Rank These Hypothetical 1996 WWF Title Wins

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Owen Hart
British Bulldog
Vader
Ahmed Johnson
Marc Mero
Goldust
Faarooq
The Ultimate Warrior
HHH
Mankind
Steve Austin
Mark Henry
Rocky Maivia

All guys management was excited about to varying degrees that year. Most never held the WWF title, one already had it, and a few became massive stars with it a little while later. Oddly enough Rocky, Austin, and HHH were three of the least likely to win it out of the list.

In fact the only scenario I see Rocky winning is via fluke, possibly after Sid issues an open challenge at the December In Your House. The IWC would eat him alive and he'd possibly never recover.

Also, just wanted to state that I did not rank mine in order, but just listed names as I thought about this year. I was tempted to add a few more, but it's a long list as it is.

[chronocross]

Vader-definitely was a favorite to get the title, would have been believable winning it similar to how he beat Sting in 1992.
Ahmed Johnson-he was over and they were really pushing him, being injury prone definitely took the sting out of any chances he had at the title.
Warrior-didn't think he had a chance at it
Austin-still too early
Bulldog-mostly a title defense for guys like HBK, Bret, etc.
Owen-see Bulldog
Faarooq-if you mean blue Nerf helmet wearing Faarooq, then no but if it was NOD Faarooq, he might have had a chance.
Mark Henry-Nope.
Marc Mero-more comfortable as a midcard guy, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Mankind-at this point in his career, he was mostly a roadblock, a force to be reckoned with,didn't need the title.

[Mozenrath]

Of these, Mankind could have probably worked, but it would have been very short-term. Vader certainly would have worked, but his downward turn would have still happened, it'd just have been a bit slower.

Warrior was checked out by then, it would have been pretty terrible. Not sure where Bulldog's head was at then, but even before the trapdoor, he was headed for disaster eventually.

Owen could have worked, but I see him losing it after being too proud to accept Bret's help, allowing himself to be manipulated. Always the Starscream, never the Megatron.

Austin needed a bit more time. I'm sure he would have risen to the occasion, but there's a reason he preferred to chase belts than to have them.

Rock and Mark, especially Mark, were definitely not ready yet.

Ahmed would have prrrrobably been alright for a bit, but he wasn't getting any younger, sloppy, and he believed his own hype too much.

[sfvega]

Stone Cold was done just right, as well as Rock. So they didn't really need to jump the gun on those guys. Trips wasn't there yet at all. Warrior was trash by that time. Bulldog and Owen could have both been groomed to be world champs, but by that time, their momentum had slowed to a crawl. It would have seemed completely out of nowhere. Mankind maybe would have worked, but I'm skeptical. The crowd definitely would have needed some convincing.

So of the ones listed, Vader would have been the top. He was an easy fit for WWE monster ala Yoko, Sid, Mable, etc at that time. If they had put the machine behind him like Vince loved to do for lesser talents than him (MABLE), he would have been a serious monster heel that everyone bought as champ and could have elevated any number of talents. Farooq also as a solid former world champ with a legit athletic background. Ahmed Johnson was mad over for a time, so he could have worked in a short-term capacity. Such a weird wrestler, came out of nowhere, got over like crazy, and fell completely off the face of the earth in a matter of like 2 years. Goldust also would have worked at that time. Giving him the belt would have elicited a lot of reactions, not to mention that gimmick in that time period.....well, let's just say a lot of people would have paid to see the sideshow/the sideshow get beat up. And Dustin was still a very, very good wrestler at the time. And today, too.