Dutch Mantell Names His TOP 5 Wrestlers NEVER to Win a World Title

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Dutch Mantell Names His TOP 5 Wrestlers NEVER to Win a World Title
Clip from Story Time with Dutch Mantell episode 65
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Legendary wrestler, manager, commentator, producer and booker ”Dirty” Dutch Mantell (WWE's Zeb Colter) brings his definitive takes on the latest news in the professional wrestling business as well as the most entertaining stories from years gone by to the podcast airwaves.
The Dirty Dutchman from Oil Trough, Texas has worked almost every single major promotion and wrestling territory in the United States over an illustrious 50 year career, including WWE, WWF, WCW, NWA, SMW, TNA, USWA, UWF, OVW, Impact, Georgia, Tennessee, Knoxville, Kansas City, St Louis, Florida, Memphis, Houston, Detroit, Mid-South, Kentucky, Mid-Atlantic, Dallas and even more - and that’s not counting Puerto Rico and Japan!
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[@StoryTimewithDutchMantell]

For the purposes of this list, we are not counting Rick Rude's WCW International World Heavyweight Championship runs because... well, that title certainly didn't feel like a proper world title despite it having "world" in its name. But, we ARE including the AWA World Title has, despite the company being on its last legs, it still seemed to be a recognised "Big 3" championship in the late 1980s. This accounts for others like Curt Hennig and Rick Martel not being eligible. Sometimes you just gotta go on feel with these things since there's no definitive answer everyone will agree on.

[@frederidesaint-ferreol4583]

The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship is a real world championship for me. Defended in Japan and USA. Continuity of the NWA world title in WCW. Represented by the big gold plate, I see it equivalent of the World Heavyweight Championship in WWE.

[@yoholmes273]

Sorry, but facts don't care about your feelings. Rick Rude beat Ric Flair for the Big Gold which at that time was the recognized WCW International Heavyweight Champion 🏆 You are wrong.

[@frederidesaint-ferreol4583]

@@yoholmes273 It was the International World Heavyweight Championship. If you only relate about facts, it is a World Championship for WCW. Consideration if it is a "real" world championship or not, depends on your appreciation.

[@johngallagher72]

Great point 👍

[@yoholmes273]

@@frederidesaint-ferreol4583 Sorry Captain Semantics.....Rick Rude won the BIg Gold by defeating Ric Flair to become World Champion. Welcome to real life where this is a fact.

[@eatenbyacow3597]

DiBiase and Orndorff in an extended program over the NWA title would have been epic.

[@bradpaton3927]

Was Paul Orndorff (RIP) *in* the NWA? I know he was a road agent in WCW.

[@timfrederick9305]

@@bradpaton3927Orndoroff was in Florida,Southeastern,Mid South,and Georgia territories before going to the WWF in 84.He even wrestled Flair for the NWA strap several times

[@119Agent]

@@bradpaton3927oh yeah, saw him in Florida and Georgia before his WEF run. He was a really nice man but Piper’s nickname really helped his career. I always wanted to see Ordorff vs Chick Donovan.

[@timthegem]

I appreciated Regal so much as a fan of slapstick comedy. He did some funny stuff on TV over the years, but his antics at house shows were even better.

[@jimbowlan5804]

Yaa but in the ring a young regal was fire I remember when he got fired for making goldberg look Bad during his undefeated streak

[@commonsense9848]

I agree with both. I was getting a kick out of him constantly calling Escalabor..”man with a mask” too. Lol

[@bubbafug00gle51]

@@jimbowlan5804 Even when he got older and was mostly playing for laughs he could still go. It took me a long time to appreciate him because he was such a unique worker. Almost like a jazz musician in the ring

[@nicktaylor2657]

When Regal was the RAW GM if he had not been suspended for substance abuse he might of been World champion Probably not a long run but never the less😊

[@durden2480]

Rick rude is always remembered as a body and great heel. He was incredible in the ring and had impeccable ring psychology and was a student of the game. He’s one the greatest heels in history

[@BigDave0908]

Harley's "Take the damned MONEY!" promo was pretty funny ... and is still one of my very favorite promos to this day.

[@davie96667]

One of the best ones I saw yet. Great job guys

[@machismo8482]

I don't think Curt Henning ever held a world heavyweight belt, just the IC belt. I'm surprised he wasn't mentioned, maybe the best all around athletic wrestler I ever saw in the ring.

[@razvangeorgescu1556]

He was the AWA World Champ.

[@donovanbradford8231]

That's what I thought at one point he held the AWA's belt

[@Art-h6r]

Curt had the AWA world title

[@nunyabidness7463]

he did win AWA but Rude won a world championship in wcw

[@johnnymason2460]

​@@nunyabidness7463Actually, he won the International Heavyweight Championship in WCW.

