10 Awesome Wrestling Title Reigns That Went Long

5. Rob Van Dam - ECW Television Title (700 Days)

CM Punk WWE Champion 2012
WWE

Elevating the title above ECW's own World Championship at the time, Rob Van Dam's monolithic TV Title reign should have peaked with yet another world class display of long term booking from extreme mastermind Paul Heyman.

Becoming a bonefide main eventer thanks to his dependable in-ring theatrics and nearly two years comfortably brushing off opposition, RVD was set to take his prized possession into a title vs title match against ECW World Champion Mike Awesome at Living Dangerously, ECW's answer to WrestleMania.

A huge draw had it have gone ahead, the likely outcome would have seen RVD taking his rightful place atop ECW and continuing as a dual champion, extending the 700 days into an astonishing two-plus years with the TV strap.

An unfortunately-timed injury shelved Van Dam before they got there though, and also led to RVD forfeiting his beloved belt thanks to the heel Network forcing his hand.

Not losing his coveted trophy kept RVD in the hunt upon his mid-2000 return, but ECW's demise less than a year later robbed 'The Whole F'n Show' of the belts he seemed destined to reclaim, and the praise that he was due for such an incredible run.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett