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Chris Jericho. Goldust. Big Show. Randy Orton. John Cena. These men have all been a part of WWE for well over a decade, with some of them approaching the 20-year mark. But hey, you already knew that.
For wrestling fans, it feels like these guys have been around forever, and not just because they have. When superstars spend such a long time in the spotlight, their tenure feels even longer than it actually is. So if it feels like John Cena debuted a lifetime ago, there's a good reason for it.
These guys have been major players in WWE for their entirety of their storied careers. But there is a larger sample of superstars who have been in the company quite a long time as well, just in a smaller role, or not in a role at all.
There are numerous lower level superstars whose careers are approaching or have already surpassed a decade in length, and you would never guess who they are. From former champions to jobbers, these superstars are proof that if WWE likes you enough, you can have a long career whether fans realise it or not.
#10 Tye Dillinger, signed in 2006
Tye Dillinger's debut as the 10th entrant in the Royal Rumble was well deserved and a long time coming. Dillinger's rise to WWE's main roster has been well-documented thanks to his long career in developmental and WWE's version of ECW, which might as well have been considered developmental as well.
Dillinger signed with WWE all the way back in 2006 and was sent to their developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. In the era of NXT, people sometimes forget that Florida Championship Wrestling was even a thing, let alone its predecessor, OVW.
Dillinger then made his way to TV, albeit briefly, as Gavin Spears on ECW. That debut was in 2008 and he was released shortly after in January of 2009. He then made sporadic appearances for other promotions but never signed on long-term until he returned to WWE as part of NXT in 2013.
You could argue that since he was away from WWE for roughly 4 years, he hasn't really been in the company that long. But the fact that he started 11 years ago is notable, and since he never really joined another promotion, he truly is a WWE lifer. Dillinger's career is a memorable story, to say the least.
#9 Alicia Fox, signed in 2006
It's pretty surprising that Alicia Fox has managed to stick around this long. She isn't bad, per se, but she isn't great at anything either. In fact, her wrestling ability has basically become a meme. Fans sarcastically refer to her match with Melina as one of the best of all time as a reference to when Cameron seriously said so on Tough Enough.
Nevertheless, she has been in WWE a long time and is their longest tenured female superstar. Foxy lived through the days of the Divas, even becoming Divas Champion in 2010, and now she's made the transition to the new WWE since the Women's Revolution. No, she's not hanging with the likes of Sasha Banks and Charlotte and putting on instant classics in the ring, but she's found her niche.
She's mainly been used as a valet lately, first for Cedric Alexander and then for Noam Dar. And she's actually pretty good at that. She plays the crazy girlfriend/ex-girlfriend role perfectly.
Despite this talent, it's still a bit of a surprise she's still around. WWE is quickly starting to prioritise wrestling ability over anything else, hence the absence of nearly all of the female superstars from the era of the Divas Championship. But Foxy has stuck around, and if she's still under contract this time next year, that will make 12 consecutive years for her in WWE.
#8 Big E, signed in 2009
Big E has come a long way from being just another former football player who made the transition to professional wrestling. After a long time trying to find something that sticks, Big E has carved out what is likely a Hall of Fame career as a member of the New Day. But the effort to find something that works may have taken longer than you realise.
Big E signed with FCW in 2009, back when he still had the last name "Langston". He even held the FCW tag team championship before moving on to NXT where he would capture more gold. He became the second ever NXT Champion by defeating Seth Rollins in January of 2013.
But through all of this, Big E never really had a character. He couldn't find what fit him best. His alignment with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee and his Intercontinental title run were both forgettable. It wasn't until he found the New Day that everything clicked for the former Iowa Hawkeye.
Perhaps that's why Big E's tenure feels shorter than it actually is. The New Day has only been around since 2014, and that's likely the only thing that he'll be remembered for. So in essence, his career might as well only be three years old.
Either way, Big E is an instrumental piece in one of the greatest stables in WWE history. That's plenty to be proud of even if the first half of his career didn't stack up.
#7 Bo Dallas, signed in 2008
Bo Dallas has probably been in WWE longer than you'd expect, mainly because you probably forget he exists from time to time. Prior to his recent admittance into the Miztourage, Dallas was doing absolutely nothing. He had a strange run where he was defeating jobbers for weeks and carrying around a political sign, but then again that may have just been a fever dream.
Despite his general lack of involvement, Dallas has been in WWE for quite a while. Although it may seem like a lifetime ago, Dallas was NXT Champion in 2013. But he was actually with the company well before this as he signed all the way back in 2008 and reported to FCW shortly after, where he would remain until their rebrand to NXT in 2012.
Dallas, like Alicia Fox, is another example of someone who is usually so underutilised, it's amazing he's stuck around in WWE for this long. Before joining the Miztourage, Dallas was rarely seen on WWE TV at all, not even as a jobber. That makes you wonder what exactly his value is to WWE if they're not even using him to lose, a la Curt Hawkins.
And speaking of Curt Hawkins...
#6 Curt Hawkins, signed in 2006
Curt Hawkins only came back to WWE recently, but what's surprising is that he was only away from the company for a very brief period. He last appeared in NXT in 2014 and resurfaced following the brand split in July of 2016. So the man who created his own star factory only had a 2-year hiatus from WWE.
But what's more interesting about Hawkins is he's one of the most experienced active members of the WWE roster. He signed in 2006 and bounced around from the main roster to developmental, which may have contributed to the feeling of him not being in WWE as long as he really has.
