10 Best WWE Championship Reigns Of The 2000s
2. Kurt Angle (December 2002-April 2003)
Kurt Angle's third WWE title reign began in inauspicious circumstances when he beat The Big Show at Armageddon 2002 after Brock Lesnar laid the giant out for him.
He only defended the title twice on pay-per-view during this run, but what defences they were.
The first was against Chris Benoit at the 2003 Royal Rumble, a masterful whirlwind regarded as one of the best WWE matches of the entire year. The second was in the main event of WrestleMania XIX, where he lost the title to Lesnar in a match that saw the Beast accidentally piledrive himself with a botched Shooting Star Press.
This was peak Kurt Angle. Not only was he the head of Team Angle (who were also champions in their own right), but he was putting on these incredible matches whilst his body was basically falling apart. The fact that he had two of the year's best bouts whilst being held together with scotch tape and prayers only adds to their legend.
This might seem like a bit of a rogue choice, but this title reign is utterly incredible - both in kayfabe and in real-life.