10 Things You Didn't Know About The WWE Title

5. The Rock Runs Him Close!

Cody Rhodes WWE Title
WWE

...but father time wasn't smelling what he was cooking.

The Rock is next in line as someone who went the longest between stints in the championship hot seat. He went 3,808 days without before winning the WWE Title (from CM Punk) at the 2013 Royal Rumble. Before that, Rocky's last title run was in 2002. Again, almost 11 years apart.

Casual fans were thrilled to see The Rock put Punk in his place, but a fair few hardcores believed WWE should've stuck by CM and extended his already-lengthy run. Punk's biggest fans also wanted to see him headline WrestleMania. Nope, Vinnie Mac pushed him aside for Rock vs. John Cena instead.

Rocky just needed to wait 177 more days before winning the strap again to beat Backlund's record for longest gap. OK, so that's a pretty long time. Still, he might've waited until SummerSlam at least so Punk could get his 'Mania main event wish.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.