We all know Vince McMahon loves a big, sweaty man as World Champion… not that kind of
big and sweaty. These five wrestlers in this list defied all odds and reached the pinnacle
of the WWE mountain by capturing the company’s most illustrious prize.
Finn Balor is an extraordinary performer; they don’t call him “The Extra-ordinary
Man who can do Extra-ordinary Things” for nothing. But, in the eyes of The Chairman,
Vince McMahon, he’s not World Championship material and Vince pretty much implied that
to his face on live TV. In case you forgot, Finn Balor was the inaugural WWE Universal
Champion, but that was back in 2016 and sadly lasted just a day due to a shoulder injury
he sustained. Since then, he’s fallen down the card and he’s also failed to reclaim
the title that he never lost. That being said, we did see Finn Balor as The Demon win the
If you looked at Jinder Mahal back to when he was part of the comedic trio, “3MB”,
you would have never thought that he would go on to become the WWE Champion a few years
later. At Backlash 2017, Jinder Mahal did the unthinkable and pinned Randy Orton to
win the WWE Championship, much to the shock of the entire WWE Universe. So, how did a
guy, Indian dancing in a “rock band” win the WWE’s top prize? According to a number
of sources, there are two possible reasons: 1. a noticeably impressive body transformation
that caught the eye of backstage officials and 2. and perhaps most plausible, the WWE
expanding their market in India. But the way I see it, Mahal climbed his way up the WWE
ladder through hard work, going from what was essentially a jobber to a World Champion.
But now, the once WWE World Champion is sadly just a punching bag to those who haven’t
quite found their inner peace.
Throughout his career, Rey Mysterio has always been referred as an “underdog” and that’s
due to his small stature. A typical size of a WWE World Champion is around 6ft 2 and 250lbs,
but Mysterio is quite the opposite. He may not be the biggest of wrestlers, coming in
at a billed height of 5ft 6 and weighing 175lbs, but what he lacks, he makes up for with speed
and exhilarating high-flying ability. Mysterio’s size never stopped him from firstly, winning
the 2006 Royal Rumble and then the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22.
He captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship once more in 2010 as well as the WWE Championship
in 2011, but lost it on the same night thanks to John Cena and his golden shovel.
a much harder path and for Daniel Bryan, that path was by no means simple. Being fired for
almost killing ring announcer, Justin Roberts and being screwed by The Authority
never stopped Bryan fighting for his dream of becoming WWE Champion. Largely thanks to
the power of the “Yes! Movement”, Bryan’s dream became a reality as he found himself
in the main event of WrestleMania 30, competing for the WWE Championship, which he went on
to win. This was a lot better than the original plan the WWE had for him, which was for him
to face Sheamus yet again, probably in another 18-second match. Since coming back from retirement,
Bryan has reinvented himself as “The New” Daniel Bryan, basically an angry, eco-friendly
Vegan. But, as silly as it may sound, it actually works.
Never in a million years you would have thought that Kofi Kingston would win the WWE’s most
coveted prize, especially at The Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania. But, against
all odds he did it and what a feel-good WrestleMania moment it was… who’s cutting onions in
here? The whole KofiMania journey was a tough and emotional one, but Kofi never lost sight
of the title that had always eluded him. Big E and Xavier Woods were certainly happy the
night after their friend’s big win. All joking aside, Kofi’s win was not only historical
in that he is the first-ever WWE Champion to be born in the continent of Africa… for
more facts like this, be sure to follow us on Instagram @Fact5Wrestling… but it was
also inspirational as it showed that no matter where you come from or how big or small you
are, just continue to work hard and you will be rewarded, even if it might take
you 11-years.