[@tomh1593]

Ted could talk, he was a wrestling machine, he could be a heel or babyface, he was reliable. He had everything.

[@Lenny_Hondo]

He was good enough to lead his own stable.

[@jasonking3182]

I am sure if Paul Orndorff hadn’t been injured in the middle of his major run he would have eventually won the title. He was the backup plan for Wrestlemania 3 in case Andre couldn’t go.

[@steveogden5774]

"I'm in the wrestling business, not the comedy business". That sums up the difference between generations.

[@Sargebri]

As I've mentioned in the past DiBiase was up for the NWA title in 1981 but lost out to Flair. Also, when he was trying to decide whether to go to the WWF or to Crockett, one of the things Crockett had used to try to get him to come there was a run with the NWA belt.

[@interstellaroverdriven6450]

Gino Hernandez would have not only been a great world champion but also would have made a GREAT Horseman. RIP to a hugely underrated legend of WCCW!!!!!

[@seanwhitehouse2274]

Its a shame he died so young, it would have been cool to see what he would have done.

[@chriszaun8984]

Nice to see someone remembering gino

[@hotboikool2311]

On Gawd

[@Bunbunfunfun]

Gino could definitely have been a world champion , it’s obvious watching his matches and promos

[@noahrichards553]

Arn Anderson is my all time favorite. I try to pattern my wrestling style to his. Great choice Dutch.

[@JarodJoseph]

Don’t blame ya. You can really see that Steve Austin did as well.

[@BigDave0908]

It would have been nice for AA to have at least a short run ...

[@johngallagher72]

No list like this is complete without George Gulas ...Daddy said world title run.

[@Vir-x5m]

😅😅😅😅

[@nomikes4392]

Horribly underrated as the Mulkeys are in tagteam

[@asurlybarber3620]

Harley Race actually had to carry George Gulas through an entire world title defense. That was unfair to Harley.

[@eddya.3776]

Great list we need more top 5 lists from Dutch. As for Paul Orndorff well he was also the star of maybe the funniest vignette ever filmed. Him destroying all the overweight people at the gym is a classic. To me that's right there with Debiase kicking the basketball out of the kid's hands and Mr. Perfect throwing an absolute bomb of a TD pass to himself in front of Steve Jordan. I say three way tie for first.

[@herecomesdatrain]

The qb whisper Steve Jordan?

[@Fencellisk]

Omg that overweight segment is so legendary!

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

Nope. Hennig was World Champion.

[@drewspods]

Before I've heard Dutch's: 1. Piper 2. Shelton Benjamin 3. Dustin Rhodes 4. William Regal 5. Arn Anderson Piper at one bc theres so many opportunities in both WCW that it wouldve made sense. Shelton performing at such a high level for so long with no bad habits. Dustin for being one of the most iconic wrestling characters of all time, with amazing longevity. Honorable Mentions: Mr Perfect Scott Hall Owen Hart Just bc Perfect was sort of a world champion, AWA. Idk if that counts... Hall's issues got in his way. And Owen Hart I think would have if his life wasnt cut short.

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

Sort of? He WAS a world champion

[@zlinedavid]

AWA counts. It was viewed as a “separate but equal” title for a long time, similar to the then WWWF title.

[@drewspods]

Plenty of people don't count the AWA. Actually the majority doesn't. It is what it is.

[@mikewilson3510]

Tully Blanchard would have been a great one too

[@mikepilcher1614]

What's the real shame here is that while most people here are not old enough to remember one of the best ever but I know Dutch will remember because he was around him most of his career and that is none other than the late great Masked Assassin Jody Hamilton.

[@slabbusterrtr7690]

I agree 100% dutch... and i dont think alot realize how good jake tha🐍 was every match was diffrent he worked great with everybody and he cut awesome promos but i agree 100% with all

[@scociolopath]

The Comment about Harley Race not wanting to do something that people would chuckle about reminded me about one of the funniest things I ever saw in wrestling. In the early to mid 70s in Central States Race had picked up the nickname "mad dog" Race after attacking tv announcer Bill Kerston. Well "mad dog" didn't like this nickname at all and I believe he feuded with Rufus R. Jones around that time. One day on a promo Harley was getting super intense about the nickname and Rufus walked up behind him and poured a can of dog food over his head. I was just a little kid but that is still one of the best laughs I've ever had.

[@yoholmes273]

Rick Rude beat Rick Flair for The Big Gold which at that time was named the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship. Rick Rude was Heavyweight Champion

[@gopherstate777]

He was also the World Champion for WCCW in an era when they had great television exposure worldwide and the Von Erichs.

