5 WWE Superstars who were 'awarded' Championships without winning a match

Modified May 21, 2020 07:59 GMT

Orton and The Rock were both awarded titles

#3 Mankind is awarded the Hardcore title

Vince hands the Hardcore title to Mankind

Back in 1998, when the Attitude Era was at its peak, Mankind debuted Mr. Socko while visiting Mr. McMahon in the hospital. The WWE Chairman had suffered injuries due to an attack by The Undertaker and Kane. In an attempt to cheer the WWE Chairman up, Mankind brought along Mr. Socko, but the effort was in vain. The sock became an overnight sensation, and Mankind began using it to win his matches by stuffing the sock in the mouth of his oppents and choking them.

McMahon began manipulating Mankind into doing what he told him on the road to Survivor Series 1998. The boss even went on to create the Hardcore title, and awarded it to Mankind, thus making him the first-ever Hardcore Champion.

Vince McMahon also pushed Mankind as a favorite to win the WWE title at Survivor Series, where a tournament was held to determine the Champion. Mankind defeated Gillberg, Al Snow, and Stone Cold to advance to the finals, but lost the match when McMahon turned on him and helped The Rock become WWE Champion. As for the Hardcore title, Mankind's first reign lasted almost a month, before he lost the belt to Big Boss Man.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram