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Every WWE Superstar wants to win a World Championship at some point in their career. It's only natural to want to make it to the very top.
For many, the opportunity to win the 'big one' never presents itself, but for some, they're seemingly on the verge of getting their hands on a top title before it's cruelly taken away from them.
There have been several examples of wrestlers who were supposed to win a World Championship, but due to backstage politics, untimely injuries or just fan reaction, plans were forced to change.
On that note, here are four WWE Superstars who were screwed out of a World Championship run.
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#4. Shawn Michaels' backstage politicking prevented Vader from winning the WWE Championship
Vader's WWE run was a major disappointment in comparison to the work he'd done outside of the company.
Coming off an incredible run in WCW, Vader arrived in Vince McMahon's company in January 1996 and many expected him to continue his reign of dominance.
Things did start brightly for the former WCW Champion, but once he began feuding with Shawn Michaels over the World Championship in the summer of 1996, the wheels fell off.
According to numerous figures in the company, Vader was actually supposed to win the WWE Championship from The Heartbreak Kid at Survivor Series 1996, but after Shawn complained to management about working with the big man, plans were quickly changed and Psycho Sid got the nod instead.
#3. Brock Lesnar stopped Chris Jericho winning the Universal Title at WrestleMania 33
Chris Jericho's friendship and eventual feud with Universal Champion Kevin Owens was one of the most entertaining things in wrestling during 2016 and early 2017.
The two got over big with fans, and once they split, audiences were deeply engrossed in the story. The two men would eventually face off at WrestleMania over the United States Championship.
But according to Jericho himself, the original plan was for the match to include the Universal Championship instead, with him winning the match and the gold.
Jericho also revealed that Brock Lesnar spoke to the company about having Owens drop the title to Goldberg a month prior at Fastlane, ensuring his match with the former WCW star would be for the championship instead.
#2. Plans for Roman Reigns to win the World Championship at WrestleMania were changed twice due to negative fan reaction
For the majority of his career, it's been clear that WWE saw big things in Roman Reigns and wanted him to be the next face of the company.
Unfortunately for them, the fans weren't all too keen on the subject. This led to two original plans to have Reigns win the World Championship at WrestleMania being scrapped.
First, the Tribal Chief was initially supposed to beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 after winning that year's Royal Rumble. Due to the overwhelmingly negative response towards Reigns from the audience, Mr McMahon pulled the plug on the move and had Seth Rollins cash his Money in the Bank contract mid-match instead.
The second time, several years later, saw Reigns set to beat Lesnar again, but once again due to the fans not getting behind him, McMahon changed plans and had the Beast retain the championship. Reigns would finally get his win over Lesnar several months later at Summerslam.
#1. Ted Dibiase was initially supposed to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, but Randy Savage got the nod instead
Considering he would never win a World Championship during his career, Ted DiBiase's big moment at WrestleMania IV would have been the culmination of a legendary career and very well deserved.
Unfortunately for the Million Dollar Man, the original plans that would see him win the tournament for the vacant title were scrapped due to The Honky Tonk Man apparently refusing to drop his Intercontinental Championship to Randy Savage.
As a result, Savage was compensated and won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania IV at the expense of DiBiase.
