5 WWE Superstars who had to wait the longest for a World Championship

Becoming a World Champion in a wrestling promotion is a huge deal. While the WWE's importance on titles may have waned due to some poor booking decisions, there is no doubt that the WWE Championship and the WWE Universal Championship both play integral roles in the functioning of the business.

But, not just anyone can be a World Champion early on in their WWE careers. We do have stories like AJ Styles coming into the company and winning the WWE title in his first year, but these are few and far between. Current WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal, for instance, had to wait 2214 days for his big break and he doesn't even make this list!

So, without any further ado, here is our list of five WWE superstars who had to wait for a World Championship:

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#5 Mark Henry - 4298 days

Mark Henry held the World Heavyweight title

When a guy goes by the nickname of The World's Strongest Man, you expect him to have won some World Titles throughout the length of his career. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Mark Henry as he had to wait nearly 12 years for his first World Championship in the WWE. Being one of Undertaker's former WrestleMania opponents and a long-time employee, one would think that WWE would have given him the world title sooner. Now he's retired at 2017.

The big man enjoyed his most successful run towards the end of his career and it's a shame that he wasn't given a bigger chance during his younger days.

#4 Christian - 3864 days

Christian won the ECW Championship twice

When his best friend, Edge, finally got his big break to become WWE Champion, it seemed like Christian's career was destined to forever be eclipsed by comparison.

And, to be fair, that is still true with "The R-Rated Superstar" has made it as a legit Hall of Famer.

Captain Charisma, though, has had a lot of success in his own right. Despite having had to wait for over 10 years for his initial World Championship - the ECW Title - Christian is now retired as a multi-time World Champion.

#3 JBL - 3109 days

JBL won the WWE Championship once

JBL or John Bradshaw Layfield started his WWE career way back in 1996 and found mid-card fame as a part of the Acolytes. He went by the name of just Bradshaw back then and was a beer drinking Texan.

In 2004, though, a drastic gimmick change saw him emerge as John Bradshaw Layfield - Texan Millionaire - and he was duly rewarded for his work as a universally hated heel with a WWE Championship win. It took him over eight years to make it to the top.

#2 Jeff Hardy - 5305 days

Jeff Hardy has won many titles in the WWE

Jeff Hardy has always been one of the most over guys in the history of the WWE. So, why did it take the company nearly 15 years to give him a shot at a World Championship?

Originally making his debut as a jobber named Keith Davis in 1994, Hardy enjoyed a superb rise to superstardom but didn't break through the glass ceiling until WWE Armageddon 2008, when he won the WWE Championship.

#1 Andre the Giant - 5429 days

Andre The Giant

When you look back at the legend of Andre the Giant, you would assume that he dominated everyone who stood in his path and enjoyed some hugely successful title runs.

Well, not quite. Despite being unpinned and unsubmitted for nearly 15 years, Andre had to wait for more than that for his first WWE Championship.

Nearly 5500 days after making his debut, he finally defeated Hulk Hogan for the belt in 1988 but it proved to be a sham of a title run as he immediately gave up the title to Ted DiBiase, prompting the kayfabe owner of WWE at that time, Jack Tully, to vacate the belt.