3. Edge
Its hard to believe that Edge only held the WWE Championship for a combined total of 139 days. For me, John Cenas most memorable rivalry since his ascent to the main event has been with Edge. Prior to his feud with Cena, Edge had not quite reached his full potential but at WrestleMania 21, Edge defeated Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Benoit, Christian and Kane to become the very first winner of the Money in the Bank ladder match. Nine months later, he secured the moniker of the Ultimate Opportunist following the nights main event. After John Cena had successfully won the Elimination Chamber match at New Years Revolution, Edge took advantage of a bloodied Cena, winning his first WWE Championship and the feud with Cena began. Edge was far removed from the previous champion and the following night celebrated as such; with a live sex celebration alongside Lita. However, just three weeks later he would lose the championship at the Royal Rumble. Following his loss, Edge went on to feud with Mick Foley whilst continuing to persistently challenge for the title. Edge would become champion for a second time in July 2006, defeating Rob Van Dam and reigniting his feud with Cena. After successfully defending the Championship albeit by cheating Edge would dispose of Cenas centre plate, introducing his own modified Rated R version. His feud with Cena would continue with Cena even throwing Edge into the Long Island Sound in the build up to their TLC match at Unforgiven. Edge would ultimately lose this match, bringing his second reign to an end. Following his loss, Edge would team with Randy Orton as Rated-RKO and even hold the World Heavyweight Championship on three occasions. In 2008, Edge would return his attentions to WWEs premiere title. Replacing Jeff Hardy in a triple-threat match against Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov at Survivor Series, he won the championship before losing it to Hardy a month later at Armageddon. Just one month later at the Royal Rumble, Edges final reign as champion would begin and this time would last only three weeks. He was pinned by Jeff Hardy in the Elimination Chamber match which would ultimately be won by Triple H. I think its fair to say that when it came to the WWE Championship, Edge like Randy Orton - was very much a victim of the championship merry-go-round. During the height of Edges career and until recently, WWEs policy on championship reigns wasnt particularly stringent. Title changes happened left right and centre between 2008 and 2011 and Edges reigns are evident of this. Even so, Edges feuds with John Cena throughout 2006 as well as his remarkable supremacy as the Rated R champion put him right at the apex as one of the most memorable superstars in WWE history, let alone to hold the Spinner title.