Mad Dog Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I'm doing this on another board and it's sparked some good discussion. I thought I'd give it a try here. These lists are also reigns so some of the later lists will have workers listed multiple times. 10. Michael Hayes 5-07-89 to 5-22-89: Can you say transition champion? Hayes won the title in a swerve at WrestleWar 89 against Lex Luger. Terry Gordy came out and helped him win it. Hayes is an awful worker and should never be in a singles match let alone have the secondary title of a federation. 9. Orlando Jordan 3-01-05 to 8-21-05: 5 months with the belt and then he jobs it in like 30 seconds. Jordan is a pretty awful wrestler and I don't know how anyone justified giving the guy the belt. Main defenses were against Heidenreich to boot. 8. Big Show 10-19-03 to 3-14-04: 5 months with the belt and he only defended it a few times. He also went over a massively over wrestler in Eddie Guerrero for the title. 7. Rick Steiner 2-05-01 to 3-18-01: Shane Douglas was no prize as the champion but at least he managed to not injure the opponents he was in the ring with. Rick Steiner spent most of his time in 2001 injuring opponents and generally sucking it up in the ring to no heat. For whatever reason management decided to reward the guy with the belt. Maybe it had to do with him hurting everyone on that level. 6. One Man Gang 12-27-95 to 1-29-96: OMG hadn't been useful inside of a ring for about 8 years at this point. Got the belt after another dud in Kensuke Sasaki was stripped of the title and then quickly dropped it to an even bigger dud in Konnan. Yes those 2 will be appearing on the list shortly. 5. Kensuke Sasaki 11-13-95 to 12-27-95: For those familiar with Sasaki will immediately recoil in horror of the thought of him as a singles wrestler in 1995. This came about due to the working relationship with New Japan and lead to a completely heatless run for Sasaki. He put on some craptacular matches to add to the pain. 4. Jim Duggan 9-18-94 to 12-27-94: In one of WCW's more infamous moments Duggan jumped on top of Steve Austin to win the belt in a matter of seconds. I like Duggan and him holding the U.S. Title wouldn't have been so bad had it been 1988. Just a pointless run with the belt as there were several more capable guys on the roster. 3. Konnan 1-29-96 to 7-07-96: This was a thank you run for helping to bring the luchadores in. I can understand that but did the guy really need a 6 month run with the belt? Konnan is purely a tag team division or a Television title level guy. It was an utterly heatless run with the belt and I can't think of any title defenses that were good. 2. Steve McMichael 8-21-97 to 9-15-97: McMichael wasn't a terrible wrestler. In fact I thought he was passable as a tag worker. He's just not a guy you give the secondary title to. 1. David Flair 7-05-99 to 8-09-99: One of the worst moments in WCW's history. Flair could barely do basic moves in the ring at this point but due to storyline reasons was given the belt after Scott Steiner vacated it due to injury. One of the most famous moments during this run was Flair forgetting to take a bump after an El Dandy dropkick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DylanWaco Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Jordan's reign was "Blah", but I disagree that he's awful or even bad in the ring. He's not great by any stretch, but he's solid and better than a good portion of the roster. He's far from dead weight as his tv matches with Bob Holly indicated last year. He's certainly a better worker than McMichael who was just bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I definitely agree that there weren't really any horrid US champs until the Bischoff era, with the belt and the champion always having a very clearly-defined role prior to that. I didn't think Dusty was the best choice to wear the belt in '87-'88, but he didn't hold it long, and they sort of booked themselves into a corner with the match stips for Starrcade. (Although originally, the Midnight Rider angle was scheduled to start right after Starrcade, but was postponed so Luger wouldn't get the heel heat for putting Dusty out when they were about to turn him face.) As for Hayes, yeah, he was sort of a waste as champion, although that was almost by design, as it was done to build up Luger's heel turn and give him a reason to start becoming sort of a jerk. The loss of the belt was what he needed to kickstart that attitude change. I'm in the minority, but I really enjoy their match at Wrestle War '89 as really fun, basic character work with Luger being a total angel and Hayes being a total devil. The amount of heat they were able to get off of really dumbed down, guys-in-wrestling-school-level offense was very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DylanWaco Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Well Hayes was a heat magnate, which is part of the reason I tend to reject out of hand any notion that he's a shitty worker. The guy was the master of the stall as a form of working to cover up for the fact that he really didn't have much else to offer in the ring. I'm not saying he was a good worker, but if the match was booked to cater to his style he could have a passable match just about every night because he wasn't out there doing