10 WWE backstage personnel you may not know were World Champions

WWE is filled with some of the most talented in-ring performers in the industry today. But there are men and women behind the scenes who put in equal amounts of hard work to ensure that fans get to witness the best quality action week in, week out.

While many of the backstage personnel have had been associated with pro wrestling for a long time, some are relatively new to it. However, there are many backstage personnel in WWE who competed in the ring during their prime. Some of these individuals even managed to win major championships during their time in the ring.

There are a few big names who have even won World Championships in various promotions during their in-ring career.

While Lex Luger, Warrior, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Mark Henry, and Beth Phoenix are the obvious backstage names that are former World Champions, we will look at some of the names that you probably didn’t know were former World Champions.

#10 WWE trainer and producer Steve Corino is is a former World Champion

Steve Corino is a Candian semi-retired professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE in a backstage role. During his early days in wrestling, which was around the late 1990s, Corino appeared as an enhancement talent for WWE in a few matches.

Currently working as a trainer and producer in NXT, Corino is best known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

Corino is a former ECW World Heavyweight Championship and MLW World Heavyweight Championship. Apart from that, he has won several other major titles during his illustrious wrestling career.

#9 WWE producer Joseph Park is a former World Champion

Fans of WWE were recently introduced to Joseph Park when he made his on-screen debut in August 2020 as the statistician for AJ Styles. However, Impact Wrestling fans would be more than aware of Park, famously known as Abyss, who appeared for the promotion for well over a decade.

My apologies to @AJStylesOrg, for my dereliction of duty in the “marker-gate” incident on #SmackDownOnFox tonight. That @JEFFHARDYBRAND assaulted you AJ. I saw the whole thing! @WWE @WWEonFOX
— Joseph Park (@JOSEPHPARK_esq) August 15, 2020

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Park is currently signed to WWE as a backstage producer. Park is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, ICW Heavyweight Champion, and TNA World Tag Team Champion.

He’s among a long list of top wrestlers who never competed for WWE.

#8 WWE trainer Terry Taylor is a former World Champion

Terry Taylor has worked with WWE for many years in various backstage roles. He was a road agent, trainer, interviewer, and the director of talent relations in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and served in similar capacities for WWE. He is now working as a trainer for the company.

Before taking on backstage roles, Taylor was a successful professional wrestler who debuted in 1979 and performed on many different promotions. He won the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship and UWF World Tag Team Championship among many other major titles during his in-ring career.

#7 WWE producer Jamie Noble is a former World Champion

Jamie Noble is another familiar face to the WWE Universe. Noble competed for several wrestling promotions before he joined WWE in 2001 as a wrestler. He appeared for the company for two extended tenures that saw him become part of many major storylines and also become the WWE Cruiserweight Champion once.

Noble now works in WWE as a backstage producer and has been seen during televised shows at times. While many fans are familiar with Noble’s work in WWE, he was also successful elsewhere and is a former Ring of Honor (ROH) World Champion.

Noble won the title in August 2005 after defeating CM Punk, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels in an elimination four-way match, and lost it to Daniel Bryan a month later.

#6 WWE producer Adam Pearce is a former World Champion

Since August this year, WWE fans have gotten to see a lot more of Adam Pearce on their television screens. Pearce has appeared on both RAW and SmackDown to get contract signings done and also make some matches official.

Some fans would be aware of the fact that Pearce has been working backstage with WWE for several years. In 2015, he became a full-time trainer at the WWE Performance Centre.

However, many fans would be aware of Pearce’s wrestling career that made him a big name in the industry before he became took on a backstage role in WWE. He is a former PWG World Champion and five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

After a backstage altercation earlier this month with Randy Orton, Pearce has said that he wants to punch the 14-time World Champion. Will we see Pearce enter the WWE ring for a match against The Viper someday?

#5 WWE producer Sylvain Grenier is a former World Champion

Sylvian Grenier retired from professional wrestling a few years ago and signed with WWE as a backstage producer earlier this year. Grenier worked as an in-ring performer for WWE from 2003 and 2007.

He won a few titles outside the WWE, and he managed to win the WWE World Tag Team Championship four times in his career. One of his title reigns came with René Duprée while three came with Rob Conway.

Outside WWE, Grenier is a former Top of the World (TOW) Champion and NCW Quebec Heavyweight Champion.

#4 WWE coach Robbie Brookside is a former World Champion

While Robbie Brookeside may not be a very familiar name to many in the WWE Universe, he did make a few televised appearances for the company. He appeared on an episode of RAW in April 2007, losing a No Disqualification 3-on-1 handicap match to Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Umaga.

\After working as a talent scout for the company, Brookside worked as a coach in WWE’s development territory, NXT.

Before taking on the backstage role, Brookside was a huge name on the British wrestling scene. He’s won numerous championships during his career, including All Star Wrestling (ASW) World Heavy-Middleweight Championship, PWF Heavyweight Championship, and the wXw World Heavyweight Championship.

#3 WWE producer Scott Armstrong is a former World Champion

Son of WWE Hall of Famer Bob Armstrong, Scott Armstrong is a familiar face for the WWE Universe. He signed with WWE in 2006 and became a full-time referee for the company. Armstrong worked with the company for almost ten years in two tenures, following which he became a backstage producer for the company.

While Armstrong has officiated several matches for WWE, he was a professional wrestler himself before he joined the company. Armstrong has a few major accomplishments to his name, including two NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship reigns and a PWA Heavyweight Championship reign.

#2 WWE producer Tyson Kidd is a former World Champion

Tyson Kidd first signed with WWE in 2006 as an in-ring performer, and after a sting in WWE's developmental territory, made an impact on the main roster.

Kidd’s wrestling career lasted until 2015 following which he suffered a well-documented career-ending injury. In 2017, Kidd once again became a full-time employee for WWE as a producer.

Before joining WWE, Kidd was a Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA) Champion and AWA Pinnacle Heavyweight Championship. He became a one-time World Tag Team Champion and a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion while competing for the company.

#1 WWE NXT assistant head coach Sara Del Rey is a former World Champion

Sara Del Rey signed with WWE in July 2012 to become the first-ever female trainers in WWE’s developmental territory, NXT. By 2015, she was promoted to the role of NXT assistant head coach.

Before Del Rey joined WWE in a backstage position, she was a full-time wrestler who performed in several different promotions. After making her wrestling debut in 2002, she won several Championships in her career, including the Impact Zone Wrestling (IZW) Women’s Championship, Canadian Wrestling Revolution (CWR) Women’s Championship, Shimmer Championship, and Ring of Honor’s (ROH) Undisputed World Intergender Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Chris Hero (better known as Kassius Ohno to the WWE Universe).

Edited by Nishant Jayaram