10 Best WWE Championship Reigns Of The 2000s
9. John Cena (April 2005-January 2006)
At WrestleMania 21, some kid in jean shorts won the WWE Championship for the first time ever, and then faded into obscurity. Kidding... obviously. But he might soon enough.
John Cena's victory over JBL at Mania was the first of many, many, many championship reigns for the future movie star. Even after all this time, you could still make the case for this one being his very best, which is both really impressive and really concerning.
His first title defence was a WrestleMania rematch at Judgment Day, a vicious I Quit match where Cena ended up bloodier than Hannibal Lecter's preferred dinner. His other major feuds as champion were with Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle, before he finally lost the title to Edge after 280 days of glory.
Public opinion was starting to shift against Cena at this point, but it was still miles away from the barrage of hatred he would receive down the line. Though far from a ring general, he was able to put on good matches as champ, especially against the Olympic gold medallist.
It was far from perfect, but in terms of Cena title reigns, you could do much, much worse.