Csonka’s Top 10 Could Have Been World Champions

WELCOME: This week we’re going to look at “could have been” world champion. Not should have or “I AM PISSED THAT THEY NEVER GOT THE CHANCE,” just a list of 10 men that could have been world champions in the various promotions. No everyone has what it takes to be the top dog, not everyone SHOULD be world champion, but I feel that each of these 10 men had a real chance at least once in their careers. Here is my list, feel free to share yours in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

#10. Mr. Perfect

I start off my list with a favorite to many wrestling fans, Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig. While Hennig won the AWA world title, that was way before he was the ring general that he would become and before he truly discovered his promo ability and overall charisma. Curt Hennig was a fine pro wrestling, but as Mr. Perfect he was simply amazing. The walk, the talk, the swagger and the vignettes; it’s a shame he came along when he did because in later years he certainly could have been the WWF/World Champion. I know that a lot of people think that he couldn’t have been successful as a champion, but I highly disagree. Bret Hart was WWF Champion. They were close in size (Hennig a bit bigger) and were both great in ring technicians. But Hennig trumped Hart on the mic with ease (early on, Bret’s super Canadian God loved everywhere but in the US was great stuff), and that is where a lot of the money was made.

#9. Ted DiBiase in WWE

Ted DiBiase’s story is that of a sad one to me actually. Don’t get me wrong, he had a great career and everyone knows the Million Dollar man, but he is proof that promises and rumors in the wrestling business don’t mean anything. DiBiase was always looked at as a very good worker, as well as a good man on the mic. He was a 2nd generation wrestler and really came into his own in the Mid-South/UWF era of wrestling. During that time there was a lot of talk within the NWA of bringing DiBiase to the top and making him the NWA champion. But with the NWA there was always the politics game, and DiBiase didn’t have anyone of importance on his side so it never came to be. DiBiase would then move onto the World Wrestling Federation. He was christened the “Million Dollar Man” and would easily rise to the top as one of the best heels of the era. Heading towards WrestleMania 4 it was rumored that he was promised the world title in the WWF. But things change and as we all know Randy Savage walked out with the world title, and into a yearlong build to battle Hulk Hogan. Within the span of a few short years DiBiase was reportedly promised two-World Titles and received none. To me he is one of those guys that I would have loved to have seen get a run as champion. I personally believe that people would have paid to see him get beat, and he had the in ring skills and charisma to work on top as the champion. Shit, buying the title didn’t even work thanks to that jackass Jack Tunney…

#8. Christopher Daniels in TNA

When discussing who could have been world champions in TNA, two names come up; one will appear later, and the other is Christopher Daniels. While Daniels wasn’t always positioned as a top performer for the company, he was extremely consistent as a performer and worked well with almost everyone. TNA thought about pushing him several times as a top tier guy, but then they would get cold feet and back out. A perfect example of this was when he was supposed to have a big feud with Sting and beat him clean on PPV. It went from a clean win for Daniels to a shenanigan filled win for Daniels to a DQ finish to Sting winning clean and the program being dropped. At a time when TNA should have focused on making Joe and AJ their top stars, feuding over the world title, Daniels would have been a natural fit in that mix. But the best time may have been in 2013, when Bad Influence was causing Hardy trouble and Daniels got a shot at the TNA World Title. This was right before the UK Tour, a tour that Hardy could not go on due to his legal issues. They had to write him off TV, setting up weeks of Impact without the world champion featured. Daniels getting that victory due to a Hardy injury angle would have kept the title on TV, set up a program for Hardy’s return (and another title change on TV) and would have done so much for Daniels. Instead, Daniels never got the chance.

#7. Scott Hall in the WWF or WCW

Early in his career, Scott Hall had a successful run in the AWA as a tag team champion with Curt Hennig. He was a guy with a spectacular mustache and a great look, but wasn’t the charismatic guy we’d come to know and love. He then went to WCW where he worked on his character as much as they would allow and then seemed to disappear. Then he debuted in the WWF and became extremely successful as Razor Ramon. He was trimmed down, learned to talk and was a multiple time IC Champion, having excellent matches with Jarrett, Hart, Hennig and others. While he was always over and had the skills, he was never fully pushed to the big gold in both the WWF and WCW. In WWF it was Shawn and Nash (his closest friends) that would get the chance, and then he went to WCW and rode the nWo wave and his career went to an entirely new level. But even though Hall had the biggest buzz in all of wrestling with the way he debuted; with Hogan as the top guy in the group, Hall was relegated to things like the tag titles and US title. We all know that Hall had his problems with drugs an alcohol, but I think that there were legit times during his run as Razor Ramon and when he jumped to WCW that you could have put the strap on him and made it work.

#6 Paul Orndorff in the WWF

Paul Orndorff was a dude with a killer body that allowed him live up to the gimmick of Mr. Wonderful. He was a tremendous natural athlete, and really advanced in his craft under Bill Watts, where he was forced to learn to work. Watts would take the inexperienced (and not all that good in the cardio department) Orndorff, and make him routinely work 40 to 60-minute draws. Due to that, and a quick learning curve, Orndorff actually could go with the best of them, and doesn’t receive the credit that he is due in that regard. To Vince he was always the bridesmaid and never was going to get the proposal. His run vs. Hogan was a great draw. They sold out the loop back and forth and back again during their big feud, a feud that caused Orndorff’s arm injury. The one he never got treated because he didn’t want to lose his spot, and now after many years has greatly atrophied. Due to that nerve damage, he would never get the chance later on in his career due to the atrophy in his arm and overall deterioration of his physical condition. One thing is for sure, you cannot argue with the kind of money the guy helped draw. This is another man that never got a chance during the long Hogan title run, which was good for business in many ways, but also hurt the chance for many to get a run on top.

#5. Nikita Koloff in the… WWF

Nikita Koloff is a guy that gets a ton of shit for being a jacked up muscle head that couldn’t work. Now while he isn’t Flair or Steamboat, the guy could work well enough, especially in there with someone who knew their shit, and I felt he had a lot of memorable matches in the NWA. He is also a guy I thought would win the big one, but didn’t. The other funny thing here is that I do not think that he should have been the NWA World Champion; I think he could have been a very successful WWF Champion. If Kolloff wouldn’t have stepped away from wrestling, or would have made the jump earlier when there was interest, I think that could have actually had a great run under the booking of the WWF and Vince McMahon. Imagine the jacked up Russian Nightmare, under the tutelage of the man that dethroned Bruno Sammartino; his uncle Ivan Kolloff being brought in to battle and defeat Hulk Hogan through nefarious means. With the way the WWF played up the evil nations at the time, Vince’s fetish for big men and the way Hogan drew with any monster (King Kong Bundy, hello) the Kolloff’s would have been huge for Vince. It would have been short term, but I really feel that there was money to be made there and I hate that it didn’t even come close to happening.

#4. Magnum TA in the NWA

Magnum TA was a man that seemed destined for greatness in the world of wrestling. During the 80’s he was mad over through his Magnum PI good looks, his skill, the association with Dusty Rhodes and feuds with Nikita Kolloff and the Four Horsemen. He also had great matches that some may not know about due to when they happened, including the stellar “I Quit” Cage Match with Tully Blanchard over the US Title. That right there is simply a fantastic match, and one that got heavy praise from me last week in the Top 10 Matches of the 80s column. The popular opinion was that Magnum would have had the shot to carry the NWA World Title if he wouldn’t have had the auto accident that ended his in ring career. He was insanely popular, he was “Dusty’s guy,” and coming off of the match with Tully; word was that in the next year the rocket was being strapped to his ass. This is one of the ultimate “what could have beens,” as he wasn’t held back by management or any political bullshit; but instead was held back by an auto accident that ended his in ring career. I don’t think he would have been the next “Hulk Hogan” as many thought he would, but I think he could have been a big deal.

#3. Monty Brown in TNA

One of my favorite guys from the early days of TNA was Monty Brown. Brown was a dude with a good look, charisma, was over with the crowd and had a finisher that looked as if he was killing people. While not the most gifted in ring performer, the guy got it, and TNA was building him to become a star. Obviously that did not happen. The guy had momentum; he won a #1 contender’s match against DDP and Kevin Nash and earned his title shot against Jeff Jarrett, which he lost with tons of shenanigans. The fact was the loss was bad, but the way that they did it, they had it set for Brown getting his rematch and comeuppance, where he would have been made and been a big babyface star. Instead of that, the man from the Serengeti would turn heel and join up with Jarrett, and the ship sailed on Monty Brown. I am not saying that he would have been Hogan or even Cena for TNA, but the time was right, he was over and had the charisma to carry the title, at least for a short time. Instead, TNA missed the boat, and it was something that turned a lot of people off of the product at that time and a point in time I look back on and feel that they really missed on something special.