[@yoholmes273]

@EBC-ENT Ted did win it. Actually defended it. However, much like The Rockers & their phantom WWF tag title win....per the record...it never happened.

[@yoholmes273]

@@gopherstate777 YUP YUP WCCW 4 Life!

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

​@gopherstate777 was not a legit world title and neither was the WCW internstiknal.

[@davidmiles4678]

Always loved Lord William Regal . When WWE released him I couldn’t believe it. That was a good list

[@jeff-ds2pr]

No particular order: Henning, Rude, Roberts, Scott Hall, and Piper.

[@AWrestlingHistorian]

Roddy Piper Jake Roberts Razor Ramon Arn Anderson Owen Hart HONORABLE MENTION: Paul Orndorff

[@randi_godspeed2063]

Great list!

[@christhornycroft3686]

Dutch is right about the accent. But I don’t blame British people for that. I believe our boy is from Manchester and anyone from northern-ish England or Wales throws off a lot of Americans and they think they’re listening to Sean Connery or Darby O’Gill. I’m Canadian and grew up with a lot of British television so I was familiar with various accents as a kid and for a while, it was pretty hilarious hearing someone like Darren Matthews, who is obviously from Blackpool trying to sound like he was straight out of a Jane Austen movie. Everyone is a stereotype in American wrestling and I’ve almost accepted that, but it does sound odd when someone uses an accent that barely exists in modern vernacular. It’s like Lionel Jefferson on All In The Family (based on the UK classic Till Death Do Us Part) going into a stereotypic accent because Archie Bunker can’t otherwise understand him. The way he had to say “electrical engineer” for Archie made me roll my eyes. That’s how a lot of it comes off. Cartoony. Cringeworthy. But I guess that’s still safer than Alf Garnett, who made Archie Bunker sound like Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

[@coyotebillkc9185]

Our man Dutch was the final holder of the USWA Unified World Championship, which has lineage to the AWA World title. By the time Dutch held it, the both the AWA and World Class had ended their partnership with the USWA and the AWA crowned a new champion, but the company folded 2 years later.

[@mrcold8966]

Some people might not remember just how over William Regal was in 2000-01. I really think that if Rock and Austin didn't have such a stranglehold on the title during that time then people would have bought him as champion, even just a transitional one

[@malicant123]

I second this. Regal was a fantastic wrestler and a brilliant heel. He was never going to draw like the Rock or Triple H, but I think he could have had a run with the belt at least for a time, perhaps as part of a story. Jesus, they gave it to Vince at one point!

[@kazman_6899]

Don't forget WCW preferred Natural Born Thrillers, Kidman, Jarrett, Buff, Vampiro over Regal. They jobbed him out to Hacksaw on Saturday Night on his way out. Even with his drug problem, he was a keeper. Same for Hennig and Raven.

[@FonkedUpProductions]

Regal would have been able to draw a lot of heat with the belt

[@ebransc09]

Regal would have been able to draw heat, but not money, US champions ceiling for a very talented guy

[@badm0t0rf1ng3r]

Could have stole it for a cheap weekly show pop. Could you imagine the world championship changing hands on smackdown? Then have him lose it in a week or two. Easy day.

[@richardbishop8666]

Steven Regale would have a been a great heel champion.

[@CarolinaPoet]

Wow...i surely thought Tully Blanchard would have made the list. He was an absolute heat magnet.

[@alehandroarries6995]

First time I've seen someone mention Tully Blanchard, usually it's Arn Anderson who people mention out of the original Horsemen

[@briannettles669]

Supposedly, Harley Race hand-picked Ted Dibiase to have a brief run with the NWA World Title in 1979, but Ted went to the WWF instead. That brief title run ultimately went to Dusty Rhodes. I wonder how Ted's reputation would have changed if he had a run with the NWA world title and had the title of "former NWA champion" throughout the 80's. I am sure it would have made him an even bigger draw.

[@SonnyBubba]

It wouldn’t have hurt. The Mid South fans would have bought into it, but the WWF would have never mentioned it.

[@Rigamus11]

You've mixed up like 7 different stories bro. What you said isn't true. It just isn't.

[@JarodJoseph]

In my opinion, positioning Owen as a top title contender following Bret’s departure would’ve been a-okay with me.

[@VancouverInvestor]

Saw him win the Stampede Wrestling Championship live in the early 80's in Southern Alberta. Was awesome... RIP to Owen... he was a good one.

[@zlinedavid]

And as usual, Vince did it, but half-assed it. Owen got one title shot vs HBK on Raw. HHH interfered, Owen won by DQ but HBK kept the belt.

