10 Longest WWE Championship Reigns Ever
AJ Styles adds yet another 'Phenomenal' achievement to his wrestling résumé
It's happened with relatively little fanfare, but regardless of how his Crown Jewel clash with Samoa Joe plays out, AJ Styles has officially moved one place up an elite list of company icons
With all the troubling indifference of the reign itself, 'The Phenomenal One' supplanted old TNA colleague Kevin Nash on the list of the 10 longest WWE Championship tenures of all time, joining some of the most important figures in industry history selected as trusted long-standing titleholders in an industry persistently low on reliability.
Holding a belt for such a long stretch reflects a rare and deep-rooted belief from promoter in performer, either because of their skills in the ring, at the box office and/or ideally a combination of both. It suggests that the holder has found chemistry with a diverse palette of challengers, earned respect with the fanbase regardless of heel/face persuasion and can theoretically carry the mantle of 'top star' going forward with or without the belt itself.
WWE never needed to send their champions on the touring circuit like the NWA, but they've almost always had expectations matching those once held up to Ric Flair et al if they've made lists like these. Heavy has been the waist that's worn the belt - regardless of how ripped and chiseled the physiques were.
10. AJ Styles (359+ Days)
It's been a long year as WWE Champion for AJ Styles since his 2017 saviour role climaxed with the dethroning of Jinder Mahal last November.
He'd already bailed out Raw's Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view with a superlative effort against a floundering Finn Bálor, and was now primed to save Survivor Series in a Champion Vs Champion thriller with Brock Lesnar by virtue of his victory over 'The Modern Day Maharaja'. Sadly for the 'Phenomenal One', those early days were the best of the reign.
Mixed blessings from the booking team in 2018 haven't helped, but Styles has been left exposed by programmes he failed to take control of when the bell rang. Trapped in divisive storylines with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe, the nature of Styles' act required his title contests to be routinely the most exciting on the card. They almost always failed in their stated aim.
Like too many in his orbit, he succumbed to the curse of the WWE churn. Though fleetingly enjoyable, his tenure spoke mostly to that rather than his unique-but-deteriorating skill-set.