Top 10 WWE Championship Reigns Since 2014
10. KOFI KINGSTON (2018)
Kofimania was never supposed to happen. An unfortunate injury to Mustafa Ali gave Kofi an opportunity and he seized it. His win against Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania 35 is one of the most deserved and emotional title wins in WWE history. He made for such a great underdog but that kind of made his reign fall short of expectations. He gave stars like Dolph, Orton, and Samoa Joe to fight for the title but while the defenses were mostly good, a lot of them never went beyond that. A six month reign is nothing to scoff at and he gave it all until losing the title in the most disrespectful way to Brock Lesnar in that eight second squash,
9. DREW MCINTYRE (2021)
Drew is the only person on this list to appear twice and it’s for good reason. He absolutely carried WWE on his back until Roman returned. His second reign with the championship in the thunder dome lasted about 100 days and had some brutal matches like the Hell in a Cell right with Randy Orton and the Elimination Chamber defense. However, he would get cashed in afterwards by the Miz keeping from reaching higher heights in a heartbreaking fashion.
8. BROCK LESNAR (2019-2020)
After burying Kofi Kingston, Brock Lesnar continued to run roughshod on the roster. Entering #1 in the upcoming Royal Rumble as champion was unprecedented and made fans worry. Luckily, this ended up being one of the best rumbles of all time with Lesnar wiping out half the entrants until Drew and Ricochet kicked him out, subsequentially leading to Drew’s victory. Kudos to Lesnar also for selling Drew as such a threat in the months leading up to Mania and doing the job for him at the empty performance center at Mania 36.
7. CODY RHODES (2024)
Cody probably has the best initial WWE championship reign on this list. In an instant classic, Cody finally ended Roman’s reign of terror of 4 years in the main event of Wrestlemania 40 after also performing the night before. THE STORY of almost 3 years was complete and everyone was happy. However, there was worry that Cody would lose fan support if he was booked as this John Cena-type champion but miraculously he is as over as he has ever been. All of his defenses are ranged from solid-great and is in the midst of an awesome personal feud with Kevin Owens. This could move a couple spots higher soon.
6. BOBBY LASHLEY (2021)
Now, to the man who never really got the right booking into the company until a certain MVP showed up to save the day. The Hurt Business was created with Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander and quickly won the title from the Miz. He was a dominant champion, sweeping Drew McIntyre in a series of really good matches until Big E cut things short with a cash in.
5. AJ STYLES (2016)
Someone had to take the title off of Jinder at some point and Styles had been making waves in the company so they ended the Mahal project on a random Smackdown.AJ would then take the ball and run, having a legendary series with John Cena later on that catapults this to top 5 alone. If only it ended before he could face off against Brock at survivor series, because then this could go top 3.
4. DANIEL BRYAN (2018)
Not many people thought a Daniel Bryan heel turn could work in this day and age. In hindsight, it would be foolish to doubt the future Hall of Fame considering his pedigree. The newly proclaimed “Plane’t Champion” went all out in his quest to become unlikeable. Whether that be eco-friendly customized belt or his lashing out on the fans for not caring about the environment/being unhealthy - this dude was on a rampage that made us want Kofi to beat him so bad. Very effective work from the goat.
3. DREW MCINTYRE (2020)
Considering how the WWE universe is the lifeblood of their televised shows, on paper this reign should not have worked. The title win he worked his a** off for since he was fired in 2014 deserved to have fans there cheering him on. Nonetheless, he focused on keeping WWE alive until the pandemic ended. Drew was a revelation as the fighting champion for eight months facing anybody who wanted a shot whether it was Big Show, Dolph, Kofi, or the man who ended it - Randy Orton (in a fantastic feud as well).
2. SETH ROLLINS (2015)
It really is a shame that Rollins had the knee injury at the house show while his run was just getting started. Months before that, Rollins had the first Wrestlemania Money in the bank cash it during the Lesnar-Reigns scrum and it was absolutely electric. Seth was also at his most athletic during this time period which led to great moments. I mean this guy fought Sting, was a double champ, and had such a fun feud with the recently ex-shielf member, Dean Ambrose. Alas, he was never going to top the next man on this list anyways.
ROMAN REIGNS (2021-2024)
At #1, this should not come across as a surprise. With over 1000 days as Universal Champion coupled with a brief run with the WWE championship for part of it, Roman unified the titles thanks to his sheer dominance. The Tribal Chief heel character is hands down the best thing he has done, likely since he just IS him rather than being what Vince wanted him to be. Sure, after a couple of years the matches started to follow a certain format, but that doesn't mean they were bad. Reigns really did not miss throughout these four years and elevated numerous superstars to the main event just by being associated with him. So many storylines to this day revolve around this reign which is a testament to its strength. The bloodline story also may be the best in WWE history thanks to its many twists and turns like Sami Zayn’s involvement in it. This run was so GOATED I would be shocked if anyone ever comes close to his level.