[@ericbaylies9980]

Cowbob Bob Orton, Dick Murdoch, Ray Stevens, Magnificent Muraco, Mil Mascaras, Buddy Rose, Adrian Adonis, Austin Idol, Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez, Robert Rude

[@randi_godspeed2063]

Chris Adams wouldn’t have made it on Dutch’s list. He was a raging alcoholic who was violent. I liked him a lot.

[@Rigamus11]

Mil Mascaras??? Lol! That dude was a horrible worker and wouldn't sell for anyone. WTF?

[@ZOOTSUITBEATNICK1]

Good to hear Regal on the list...he's one of my 4 all-time favorites. Ditto Arn. The whole list is damn good...imo.

[@willrobinson1671]

Regal was awesome. One of my favorites.

[@sazmurph540]

I thought Piper and Owen for sure. Only really saw DiBiase during his Million Dollar Man run in WWF. Missed out on his Mid-South run as it wasn't available in my area but saw articles about how good he was in PWI and other mags of the day.

[@tonyrhoton6613]

Owen is overated

[@photojo9016]

If you’ve never seen it, check out Ted’s match vs Flair in Mid-South for the title. There is a four part series on KZbin starting with Flair coming to MidSouth to defend against Butch Reed, but what happens after that is among the 2-3 greatest angles I’ve ever seen.

[@Messiah717]

They probably count Piper holding the Mid Atlantic title.

[@SonnyBubba]

@@photojo9016 Absolutely. The Ted DiBiase face turn might have been the single greatest hour of TV In professional wrestling history.

[@Rigamus11]

You can watch the Mid-South stuff online, but Ted wasn't that great of you ask me. He's pretty much the definition of an average wrestler in my book.

[@muddfoot69]

5. Jake/Vader 4. Honkey Tonk Man 3. Rude 2. Dibiase 1. Orndorf Piper…man I can’t decide

[@HudsonValleyVHS]

Vader was a world champion.

[@PJ20091000]

Rick Rude was the WCW world champion in the 90's

[@thebigmarbowski84]

Nah that was like the WCW International title or something. A secondary title masquerading as a world title like the one Seth Rollins prances around with.

[@PJ20091000]

@@thebigmarbowski84 he did an interview with Tony Schiavone with the belt

[@chadmonk-po5yj]

​@@thebigmarbowski84 but they considered it a world title it was the bg gold belt enough said and he beat Flair for it

[@markbeebe125]

Rude held big Goldie.

[@chriszaun8984]

​@@thebigmarbowski84you mean the title that actually gets defended in matches with no interference

[@elvissmith404]

In my opinion tully Blanchard is hands down #1 on this list. He had heat, could talk and oh yes, wrestle

[@mikepilcher1614]

Ha ha Tully wasn't even on the list of 120 people he gave to Dutch to choose from 😂.

[@SonnyBubba]

Tully would have fit right in as NWA champ in the 70’s. But for the 80’s the fans wanted someone more glamorous.

[@TheGreatMuta100]

If they would have ever broke up the horseman a Tully and Flair program would have been amazing.

[@elvissmith404]

@@SonnyBubba I think also, tullys problem was ric flair, both heels, both horseman. In the 80s that is

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

Not number 1 but a great answer. It is lost on most but Barry Windham was never an actual world champion and he wad better than Tully. Better than anyone else.

[@AustinThinker79]

Rick Rude won the WCW World Championship 8/28/93.

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

Nope

[@Rigamus11]

No he didn't

[@MeltzersStammer]

Back in 2008 they had Regal win the KOTR and there were plans to make him world champ on Raw, then he violated the wellness policy and got banned for 60 days. One of those "what could've been" scenarios.

[@justint8635]

And yet I wonder if Batista and Trips got piss tested as much as the rest of that roster

[@barrywilliamsjr5390]

You were right on the money having Ted Dibiase at no.1 on your list. He was a great technician, could have any type of match with anybody. He was a great babyface but as the million dollar man he's on my top 5 of greatest heels of all time. Definitely should have been the WWF Heavyweight Champion.

[@TRivera13]

Should've been the one to take it off Hogan. Through screwy means of course. Then Savage could've taken it from him. EDIT: If anything, the whole two Hebners thing could've worked with DiBiase in the match instead of Andre. Andre could've been outside as another DiBiase heavy.

[@Crusader7077]

In addition to Dibiase being able to work different styles with different talent (a must in the territory days for the NWA world champion), he could work broadway matches. And considering all the travel he did in the Mid-South territory, I think it demonstrated that he could handle the travel schedule for the NWA champion. No question he would have been a great champion, and it's too bad that he didn't get the opportunity to do so.

