14 WWE Wrestlers With The Longest Gaps Between Title Reigns
These Superstars prove it's never too late to reclaim what was once yours.
Everyone knows the long title reigns of WWE history: Sammartino held the belt for seven-plus years. Moolah held the women’s title for 38-years (minus a few quickie title changes along the way that no one talks about). New Day, in case you’ve been watching Raw on mute for the past year and a half, held the tag team titles for 483 days.
But sometimes, the time between title reigns is just as impressive. As the Chicago Cubs of baseball proved last year, nothing is sweeter than winning the big one after being denied year after year. And while no one on this list had to wait 107 years to win back a title, the following superstars took back their gold after being denied for the better part of a decade (and in some cases, much longer).
Whether it be an unlikely comeback from retirement, a luring-back from another promotion, or a return by an established star to his roots, the following WWE wrestlers went full-circle.
14. Randy Orton - 6 Years, Eight Months (2,424 Days)
Randy Orton’s first World Heavyweight Title reign came - like the RKO he executed to defeat Chris Benoit - outta nowhere. It went just as fast; Orton was beaten by Triple H for the title just a month later in September 2004. Orton wouldn’t win another world title for another four years, and it was the WWE Title, not the World Heavyweight Championship.
Orton wouldn’t win that title back until early May 2011. Though he cut short Christian’s long-awaited world title run (Captain Charisma having won the title two nights earlier), he set the record for the longest period between two WHC reigns. Randy’s second title run had him literally jumping for joy!