#2. Roddy Piper in the WWF

And just when you think you have all of the answers, here I go changing the questions. When I do these lists, I always talk with one or two staffers to see where they fall on thing like this, and to no surprise Roddy Piper topped almost all of their lists. And if you are someone that feels that way, there is nothing wrong with that, but I have someone else in mind for #1. But as far as Roddy Piper goes, he may be the most over guy in the history of the business not to be the world champion. The man is a certified hall of famer, for WWE, for 411, for the Observer and also the Pro Wrestling Museum Hall. When you look at the history of wrestling, it is hard to write it without Roddy Piper. The man was amazing on the mic and brought us Piper’s Pit, which is pretty much the standard in regards to wrestling talk shows. He was a vital part of the entire Rock and Wrestling era, and did mad business with Hulk Hogan. WrestleMania with Mr. T, we can go on and on and on about Piper. Regarded as one of the best heels in the wrestling business, it was that Rock and Wrestling feud with Hogan that many point too where Piper could have carried the gold for the WWF. Many have speculated that a Hogan vs. Piper main event for WrestleMania I or II would have been the way to go, with Piper defending the title. In many ways I find it hard to disagree with that, because Piper was on fire then, and he and Hogan would have done big business at the time. Piper is cemented as an all time great despite never carrying the big gold, but I think most fans wanted to see him carry it even though he didn’t need it. In closing, Piper may be one of the few that can be looked at as such an all time great without ever being the guy… Brother.

#1. Tully Blanchard in the NWA

I am a huge fan of the Four Horsemen. Despite the way he tarnished his perfect retirement, I still think that Ric Flair is one of the best to ever lace up the boots. And while I love Arn Anderson and agree that many overlook him; the real person that gets overlooked from the Horsemen days is Tully Blanchard. Tully was the son of Southwest promoter Joe Blanchard, and was his most successful son. Early on in his career Tully tagged with another man that today’s audience knows next to nothing about, which is a shame; Gino Hernandez. Gino Hernandez was a gifted guy that likely would have been huge if it wasn’t for the drug habit and obviously his death. But Tully and Gino were very successful together, known as the “Dynamic Duo” in the Southwest and won six World Southwest/Southwest Tag Team titles. Eventually Tully would go on a good run of singles accomplishments in the Southwest, winning the Southwest Television and Southwest Heavyweight titles. This was the beginning of his ascension in the world of wrestling. At the end of 83, beginning of 84 he made his way to a fulltime NWA performer, and even then was called by some the “Ric Flair of the Southwest.” Tully was money in the NWA, notably feuding with Dusty Rhodes over Baby Doll, the NWA TV and NWA National Heavyweight Titles, Magnum TA over the US Title (which culminated in the tremendous I QUIT cage match) and then the rest of the promotion as part of the Four Horsemen.

This included two runs as the NWA tag Team Champions, teaming with Arn Anderson. But with so much success, people always ask, “Why was Tully never the world champion?” There are a few reasons. People always want to talk size, and while Tully was a smaller guy, it wasn’t an issue in the NWA at the time, especially with the title runs he had, as well as the strength of the Horsemen run. In my opinion, Tully was a guy the actually suffered as part of the Horsemen in the long run. Some wonder how you can suffer being a part of such an elite group, but it is the truth. It may be an odd statement to many, but considering that he was so much like Flair, and the Horsemen and NWA could only have one Ric Flair, Tully was doomed. Seriously, when can you think of another time that being like Ric Flair was such a bad thing? Tully Blanchard was a world-class worker, he was gold on the mic and without doubt had the pedigree to be the man in the business. In the end no one can disagree with the fact that his demons cost him in the later years, so we’ll never know if he would have gotten that chance, but if he did I think he would have done really well; especially in the NWA setting. A Horsemen separation angle, properly done, would have been money. Tully and Flair break the group in half over their bickering, and run rival groups against each other (battle of the Horsemen leading to War Games anyone?), with Tully and Ric fighting for the NWA Title would have been money.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”