his three-day reign in 1994 is still one of the more unlikely championship title runs in history.

hris Platt and Andrew Balaz go to war…
on POD is WAR!

Listen here: https://thechairshot.com/2019/04/pod-is-war-into-the-jesus-verse/

Vince McMahon Laughing

Honorable Mention: Vince McMahon

WCW wasn’t the only company that put their championship on a non-wrestler. Granted, Vince probably could have taken Vince Russo & David Arquette in a handicap match, but his title reign was one of the more unlikely and certainly the most pointless in WWE Championship history. The dude beat Triple H with his son officiating & Stone Cold Steve Austin helping out because reasons, then vacated the title a week later. Triple H won it back in a six-pack match at the next PPV.

Why doesn’t Vince make the list? Because it’s his company, and which wrestling company owner hasn’t won their main championship at one point or another?

1. Jinder Mahal

The Modern Day Maharaja definitely looked the part. He had the size of a WWE Champion. Jinder had the demeanor of a top heel champion. He carried himself with dignity & from all accounts was easy to do business with. Making him WWE Champion was a justifiable attempt to appeal to 1.3 billion people in India.

There were only a few problems. Jinder had been treated like a joke for the majority of his WWE stint. His win-loss record made the 2018-19 Lakers look like a juggernaut. It wasn’t like there was a catalogue of classic Mahal matches. There weren’t countless wrestling fans demanding that Jinder be pushed to the top of the card. Jinder just randomly got a push after moving to SmackDown in the SuperStar Shakeup, then he randomly beat Randy Orton to win the championship with no real build.

Had Jinder been properly built up in the months prior & fans been conditioned to think he was a legitimate contender, it could have worked. Instead it was an unlikely experiment that resulted the way most people expected.

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Up Next

Week In Review: April 8-17, 2019

Don't Miss

Greg DeMarco’s Top 10 WWE Superstar Shake-Up Moves

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY – Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY – 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY – The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY – POD is WAR (Los Tres Friends)

FRIDAY – DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network
Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts… Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Listen on your favorite platform!

iTunes | iHeart Radio | Google Play | Spotify
Listen, like, subscribe, and share!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1