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#4 Longest reigning World Champion in Smackdown's History
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John Bradshaw Layfield defeated Eddie Guerrero at The Great American Bash 2004 to win his first and only WWE Championship. JBL's reign lasted 280 days, making him the longest reigning World Champion exclusive to Smackdown. John Cena's reign in 2005 also lasted 280 days but he was drafted to Raw in June 2005. After the brand split ended in 2011, it looked like JBL's record would never be broken.
Look who just shut down all of Tony Khan's critics! More HERE.
However, the brand split was once again announced in 2016. AJ Styles was chosen as Smackdown's second pick and has remained with the Blue Brand since then. Over a year later on 7th November 2017, AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win his 2nd WWE Championship. In August 2018, AJ Styles' reign crossed the 280-day mark and Styles broke JBL's 14-year old record and became the longest reigning World Champion exclusive to Smackdown. As of October 7th, Styles' reign is in its 334th day and if AJ manages to hold on to the title for a few more months, he might be able to cross Punk's reign too.
