10 Most Underrated WWE Title Reigns

Tomorrow (November 29) is the fifty-fifth birthday of WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion and one time head of the locker room welcoming committee, John Bradshaw Layfield.

It still, some seventeen-and-a-half years later, seems incredible that JBL not only held the WWE Title, but held it for as long as he did.

It was a noteworthy reign for a talent who had struggled to break out of the midcard pack beforehand, his most famous role being as the beer-drinking, poker-playing enforcer in the APA.

His lone WWE Title reign was not warmly received at the time and today doesn't really get the credit it truly deserves.

JBL's WWE Title reign is not alone in that regard, as across WWE, World Heavyweight Title and other world title reigns, there have been several that don't get their due for one reason or another.

Where does JBL's rank among them and why do some other runs from industry legends overlooked?

10. Bret Hart (1997)

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Bret Hart was a WWE Champion you could be proud of.

He was credible, he always put in the effort and, nine times out of ten, he'd give you a great match.

He won the title in 1992, '94 and '95, having three commendable runs. He won it again at In Your House: Final Four in '97, only to lose it the next day to Sycho Sid.

He captured the strap again one final time later in the year, beating The Undertaker at SummerSlam and holding it until Survivor Series where, well, you know.

This last reign only lasted 98 days and was thus The Hitman's second shortest reign (after his 24 hour one), but Bret was good value for it during that time.

People tend to remember the sour note his reign ended on, but Hart packed a lot in to his three or so months on top. He got a really strong match out of the Patriot at In Your House: Ground Zero, had an unheralded classic with 'Taker at One Night Only and had a few decent scraps on Raw with the likes of Vader and Ken Shamrock.

He also continued doing some of the best promo work of his career in the ongoing Canada versus USA rivalry.

9. Rey Mysterio (2006)

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When people discuss Rey Mysterio's (unlikely) 2006 World Heavyweight Title reign, they tend to focus on the negatives.

It's true that Rey's road to WrestleMania 22, where he triumphed over Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a triple-threat match, was bungled. It's also true that, after becoming champ, Mysterio was not the beneficiary of favourable booking, as he was routinely battered by everyone from Finlay to the Great Khali.

But there was a lot of good to enjoy, too, specifically when it came to Rey's title defenses.

He had bangers with Orton and Angle on television and ripped it up with JBL on pay-per-view (at Judgment Day) and SmackDown. While reigning as champ, he also had a hell of a dream match against Sabu at the second ECW One Night Stand.

Mysterio was a popular champion and held the title with pride. It took a minute to get used to someone so small in stature holding the World HEAVYWEIGHT Title, but Rey was good and believable that he was able to continue to suspend disbelief in high-pressure situations.

The match in which he lost the gold - to King Booker at The Great American Bash - was also also excellent and ended his reign on a high note.

8. The Ultimate Warrior

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Roundly considered a major flop as WWE Champion, it's important to remember the act The Ultimate Warrior had to follow.

Jim Hellwig was expected to fill the shoes of Hulk Hogan, who was going on a break for a while after holding the title for a year and, really, carrying much of the load for the previous six years.

Warrior beat Hogan in what was considered a 'torch passing' match and moment at WrestleMania VI and set about grafting hard to live up to the expectations.

He was never going to be the Hulkster, but he was still enormously popular and, despite his reputation as being a subpar worker, had many thrilling title defenses against Rick Rude, Ted DiBiase and Randy Savage.

He didn't measure up as a draw, but Warrior's lone run with the WWE Title did yield some highlights.

7. The Miz (2010 - 2011)

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I know that some felt as though WWE (if not the world) was about to end when The Miz, of all people, became WWE Champion in November 2010.

But, all things considered, his run wasn't half bad. It wasn't an all-timer or anything, but the man who came to WWE via reality television worked tirelessly to improve and was actually - GASP! - a respectable champion.

He had a couple of decent matches with Randy Orton on pay-per-view, a really good Falls Count Anywhere bout with former partner John Morrison on the January 3, 2011 Raw and had a shockingly great mini-programme with Jerry Lawler, which produced decent matches at Elimination Chamber 2011 and on Raw.

Miz grew in confidence during his reign and showed that he had the tools to carry the ball. He played it just right, ramping up his more unlikable qualities and being the furthest thing from a 'cool' champion. Fans couldn't wait to see him finally get beaten.

Hell, he even got a WrestleMania main event match with John Cena out of it (which he won), something nobody would have called as early as a year beforehand.

He held onto the strap for 160 days before, inevitably, dropping it to Cena. Not bad at all for a performer who, just a few years earlier, was banished from the locker room for eating chicken over a veteran's bag.

6. King Booker

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In a just world, Booker T would have been given a run with one of WWE's major titles long before he won it in the summer of 2006 *cough* WrestleMania XIX *cough*.

When it did finally come, it was worth the wait for the former five-time WCW World Champion.

The truth is, Booker had been floundering for a while before winning the King of the Ring and adopting the royal guise. He dethroned Rey Mysterio at the 2006 Great American Bash, before engaging in a long series with backstage adversary Batista.

He bested The Animal at SummerSlam and (in a four-way also featuring Bobby Lashley and Finlay) No Mercy, before dropping it to him at Survivor Series.

Booker also managed to squeeze in a defense against WWE Champion John Cena and ECW Champion Big Show at Cyber Sunday, after fans voted for his title to be put on the line in their triple threat match.

King Booker was a great character and a very respectable champion, aided well by his King's Court stable (Finlay, William Regal and wife Sharmell). Entertaining on the microphone and rock-solid between-the-ropes, he wore the gold well.

5. Eddie Guerrero

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Eddie Guerrero's improbable WWE Title victory over Brock Lesnar at No Way Out 2004 was cause for celebration for Eddie, his colleagues and fans alike.