[@zlinedavid]

Could work different styles and one of the best promos in the business at the time.

[@coda700]

Good list and I would have put Arn at 1 or 2 as well. I actually would have put Don Muraco and the Masked Superstar version of Bill Eadie above all but maybe Arn and DiBiase. I do understand that the NWA didn’t like putting the title on masked wrestlers and that Muraco probably wouldn’t have wanted it because he wouldn’t have liked the traveling schedule, but to me Muraco was the complete package.

[@SirManfly]

Bill Eadie's version of The Masked Superstar was apparently supposed to win the WWWF World Championship from Bob Backlund but Bob wanted to lose it to someone with an amateur wrestling background so The Iron Sheik got it instead !

[@mikepilcher1614]

Bill Eadies complete body of work is hugely underrated. Just imagine transitioning from A MONGOL one day to the masked SUPERSTAR the next day in the same towns and territory and nobody being the wiser. Had to completely change styles and characters and was in my opinion one of the TOP 3 to ever wrestle anywhere in the world.

[@Devypocalypse]

Bulldog would be ok my list in that 95-97 era. He could have easily taken it off Nash and dropped it to Bret or had a run with him. Same with the Michaels run in 96.

[@ReinhartVanzant]

Scott Hall. Jake Roberts. William Regal. Rick Rude. Paul Orndorff. Arn Anderson. Ted DiBiase.

[@andyjackson304]

DiBiase, Orndorff, and Regal could get in the ring with anyone and have 5 star match. Flair always said that Bobby Eaton could've easily been a World champion, but was always looked at as a tag team specialist because of the success he had with the Midnight Express. Flair also said Eaton was so fluid and smooth in the ring that it looked like he wasn't even working. He said wrestling Eaton was like a night off because you knew he was going to take care of you.

[@stephengreen5865]

Top 5 wrestlers never won a world title 5. Ron garvin world title once. 4 Dutch mantell 3 tito santana 2 arn Anderson 1 Greg valentine

[@brendonm2316]

Rude should have won the title from Warrior Rude and Hogan could have a great feud for the title

[@DRV404]

Very nice list Dutch!

[@unclestinky6388]

Excellent segment

[@cowpalacedave]

Ray "The Crippler" Stevens late 60s early 70s.

[@jeffreymiller9808]

Excellent List, the 3 that always come to mind for me are Curt Hennig, Scott Hall and William Regal…

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

Hennig was world champion though.

[@EllisHall-m9n]

You were the greatest writer of all time I take the old arkys word for it to😊

[@jasonnaugle1600]

My top 5 -- 5) Cowboy Bob Orton, possibly one of the best technical wrestlers. 4) Bobby Eaton, would have been nice to see him run with a title. 3) Roddy Piper, very intelligent and was very underestimated because of it. 2) AA, one of the best interviewers in the business. 1) Greg Gagne, very intelligent, was a true student of the business, and had a totally different style apart from daddy.

[@Ohionortheast]

I think Larry Zybisco would have been great world champ he could talk great and his ring stuff drove fans nuts

[@interstellaroverdriven6450]

He was AWA champ prior to the company going out of business. Had great title defense matches against Nikita Koloff.

[@donovanbradford8231]

Part of him beating Bruno Samartino in the cage way back in the day was because there was real consideration to make him World Champion in the old WWWF

[@paulpierce8129]

Great top 5 plus 2. Loved the Regal pick. I think I should have to put Piper on the list.

[@JawsVader1970]

Orndorff was my all time favorite growing up as akid his piledrivriver was and maybe still one of the best finishers to this days and man like Haku,you always hear about his stories ,about him whooping somebody's behind

[@zlinedavid]

Orndorff is only a half level down from the Haku/Barbarian/Harley tier of people not to f**k with. Tough SOB.

[@larrybober6335]

Rude was the WCCW champion right ?

[@colinduff2922]

I'm surprised that RAY STEVENS wasn't in that list. Many wrestlers consider Ray to be the best worker of all time.

[@HudsonValleyVHS]

His height could possibly be the reason, same with two of the other greatest heels of all time Adrian Street and Kevin Sullivan. Steven's was wrestling twenty years before the guys they listed (and into the 90s), maybe they didn't want to open the up the floodgates to the 1950's and 1960's ?

[@waynethompson6667]

That’s an excellent list!!

[@CmdrUD87]

In terms of lineage, doesn't Roode's 1993/94 reign count as a World Title reign?

