10 Wrestlers Who Became WWE Champion The Quickest
7. Kane (266 Days)
Speaking of memorable debuts, it’s tough to beat Kane’s October 1997 arrival when he tore the door off the Hell In A Cell structure, delivered a Tombstone Piledriver to The Undertaker, and cost him his match with Shawn Michaels. Though Glenn Jacobs, the performer, had debuted a few years prior, this was Kane’s arrival in WWE, and the starting point for our list.
The Big Red Machine entered WWE with a bang, and after months of build, The Undertaker’s burned little brother was pushed to the forefront. It took ‘Taker 379 days to win his first WWE Championship, which is an achievement in itself, but Kane bettered that by 113 days when he became WWE Champion at King of the Ring 1998.
The stipulation stated that if Kane had lost to Steve Austin, he would have set himself on fire. Kane won the First Blood match with The Undertaker’s assistance, but ‘Taker soon turned on his brother to realign with Paul Bearer, and Kane’s first title reign ended just 24 hours later. Austin regained his championship the following night on Raw, making for one of the shortest world title reigns in WWE history.
From debuting at Bad Blood to winning the belt at KOTR, Kane’s rise to the top lasted just 266 days. Sadly, he’s never had a truly memorable reign as champion, even if he is one of the most significant characters to emerge in the past few days.