things that would overextend him (which is usually what seperates a "bad worker" from a mediocre or lazy one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I wouldn't have had a problem with Hayes getting the Television Title. I just don't think he's a secondary title kind of guy when it comes to being a singles wrestler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DylanWaco Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I don't really disagree with you. But then, given the way the title was booked at the time and his position in the company, Hansen probably was a pretty "weak" pick also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I would disagree. Hansen's AWA Title reign kind of justifies him with the U.S. Title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DylanWaco Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 As someone who grew up in WCW country and was the son of someone who grew up an AWA fan from Minnesota I can tell you that when Hansen had the strap very few people in the WCW fanbase knew or cared one bit what Stan had done in the AWA. And I love Hansen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alfdogg Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Who would fill out the list if it was strictly NWA/WCW, taking out Jordan and Show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Here are the WCW U.S. title holders. I'll get the NWA ones in a minute. Lex Luger December 16, 1990 St. Loius MO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sting August 25, 1991 Atlanta GA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rick Rude November 19, 1991 Savannah GA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dustin Rhodes January 11, 1993 Atlanta GA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dustin Rhodes (2) September 30, 1993 Atlanta GA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Austin December 27, 1993 Charolette NC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ricky Steamboat August 24, 1994 Cedar Rapids IA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Austin (2) September 18, 1994 Roanoke VA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Duggan September 18, 1994 Roanoke VA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vader December 27, 1994 Nashville TN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sting (2) June 18, 1995 Dayton OH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kensuke Sasaki November 13, 1995 Tokyo Japan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One Man Gang December 27, 1995 Nashville TN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Konnan January 29th, 1996 Canton, Ohio -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ric Flair July 7, 1996 Daytona Beach FL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eddie Guerrero December 29, 1996 Nashville TN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Malenko March 16, 1997 Charleston SC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Jarrett June 9, 1997 Boston MA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve McMicheal September 21, 1997 Nashville TN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Curt Henning September 15, 1997 Charolette NC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diamond Dallas Page December 28, 1997 Washington DC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Raven April 19, 1998 Denver CO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Goldberg April 20, 1998 Colorado Springs CO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bret Hart July 20, 1998 Salt Lake City UT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lex Luger (2) September 10, 1998 Rapid City SD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bret Hart (2) September 13, 1998 Fargo ND -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diamond Dallas Page (2) October 26, 1998 Phoenix AZ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bret Hart (3) November 30, 1998 Chattanooga TN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roddy Piper Febuary 8, 1999 Buffalo NY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Hall Febuary 21, 1999 Oakland CA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Stiener April 11, 1999 Tacoma WA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Davd Flair July 5, 1999 Atlanta GA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris Benoit August 9, 1999 Boise ID -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sid Vicious September 12, 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Goldberg (2) October 24, 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bret Hart (4) October 25, 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Hall November 8, 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris Benoit (2) December 20, 1999 Washington DC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Jarrett (2) December 21, 1999 Baltimore MD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 14, 2000 - Vacated by Terry Funk's orders, **note** due to Jeff Jarrett's injuries. