10 Wrestlers Who Became WWE Champion The Quickest
3. Sheamus (166 Days)
Pushing a wrestler into an early title reign is a risky move, but it often pays dividends. Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, and a handful of others all benefitted immensely from this approach, but it doesn’t always work out. Some wrestlers just aren’t ready for such a huge level of exposure early in their careers, and Sheamus is a shining example of this.
The Irishman was still green when he debuted for ECW in June 2009, and a far cry from the refined brawler he is today. Still, Sheamus entered a well-received rivalry with Goldust and defeated him several times after debuting, before eventually moving to Raw.
It didn’t take long for Sheamus to enter contention. He won a battle royal to become John Cena’s number one contender shortly after switching brands, and faced-off against WWE’s biggest name at December’s TLC pay-per-view. There, Sheamus defeated Cena to not only make him WWE’s first ever Irish-born world champion, but the third-quickest wrestler to ever win the WWE Championship.
Sheamus was a divisive champion at best. The fans never truly took to his run, and Cena took the belt back from him 70 days later. Though Sheamus would continue to be featured at main event level, he has become an increasingly unengaging presence over the years, and much of this started with his premature title run.