[@uhhuhhuh100]

Some don't recognize the WCW International World championship because of its short run. It was a splinter title from the NWA World title lineage. When WCW withdrew recognition of NWA in 1993, the big gold belt had to be renamed as the WCW International title. This title lineage was brief, but had coincided with the WCW World title in a parallel run . I think this title was unified with the WCW World title when Ric Flair beat Sting in June 1994. I personally consider it a World championship because WCW was given World title status by Pro Wrestling Illustrated during this time. I really couldn't put Rick Rude on the list of wrestlers that have never held a World title.

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

No

[@zlinedavid]

If the WHW/Universal title in WWE counts, so should the WCW International.

[@Bunbunfunfun]

Yes it was defended on a tv and house shows. If you discount titles with a sketchy lineage then you would have discount almost all of them . Besides only wrestling sickos obsess over “ title lineages “ , get a life sickos

[@castlecircle7612]

I absolutely Love Dutch, you sense he's telling the truth, "except the lies he tells".

[@gothard5]

Owen Hart. Vince convinced him to stay in the WWE after the Montreal Screwjob by promising him a run on top as champion, but they made him bring back the blue blazer instead which ended up killing him. Owen deserves to be in the WWE HOF, but Martha will never let it happen and I don’t blame her.

[@yoholmes273]

Owen was never promised a title run ya goof. Vince would not let Owen out of his contract. Simple as that.

[@cameron3578]

None of this happened. Unlike Bret, who's contract was up and Jim, who was working on a handshake deal, Owen was under contract and had to go back to work.

[@daviddoran7705]

He may have had a run as champ but with Austin, Rock, HHH, mankind, Taker, Kane there was no chance. Even Shamrock and Jarett were above Owen during this time.

[@thomascrown5953]

Dick Murdoch is a guy who's name typically comes up on lists like this. I assume the fact that he sometimes did comedy stuff in his matches or might have been a favorite of some promoters as the reason why he wouldn't make the list.

[@cstomp1]

That was the knock on Murdoch - that he often didn't take things seriously enough. He was a tremendous worker, though.

[@nicktaylor2657]

He was a racist SOB 🤬

[@SeamHead33]

Jake the Snake and Rick Rude are on my Wrestling Mount Rushmore along with Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage

[@BoldlyDoug]

I always thought Scott Hall could have been the WCW Champ especially going in to 1999 but I know he had issues at time time. But man would I have cheered him.

[@pr8388]

Hall never needed a belt to get over.

[@imdikonps4396]

Sorry I love William regal but he's just not in top five for people who's never won the world title

[@zlinedavid]

@@pr8388Agree. Hall was in a position to where he was almost more valuable without the belt. Was over as hell anywhere he went.

[@bamacapt115]

Austin Idol and Brad Armstrong make my list.

[@jasonpruitt4491]

I'd love to hear Dutches tale on why Magnum TA wasnt in his Top 5

[@zlinedavid]

Magnum was one of the first to come to mind for me, but I think he’s more of a “what if” vs “should have been”. He was on that trajectory when he got hurt and and absolutely would have been. But when an injury cuts a career short, that’s kind of an obvious reason why.

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

Ted is #1 and I don't think it's even close. He was one of the best talents of his generation, and arguably had the best gimmick of the 80's as The Million Dollar Man. Double A is a harder sell for me just because he played second fiddle to Flair for so long that it would have been hard to perceive him otherwise.

[@SonnyBubba]

The reason Ted didn’t have a run was politics. When Bill Watts bought the NWA Tri-State territory, one of the first things he did was secede from the NWA.

[@wickedfresh4267]

I thought #6 he was talking bout Buddy Landel at first.

[@kingstonellington817]

10. Terry Taylor 9. Butch Reed 8. Hawk 7. Roddy Piper 6. Jake Roberts 5. Paul Orndoff 4. Shelton Benjamin 3. Scott Hall 2. Rick Rude 1. Ted DiBiase

[@johnrambo4245]

Hawk? As in that idiot from the Road Warriors? Are you taking the piss?

[@hw5091]

Ric rude was the wcw world champ, also the wccw (although I wouldn't really count that one). Rude just didn't have the wwf title. But I agree with most the list. I'd still put Scott Hall in the top 5, he was around and a top long guy long enough to have snuck one in there. I'd also put hot rod in there.

[@HudsonValleyVHS]

The WCW world heavyweight championship belt was WCW's World Title, The WCW international world championship belt was the top belt for fictitious subsidiary of WCW in the early 90s. Rick Rude was not a WCW World Champ.

[@smyersfishingadventures]

Yep, I guessed Ted Dibiase. I even googled it when you were on number 2, to make sure he had no World Titles.

