Posted in: Doctor's Orders
Doctor's Orders: The Greatest Champions Of The WrestleMania Era (Week 19)
By The Doc
Mar 23, 2016 - 8:22:41 AM

If you'd like to read this entire series, click here to purchase the book


Earlier this year, I was approached about expanding The WrestleMania Era into a series of books, with the sequels to the original allowing me to feature a statistical analysis of each of the five-tiers that shaped the definitive list. I agreed to at least the first spinoff book – The Greatest Champions Of The WrestleMania Era - with one caveat: that we find a way to allow this endeavor to double as my yearly LOP WrestleMania series.

The “Title Formula” was created to assess the championship resumes of all relevant WWE and WCW wrestlers between November 1983 and August 2015. Each division was weighted according to its importance; the World Championship received top billing, beneath it the IC and US Titles were considered as equals followed by the Tag Team Titles. Belts such as the Cruiserweight, European, and Hardcore Championships were not taken into account because they were all short-lived; the major titles have been around throughout every period of the WrestleMania Era. The formula also accounts for the length of reigns versus the number of reigns.

Click here for the full Introduction and the details of the criteria







QUESTION OF THE DAY: Which match are you most looking forward to at WrestleMania?


20. Jeff Jarrett
19. Shawn Michaels
18. Batista
17. Lex Luger
16. The Big Show
15. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
14. Chris Benoit
13. Sting
12. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
11. Kevin “Diesel” Nash


20. Jeff Jarrett
4-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion; 6-time WWE Intercontinental Champion; 3-time WCW United States Champion; 1-time WWE Tag Team Champion



If there is a career that has been more inexplicably underrated than Jeff Jarrett’s in the WrestleMania Era, then please write me and let me know. I suppose it is because Double J won the WCW Championship four times during the worst creative period in mainstream pro wrestling history, but I think that perhaps there are other, better historical perspectives in which Jarrett’s run at the top should be placed. Many may not remember just how awful the WCW main-event scene was from the standpoint of in-ring quality. It was atrocious during the height of the Monday Night War. Men like Jarrett, Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Bret Hart rescued it from the depths of despair and they may not have drawn the ratings or buyrates that did the New World Order, but wrestling is not just about getting butts in the seats or eyes on the screen – it’s also about putting on a good enough show that those butts and eyes become repeat viewers and buyers. So, as I strongly suggested in The WrestleMania Era, celebrate the incredible career of Jeff Jarrett – not only a four-time World Champion, but also a three-time United States Champion and former Tag Team Champion and the wrestler that has held the Intercontinental Title more times than anyone but Chris Jericho.

19. Shawn Michaels
4-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion; 3-time WWE Intercontinental Champion; 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion



Earning the tie-breaker to get to #19 ahead of Jarrett on account of his holding the World Title for a year longer in totality, Shawn Michaels breaks into the Top 20 of the all-time greatest champions despite never really cashing in on the fact that two World Championships were up for grabs during the last eight years of his career. The opportunity was there for a substantial amount of stat-padding from 2002-2010, but just a pair of short Tag Team Championship reigns and the lone additional World Heavyweight Championship run that made up just a few weeks of his overall 14 months as the top titleholder were all that Michaels added to his considerable 1990s resume. I’d call that pretty impressive. For a lot of HBK’s peers in the second halves of their careers, the Brand Extension in the 2000s was to their championship track records what WCW had been for the top guys of the 1980s – a method / place to strengthen their legacies. Michaels was the rare star to headline PPVs repeatedly, but further his legacy through the strength of his performances without the assistance of a lot of gold around his waist. The bulk of HBK’s stellar trophy case was built from 1992-1997. Take out his twilight run and he’s still in the Top 25.

18. Batista
6-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion; 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion



Batista was also involved in the three-way tie for #20, but gets the boost to 18th all-time via holding the World Championship for 120 days longer than HBK. His limited number of other championship accolades (and paltry 113 days combined over four reigns as Tag Team Champion) should speak to how dominant a World Champion Batista really was. He only held the WWE Championship for 37 days in two short reigns, but if we were to measure a wrestler’s worth by the lengthiest of his title reigns, Batista was certainly worth a lot to WWE. The Animal was the longest single reigning World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history – and one of the top 15 longest single reigning champions of the last 25 years; he and his mentor, Triple H, share the spotlight as the pinnacles of achievement for that title’s 11 year run, with Batista narrowly edging Hunter for longest average time as champion across multiple title reigns (126 day average over 4 reigns versus 123 day average over 5 reigns). I always admired about Big Dave that he took seriously the role of being “The Man” in an outward expression of his position, even though history would show John Cena to have taken that moniker from him before he’d ever truly earned it. His place on this list, earned almost solely through World Championships, reflects that.

17. Lex Luger
2-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion; 5-time NWA/WCW United States Champion; 3-time NWA/WCW Tag Team Champion



Many like to claim that, as of the late 1980s, the Intercontinental Championship was the second most important title in all of professional wrestling. Given that it was so prominently featured at WrestleManias III, V, and VI and how gigantic a lead WWE had built in their competition with WCW, that might be true, but a strong argument could be made for the NWA/WCW World Title too. We need to be sure, though, amidst the argument for which was the second grandest prize of that era, not to forget about the importance of the NWA/WCW United States Championship; and for one reason: Lex Luger. In another perfect example of “the man making the title,” Luger ensured that the US Title was very much relevant in the championship prestige conversation. The Total Package was nothing less than one of the top 5 stars in the business back then and it was during that time that he amassed the majority of his 948 total days as US Champ, making him the most successful US or IC champion of all-time. Sans for the 50 days that Stan Hansen was champion, Lex Luger held the US Title for over two years between May 1989 and July 1991 - when he vacated the belt after becoming World Heavyweight Champion.

16. The Big Show
4-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion; 2-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion; 1-time WWE Intercontinental Champion; 1-time WWE United States Champion; 3-time WCW Tag Team Champion; 6-time WWE Tag Team Champion



If the argument for greatest super heavyweight of all-time between Big Show, Andre, Vader, Undertaker, Kane, and Bam Bam Bigelow could be settled on the strength of their championship accolades, then it is the World's Largest Athlete who would get the nod, narrowly edging out the Deadman. Does anyone else find it fascinating that some of the biggest wrestlers ever have had the longest careers? Taker, Kane, and Show have all been around for 20 years and counting. It would be easy to assume that the larger the talent, the faster he would physically break down. Alas, here Show sits as the most successful champion of his super heavyweight peers, having won every title that there is to win in WWE and was to win in WCW. He actually holds the distinction as the youngest World Heavyweight Champion ever. Randy Orton is blessed with that moniker for his WWE achievement, but Show was younger when he first won the title in WCW. He never reigned for very long as a singles champion, holding the World Title for 268 days combined and the IC or US Titles for just 175 total days, but he did amass an impressive Tag Team Championship resume with 9 reigns for 542 days. Only a handful of wrestlers have ever held the Tag Team Titles for longer.

15. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
2-time WWE Champion; 4-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion; 1-time WWE Intercontinental Champion



With just seven total championships in his career, it would seem that “Macho Man” was a big enough title to keep Randy Savage so relevant in this discussion. As big a star as he was, particularly in WWE, he would win titles and hang onto them for quite awhile. Long reigns are the great equalizer when a wrestler is placed against peers whose golden trophy cases are fuller. Savage held his singles championships for nearly a combined 1,000 days. Part of that was a by-product of his era, but certainly a lot of it had to do with how awesome he was too. It was his reputation that was largely responsible for the stat-padding he was able to accumulate with 4 short reigns as WCW Champion. When you consider that those reigns combined to last just 53 days, the fact that he is still one of the top 10 longest reigning World Champions of the WrestleMania Era on the back of his 2 stints as WWE Champion becomes all the more impressive. He also still ranks as one of the top 10 longest reigning Intercontinental Champions despite having held the strap just once. Of the five categories that shape the overall WrestleMania Era list, the Title Factor was Macho Man's weakest...and he's still the 15th greatest champion. One of the G.O.A.Ts for sure.

