14 WWE Wrestlers With The Longest Gaps Between Title Reigns
7. John Cena - 10 Years, One Month
The third time Cena had held the United States title, he was the hottest star on SmackDown. Though he dropped his original custom spinner belt to JBL’s underling Orlando Jordan on 1 March, 2005, it was a necessary step before winning the big one at WrestleMania 21.
Ten years, one month, and fifteen world title reigns later, Cena battled Rusev for the honor of the United States at WrestleMania 31, winning the US title back in the process. For the rest of the year, Cena made the US title arguably the centerpiece of Raw with his US Open Challenge series. It was a great way to keep the spotlight on Cena (and his challenger-of-the-week) without having to have him win the big one for record-tying time, held at the time largely in absentia by Brock Lesnar.
Of course, for better or worse, the US Title is now exclusive to Raw, Cena is now exclusive to SmackDown, and the record sixteen world title reigns is now no longer exclusive to Ric Flair.