10 Best WWE Championship Reigns Of The 2000s
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin (April-September 2001)
WrestleMania X-Seven. The biggest night in WWE history. Widely regarded as one of (if not the) best wrestling shows in history. Sounds like a pretty good place to start a World title run, right?
When "Stone Cold" Steve Austin beat The Rock by aligning himself with Vince McMahon, the wrestling world did not know what to do. Some people still think that Austin's heel turn was misjudged, but there's no denying it led to some really memorable moments for him.
As Vince's pet champion, Austin fended off The Rock, Undertaker, and Kane, before he assumed the role of Alliance leader during the Invasion angle. Say what you will about that sordid mess, but Austin as the paranoid top guy was a standout part of it, especially his defences against the likes of Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam.
Austin reigned for 175 days, his longest ever, and he probably would have been champion for longer had 9/11 not happened. People will continue to argue the merits of his heel turn and what it did to the wrestling business, but in a vacuum, getting to see Austin strut his stuff as a top heel champion was an utter joy.