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The WWE Championship is the most prestigious prize in sports entertainment. Every WWE Superstar dreams of holding the top prize, but only a handful of talents get to win the championship. John Cena has the most reigns with thirteen.
As the top prize, every WWE star who holds the gold tends to step up their game. Naturally, such a coveted prize would mean that the champion has a huge target on his back. Hence, having a memorable championship reign is an arduous task.
A memorable championship reign consists of great matches, a strong, fighting, active champion, incredible storylines and a positive response from the WWE Universe. The WWE Championship reigns analyzed in this slideshow will be assessed in terms of these standards. This slideshow explores five of the most memorable WWE Championship reigns of the past decade.
Note: This list is not exhaustive and represents the views of the author.
#5 John Cena's eleventh WWE Championship reign
The Leader of the Cenation defeated The Great One in their second blockbuster match at WrestleMania 29 to win his eleventh WWE Championship. John Cena and The Rock shook hands after the match. They had an enjoyable match, but the aftermath was even better.
In his eleventh WWE Championship reign, Cena showed that he was deserving of the moniker "The Face That Runs The Place." He held the championship until SummerSlam, dropping it to the overwhelmingly popular Daniel Bryan in one of the best SummerSlam main events.
Ryback was the first to challenge Cena for the WWE Championship. The Big Guy was a rising star back then who had a bright future ahead of him. Cena brought the best out of him as the two fierce rivals put together a slew of brutal, thrilling and hard-hitting matches. Their program saw the return of the three stages of Hell match at Payback.
Then, an underappreciated veteran, Mark Henry, faked retirement to capture the WWE Champion's attention. This led to an interesting program between the two which culminated in a back and forth encounter at Money in the Bank. It was nice to see Henry challenge for the WWE Championship as he deserved one last shot.
The Champ then selected Bryan as his opponent for SummerSlam. Cena was instrumental in building the Beard as a credible challenger when Vince McMahon was skeptical.
There was no downside to his incredible WWE Championship reign. It should have lasted a little longer, but Bryan needed the championship more than Cena did at the time.
#4 Drew McIntyre's first WWE Championship reign
The Scottish Warrior won his first WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 36. Drew McIntyre conquered Brock Lesnar en route to winning the WWE Title in a thrilling, five-minute encounter.
McIntyre would go on to have one of the greatest WWE Championship reigns in recent memory. His impressive first reign lasted 202 days, and he dropped to the demented Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell in October. The Scottish Warrior would regain the title three weeks later, but his second reign wasn't nearly as good as his first one.
During the pandemic era, McIntyre showed everyone that he was WWE Championship material. His matches worked brilliantly and he told fans a great story every time he stepped in the ring. Bobby Lashley, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins all fell victim to McIntyre's devastating Claymore kick.
His match with Rollins at Money in the Bank was one of the best matches of 2020. His programs with Lashley and Ziggler were enjoyable. Orton may have defeated McIntyre, but the Scottish Warrior got the last laugh in an amazing rivalry.
The only regret of McIntyre's first WWE Championship reign was that there was no live crowd to witness him steal the show every night. The WWE Universe cheered him on at home and on-screen in the WWE ThunderDome, but it would've been much better if conditions had allowed that to happen in an arena.
#3 Kofi Kingston's first WWE Championship reign
At WrestleMania 35, Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan in a classic WWE Championship match to win his first World title. It was an incredible journey of eleven, long years and the WWE Universe was elated beyond description. The high-flyer of The New Day had proven that positivity, hard work, perseverance, and dedication bear fruit.
The Dreadlocked Dynamo would go onto become a fighting WWE Champion, just like he promised. His New Day brethren were there for him, but Kingston walked into most of his matches alone without help.
Kevin Owens betrayed him, but he paid for it when Kingston defeated him at Money in the Bank 2019. Dolph Ziggler thought he should've been in the Dreadlocked Dynamo's position, but Kingston proved him wrong, showing that he deserved to be WWE Champion.
Samoa Joe wanted to teach Kingston a lesson and snatch the WWE Championship, but he lost to the WWE Champion at Extreme Rules. Even his arch-rival, Randy Orton, was no match as the Legend Killer lost to Kingston at SummerSlam and Clash of Champions.
Kofi Kingston silenced all of his doubters and showed everyone that he should be a main-stay in the main-event scene. His matches were great, and the programs were even better.
However, Brock Lesnar ended the fairy-tale when he destroyed Kingston in eleven seconds to win the WWE Championship. With all the effort that he put in, Kingston shouldn't have seen his dream crushed within the blink of an eye.
#2 AJ Styles' second WWE Championship reign
The Phenomenal One has won the WWE Championship twice, but his second reign was the one that had everyone talking. While winning the WWE Championship in his rookie year was a huge accomplishment, AJ Styles was WWE Champion for an astounding 371 days in his second reign.
He won the top prize on SmackDown two weeks before Survivor Series by pinning Jinder Mahal, who had run roughshod over the entire roster through the summer. Styles received a huge ovation after winning the belt. When part-timers were holding World Championships, Styles outshined them all as one of the best fighting, active and full-time champions in history.
The Phenomenal WWE Champion successfully defended his title against Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, John Cena, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rusev and Samoa Joe. The Blue Brand had become "The House that AJ Styles Built."
The highlight of his WWE Championship was his personal rivalry with Samoa Joe. Although his program with Shinsuke Nakamura was under-whelming, it was decent enough. His champion versus champion match against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2017 was a match-of-the-year candidate. However, the six-pack challenge match at Fastlane 2018 was arguably the best match he participated in during his reign.
#1 CM Punk's second WWE Championship reign
When WWE fans think of the best WWE Championship reigns, CM Punk's historic second WWE Championship reign must be near the top of the list. For 434 days, the Straight-Edge Superstar epitomized perseverance, commitment and excellence. His reign was the sixth-longest in WWE history.
It would have been the longest World Championship reign of the twenty-first century, but Brock Lesnar broke the record when he held the Universal Championship for 503 days. However, Punk's reign was hailed by the WWE Universe whilst Lesnar's was heavily criticized.
His historic WWE Championship reign lives on in our memory even though CM Punk has long gone from WWE. This is a testament to its greatness. The Straight-Edge Superstar retained his championship against legends like Chris Jericho, Big Show, Kane and John Cena. He also defended against upstarts like Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio.
Highlights of his reign included a slew of incredible matches against John Cena, Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan. His program with Jericho was well-received by the WWE Universe.
Punk was at the top of his game. There was no department in which he didn't impress. However, he didn't have the spotlight for much of his reign. WrestleMania 28 was built around John Cena versus The Rock, and his match with Jericho became an afterthought. Cena closed pay-per-views in his rivalry with Big Show and John Laurinaitis while Punk was relegated to the undercard.
Moreover, he lost the title to the Rock, and was pushed out of the spotlight when he was on track to main-event WrestleMania 29.
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