Hawkins started in developmental, then went to SmackDown as part of La Familia with Edge and Zack Ryder. He then went back down to FCW, then back up as a member of the Gatecrashers with Vance Archer. And finally, he was sent down yet again, this time to NXT, to team with Tyler Reks and eventually become a solo jobber before being released.
Now Hawkins is back again to make us face the facts. And with such impressive career longevity, we may be facing the facts for a long time, even he's just kept around to put over other talents.
#5 Roman Reigns, signed in 2010
No matter what, it all seems to come back to Roman Reigns, doesn't it? The golden boy of WWE, the Big Dog, the man who now owns a brand new yard, Reigns is still the centrepiece of the company and has been for a couple years. But to some, it may come as a surprise to know he signed back in 2010.
People probably don't typically think of Reigns as a former FCW guy. It feels like this chiselled ex-football player just showed up with the Shield one day and that was that. But Reigns spent some time in FCW as Leakee, wrestling the likes of Richie Steamboat, Leo Kruger, and even his future Shield mates Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins on a regular basis.
Although the Shield was wildly successful, Reigns solo mega-push didn't begin until 2014. He had already been with the company for 4 years by that point. That's by no means an eternity, but it brings some perspective.
A lot of people, particularly the Reigns haters, seem to believe he just showed up one day and was handed everything on a silver platter. In reality, the man has been in WWE nearly a decade.
#4 Bray Wyatt, signed in 2009
The second son of IRS to appear on this countdown, Bray Wyatt, like his brother, signed with WWE in 2009. Like so many others, he began his career in FCW under a much more generic name. Actually, he used several generic names, including Alex Rotundo and Duke Rotundo before finally transforming to Husky Harris for the second season of the game show version of NXT.
After his stint with the Nexus ran its course, he returned to FCW where he created the character of Bray Wyatt, which he would continue to use when WWE created the version of NXT we know and love today. And finally, he would come up to the main roster flanked by his family, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, with a gimmick that stuck.
It's easy to forget that Wyatt was ever Husky Harris. After all, the most notable thing he did was get punted in the head by Randy Orton. And in general, people probably try to forget the game show version of NXT ever happened since it was so absurd at times.
But Bray was there through it all, and he's been in WWE for over 8 years.
#3 Sheamus, signed in 2006
When you think of the most successful active WWE superstars, Sheamus probably doesn't come to mind immediately. But he's having one of the quietest Hall of Fame careers someone could possibly have. He's an Intercontinental title reign away from being a grand slam champion, he's a 4-time world champion, and a former Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, and King of the Ring winner.
Perhaps Sheamus flying under the radar is due to him not being as captivating as he could be. After all, his last world title reign was far from memorable, even if it did serve to get Roman Reigns over as a babyface for the first time ever. And with the Celtic Warrior flying under the radar, you may not realise how long his career has actually been.
He signed in 2006 and started in FCW before moving up to ECW in 2009 and becoming one of their biggest stars. It wasn't long after that that Sheamus captured his first world title, defeating John Cena for the WWE Championship just 166 days after his debut on the main roster.
Sheamus has had an incredible career, but since he spent 3 years in developmental and his ECW days are perhaps forgotten by some, it may not seem like his career has already lasted over a decade.
#2 Fandango, signed in 2006
Fandango is yet another superstar who signed back in 2006 and has been with WWE for the long haul. Dango first started in Deep South Wrestling as Johnny Curtis, a ring name he would carry with him for 6 years.
He's a 2-time FCW tag team champion, winning the titles once with Tyler Reks and again with Derrick Bateman, now known as Ethan Carter III in Impact Wrestling. He was even involved in an FCW Heavyweight title program at one point, although he was unsuccessful.
He also participated in the 4th season of NXT, still the game show version, and ended up winning the entire thing. But as we know now, that doesn't exactly mean much. He returned to the newly branded NXT shortly after, before finally coming up to the main roster as the obnoxious ballroom dancer, Fandango.
Fandango has had a whirlwind of a career. He's been a part of several different developmental territories, he won a game show, and he even beat Chris Jericho at WrestleMania. And now he's part of one of the most beloved tag teams on the SmackDown roster.
Much of what Fandango has done in his career hasn't been memorable, which is likely why it doesn't seem like his tenure, like Sheamus', is going on almost 12 years.
#1 Konnor, signed in 2005
This is by far the most surprising factoid in this countdown. Konnor, one-half of the wildly successful, er, mildly successful tag team the Ascension, first signed with WWE in 2005. He was assigned to Deep South Wrestling where he became DSW Heavyweight Champion and defended the title against the likes of Mike Knox and MVP before losing it to Bradley Jay.
Konnor was actually slated to be part of the ECW roster in 2006, but violated the company's wellness policy, nixing those plans. He would eventually move on to FCW before taking a brief hiatus from wrestling altogether. So although he hasn't been performing in WWE for 12 years straight, he signed on very early and it's still the only promotion he's worked aside from a brief stint in NWA.
Upon his return to WWE in 2010, Konnor competed in the game show version of NXT before becoming a part of the Ascension which was then comprised of Konnor and the superstars now known as Epico, Bram, and Raquel Diaz. The group was then shrunk to just Konnor and Bram before Viktor replaced him.
Konnor has been through quite a lot and is one-half of the longest reigning NXT tag team champions ever. But the fact that he signed with WWE all the way back in 2005 is nothing short of shocking to learn.
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