Top 8 longest serving superstars in the WWE

Job security is something which isn’t guaranteed in the WWE. Many superstars try to cement their place, but only a few manage to survive. The rest are left behind by the company or released.Among those survivors, there are superstars who are a special breed within themselves, having been able to serve the company for a long time.In this slideshow, we focus our attention on eight of the longest-serving WWE superstars.

#1 Chris Jericho

Tenure: 12 years

Chris Jericho made his debut on the 9th of August, 1999, interrupting The Rock, who was cutting a promo on The Big Show. Jericho entered the arena and proclaimed "Raw is Jericho" and that he had "come to save the World Wrestling Federation", referring to himself as "Y2J".

He made his in-ring WWF debut on the 26th of August in the same year, against Road Dogg – on the first ever episode of Smackdown. Jericho lost to Dogg by disqualification after he power-bombed him through the table.

Jericho’s first feud was with Chyna for the Intercontinental Championship, to whom he lost in the Championship match at Survivor Series. HIs later feud was with Chris Benoit and Christian.

On the 9th of December, 2001, at Vengeance, Jericho defeated both The Rock for the WCW Championship and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship on the same night, to become the first wrestler to hold both championships simultaneously. That made him the first-ever Undisputed WWF Champion .

Jericho returned to the WWE on the 19th of November, 2007 after he left the company at the expiration of his contract on the 25th of August, 2005. He won the Unified Tag Team Championship with Big Show and also the World HeavyWeight Championship. In 2010, his departure from the company was confirmed after he was punted by Randy Orton.

Jericho returned to the WWE after a one-year absence on the 2nd of January, 2012 and competed in his match since leaving the company at the Royal Rumble. He faced CM Punk at WrestleMania 2012. Since then, the Savior has had irregular runs in the WWE.

Chris Jericho is presently engaged with his band Fozzy, but he does make some part-time WWE appearances.

#2 Big Show

Tenure: 15 years

Big Show signed a signed a 10-year contract with the WWF on February 9, 1999, debuting as a villainous member of Vince McMahon's stable ‘The Corporation’ at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House. Show tore through the canvas from underneath the ring in the match between Mr. McMahon and Stone Cold and attacked Austin, but he couldn’t stop the Texas Rattlesnake from winning.

Big Show won his 1st WWF Championship in a triple-threat match against The Rock and Triple H, where he pinned Triple H for the title. After being traded to SmackDown, the giant immediately challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.

On the 4th of July, he won his first ECW Championship, defeating Rob Van Dam.

After a short spell outside, he returned to the company in 2008. Since then, he has been involved in various feuds, including the storyline with Kane.

Show had his first singles WrestleMania moment after he defeated Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII. He then went on to win the World HeavyWeight Championship, defeating Sheamus at Hell in a Cell.

Big Show is presently involved in a feud against The Authority. He’s one of the five men in John Cena’s team who will take on The Authority.

#3 Mark Henry

Tenure: 18 years

Mark Henry made his debut at the age of 24 on 11th of March, 1996, having signed an incredible 10-year contract with the WWF immediately after the 1996 Summer Olympics. It is worth mentioning that Henry signed the contract even before having wrestled in a single match.

Henry had his first feud with Jerry Lawler. At Summerslam 1996, Henry came to the aid of Jake Roberts who was suffering at the hands of Lawler. But Henry got bruised himself, and he soon had to take a break to heal his injuries.

When he returned a couple of months later, he nicknamed himself ‘Sexual Chocolate’, and he was also involved in controversies with Chyna.

In 2000, Henry was sent to the Ohio Valley Wrestling for improving his wrestling skills. He returned to the WWE in 2002 but was again sent back to Ohio for further training. He returned for good in 2003 but in the month of February 2004, he tore his quadriceps muscles at a practice season, which then forced him to sit out for over a year.

Henry’s return to the WWE saw the company push him hard, placing him in matches against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 22. Henry managed to win his first World Heavyweight Championship in 2011; it had thus taken him 15 years to reach the milestone.

Henry is currently engaged in a feud with The Big Show.

#4 Kane

Tenure: 19 years

Glenn Thomas Jacobs (Kane) made his first WWF appearance on the 26th of June, 1995 as the evil Dr. Isaac Yankem. He made his in-ring debut on the 15th of August, 1995 at a Superstars taping.

After Kevin had left for the WCW, Jacobs played the character of fake Diesel as Mr. McMahon didn’t seem ready to give up on the gimmick. He was later repackaged as a masked character named The Big Red Machine and the younger brother of The Undertaker. Together, the two were known as the Brothers of Destruction.

