Best World Champions In These Wrestling Promotions (2024)

The use of a world championship should be to contribute to the entire product. A wrestler needs to benefit from holding the top prize, but the promotion should also generate interest with strong programs or matches. Various companies look at what they want out of a champion differently depending on the vibe. Ring of Honor loved having titleholders who could have technical wrestling matches, but ECW sometimes put their belts on the worst workers.

Every company has its own vision of what it expects out of its top champ. The following wrestling promotions hold relevance in the minds of die-hard fans and the wrestlers in question were the best to hold each belt.

Defiant Wrestling/WhatCulture Pro Wrestling: Joe Hendry

He Was One Of The Biggest Names In The Promotion

Before he was having his name chanted across countless different promotions and having his song charted, Joe Hendry was building his following. Arguably, his biggest break first came when he appeared in WCPW, a promotion that was launched by WhatCulture, a YouTube channel, in 2016. Hendry was among one of the biggest homegrown stars on the roster. After failing to capture the title before, it was his heel persona against Martin Kirby that allowed him to become WCPW World Champion. While he was not the biggest name to hold the title, that honor goes to Drew McIntyre, Hendry's reign saw him have successful defenses against Rampage, Kirby, and Jack Swagger. He was the best homegrown star to win the belt and held on to it for 155 days, the second most combined days of any champion. It was the starting point for Hendry, and it helped him to become the star he is today.

Westside Xtreme Wrestling: Gunther

Before He Was Gunther, He Was Big Van Walter

wXw is one of the most prominent professional wrestling promotions going in Europe today. Across Europe, in general, there has been an ever-growing popularity for the sport that is distinguished by its own style. wXw is the biggest promotion in Germany, founded back in 2000. As for their main world title, the best wXw Unified World Heavyweight Champion is WWE's Gunther. Now, there have been some top tier names to have held the title, including Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, and Bryan Danielson. However, considering how dominant Gunther was with the title, he is worthy of being named the promotion's greatest champion. He was a three-time champion and has gone on to be dominant in every single promotion that he has wrestled in, including a historic reign with the WWE's Intercontinental Championship.

Gamer Changer Wrestling: Nick Gage

He Is A Hardcore Icon

GCW is one of the most prominent independent promotions going today. Originally founded as Jersey Championship Wrestling, the last few years have seen it explode in popularity on a large scale. Many top names, such as Jon Moxley, Matt Cardona, Joey Janela, and more have competed there. However, when it comes to the best champion in GCW's history, that honor easily goes to Nick Gage. Gage is the biggest name in the promotion and holds the record for the most reigns with the GCW World Title, with four reigns to his name. In addition, he also holds the record for both the longest reign with the title, at 722 days, and the shortest reign, at less than one day.

World Wonder Ring Stardom: IYO SKY

SKY Held The World of Stardom Championship For 1,014 Days

Founded in 2011 and recently bolstered by becoming New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s sister company, World Wonder Ring Stardom (or simply Stardom) has grown over the past decade to be the top women’s wrestling promotion for many fans across the world. Stardom’s top title, the World of Stardom Championship, has been held by a number of great talents, including Kairi Hojo (a.k.a. Kairi Sane) and Toni Storm, but the promotion’s definitive champion is arguably IYO SKY. An expert in-ring talent and impressive high-flyer, SKY was Stardom’s first two-time champion with the belt, reigning for 468 days and then 546 days.

National Wrestling Alliance: Ric Flair

Ric Flair Held The NWA World Championship For 3,119 Days

Distinct from WCW, the National Wrestling Alliance was the major governing body keeping the world of pro wrestling organized since the late 1940s, with a committee that determined a World Heavyweight Champion and had him traveling the world to defend the belt. Amid legends like Lou Thesz, Harley Race, and Dusty Rhodes is Ric Flair, who held the belt six times before Ted Turner bought Jim Crockett Promotions and turned it into WCW.

For modern fans, “The Nature Boy” defined old school wrestling, as he’s pretty much always been old to them, but he was also an expert in-ring performer in his day, who was crucial in keeping territory wrestling cool thanks to his swaggering heel persona.

All Japan Pro Wrestling: Mitsuharu Misawa

Mitsuharu Misawa Was A Four-Time Triple Crown Champion In AJPW

When it comes to choosing the best Triple Crown Champion of the massively influential All Japan Pro Wrestling, it basically comes down to Mitsuharu Misawa or Kenta Kobashi. For most AJPW fans, it should be a tough choice — and either one is totally valid — but it’s tough not to choose Misawa.

A four-time Triple Crown Champion, Mitsuharu Misawa was the first of the “Four Pillars” to reach the pinnacle of the promotion and officially establish himself as the ace of the promotion, signaling a new era in AJPW thanks to his landmark victory over the previous ace, Jumbo Tsuruta, in 1990 (via Wrestling Observer). Over the course of his several lengthy reigns, he fought off all comers, from gaijins like Stan Hansen and Steve Williams to fellow pillars like Kobashi and Toshiaki Kawada.

All Elite Wrestling: Jon Moxley

Jon Moxley Is The Only Person To Hold The AEW Championship Three Times

AEW has only been around for a few years with a handful of names to be crowned world champion. Jon Moxley deserves credit for being the best AEW World Champion so far based on multiple stints. The first-ever title change saw Moxley beating Chris Jericho with fans completely invested.

