10 REALLY Long WWE Title Reigns That Didn’t Work
9. Bobby Lashley - ECW Champion (147 Days)
The shortest reign on this list, but an important (and topical) reminder of the permanent damage that can be done by an ill-conceived tenure with a title.
Bobby Lashley's time atop ECW commenced at the climax of perhaps the most toxic WWE pay-per-view of all time and barely improved from those less-than-humble beginnings. Booed mercilessly by a justifiably p*ssed off crowd on Night One, it took until a WrestleMania build-up for his 'Battle Of The Billionaires' clash with Umaga to get the fans onside.
The distraction pieces around him worked to a point - the presence of Vince McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Donald Trump will do that for a man - but that glowing profile was only dulled by the supposedly prestigious prize still around his waist. Pay-per-view defences of the strap against Test and Mr Kennedy in January and February were pitiful, and his placement in the aforementioned box office belter at the 'Show Of Shows' resulted in eight actual ECW performers losing out on fighting for a Championship they were theoretically supposed to be working towards.
A muddled handicap match loss to Mr McMahon saw the title hit the bin quicker than Alundra Blayze's old Women's strap, with Bobby's lasting legacy the final decay before its demise.