In the history of the WWE, the company’s belts have been held for varying lengths of time. In the early days, belts were held for months and even years at a time, and even now, the New Day is coming close to a one-year reign with the tag team titles.
But other champions have had the gold for just a short period of time. While Sheamus memorably derided Roman Reigns for his 5 min 15 sec championship reign at Survivor Series 2015, that doesn’t even crack the top five. Here are those infamous title runs.
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#5 Daniel Bryan
The defining moment that really kicked off the “Yes movement” for Daniel Bryan was actually one of the shortest title reigns in WWE history. After Daniel Bryan beat John Cena at SummerSlam 2013 to win the WWE title, out came Randy Orton with his Money in the Bank briefcase.
With the help of special guest referee Triple H, Orton cashed in and took Bryan’s belt about 4 minutes and 10 seconds after Bryan won it. That change also launched the Daniel Bryan vs. The Authority storyline that carried all the way through WrestleMania 30.
#4 John Cena
At Elimination Chamber 2010, John Cena became the WWE Champion after putting away Triple H to close out a grueling chamber match to take home Sheamus’ belt. Except Cena never made it home with that belt.
Vince McMahon came out as soon as the match was over and said that if Cena wanted to carry the belt to WrestleMania the following month at WrestleMania, he’d have to beat Batista. As a result, Cena only held the belt for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after a 32-second loss.
#3 Yokozuna
At WrestleMania IX, the main event was Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart for Hart’s WWF Championship. Hart seemed to be in control of the match, but Yokozuna’s manager, Mr. Fuji, threw salt in his eyes, allowing the big man to win.
Hulk Hogan came to the ring to check on Hart and was immediately challenged to a match by Fuji. Hogan was able to avoid the same salty fate as Hart and beat Yokozuna for the belt just 2 minutes and 3 seconds after the Samoan legend won it.
#2 Big Show
At the TLC pay-per-view in 2011, Big Show ended a title drought by knocking off World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry in a brutal chairs match. Afterward, Henry went on the attack with chairs and left Big Show laid out.
That also left an opening for Daniel Bryan, who was holding a Money in the Bank briefcase at the time. He sprinted down to the ring, cashed in and pinned Big Show for the belt, just about 1 minute and 52 seconds after his reign began.
#1 Seth Rollins
At the most recent WWE pay-per-view, Money in the Bank, Dean Ambrose wasted very little time. He won the MITB briefcase in the traditional ladder match against Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro and Alberto Del Rio.
Later in the night, Seth Rollins beat Roman Reigns to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but he barely got to enjoy the win before Ambrose’s music hit. Dean came up with a sneak attack, though, and cashed in to end Rollins’ second run as champion after just 1 minute and 51 seconds.
