10 Youngest WWE Champions Ever

4. The Rock - 26

The Rock
WWE.com

Date First WWE Title Won: November 15th, 1988

Age: 26 years, 6 months, 13 days

A spectacular swerve an era overspilling with them, The Rock's first of seven ascents to the summit of Sports Entertainment came at the climax of the superbly scripted Survivor Series 1998 'Deadly Game' tournament.

Ostensibly a rival of Vince McMahon alongside fellow monster babyface Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock appeared to be leaping over the various traps laid by the boss earlier in the night, with his progress through the 14-man single elimination event surpassing 'The Rattlesnake's semi final exit.

As it transpired, his trajectory was carefully curated by the malevolent CEO.

With hidden Corporate help in all of his tournament encounters with The Big Boss Man, Ken Shamrock and The Undertaker, Rock scooped the title after locking the Sharpshooter on Mankind in a finale aping the prior year's earth-shattering Montreal Screwjob. The fix was in again, only this time it was the culmination of picture perfect pro wrestling storytelling.

Contributor
Contributor

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