Every wrestler who signs with WWE dreams of winning a world championship one day. However, only a select few are actually able to win world titles, with many of the fighters not even receiving any title shots at all.
Most wrestlers who eventually win world titles start out by winning mid-cartel titles. Sometimes WWE tests wrestlers if they deserve to be on the main event scene by giving them world title shots, where they lose. However, there are some wrestlers who win world titles on their first world title shot.
10/10 The last Warrior
The Ultimate Warrior made his WWE debut in 1987, instantly getting a good push and rarely losing. His first shot at a championship came in 1988, when he defeated Honky Tonk Man for the intercontinental title.
Warrior had dominant runs as the Intercontinental Champion and was ready to be pushed onto the main event scene in 1990. He faced Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 6 and defeated him to become the first wrestler to hold the WWE and Intercontinental Championships simultaneously.
9/10 the undertaker
The Undertaker made his WWE debut at Survivor Series 1990 as the mystery partner of The Million Dollar Team. He was initially led by Bruce Prichard, but was later taken over by Paul Bearer in 1991.
‘Taker was having a dominating career in WWE and thus earned a WWE title shot against Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series 1991. The match was billed as Hogan’s “Gravest Challenge”. In the match, we saw interference from Ric Flair that helped ‘Taker win the match and his first WWE title.
8/10 ric style
Ric Flair had a very successful run in WCW and established himself as one of the biggest wrestling stars of the 1980s. However, after some disagreements with WCW, he joined WWE in 1991. Due to his power of star and great wrestling skills, WWE quickly brought him to the top.
At the end of 1991, the WWE Championship was vacated. The vacant WWE title was put on the line at the 1992 Royal Rumble. Ric Flair entered the match at number 3 and put in an excellent performance as he lasted until the very end and last eliminated Sid Justice to win the match. and the title.
7/10 yokozuna
Yokozuna made his WWE debut in late 1992. Like Ric Flair, he too received a huge push early on. He had some impressive crushes before winning the 1993 Royal Rumble match to earn a WWE title match at WrestleMania IX.
He faced Bret Hart for the title and dominated much of the match. Bret tried his best, but Mr. Fuji threw salt in his eyes, after which Yokozuna pinned him to win the match and the title. Even though Yokozuna lost the title moments later, that doesn’t detract from his great title win.
6/10 kane
Kane’s first WWE run was as Isaac Yankem DDS, being billed as Jerry Lawler’s private dentist. The run was a complete failure, and he soon played the Fake Diesel trick, not finding much success in that trick either.
After the WrestleMania season in 1997, WWE began teasing the debut of the “Kane” character as The Undertaker’s brother. Kane made his monstrous debut in In Your House: Badd Blood by attacking ‘Taker. In 1998, he defeated Undertaker to earn a WWE title shot at King of the Ring against Steve Austin. He faced him in a First Blood match and came out of the match with the title.
5/10 The rock
The Rock made his WWE debut in 1996 as a third-generation wrestler under the ring name Rocky Maivia. He was ready for a big push, but his bland babyface stunt didn’t sit well with the fans, and they didn’t like him. Therefore, WWE turned him heel and repackaged him as “The Rock”. After a couple of intercontinental title reigns, The Rock got a push into the main event.
At Survivor Series 1998, WWE held a Death Games Tournament to crown the new WWE Champion. Rock defeated Big Boss Man in the first round, Ken Shamrock in the quarterfinals, and The Undertaker in the semifinal. Then he finally defeated Mankind in the PPV main event to win his first WWE title.
4/10 Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar made his WWE debut on Raw after WrestleMania 18. He was dubbed “The Next Big Thing” and was instantly pushed to the moon. He won the 2002 King of the Ring Tournament, earning him an undisputed title shot at SummerSlam.
Lesnar then joined the SmackDown brand and had a mini feud with Hulk Hogan before their title match. At SummerSlam, Lesnar defeated The Rock to win the undisputed title. In the process, Lesnar became the youngest WWE Champion in history and also became the second fastest wrestler to win the WWE title after his debut.
3/10 Sheamus
Sheamus made his WWE main roster debut in June 2009 under the ECW brand. It didn’t take long for him to get his first world title shot, as he got it in December, when he faced John Cena for the WWE Championship on TLC.
Sheamus won a “Breakthrough Battle Royal” on Raw to earn the title shot against Cena. The party then became a Party of Tables. At the event, Sheamus unexpectedly won the title when he pushed Cena through a table to win.
2/10 the miz
The Miz had to wrestle a lot in WWE before getting his first world title shot, and didn’t find much success until he was paired with John Morrison. The Miz single-handedly attacked John Morrison in the 2009 WWE Draft. The Miz won the United States Championship and had a great run with him.
He then went on to win the 2010 Raw Money in the Bank ladder match. He waited 4 months to cash in the contract, as he cashed it in on Randy Orton after Orton had just had a successful WWE title defense. Orton was obviously tired, and Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale on The Viper to win the WWE title.
1/10 finn balor
Finn Balor was a popular wrestler with fans even before his main roster debut due to his great careers in NJPW and NXT. Due to his popularity, he was drafted by the Raw brand in the 2016 WWE Draft as the fifth overall pick. The WWE Champion at the time was Dean Ambrose, and he was drafted to SmackDown.
Thus, Raw introduced the Universal Championship, with the first title match coming at SummerSlam. Balor won a Fatal-4 Way and defeated Roman Reigns on the same episode of Raw to earn the Universal Title match at SummerSlam against Seth Rollins. After a great fight, Balor hit Rollins with the Coup de Grace to win the title.