[@AnthonyOldhandGarcia]

Lex Luger too could have been world heavy weight champion at WWF at the time but no championships was given to him, if he were i think personally he would have became one of the best or not great I.C. champion in my opinion as the 'Narcissist'. Luger would have also been the fourth member of the Four Horsemen to have held any championships outside of WCW in WWF at the time next to Flair who was world heavy weight champion along side with the tag team champions 'The Brain Busters' (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard). If Vince McMahon, have had all four members of the Four Horsemen together to ever held each of the respective said championships in WWF, i think i probably would have learned more about the faction to appreciate their backgrounds and how it all four came to be. But a shame that it never happened back in the early '90s to explore such a team that could have feuded with the Hart Foundation/Hart Family, L.O.D. since they have history with the Four Horsemen, ect..., perhaps too working with other talents to tell stories and promos, which too could have been a dominate faction in all of WWF as title holders to invest in by watching WWF as a whole. My two honorable mentions who never won any championships if i'm not mistaken, are; The Brooklyn Brawler and Barry Horowitz, however Horowitz defeated and pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley lol. "Horowitz wins! Horowitz wins!" -J.R.

[@garydavis476]

Great list with guys I wouldn't have thought of Arn was really believable as a tough guy. Even as xa kid I would think "I bet he could really whip somebody in a real fight. Piper was a guy I thought would be on that list A lot of what hurt some of these guys is their size, especially during that era when all the world champions looked like giants Just because a guy is smaller doesn't mean he couldn't beat the big guys in a fight, but the perception was "There's no way this little guy could beat a guy the size of Hulk Hogan. This had to be why a lot of these guys were held back.

[@SonnyBubba]

Six months in Mid South would have changed that. Bill Watts has a standing rule: “I do not encourage anyone to get in a bar fight. But if you do get into one, you better win, or you’ll be fired.” Imagine any other employer who had that stipulation.

[@matthewthomas9194]

1. Ted dibiase 2. Arn anderson 3. Willam regal 4. Rick rude 5. Owen hart 6. Paul orndorf 7. Brian pillman 8. Jake the snake 9. Roddy piper 10 scott hall

[@bradpaton3927]

How is Ted DiBiase on this list, but not Roddy Piper?

[@donovanbradford8231]

I was suprised Piper wasn't there and possibly Dutch stated he felt Piper was a big enough draw he didn't need the belt which is true. The Hot Rod was so over almost any where he didn't need gold to get over.

[@PendaMercia655]

NWA champion who could work any style, workhouse, ability to gain heat/look vulnerable and interview, similariity to another blonde but Greg Valentine was a major major heel

[@paulweston8408]

While I 1000% agree that Ted should have gotten the belt, I also honestly felt like The Masked Superstar should have won the NWA World Championship belt. He had a great promo and was great in the ring.

[@bowlerdave9347]

So, are we only counting WWF/WWE? Or WCW? Or NWA? What's the criteria? I know there's an argument on what truly makes a title a world title. But if an organization refers to their title as a world title, why do we accept it but not when another organization refers to their title as a world title? Scott Hall was the USWA World Champion. Rick Rude was the first WCWA World Champion.

[@donovanbradford8231]

I want to say they were using WWF, NWA, and AWA as for who would be eligible. Because many would've gone Kurt Henning but he had a brief run as AWA champ and I want to say Rude was Universal Champ in WCW or it might just be the big three of the 80's as I didn't see the full stream.

[@itzmikeomg2755]

lol Mantell making fun of british accents...and James is sitting there like,,,,hold up there.

[@Dr_C_Smith]

“That English that they use.” 😆

[@tommyfraz.]

I’m going to focus on “modern” era (when I started watching), which is basically when the territories were gone. Owen, Piper, Scott Hall, Hennig, and Rick Rude for me. My honorable mention would be Perry Saturn. Watching Saturn on “Reliving the War,” I wish I could go back in time and see how great of a worker he was. Yes, his promo wasn’t the best, but he could have a great match with anyone from 1998-2003. At the very least, Saturn deserves a dark side of the ring story.

[@zlinedavid]

Not sure if Saturn was quite main event level, but he damn sure deserved better than WWE gave him. Forget Tazz or Brock, Saturn was the damn human suplex machine.

