10 WWE Superstars Who Won Championship Gold (& Then Faded Away)

Titles are a key part of pro wrestling storytelling, offering an objective goal for characters to pursue and fodder for storylines as different individuals pursue championship glory at each other’s expenses. Often times, winning one title signals successes to follow like John Cena capturing the United States Championship before he’d become a sixteen-time world champion and amass other accolades, or Bret Hart’s slow, steady rise to the top that saw win two tag titles before winning two Intercontinental Championships en route to his first world title win.

Not everyone who wins a title is able to convert it into sustained success, though. Indeed, while some talents seem as though they’re on their way to big things, plans change whether it’s on account of how the wrestlers themselves performed or WWE’s powers that be changing their minds.

Ezekiel Jackson

The ECW And Intercontinental Championships Were As High As He’d Reach

When Ezekiel Jackson beat Christian on the final episode of WWE’s ECW brand to claim the ECW Championship, it looked like a signal WWE had major plans for the powerhouse wrestler. Indeed, while his trajectory to follow wasn’t entirely fluid, he did find himself Intercontinental Champion a year and a half later.

Jackson’s IC title reign lasted less than two months, though, before he passed the torch to Cody Rhodes. While nowadays, there’s absolutely no shame in putting over Rhodes as one of WWE’s tip-top stars, at the time, Rhodes himself was firmly planted in the midcard. Accordingly, after failing to recapture his title, Jackson wandered largely directionless, shuffled back to developmental and ultimately left the company.

Rockin’ Robin

The Last Women’s Champion Of The Golden Era’s Reign Was Long And Forgettable

While she may be forgotten by newer fans nowadays, Rockin’ Robin was a staple part of the WWE women’s division in the Golden Era, who doggedly challenged Sensational Sherri for the Women’s Championship. At last, Robin succeeded in taking the title, only for her division to dissolve.

Though Robin is generally credited with a 501-day reign, it’s telling she only had seven televised title defenses and no documented matches in the last seven months of her time as champion. WWE had shifted directions and simply deactivated the title when Robin’s contract ran out. For her part, the most memorable part of her time as champion was probably singing “America The Beautiful” to kick off WrestleMania 5.

Ted DiBiase Jr.

The Million Dollar Man’s Son Won Tag Team Gold Early

As a third-generation star with a great look, whom Bryan Danielson himself lauded as exceptionally talented in his book, Ted DiBiase Jr. looked as though he had everything in place for a huge career in WWE. A two-time World Tag Team Champion with Cody Rhodes, DiBiase seemed destined for world title glory.

DiBiase’s five-year main roster run grew quieter and quieter, though. Despite tag title success and working a heavily featured, competitive feud opposite DX, DiBiase wound up slipping to the lower middle card before scarcely getting TV time at all in the final stretches of his run after the Legacy faction had dissolved.

Curtis Axel

After A Big Push, Curtis Axel Became A Role Player

After a forgettable initial run as Michael McGillcuty, a member of The Nexus, Curtis Axel re-debuted on the WWE main roster to great fanfare. Early successes saw him pick up victories over Triple H and John Cena (albeit in tainted fashion) en route to winning the Intercontinental Championship. All indications were WWE intended for him to make it to the main event level.

Whether it was limited charisma or bad luck in connecting with the audience, Axel wasn’t able to capitalize on his big break. He hung around the WWE roster for roughly a decade, a talented hand, but spent most of his time in the lower midcard or in comedic teams like The Meta Powers, The Miztourage, or The Social Outcasts before quietly being let go during the pandemic.

Carmella

Carmella Used Money In The Bank To Win Her First & Only World Title

Carmella had a good NXT run en route to getting a push when she arrived on the main roster which included winning the first Women’s Money in the Bank briefcase, holding it for a long run, and successfully cashing in on Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Despite those auspicious beginnings, Carmella struggled to properly find her spot in the years to follow. An odd partnership with R-Truth was fun, but mostly used as comedic fodder. It’s telling most fans hardly noticed when she went on maternity leave. A controversial situation followed in which WWE quietly let her contract expire – from her side of the story, shared on the Barely Famous podcast, WWE did not notify her when they reactivated the contract after childbirth, and ultimately left her out in the cold, not negotiating a new deal when her contract ran out.

Apollo Crews

Neither Secondary Title Win Led To Anything Substantial For Apollo Crews

Apollo Crews has a lot of the tools to be a major star in WWE. In particular, he represents a unique combination of physical strength and agility that can make him a lot of fun to watch. Crews struggled to find his footing on the main roster, though, with some contending he got called up too early. In 2020, Crews garnered a solid run as United States Champion just as the empty arena era of WWE gave way to the ThunderDome. He had a more noteworthy, if still disappointing, reign with the Intercontinental Championship in 2021 after a heel turn.

But rather than the start of a more sustained run in the upper midcard – let alone a step toward the main event – Crews got lost in the shuffle thereafter. He bounced between working on NXT and Main Event before a few appearances on SmackDown in early 2025. Reports suggest he’s out due to injury, and there’s still hope for him as long as he remains under WWE contract. The past nine years have taught fans not to hold their breath on him enjoying major success, though.

Zack Ryder

Zack Ryder Won Over The People, But Not The Powers That Be

In 2011, Zack Ryder accomplished the unlikely in using a YouTube show and social media to get himself over despite WWE not doing a lot with him. It all culminated with a United States Championship victory at the TLC PPV that some fans read as a sign WWE was prepared to listen to the fans and push one of their favorites regardless of previously established plans. It turns out the optimism was misguided as Ryder was buried before long, not only dropping his title, but made to look like a complete goof when interacting with the upper card, particularly as a part of John Cena feuding with Kane and an angle that saw Eve Torres betray the Broski.

Lest anyone think that him winning the Intercontinental Championship out of nowhere at WrestleMania 32 spelled a resurgence, he dropped the title the very next night and receded to the background. In all fairness, the man beneath the gimmick, Matt Cardona, has done incredible work building a name for himself on the indies, but to WWE-only fans, Ryder will always represent the clearest case of WWE punishing someone for getting over when WWE didn’t intend for them to.

Kalisto

A United States Championship Push Marked His Peak In WWE

When Kalisto traded the United States Championship with Alberto Del Rio in early 2016 and wound up carrying the belt into – and retaining it – at WrestleMania 32, there was some speculation WWE had finally found its successor to Rey Mysterio as a top cruiserweight luchador they would push alongside traditional heavyweights.

Kalisto wound up getting crushed by a surging Rusev, though, and though he enjoyed some success in winning Cruiserweight gold afterward, the masked man never returned to those heights in WWE again. He spent most of the rest of his run in tag teams, putting on stellar matches but never sniffing a major singles run again before he was released in 2021.

Bobby Roode

TNA & NXT Success Only Led To Little Success On The WWE Main Roster

Bobby Roode signed with WWE after an exceptional career in TNA and immediately shot to the top of NXT, winning the developmental championship and seeing his entrance theme grow hugely over with the fans. It’s probably that big response that got him hot-shotted to the main roster where, before long, he was wearing the United States Championship.

After a two-month reign, the bloom was off the rose. Roode lingered in the midcard for a few months before settling into his destiny as far as WWE was concerned, as a tag team mechanic. Roode did stellar work teaming with Chad Gable and Dolph Ziggler but was never really a “player” again in the singles ranks before quietly retiring to a producer role in 2022.

Orlando Jordan

Orlando Jordan Looked Earmarked For Big Things

It’s clear WWE thought it had something in Orlando Jordan as he was placed as a top sidekick and mentee to JBL during the Texan’s WWE Championship run leading The Cabinet faction. In that time, Jordan himself won the United States Championship and frequently worked with top names on the SmackDown brand. That’s not to mention he beat John Cena to capture the title!

Jordan’s fortunes changed at SummerSlam 2005 when Chris Benoit not only took the title off him, but did in humiliating fashion – making him tap out in less than thirty seconds. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this became a running gag as Jordan tapped to Benoit in under a minute in three consecutive televised rematches, before a more competitive, but nonetheless decisive submission loss to Benoit. Jordan never got his momentum back in WWE before the company released him in May 2006.