Moxley had a great title reign, with noteworthy matches against Brodie Lee, Eddie Kingston, and Kenny Omega. The recent Interim AEW World Championship reign during CM Punk’s absence added even more to his name as a great world champ. Even without the title, Moxley remains a consistent star in AEW, even when chasing after lesser titles, like the AEW International Championship.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling: Hiroshi Tanahashi

Hiroshi Tanahashi Is An 8-Time IWGP Heavyweight Champion

Another huge promotion to protect their world title by usually only having top-tier names hold it is New Japan. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship and its other incarnations have always been treated with great importance for anyone locking down that top spot. There are a few names who could easily win this spot, but Hiroshi Tanahashi deserves praise. A total of eight title reigns is still the record, and each title run was successful. Tanahashi always delivers in that role which makes him the GOAT, but Kazuchika Okada is close to passing him.

Major League Wrestling: Jacob Fatu

Jacob Fatu Held The MLW World Championship For 819 Days

The MLW Championship has actually been around since the early 2000s when the company first tried to launch. Court Bauer brought the promotion back as an independent company with a smaller TV deal, but the same belt lineage was used.

Jacob Fatu has been the top standout performer for MLW to hold down the top spot and make the title feel important to those who watch the product. MLW has a tougher path than most established companies to create stars, but Fatu’s MLW World Championship reign was the best thus far.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla: Kevin Steen

Kevin Steen Is The Only 3-Time PWG World Champion

The PWG World Championship has one of the most underrated legacies when looking at the iconic names who won that belt earlier in their careers. Kevin Owens aka Kevin Steen should get top billing when breaking down each world champ. The title sees Steen as the only name to hold it three times and to have double-digit successful defenses since they only run a handful of shows per year. Steen’s two latter reigns in the early 2010s helped inject a new life into PWG with more fans giving it a chance.

​​​​​​Lucha Underground: Prince Puma

Prince Puma Held The Lucha Underground Championship Twice

Lucha Underground became a fun secondary promotion doing something different in the wrestling world. Many die-hard fans even viewed Lucha Underground as having the best wrestling television show in years for a season or two before things got sloppy. Ricochet received one of his first big breaks here when he was hired in the first season to play a masked character. Lucha Underground booked Prince Puma as a superhero-type character with Ricochet’s moves making him a must-watch star. Pentagon could easily be viewed as the best Lucha Underground Champion, but Prince Puma represented what the company wanted more.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling: AJ Styles

AJ Styles Was A 5-Time World Champion In TNA (Combined NWA and TNA World Championships)

TNA didn’t always do right by AJ Styles, since they took him out of the main event picture for former WWE stars multiple times. However, Styles proved he was still the heart and soul of the company when he won the TNA World Championship. Fans stormed the ring to celebrate with AJ, showcasing just what he meant to the product. Styles had a couple more world title reigns that always worked due to his wrestling brilliance. TNA witnessed AJ becoming their greatest champion despite often sacrificing him for others.

Ring Of Honor: Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson Was In The Main Event On The First-Ever Ring Of Honor Wrestling Show

Ring of Honor started a movement during a time when wrestling needed something new for young talents to get a chance outside WWE. The pure wrestling and technical style each helped ROH carve its own identity while its performers grew into bigger names. CM Punk, Samoa Joe, and Nigel McGuinness are often argued as the most successful champ, but Bryan Danielson has the best argument. ROH grew as Danielson did, with his reputation becoming known as the best wrestler in the world. Bryan gave his all to ROH to help the promotion thrive during many unstable times.

Extreme Championship Wrestling: Raven

Raven Was A 2-Time ECW World Champion

Paul Heyman knew that he wanted to stand out as being different from WWE and WCW when leading ECW to relevance. Raven’s character summarized exactly what Heyman wanted from underrated performers tapping into their strengths to become stars. The early years of ECW’s first major rise featured Raven as the ECW World Champion during his feuds against Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, and others. ECW tried the same theory of having a dominant heel champ with Shane Douglas, but Raven did the same role with better performances.

World Wrestling Entertainment: Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin Is In The WWE Hall Of Fame

Wrestling fans of different eras might have differing takes on which WWE world champion was the best based on their favorite time. Stone Cold Steve Austin is on the short list of the best WWE talents to thrive in the world title role in a way that changed the business. WWE fans already loved Austin, but his big moment winning the WWE Championship for the first time changed everything. Austin helped lead WWE to record-breaking ratings and made the product feel like a must-watch program. John Cena, Bret Hart, and Hulk Hogan could be considered, but Austin’s accolades stand out more.

World Championship Wrestling: Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan Led The nWo During The Monday Night Wars

Many WCW purists will be livid about someone calling Hulk Hogan the greatest WCW Champion over Sting and Ric Flair, but the success was too glaring. Sting typically did better chasing the belt than defending it. Flair was a great champion, but his biggest success came in the NWA before Crockett Promotions transitioned into WCW. Hogan’s first WCW Championship win as a face, defeating Flair, broke WCW box office records at the time for PPVs. However, it was the shocking heel turn of Hogan joining the nWo that changed the industry. Hogan was the WCW Champion, leading the heel group to WCW’s greatest peak as a promotion.