10 Youngest WWE Champions Ever

7. The Big Show - 27

The Rock
WWE Network

Date First WWE Title Won: November 14th, 1999

Age: 27 years, 9 months, 6 days

By his own admittance, The Big Show's astonishing early successes in the wrestling business grossly hamstrung his growth and maturity as a performer, with a WCW World Title landing in his lap at the tender age of 23 thanks to a victory over Hulk Hogan in his very first match.

WWE's decision to insert him into the Survivor Series 1999 main event as a last minute replacement for hit-and-run victim Stone Cold Steve Austin was a last gasp effort to make good on the bloated ten year contract he'd been offered upon arriving in February that year.

After failing to impress management or fellow talents with his lackadaisical attitude fostered in WCW's wild west locker room, the company planted the top strap on him to try and make the belt do the work.

Furthermore, his tearful victory came midway through a darkly comical programme with the Big Boss Man didn't help in attaching gravitas to his latest historic achievement.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett