British WWE Champions
Drew McIntyre made history on at Wrestlemania 36 when he became the first British wrestler to become WWE Champion. He won the legendary championship in 2020 from Brock Lesnar in the main event of Wrestlemania, albeit in front of zero fans due to COVID 19.
With his victory he became the first ever Briton to hold a World Championship in the WWE. In the 60 year history of the title, many British stars had challenged for the WWE Championship but they had always fallen at the final hurdle.
Drew McIntyre did not fall. He eliminated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar en route to winning the 2020 Royal Rumble match, outlasting 29 other man. He challenged Brock Lesnar in the Wrestlemania 36 main event for the title, making history as both the first British Royal Rumble winner and first British WWE Champion.
The lack of crowds spoiled his time as champion somewhat but Drew McIntyre made the best of the awful situation he was put into. He defended the title against Big Show, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton before shockingly losing the belt to Orton at Hell in a Cell 2020.
On 16 November episode of Raw, Drew McIntyre regained the WWE Championship after defeating Randy Orton in a no disqualification match. This marked his second WWE title reign and booked a champion vs champion match against Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, which McIntyre could lose.
He lost his second and so far final WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber 2021 when The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. The title soon went to Bobby Lashley, who McIntyre was unfortunate to lose to at Wrestlemania 37.
British Wrestlers Who Should Have Won The WWE Championship
William Regal – The former WWE and AEW star came close to becoming WWE Champion in 2008. He was on the cusp of a main event run as the Raw General Manager and a feud with Triple H over the WWE Championship but drug issues derailed his push and cost him his one shot at being the first British WWE Champion.
Wade Barrett – The Nexus leader and current WWE Commentator seemed destined to win the WWE Championship in 2010. He won a title shot by winning the NXT Gameshow and with the might of the Nexus behind him, he seemed certain to hold the title. Sadly, John Cena had to win and ruined the groups momentum. Barrett never got near to his previous success and retired in 2016.
British Bulldog – One of the most popular British stars in WWE history is Davey Boy Smith AKA The British Bulldog. As part of a tag team with Dynamite Kid, he became one of the best tag teams in WWE history but never managed to become WWE Champion. He did come second in the 1995 Royal Rumble match, being eliminated by the winner Shawn Michaels.
PAC – Former NXT Champion PAC, AKA Neville, had all the talent to become WWE Champion but never got backed enough by WWE management. He came close to beating Seth Rollins in 2015 for the title, with one of the best false finishes of all time.
Dynamite Kid – the innovative cruiserweight wrestler innovated the junior heavyweight style still used in Japan and is considered one of the greatest British wrestlers of all time. Like his former partner British Bulldog, he also never got to taste world championship gold in the WWE.
Billy Robinson – The iconic legend of wrestling is known worldwide as one of the best of all time, even though his spell in the WWE was short. He is most famous in Japan for helping create the “strong style” that became famous with Antonio Inoki, with his influence felt to this day.
He challenged for the WWE Championship only once in his career. He wrestled then-WWE Champion Bob Backlund in a match in 1982 for the championship, with the bout ending in a 60 minute draw and the title reverting back to Backlund.
