10 Oldest First-Time WWE World Champions

6. Andre The Giant - 41 Years, 8 Months, 17 Days

Aj Styles Ric Flair
WWE.com

Despite being one of the top draws in wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s, Andre the Giant never had a run as WWE World Champion. He was considered more of a special attraction, and would come to towns doing things like battle royals and grudge matches.

In the late 1980s, though, a broken-down, nearly-immobile Andre was turned heel and pushed into the title picture for his last major run at the top. He headlined WrestleMania III, and the following year, on The Main Event, he finally captured the WWE World Championship. The title marked the first singles championship of his entire career.

Andre's title reign is notable for another reason - it was the shortest WWE World Championship reign in history. Mere minutes after winning the title, Andre attempted to sell the belt, but WWE President Jack Tunney declared the transaction invalid and the title vacant as of Andre's handing it over. That vacancy - the first in the belt's history - was filled by Randy Savage, who won a tournament at WrestleMania IV.

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Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013