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The last WWE King of the Ring winner, Baron Corbin, has been going through a bit of a rough patch as of late. He's essentially gone from an incredibly rich man to someone who can't even afford to make his car payments.
It's an odd story, but not the first time it's been told in WWE or any other wrestling promotion. The "down on your luck" or losing streak gimmicks tend to run rampant in the sport. In most cases, it usually leads to a big redemption angle, though they often have to suffer through months of embarrassment to get to that point.
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Today we'll be taking a look into the wrestlers who went through a period where being poor was their entire character.
Former WWE writer buries Judgment Day HERE
#5 The crying giant: Former WWE World Champion Big Show
Back in 2013, The Authority harassed The Big Show for a while before revealing that he'd gone broke. To secure his spot on the roster, he was forced to do their bidding, including knocking out Dusty Rhodes.
Week in and week out, Big Show would cry on TV before attacking one of his friends. He had no choice in the matter, but that didn't make it any easier for him. It was either a night of pain for the locker room or the loss of the Big Show's WWE career.
After months of The Authority getting under his skin, Show finally had enough. On October 7th, Big Show was fired by the heel group. However, he returned near the end of the night to save Cody Rhodes, Goldust and Daniel Bryan from an attack by The Shield.
Triple H hid behind the Hounds of Justice as the giant strolled down the ring with a smile on his face. After single-handedly shaking off Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins, he left Triple H out cold with a KO punch.
#4 Montel Vontavious "Poor-ter": Former WWE US Champion MVP
The mouthpiece for WWE Champion Bobby Lashley has been one of the most entertaining pieces on the roster over the past year. The Hurt Business, whether with four members or two, has dominated Monday Night RAW. A lot of that is, of course, thanks to the mind of one Montel Vontavious Porter.
Though MVP and Lashley like to flaunt their cash and high-class lifestyles, that wasn't always the case for the former US Champion. Back in 2008, the self-proclaimed Franchise Player of WWE began to go through a horrendous 23-match losing streak lasting about five months.
The streak got so bad that he lost his signing bonus. Once boasting one of the greatest entrances in WWE and covered in gold chains, MVP was eventually reduced to an ordinary man. No pomp or circumstance. No NFL-like tunnel or smoke. No gold around his neck.
MVP was a shell of his former self, at least until he managed to defeat The Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match in January 2009. It saw MVP gain a boost in popularity, get his confidence back and set him on the course for his second run as WWE United States Champion.
#3 That's not a good thing: WWE and WCW Legend DDP
Back in 1994, Diamond Dallas Page claimed to have come into a large sum of money. About 13 million dollars to be exact. According to Page himself, this came about due to a series of arm wrestling victories.
However, it was soon revealed that it was his valet, the Diamond Doll Kimberly Page, had won the money in a bingo game. Kimberly was tired of being treated horribly by DDP, and thanks to Johnny B. Badd, would be freed from her services following a match at World War 3.
After losing his wife to Badd, DDP began to go on a major losing streak, eventually losing a "Loser Leaves Town" match to Brutus Beefcake (known as The Booty Man). Page was shown for weeks trying to make money by washing car windows or selling tickets to events that had already taken place.
Eventually, a mysterious benefactor came to DDP's aid, getting him back to WCW where he'd go onto become one of the greatest wrestlers in the company's history. Who was this benefactor? We never found out. I know, what a shame. There's a reason this isn't higher on the list.
#2 A king with no crown: Former WWE US Champion Baron Corbin
WWE's latest King of the Ring has been on a downward spiral lately, and what a shame it is. True royalty, King Corbin has been wearing a crown and bashing foes with a scepter for a few years now. Now and then, we'd even see him carried to the ring by some lackeys while he sat on a throne.
Cut to a few weeks ago, where Corbin lost his crown to Shinsuke Nakamura. Apparently, the crown came with some major benefits.
In just a few weeks, Corbin's car was repossessed. On the most recent episode of WWE SmackDown, Corbin had even lost his entrance music.
Who knew that crown was so valuable? You'd think he'd be making some money working for WWE. Well, he also said a few weeks back that, after losing the crown, he'd lost a lot of money on poor investments. Back at Money in the Bank 2020, Corbin broke a mirror.
According to superstition, that would bring about seven years of bad luck. If that's the case, Corbin's got several years left of this treatment. Good luck, big guy.
#1 I got kids, baybay: Former WWE Tag Champion Heath Slater
Come on, this was the best version of this gimmick. In 2016, Heath Slater was the only member of the Social Outcasts not drafted to either RAW or SmackDown. Essentially, it left Slater without a spot on the WWE roster.
Fans got behind Slater relatively quickly, screaming "We Want Slater" throughout SummerSlam 2016. For a few months, the former Nexus member would appear on both RAW and SmackDown, interrupting anyone and everyone he could to try and earn a contract with WWE again.
That did include, Brock Lesnar, in one of the greatest moments of The Beast Incarnate's second run with WWE. Slater was also beaten by Jinder Mahal, who earned a contract off that victory and became WWE Champion less than a year later.
Slater's entire campaign revolved around being a poor father who was needing to take care of his children.
The "I Got Kids" shirt was a hot commodity on WWE shop, proving just how over Slater got with such a ridiculous gimmick. Eventually, after petitioning and getting the fans fully invested, Slater was allowed to earn a contract.
He teamed up with Rhyno, a man who had attacked him following his free agency that summer, to become the first-ever WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions. Despite the odds, Slater and Rhino went on to defeat The Headbangers, The Hype Bros, and finally The Usos to capture gold.
