8 Wrestlers Who Restored The Value Of Championships

For all the misgivings surrounding the World Heavyweight Championship, the WWE Title wasn’t exactly in a great place in 2011. After two subpar Alberto Del Rio reigns and a brief 14-day spell with John Cena as champion, the belt had been passed around like a hot potato. Interferences, complications, and drama had completely drained its appeal, but that ended on November 20th, 2011.

Punk regained the belt from Del Rio, and produced the most impressive WWE World Title reign of the past decade. The reign deserves not to be remembered for the questionable booking that often plagued it, but for the effort Punk put forward to make the WWE Championship feel like the most important thing in the world, and the work he put-in to regain its former glory.

Punk held the belt for an astonishing 434 days, which is almost unheard of in the modern era. The days of Bruno Sammartino’s multi-year title reigns are well behind us, and Punk’s spell as champion was the company’s longest since Hulk Hogan’s first reign came to an end in 1988.

Challengers like Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, and John Cena attempted to wrest the belt from Punk’s clutches, but none were successful. All comers fell by Punk’s hand, and though his 13 successful PPV defences often came by controversial means, he prospered over all who stood before him.

Anyone who was anyone wanted a piece of Punk and his belt throughout his epic reign. The WWE Championship was a real prize again: it’s prestige was its highest in years, and while he often struggled to pass Cena as the company’s de facto “top star”, his reign will remain untouchable for years to come.