[@AceGoodheart]

Were we talking about NWA Champion or any World Heavyweight Champion? NWA: 5. David Von Erich (possibly an NWA Champion if not for unfortunate death) 4. Magnum TA (possibly an NWA Champion if not for the accident) 3. Mr. Perfect 2. Rick Rude 1. Roddy Piper World Heavyweight Champion: 5. Jimmy Snuka (minus the drugs) 4. Andre the Giant 3. Mr. Perfect 2. Rick Rude 1. Roddy Piper Honorable Mentions: 10. British Bulldog 9. Barry Windham 8. Junkyard Dog 7. Bruiser Brody 6. Owen Hart 5. Jake the Snake 4. Bam Bam Bigelow 3. Paul Orndorff 2. Scott Hall 1. Ted DiBiase

[@zlinedavid]

Jimmy Snuka….minus the drugs and the whole murder thing.

[@timomajere]

The 2 I can name most are Greg ' The Hammer' Valentine and Damien Sandow. Both these guys always had ONE person ahead of them everytime grabbing that spotlight putting it JUST outside their reach every time. ON a side note... Did not Ted DiBiase own tag team titles in WWE 3x with I.R.S? That is technically a world title, isn't it?

[@davidgraham8299]

We're talking SINGLES titles not tag titles

[@SonnyBubba]

@@davidgraham8299 I thought Dutch was talking specifically about the NWA world title.

[@aaronst.pierre3080]

Top 5 wrestlers to not win a title: Honorable Mentions (because they had reliability issues) 7. Scott Hall 6. Jack the Snake Roberts 5. Steven Regal 4. "Ravishing" Rick Rude 3. "Mr.Wonderful" Paul Orndorff 2. Arn Anderson 1. Ted Debiase How was Curt Henning not #1? Debiase was world champion in WWE no? Or is this NWA world champion?

[@donovanbradford8231]

So Curt Henning did have brief run with the AWA belt from what I've heard but Ted Debiase was given the title by Andre the Giant but the WWE front office said no way and held the belt up in the Wrestlemania 4 tournament. So while the Million Dollar did get a brief moment to wear the gold eagle around his waist he never beat anyone for it.

[@zlinedavid]

@@donovanbradford8231Correct. Andre gets the credit for that 2-3 day reign before it was held up, since he actually won it.

[@scottriffe222]

Tell the story of Orndoff and Vader fight.

[@ErikUhlen]

Rick Rude held the world title down in Hotlanta at the end of his career.

[@theweerdexperience]

Some that get overlooked.... 5) Al Snow 4) Chris Candido 3) Bobby Eaton 2) Dean Malenko 1) Billy Gunn

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

Al Snow trained me and Candidobwas my closest friend in the business.

[@zlinedavid]

Candido was the NWA champion, but it was when that belt didn’t mean nearly as much.

[@vxrdrummer]

I didn't hear a word of this. I was sat with glazed eyes, drool dripping down my chin, fixated on his beard twizzles moving.

[@TomLeach-dd8cl]

Some of the best wrestlers have come from England! Regal , dynamite kid, daveyboy smith, adams, the list goes on!!

[@jwparsons1]

I’d add regals old tag partner Dave Taylor. He was excellent

[@zabaleta66]

Di Biase was already a well seasoned wrestler before he got to WWF.

[@FIXTREME]

Rick Rude was a former world champion. Just because WCW made things weird by trying to establish their own IWGP doesn't mean he didn't hold the big belt

[@nikkiLee-hf6gx]

The belt itself is not a world title. A belt represents the title and at that time it wasn't representing a world title.

[@brianbray2721]

Arn was one of the best

[@mickeya.4940]

I think Wahoo McDaniel should have been on this list. He always seemed to work at the top of the card, and while it might not have been a long run, I think he certainly would have made more sense than Tommy Rich or Ronnie Garvin.

[@seansimms6693]

🤣Regal…how dare you besmirch my good name🤣

[@johnnyriggs9183]

I made my own top 5 before Dutch made his public and wanted to see how close I came. 1. Ted DiBiase 2. Tully Blanchard 3. Paul Orndorff 4. Magnum TA 5. Buddy Rose

[@eugenedempsey2838]

Magnum would of been champion only for the car crash

[@craigshannon6011]

Ted Dibiase is the one guy who should have been a heel world champion during the late 80's. Was a missed opportunity. I think that would have elevated him also. Others would be Roddy Piper, William Regal, Scott Hall and Owen Hart.

[@raymurphy5235]

DiBiase was and always will be in my top 3 best wrestlers of all time... the one I'm a little shocked about not being mentioned is Mr Perfect 😮

[@HudsonValleyVHS]

Im confused by the rules, were counting AWA but not WCCW?

[@HudsonValleyVHS]

Nevermind, I saw the comment. We have elected for complete madness. I do agree on that WCW 93' - 94' belt not counting though, we definetly cant count a fictitious subsidiary of WCW if we are leaving out the WCCW (WCWA) belts 35 year run as a world title.

[@terrellepps9548]

I must admit...pretty good list.