Long considered undersized and not fitting the typical mould Vince McMahon looks for, the call to switch the title was made after Latino Heat's popularity exploded, his presence on SmackDown noticeably growing the blue brand's Hispanic demographic.

But winning the title was just the start. The hard work would be holding it, as Guerrero soon found out.

He had a great match with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XX but, after the dust had settled on the Showcase of the Immortals, it became clear that SmackDown had a dearth of top-level talent for Eddie to work with.

After another cracking televised defense over Rey Mysterio, Guerrero began a programme with JBL.

And, as Bradshaw himself as stated many times over the years, Eddie really made the JBL character. Their bloodbath at Judgment Day was spectacular and their Bullrope rematch at The Great American Bash was a worthy sequel.

Eddie had a hard time being champion, feeling the pressure of being the face of a brand that had a depleted roster and often poor creative direction.

He did a much better time than he probably realised, holding the title for 133 days and having a couple of really great feuds and matches in that period of time.

4. The Undertaker (2009 - 2010)

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There was a widely-held belief in WWE that Undertaker didn't really 'need' to hold the WWE/World (or any) title, because the gimmick itself was so over.

His didn't have many reigns over his near three-decade long career, and when he did hold the big one it was usually for a short length of time.

The last of his three World Heavyweight Title reigns was one of his best. It began at - and inside of - Hell in a Cell, when the Deadman beat CM Punk. The match itself wasn't one of their better efforts together, but 'Taker had his share of crackers over the ensuing months.

His four-way victory over Punk, Batista and Rey Mysterio at Bragging Rights was good, as too was his triple threat triumph over Chris Jericho and Big Show at Survivor Series.

His Chairs Match (ugh) win over Batista at TLC was expectedly sturdy, while his defense against Rey Mysterio at the 2010 Royal Rumble is one of the better David versus Goliath matches you're likely to find this side of Sing versus Vader.

On television, 'Taker had more good defenses against Mysterio and Punk.

Eventually, he lost the gold to Chris Jericho at - and inside of the - Elimination Chamber, when Shawn Michaels attacked him in order to get his WrestleMania rematch.

The Phenom was on rare form for the 140 days he held the title, the last of his career before he transitioned into a special occasions only performer.

3. Sheamus (2012)

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When Sheamus won his first WWE Title (beating John Cena at TLC 2009), it was clear that he was really far from ready for the spot.

When he won his next major world title - the World Heavyweight Championship - in 2012, he was far more ready to have a proper run with it.

After winning the Royal Rumble, the Celtic Warrior famously beat Daniel Bryan with one move in eighteen seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII.

Though fans were initially shocked that D-Bry's reign had ended in such fashion and disappointed that they never got a long match between two standouts, they'd get plenty of opportunities to see the two go at it, including in a great 2 out of 3 Falls match at Extreme Rules.

Sheamus continued to plug away and add to his good match resume as the months passed. He beat Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton in a four-way at Over the Limit, before besting Dolph Ziggler at No Way Out and Del Rio on three consecutive occasions (at Money in the Bank, SummerSlam and Night of Champions).

He finally dropped it to a resurgent Big Show in a brutal slugfest at Hell in a Cell, ending his reign at an impressive 210 days. It was one of the longest reigns in the title's history and the Great White really grew as a worker, talker and overall character during it.

2. Randy Savage (1988 - 1989)

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Like The Ultimate Warrior a couple of years later, Randy Savage had an uphill task being WWE Champion after Hulk Hogan.

Especially with The Hulkster hanging around as his sometimes tag partner while trying to seduce Miss Elizabeth, but anyway...

The Macho Man had all the tools to be the top guy and was a great choice to win the tournament for the vacant belt at WrestleMania IV.

After beating One Man Gang, Greg Valentine, Butch Reed and Ted DiBiase on the Grandest Stage of Them All, Savage hit the road and defended the title pretty much every night for the next year.

This included televised defenses against Gang and DiBiase, as well as Andre the Giant, Haku and Bad News Brown. He never had a big pay-per-view defense, since those were fewer and further between back in those days, but Savage had good matches elsewhere and, overall, fit the bill as champion.

His ostentatious style and over-the-top character were tailor-made for things like talk shows and Savage truly felt like a superstar while holding the belt.

All told, he reigned as WWE Champion for just over a year before dropping it to his former Mega Powers partner at WrestleMania V. Savage's 1992 run as WWE Champion was also decent.

1. JBL

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Back in 2004, I hated JBL as WWE Champion.

That, of course, was the point.

Reinvented after an age as a babyface tag teamer, John Bradshaw Layfield turned heel and was positioned in the headline spot after SmackDown suffered a number of setbacks like Brock Lesnar quitting, as well as Kurt Angle and Big Show suffering injuries.

Unafraid to be a proper antagonist and get real heat, JBL really went for the jugular in promos and angles, especially during his first feud with Eddie Guerrero.

After he beat Latino Heat at the Great American Bash, the tall Texan had high-profile defences against Guerrero (in a cage on SmackDown), The Undertaker (SummerSlam and No Mercy), Booker T (Survivor Series) and then, to end the year, against all three (at Armageddon).

Most expected JBL to be a transitional champ, predicting that he would flop hard in the role.

What was great about JBL is that he always only just escaped with the gold by the skin of his teeth and he did everything to be a true heel, even going so far as to reject having his own merchandise for sale.

In early 2005 he had more strong matches with the likes of Kurt Angle and Big Show (at Royal Rumble and No Way Out), before passing the baton to John Cena at WrestleMania 21.

When Cena did finally win the WWE Title for the first time, fans were as happy to see him win it as they were relieved that someone had finally managed to get it away from JBL after he'd been in possession of it for 280 days.

Job done.