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Jarrett (3) January 17, 2000 Columbus OH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eric B Stripped all Champions of thier Titles to begin an all new WCW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Steiner (2) April 16, 2000 Chicago IL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vacated July 10, 2000 Daytona Beach FL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lance Storm July 17, 2000 Auburn Hills MI -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terry Funk September 22, 2000 Amirilo TX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lance Storm (2) September 23, 2000 Lubbock TX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Rection October 29, 2000 Las Vegas NV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lance Storm (3) November 12, 2000 London UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Rection (2) November 26, 2000 Milwaukee WI -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shane Douglas January 14, 2001 Indianapolis IN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rick Steiner February 5, 2001 Tupelo MS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booker T March 26, 2001 Panama City FL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vince McMahon and WWFe buys WCW from Turner Broadcasting, and WCW temporarily closes it's doors. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kanyon July 26, 2001 Smackdown Booker T presents the U.S. Title to Kanyon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tajiri September 10, 2001 RAW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rhyno September 23, 2001 Unforgiven 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kurt Angle October 22, 2001 RAW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edge November 12, 2001 RAW -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The WCW United States Title is UNIFIED with the WWF Intercontinental Title, when the Edge beat the Test at Survivor Series 2001. 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goodhelmet Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Here is the NWA version of the belt. These lists are taken from Obsessed with Wrestling. Buddy Rogers 50/01/01 Defeats Johnny Valentine in tournament final; Vacant when Rogers wins the World Heavyweight Title on 61/06/30. Pat O'Connor 61/08/24 Chicago, IL Awarded at the annual NWA meeting. Sgt. Slaughter 81/10/04 Charlotte, NC Defeats Ricky Steambot in tournament final. Wahoo McDaniel [2] 82/05/21 Richmond, VA Sgt. Slaughter [2] 82/06/07 Greenville, NC Wahoo McDaniel [3] 82/08/22 Charlotte, NC Greg Valentine [2] 82/11/04 Norfolk, VA Roddy Piper [2] 83/04/16 Greensboro, NC Greg Valentine [3] 83/05/01 Greensboro, NC Dick Slater 83/12/14 Shelby, NC Ricky Steamboat [3] 84/04/21 Greensboro, NC Wahoo McDaniel [4] 84/06/24 Greensboro, NC Vacated in 84/07 Wahoo McDaniel [5] 84/10/07 Charlotte, NC Defeats Manny Fernandez in tournament final. Magnum T.A. 85/03/23 Charlotte, NC Tully Blanchard 85/07/21 Charlotte, NC Magnum T.A. [2] 85/11/28 Greensboro, NC Stripped on 86/05/29 for attacking the NWA president Bob Geigel. Nikita Koloff 86/08/17 Charlotte, NC Defeats Magnum T.A. in best-of-7 tournament; Defeats Wahoo McDaniel to unify NWA National heavyweight title. Lex Luger 87/07/11 Greensboro, NC Dusty Rhodes 87/11/26 Chicago, IL Vacated on 88/04/15 when Rhodes suspended for attacking Jim Crockett. Barry Windham 88/05/13 Houston, TX Defeats Nikita Koloff in tournament final. Lex Luger [2] 89/02/20 Chicago, IL Michael Hayes 89/05/07 Nashville, TN Lex Luger [3] 89/05/22 Bluefield, WV Stan Hansen 90/10/27 Chicago, IL Lex Luger [4] 90/12/16 St. Louis, MO WCW United States Heavyweight title from 91/01; Vacates on 91/07/14 after winning WCW World Title. Sting 91/08/25 Atlanta, GA Defeats Steve Austin in tournament final. Rick Rude 91/11/19 Savannah, GA Vacates on 92/12 because of injury. Dustin Rhodes 93/01/11 Atlanta, GA Defeats Rick Steamboat in tournament final; Title held up after a match against Rick Rude Dustin Rhodes [2] 93/08/30 Atlanta, GA Defeats Rick Rude in rematch; Recognised as WCW United States Heavywieght title. Tully Blanchard [2] 97/02/08 Norfalk, VA Defeat Lady Killer in a 4-man tournament final; abandoned in 97. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Who would fill out the list if it was strictly NWA/WCW, taking out Jordan and Show? Probably Scott Hall and Scott Steiner in 99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweetMama Scaat Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I wouldve thought Pipers ridiculous run and Raven's one day title reign would be placed in the Top 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 To Raven's credit, he at least won and lost the belt in two pretty fun matches in the course of 24 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 When you're looking for bad title reigns there are several things to take into consideration: 1. Was the reign counterproductive to the company. 2. Did they actually lose the belt or were they stripped of it. 3. Were they on the level of the title they were holding (a world title guy slumming is ok because it still makes the belt seem credible.) 4. Did the belt serve it's purpose. In the case of the US/IC belt either being the peak a mid-card wrestler can achieve or letting a future world champion grow into the role of champion before moving on to bigger and better things. 5. Did they defend it on a regular basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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