7 WWE Superstars who won World Championships before they turned 30

For every Superstar who signs a contract with the WWE, their aim is to one day hold championship gold, and for a select few, that will mean a World title.

Whether it be the coveted WWE title, the now-defunct World Heavyweight Championship or the Universal title, the honor of holding the top prize in the business has only gone to a handful of exceptional Superstars.

Though the quest to becoming a World Champion can be long for those lucky few to win the gold, some Superstars were able to get there far sooner than others. These Superstars were always touted to be the top star in wrestling, and clearly weren't going to wait.

Here are seven WWE Superstars who won the World Championships before they reached their 30th birthday.

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#7 Randy Orton (Age - 24)

Orton captured the World Heavyweight title at SummerSlam 2004.

From the moment Randy Orton debuted in WWE in 2002, it was clear he was going to be a star. After a few months as a bland babyface on SmackDown, Orton would turn heel and join RAW, before siding with Evolution in 2003.

In August 2004, Orton won the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, becoming the youngest Superstar to capture the title in the process. This title reign would not last long though, as after being betrayed by Evolution on RAW after SummerSlam, the Legend Killer would lose the title to his mentor Triple H at Unforgiven.

With his title victory, Orton cemented himself as a bonafide star on the roster, and in the years since, would go on to have an incredible career, winning the World Title 12 more times apart from winning the men's Royal Rumble match twice.

#6 John Cena (Age - 27)

The Chaingang leader captured his first of 16 World titles at WrestleMania 21.

It would not be wrong to say that there's never been a WWE Superstar quite like John Cena. Debuting in 2002, Cena quickly won over fans with his rapper gimmick, and by late 2004, was the de facto number one face on SmackDown.

Despite being the final man eliminated in the 2005 Royal Rumble, Cena found his way into a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 21 against John 'Bradshaw' Layfield.

Topping JBL at the Show of Shows, Cena won the title at the tender age of 27 and would have a lengthy reign that would see Cena be drafted to RAW in the process. After retaining the title against the likes of Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle, his near-year long reign came to an end when Edge cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase for the first time ever at New Years Revolution in 2006.

Post a shocking title change, Cena would win the gold back a matter of weeks later at the Royal Rumble, and would go on to hold a World title 16 times in his career, equal only to the legendary Nature Boy Ric Flair.

#5 The Undertaker (Age - 26)

The Deadman crushed Hulkamania to become the WWF Champion.

Although The Undertaker in the 1990s was nowhere near the performer he would become later on, the Demon of Death Valley would kick off his WWF career in a huge way at the 1990 Survivor Series.

One year after his huge debut as part of the Million Dollar Dream Team, the Deadman would capture the WWF Title at Survivor Series 1991, doing what few men had done before him, defeat Hulk Hogan.

Though this win is historic, it did not come clean, as The Phenom would receive a major assist through a steel chair-wielding Ric Flair. Though Undertaker's reign would come to an end a few days later, the win remains in the history books, as the young Superstar was just 26 years old when he crushed The Hulkster.

This would be the first of several World Championship reigns that the Demon of Death Valley would have during his legendary career, and though many fans are now hoping that the Undertaker doesn't return to the ring after his poor performance at the recent Super Showdown event, it's hard to take away any accomplishments from Taker.

#4 Yokozuna (Age - 26)

Yokozuna won the WWF title from Bret Hart at WrestleMania 9.

A member of the legendary Anoa'i family, Yokozuna is easily considered to be one of wrestling's best big-men ever. For a man who was truly gigantic, he was able to move around the ring very well considering his colossal frame, meaning it was only a matter of time before he entered the main event picture.

In 1993, Yokozuna won Royal Rumble by eliminating Macho Man Randy Savage and became the first man to earn a main event title match at WrestleMania as a prize. He then then defeated Bret Hart at WrestleMania IX before dropping the belt immediately to Hulk Hogan after the match.

Undeterred, Yokozuna rallied back to win the title at King of the Ring that same year, in what was Hogan's final WWF appearance for nearly a year. Yokozuna did all this at the age of 26.

He went on to clinch two World Titles before he was 30 and was one of the leading Superstars at the time. However, once he lost the WWE Championship to Bret Hart at WrestleMania X, he slowly faded into the shadows.

#3 Bruno Sammartino (Age - 27)

Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino was only 27 years old when he won the WWE Championship for the first time. When his reign ended, he was in his late 30s, a testament to the faith the company had in the Italian Stallion.

Sammartino carried the WWE into the early '70s and was one of wrestling's most beloved figures, especially amongst the Italian-American demographic. Appearing at the very first WrestleMania alongside his son David Sammartino, Bruno would have a working relationship with the company for several years, before parting ways in 1988.

Upon quitting, Sammartino would become a vocal critic of the company, calling several storylines vulgar along the way. After years away though, Bruno would return to the company in 2013, to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After a handful of appearances by the living legend, including inducting Larry Zybyzsko into the Hall of Fame in 2015, Sammartino passed in April 2018 after a two-month stint in the hospital, with the company honoring him with a ten-bell salute on the succeeding episode of Monday Night RAW.

#2 Brock Lesnar (Age - 23)

The Next Big Thing arrived made his mark at SummerSlam in 2002 when he defeated The Rock to claim the Undisputed Championship.

The youngest World Champion on this list, Brock Lesnar's rise to the top was meteoric. Debuting on the Monday Night RAW after WrestleMania 18, the young Lesnar would demolish everyone in his path, rightly earning himself the moniker - The Next Big Thing.

Within months of his debut, Lesnar would win the 2002 King of the Ring competition, crushing Rob Van Dam in the finals, and would follow that up by becoming the number one contender for the Undisputed Championship.

Facing off against The Rock who was Lesnar's toughest challenge, the former eventually fell to the latter, who became Champion just 126 days after his debut at the age of 23. As the top dog, Lesnar would sign an exclusive contract with SmackDown, and carry the Blue Brand with an impactful, entertaining feud against The Undertaker.

After vanquishing the Phenom inside Hell in a Cell, Lesnar would eventually lose the title to the Big Show owing to a betrayal by Paul Heyman but would win the title back at WrestleMania 19, proving that he was indeed a top-flight Superstar.

#1 The Rock (Age - 26)

The Brahma Bull captured the top prize at the 1998 Survivor Series, defeating Mankind and turning heel.

The Rock won his first WWE Championship at the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View event in 1998 after defeating Mankind in the Deadly Games Tournament. In a repeat of the Montreal Screwjob the year before, Vince McMahon turned on Mankind to assist the 26-year-old in winning the championship.

Little did anyone know that this shocking heel turn would give birth to arguably the most charismatic star of the Attitude Era and one of the most charismatic stars ever. He would win the belt a few more times before turning 30, and still had plenty of accolades outside of the top prize.

Before turning 30 in 2002, The Rock featured in the main event of WrestleMania 15, 16 and 17, and also fought in the biggest match of the night at WrestleMania 18, where he defeated Hulk Hogan.