5 greatest WWE Championship reigns of the last decade
The WWE Championship is the most prestigious prize in sports entertainment. Every WWE Superstar dreams of holding the top prize, but only a handful of talents get to win the championship. John Cena has the most reigns with thirteen.
As the top prize, every WWE star who holds the gold tends to step up their game. Naturally, such a coveted prize would mean that the champion has a huge target on his back. Hence, having a memorable championship reign is an arduous task.
A memorable championship reign consists of great matches, a strong, fighting, active champion, incredible storylines and a positive response from the WWE Universe. The WWE Championship reigns analyzed in this slideshow will be assessed in terms of these standards. This slideshow explores five of the most memorable WWE Championship reigns of the past decade.
Note: This list is not exhaustive and represents the views of the author.
#5 John Cena's eleventh WWE Championship reign
The Leader of the Cenation defeated The Great One in their second blockbuster match at WrestleMania 29 to win his eleventh WWE Championship. John Cena and The Rock shook hands after the match. They had an enjoyable match, but the aftermath was even better.
In his eleventh WWE Championship reign, Cena showed that he was deserving of the moniker "The Face That Runs The Place." He held the championship until SummerSlam, dropping it to the overwhelmingly popular Daniel Bryan in one of the best SummerSlam main events.
Ryback was the first to challenge Cena for the WWE Championship. The Big Guy was a rising star back then who had a bright future ahead of him. Cena brought the best out of him as the two fierce rivals put together a slew of brutal, thrilling and hard-hitting matches. Their program saw the return of the three stages of Hell match at Payback.
Then, an underappreciated veteran, Mark Henry, faked retirement to capture the WWE Champion's attention. This led to an interesting program between the two which culminated in a back and forth encounter at Money in the Bank. It was nice to see Henry challenge for the WWE Championship as he deserved one last shot.
The Champ then selected Bryan as his opponent for SummerSlam. Cena was instrumental in building the Beard as a credible challenger when Vince McMahon was skeptical.
There was no downside to his incredible WWE Championship reign. It should have lasted a little longer, but Bryan needed the championship more than Cena did at the time.