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The WWE Championship, no matter the name or the champion, has always been the ultimate prize in the sports-entertainment world. The WWE Championship dates back to 1963 when it was awarded to Buddy Rogers in a fictional inaugural tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
The original "Nature Boy" only held the championship for 36 days, yet what the Rogers didn't know is that he would be the inaugural champion for the most prestigious championship in a future world phenomenon in the WWE.
Today we will be listing seven interesting facts about the WWE Championship.
Source: WWE.com.
#1 The WWE Championship has been successfully cashed in for and won eight times
During the entire history of the Money in the Bank, the WWE Championship has successfully been cashed in for only eight times. One would likely assume that the numbers would be in the double digits, yet the World Heavyweight Championship, having now been deactivated for years, is only one cash in lower, at seven.
Regarding unsuccessful WWE Championship cash-ins, there have been only two, those being that of John Cena and Baron Corbin's attempts to win the title. The Universal Championship, the newer title, however, has only had one successful cash in.
#2 It took Bob Backlund nearly 11 years to regain the WWE Championship
Bob Backlund is remembered as a wrestling legend due to his unwavering charisma and technical proficiency in the ring.
Backlund first won the WWE Championship in 1978, holding it for over 2,135 days as recognized by WWE. Though he never tapped out, Backlund lost via his manager throwing in the towel to avoid injury.
Backlund quietly left, only to return in 1992 completely changing his gimmick. He regained the title by defeating Bret Hart the same way he had lost the title many years before. Though his second title reign was only three days, Backlund's return was certainly memorable and he is certainly a legend within the wrestling world.
#3 The WWE Championship has only main-evented 8 pay-per-views since the 2016 Brand Split
Since the 2016 Brand Split, the WWE Championship has had a fair share of memorable matches and feuds. However, the largest issue with the WWE Championship was its lack of importance in comparison to the Universal Championship.
For the first year or so, promoting the Universal Championship made sense. However, since the brand split, the WWE Championship has only main-evented eight pay-per-views. With its prestige and history, the WWE Championship should be elevated to consistently main eventing PPVs.
#4 Ric Flair had the fastest rise to the WWE Championship
While the original 'Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was the inaugural WWF Champion, Ric Flair won the championship only four months after his debut, winning it at the 1992 Royal Rumble.
Though Flair only held the WWE Championship for a combined 118 days between his two combined reigns, his meteoric rise to the WWE Championship stands today against fellow rapid risers to the main event such as AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, and Sheamus.
#5 The WWE Championship has gone through 11 name changes
The WWE Championship had had 51 champions throughout its history, but it has also had 11 name changes. Here are some of the most memorable:
- The WWWF World Heavyweight Championship, the WWE Championship's original name;
- The WWF Heavyweight Championship, its name during the Iron Sheik's reign, Hulk Hogan's first reign, and Andre the Giant's reign;
- The WWF Championship, its name during the memorable title reigns of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the Undertaker, the Rock, Mankind, Ric Flair, HBK, and Bret Hart;
- The Undisputed WWF Championship, its name after Chris Jericho won both the WWF Championship and the WCW Championship;
- The WWE World Heavyweight Championship, its name after Randy Orton won the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship, unifying the titles;
- The WWE Championship, its current and official name.
#6 John Cena has had the most WWE Championship title reigns and 4th longest combined title reigns
While Ric Flair and John Cena might be tied for the most world championships total recognized by the WWE, The Face That Runs The Place, John Cena has had the most WWE Championship title reigns, at 13 total reigns.
Cena's longest reign began after he defeated Edge at WWE Unforgiven in late 2006, holding the championship until it was vacated due to injury over 380 days later.
Cena has defeated the likes of Randy Orton, JBL, Batista, the Rock, and Rey Mysterio, to claim the biggest prize in all of sports-entertainment. All of Cena's reigns combined add up to 1,254 days, which is nearly three and a half years. It's safe to say that John Cena is Mr. "WWE Champion".
#7 WWE title changes by the numbers
The WWE Championship has changed hands on RAW 14 times, on SmackDown four times, and on house shows 12 times.
The non-Wrestlemania pay-per-view in which the WWE Championship has changed hands most is 12, at the annual Survivor Series PPV. The closest PPV would be Royal Rumble, at nine times, and Summerslam, at eight times. Between all WrestleManias, the WWE Championship has changed hands 23 times.
The longest WWE title reigns combined belongs to Bruno Sammartino, who held the championship for 2,803 days between his two title reigns. The shortest reign is Andre the Giant's reign, which only lasted 108 seconds, according to WWE.
The oldest winner is WWE owner Vince McMahon, who won the WWE Championship at 54 years old. This is a difference of 29 years between him and youngest champion, Brock Lesnar, who won the championship at 25 years old.
The heaviest WWE Champion is Yokozuna, who was 568 lbs (258 kg). The lightest WWE Champion was Rey Mysterio, who was also the shortest WWE Champion, was only 175 lbs and was billed at a mere 5'6''.
Lastly, the WWE Championship had had many different champions from many different countries. It has had six Canadian, one Iranian, one French, one Ghanian, one Mexican champion, one Italian champion, one Irish, and 39 American champions.