On the 23rd of June, 2003, Kane removed his mask and turned into a heel, leading to some inconsistent storylines.

Aged 46 at present, Kane is The Authority's Director of Operations, but he still has the aura that is required to be among the big name superstars on the roster.

#5 Triple H

Tenure: 19 years

Hunter Hearst Helmsley made his WWF debut on the 30th of April, 1995, approximately two months ahead of Kane. At the start of his WWF career, he played the character of a blue-blood snob. But he was later rebranded as Triple H, following which he married the boss Mr. McMahon’s daughter.

Behind the scenes, he is also a high-ranking executive within corporate WWE.

With Triple H joining the WWF from WCW, the backstage group Kliq seemed to have no problem accepting him as their member. He won the King of the Ring competition in 1997, defeating Mankind. and that same year, D-Generation X was formed.

Vince, at the same time, appreciated Triple H’s loyalty for not leaving the WWF while his other friends kept getting lured by the big money offers from Eric Bischoff.

Helmsley, who created the Authority along with his wife, Stephanie, is now one of the last Attitude Era competitors still working in the WWE.

#6 Jerry \'The King\' Lawler

Tenure: 21 years

Jerry “The King” Lawler made his WWF debut during the winter of 1992.

Lawler's career as a full-time wrestler was relatively short-lived, lasting 10 years in the WWF from 1992 to 2001. But from then on, he has been working as a commentator and a part-time wrestler.

Although his full-time wrestling career wasn’t the longest, he did have some amazing feuds, like the one against Bret Hart and the rest of the Hart Family. The feud began with Lawler interrupting The Hitman’s victory ceremony by attacking him.

Lawler also had feuds with Vince McMahon, The Ultimate Warrior and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.

His later half of the career saw him in a feud against The Miz and Michael Cole. Lawler won a #1 Contenders match for the WWE Championship, earning a right to face the Champion at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. But he couldn’t defeat The Miz and so ended up in a feud with Michael Cole for WrestleMania.

In his first ever WrestleMania match Lawler was all set to face Michael Cole, but he lost by way of disqualification.

Even though he missed out on some episodes because of a sudden heart-attack in 2012, Lawler is still working as a commentator in the WWE.

#7 Shawn Michaels

Tenure: 22 years

Shawn Michaels made his debut as a part of The Rockers along with his team-mate Marty Jannetty on the 7th of July, 1988. The Rockers split and Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid”, going on to become an all-time fan favourite.

Michaels had to take some time off after his WrsestleMania defeat to Diesel for the WWF Championship. He returned in May 1995, and managed to win the Intercontinental Championship from Jeff Jarett.

The following year, Michaels won the Royal Rumble for the second time. He went on to defeat The Hitman for the WWF Championship in an hour-long Iron Man Match. He formed the D-Generation X (DX) in 1997.

He sustained a back injury in 1998 which forced him to retire for a while, but he returned with a vengeance in 2002, becoming the only non-WCW member of nWo. He was later engaged in a feud with Triple H.

Well known as Mr. WrestleMania, Michaels faced The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 while trying to end the streak. Although he failed, the match between the two went into the history books as the greatest match ever played in the history of the event.

HBK faced The Deadman for a second consecutive time in WrestleMania with the same objective, his career at stake. But he again failed to defeat The Undertaker, which forced him to retire from the company. The very next year, he was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Michaels, at present, is indulged with the WWE for part-time appearances as a non-wrestler.

#8 The Undertaker

Tenure: 23 years

The Undertaker, without any doubt, is the longest serving superstar in the WWE.

Ever since starting his career on the 19th of November, 1990, with an official on-screen debut on the 22nd of that very month at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Callaway has never looked back. He won his first WWF Championship (now the WWE Championship) against Hulk Hogan in the same event a year later, and with the passage with of time, he turned into a global icon for many – both within the WWE and outside.

Through the course of his career, The Undertaker managed to win 7 World Championships, 6 Tag-Team Titles and a WWF Hardcore Championship. But in addition to these championships he was able to create something which will forever define his legacy: the WrestleMania streak.

The Phenom defeated 21 other superstars who confronted him with a challenge, trying to make a name for themselves at the grandest stage of them all, but eventually falling prey to The Deadman’s fury.

Although his streak of 21-0 ended after Brock Lesnar defeated him at WrestleMania XXX, his match at WrestleMania XXXI against Sting is eagerly anticipated.