14. Chris Benoit
1-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion; 1-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion; 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion; 5-time WCW/WWE United States Champion; 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion; 2-time WCW Tag Team Champion



In The WrestleMania Era, I made the conscious decision to nullify much of Chris Benoit's statistical achievements as my personal way of accepting the fact that history should not necessarily reflect on his career the way it would have if he had not done what he did at the end of his life. I still put him in the Top 30 because I think it's important that we account for the wrestler's career in the midst of condemning the man for heinous actions. On this list, there's no Doc-imposed qualifier. Chris Benoit was simply the 14th greatest champion of the modern era of professional wrestling. He's one of the most decorated champions ever, having accumulated almost 20 major titles. He is one of the top 10 United States Champions of all-time by total length of reigns. On the merit of his hard work and dedication to his craft, he won the World Heavyweight Championship in both WCW and WWE. So, there should be no questioning or qualifying such an objective statistic as championship glory. Given what he accomplished despite his size and minimal personality, he should remain – quietly – one of the most inspirational stories in wrestling lore; his career merits that.

13. Sting
7-time NWA/WCW World Heavyweight Champion; 2-time WCW United States Champion; 3-time WCW Tag Team Champion



Among the former champions who never won a title in WWE, Sting ranks the highest; he was also the only predominantly WCW wrestler to crack the overall Top 15 of The WrestleMania Era. It's true that in many ways he was WCW; his championship resume reflects that – 12 titles, all in WCW, still good for 13th greatest of the WrestleMania Era. I'd call that a stellar accomplishment and one of the reasons why WCW history needs to be more heavily considered in discussions about the greatest ever.

It was not just the titles listed that made him such a decorated champion, but the consistency across the board with which he held those championships. Of the wrestlers listed thus far, only Sting and Shawn Michaels held the World Title for at least 400 days, the US or IC Title for at least 200 days, and the Tag Team Titles for at least 200 days. That's an elite club (the 400-200-200 club) that will gain a few more members before all is said and done here; to have achieved it in one promotion is astounding. The Franchise, indeed, Sting truly was...

12. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
6-time WWE Champion; 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion; 2-time WCW United States Champion; 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion; 1-time WCW Tag Team Champion



Stone Cold is the first member of the 500-300-300 club, thanks in part to splitting time in WCW and WWE. History has, perhaps, had a tendency to forget about Austin's time in Ted Turner's promotion. In WCW, he held the US and Tag Team Championships long enough to boost the statistical value of his career. WWE, then, served the purpose of skyrocketing Austin up the historical ladder. He became the rare talent to complete the WWE Triple Crown in less than a year, winning the Tag Team Championship and Intercontinental Championship during the spring/summer of 1997 and winning the WWE Championship at the following year's WrestleMania. He became the second man to hold the WWE Title for at least six times during the course of his dominant run as the top star in the industry. Take away WCW, though, and Austin isn't nearly as successful a champion. The bulk of his mid-card title success came from WCW, his tag team with Brian Pillman accounting for over half of his days as co-holder of the Tag Team Titles and his impressive run with the United States Title making up most of his 309 days as a mid-card singles champion. “Stunning” Steve may not have been anywhere near as successful as “Stone Cold” Steve, but the Hollywood Blonde part of his career was important.

11. Kevin “Diesel” Nash
1-time WWE Champion; 5-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion; 1-time WWE Intercontinental Champion; 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion; 9-time WCW Tag Team Champion



The record for shortest amount of time (from debut to accomplishment) needed to complete WWE's Triple Crown is held by none other than Kevin Nash, who might well have the most balanced resume of any wrestler in history. WWE likes to celebrate that Diesel won the Triple Crown in his first year with the company; I'd like to point out that he actually did in a little over half a year. It was that feat which set the tone for the rest of his highly decorated career. He was the longest reigning WWE Champion of the 1990s with 358 days as titleholder. He well balanced that extremely long run on top with five reigns as WCW Champion that would make DDP and Mick Foley blush for their brevity. What most people don't realize is that Nash is the 3rd longest reigning Tag Team Champion of the WrestleMania Era behind only Billy Gunn and Kane. I heard from some fans prior to the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in 2015 who scoffed at Nash being the headliner of the class; I scoffed back at them for failing to realize how awesome a career that Diesel had amassed between WWE and WCW. You take all the influential things that he did during the Monday Night War and combine them with his championship accolades and you have nothing less than a Hall of Fame class headliner's resume.