10 Oldest WWE Champions Ever
Help The Aged
Despite what WWE would have you believing even in 2017, when it comes to wrestling, age really ain't nothing but a number. Ultimately, the miles a performer has on their clock are only truly determined by how tired the viewers are of them, rather than just how knackered and past-it they may actually be.
Mickie James has taken no end of grief from Alexa Bliss for daring to be 38, despite the fact that over on SmackDown Live!, AJ Styles was a spry newcomer at 39 when he won his first WWE Title and Brock Lesnar main events any show he fancies as the company's top titleholder despite entering his 40th year back in July.
Ignoring the problematic sexist undertones those comparisons expose, the differing figures highlight the fluidity of any age within the squared circle. Mickie is 'old' according to the heel as much based on her experience and legacy as the date listed on her birth certificate. Having barely scratched the surface in WWE, Bobby Roode, Styles and even Finn Bálor are relative rookies despite having more years in the business than the majority of their peers.
It is, in principle, a good thing. Affording performers the opportunity to bloom late if their work warrants it, the extension of a star's lifespan regardless of age is an ethos to be encouraged in an industry ordinarily obsessed with image. Like a fine wine, certain stars mature, and their seniority deserves the industry leader's literal championing.
10. Andre The Giant - 41
Date Last WWE Title Won: February 5th, 1988
Age: 41 years, 8 months, 17 days
'And now, I surrender the World Tag Team Championship to Ted Dibiase'.
Around 33 million people saw Andre The Giant literally fluff his lines during that infamous post-match promo, but the bumbled botch didn't matter a lick to heartbroken Hulkamaniacs across America.
Glorious in all its sports entertainment spectacle, the controversial ending to Hulk Hogan's four year title reign on a very special edition of The Main Event would go down in history as the most-watched slice of professional wrestling ever. The pair could already claim ownership of the (alleged) 93,173 that packed out WrestleMania 3, and had smashed another record for an explosive rematch that saw the night end with The 'Million Dollar Man' holding gold after dropping fortunes on plastic surgery to make an evil twin for established WWE referee Dave Hebner.
This would ultimately be the introduction of Earl Hebner to television, just under a decade before he'd be complicit in a far more real title trade, but his original debut was a masterclass in wrestling theatre done right.
Ignoring Hogan's clearly lifted shoulder, Hebner counted three to completely rob Hulk of his title, triggering a chain of events that led to a final WrestleMania clash between the now-former champion and Andre The Giant. On that same night Randy Savage lifted the vacant strap by defeating Dibiase himself in the final of a 16 man single elimination tournament.