10 Longest WWE Championship Reigns Ever

7. John Cena (380 Days)

434 Days CM Punk
WWE

John Cena was given everything between 2006 and 2007 to get over as the new front-of-house and behind-the-curtain leader in WWE, and a long title reign back then was as rare as whatever unicorn the company found that could sh*t out his merchandise.

'The Champ' saw off virtually every relevant threat to his throne that year, putting Edge, Kurt Angle, Umaga, Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton in their places having already conclusively defeated Triple H during his second stint with the strap.

He evolved hugely as a worker during the run too. Living up to high expectations, Cena was by then a figure of almost universal hate in spite of his matches rather than because of them. 'Big Match John' was showered in plaudits from discerning observers by the tail-end of a classic contemporary reign, and an unfortunate October 2007 injury suffered during a match with Mr Kennedy left a sizeable hole in the roster until he made his freakishly quick return in January 2008.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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