10 Oldest First-Time WWE World Champions
9. John Bradshaw Layfield - 37 Years, 6 Months, 29 Days
When Brock Lesnar walked out of WWE following WrestleMania XX, he threw the company into disarray. The roster was already split between Raw and Smackdown, so Lesnar's departure meant that the blue brand was without a top heel.
Rather than move someone over from Raw, the decision was made to push career-long also-ran Bradshaw. Primarily seen as a tag team worker, Bradshaw was split up from partner Ron Simmons and rechristened John "Bradshaw" Layfield, or JBL. The tough brawler in the vein of Stan Hansen or Dick the Bruiser was replaced by a loudmouthed, neo-conservative, J.R. Ewing take-off.
The fact that Bradshaw's change happened with the flip of a switch and that fans didn't take him seriously didn't stop the company from putting him straight into a feud with WWE World Champion Eddie Guerrero. Though Guerrero retained the title in their first bout at Judgment Day, JBL implausibly won the belt at The Great American Bash. He would hold it for more than nine months before losing it to John Cena.