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There are times in WWE when wrestlers find themselves having not held a championship for a long time. This may not always be a bad thing as long as they stay relevant with engaging angles. However, there are times when the WWE Universe just wants to see their favorite wrestlers win a championship.
In some cases, wrestlers leave the company for personal/professional reasons and later return rejuvenated and improved. Sometimes wrestlers remain with the company for a long time only to be in and out of the title picture.
Here are eight current and former WWE superstars who have gone a long time between holding a championship.
Note: This list includes wrestlers who were not with the company, or those who have taken a sabbatical from wrestling in between.
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#8. Before Roman Reigns became The Tribal Chief in WWE
Roman Reigns defeated long-time rival Brock Lesnar at Summerslam 2018, to win his first Universal Championship. His reign was short-lived, as he announced a leave of absence after being diagnosed with leukemia on the October 22, 2018, edition of RAW, vowing to return.
"Sometimes life throws you a curveball," Reigns said. "And right now, the best thing for me to do is to go home and focus on my family and my health... But I want to make one thing clear. By no means is this a retirement speech. After I'm done whooping leukemia's ass once again, I'm coming back home."
He returned on February 25, 2019, revealing that his leukemia was in remission, and has since had various feuds with the likes of Drew McIntyre, Shane McMahon, and Baron Corbin.
Reigns again took a short break due to the pandemic in March 2020. He finally made his return at SummerSlam that year and attacked Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. The following month at Payback, he defeated The Fiend and Braun Strowman to capture the Universal Championship.
The title win kickstarted his generation-defining reign as the Undisputed World Champion, yet to be dethroned.
#7. That's no way to treat your most must-see WWE Champion!
Not all wrestlers have frequently main-evented in WWE. What matters most is the value of entertainment. In that regard, The Miz is a certified future WWE Hall of Famer.
He won the Money in the Bank contract at the namesake pay-per-view in July 2010 in a very underrated ladder match, then waited until the November 22 episode of RAW, where he cashed in on Randy Orton to win his first WWE Championship. After main eventing WrestleMania 27 with John Cena, he dropped the title to the Leader of Cenation at Extreme Rules 2011.
Fast forward to 2021, ten years after his first run with the title, The A-Lister was able to once again successfully cash-in his second Money in the Bank contract, which he won from Otis at Hell in a Cell 2020.
This time he did it against Drew McIntyre at the Elimination Chamber PLE. His second reign ended at the hands of Bobby Lashley in eight days.
#6. The Irishman stands in the way of Roman Reigns' coronation
Sheamus shocked the world in 2009 after winning the WWE Championship from John Cena at the TLC Premium Live Event in just 166 days after his debut. He would repeat history once again, defeating Cena at the Fatal 4 Way 2010 event.
This title reign ended at the Night of Champions later that year, where he was pinned by Randy Orton in a six-pack elimination challenge match, also featuring Cena, Wade Barrett, Edge, and Chris Jericho.
Sheamus waited another five years until Survivor Series 2015, where he cashed-in Money in the Bank on Roman Reigns, who had just won his first WWE Championship in the main event of the show.
#5. Shawn Michaels wins Unified Tag Team Championships alongside Triple H
Shawn Michaels' second run with the company between 2002 and 2010 was nothing short of spectacular, with stellar matches and memorable moments. However, he only won a championship twice during this eight-year run.
The first time was at Survivor Series 2002 in the inaugural Elimination Chamber match, wherein he captured his last world title. This was only a few months after he returned to the company on the June 3 episode of RAW following a four-year absence from the in-ring competition.
No one would have thought that it would take seven years for The Showstopper to get his hands on another title. And yet, that is exactly what happened when he and Triple H ended Chris Jericho and The Big Show's Tag Team Championship reign at TLC 2009. Surprisingly, this was also the first time the two held tag team gold together.
#4. The Undertaker's sole Royal Rumble win led to his first World Heavyweight Championship
The Deadman was one of the most protected wrestlers in WWE, and yet, before WrestleMania 23, Taker didn't hold a championship for five years. He defeated Hulk Hogan at Judgment Day 2002 to win the WWE Championship and held onto it for two months before dropping it to The Rock at Vengeance.
At Royal Rumble 2007, The Phenom won his first Rumble and headlined WrestleMania that year, challenging Batista for his World Heavyweight Championship.
Taker would go on to win the championship at the event for the first time, thus winning the world title for the fifth time and extending his WrestleMania streak to 15-0. The Deadman lost the title on the May 11 edition of SmackDown after Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. The Undertaker was pinned by The Rated-R Superstar after two spears.
#3. Seth Rollins' United States Championship win came after nearly three years
On the October 10, 2022 edition of RAW, Seth Rollins pinned Bobby Lashley to become United States Champion for a second time.
This must have felt good for any fan of The Visionary, as the last time he held a championship was all the way back in January 2020, when he won the Raw Tag Team Championship alongside Buddy Murphy.
However, this was not the first time Seth Rollins spent time away from the title picture, as his first win came in March 2015 at WrestleMania 31, when he successfully cashed-in during the main event against Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
Later that year in November, Rollins had to relinquish the title due to injury, he returned in May 2016 at Extreme Rules PLE and attacked Reigns. The following month at Money in the Bank, he captured the WWE Championship for a second time, only to lose it moments later to Dean Ambrose, who cashed-in his MITB contract.
The next time Rollins held a World Championship was in 2019, when he won the Royal Rumble and went on to defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35.
#2. 16 Years in the making for The All-Mighty Era
During Bobby Lashley's first run with WWE between 2005-08, he held the ECW Heavyweight Championship and headlined WrestleMania 23, 2007 in a Battle of the Billionaires match against Umaga, a match that involved Vince McMahon and Donald Trump as well. (remember that match?)
Upon return in 2018, Lashley floated around for a bit before getting a taste of the main event as WWE Champion. This happened on the road to WrestleMania when he defeated The Miz in a lumberjack match on the March 1, 2021 episode of RAW.
This was Lashley's first WWE Title reign. The All Mighty held the championship for 193 days before losing it to Big E in September 2021, after the New Day member cashed-in his MITB contract.
#1. Randy Orton's sporadic World Championship wins in a career spanning 20 years
We all know him as The Viper, The Apex Predator, The Legend Killer, Randy Keith Donald... Wait no, not by that name.
Orton's career in WWE has been filled with championships and accomplishments. It's his longetivity that makes him the GOAT. But that also meant it was inevitable for him to step out of the title picture every now and again.
The Viper's first World Championship came at Summerslam 2004, setting the record as the youngest World Heavyweight Champion. He dropped the title to Triple H at the next pay-per-view.
Orton would only taste gold three years later at No Mercy 2007, where he was awarded the WWE Championship by Vince McMahon. After an impromptu match in which Triple H beat The Viper to claim the title, in the main event of the show, The Viper defeated The Game to win the title back.
Between 2008 to 2010 won and lost the WWE title multiple times during his feuds with John Cena and Triple H.
SmackDown was dominated in 2011 by Randy Orton and Christian's highly entertaining feud. It culminated at SummerSlam, where Orton captured his ninth World Championship.
Despite having successfully defended the title against Christian and Cody Rhodes on SmackDown, his reign was cut short in shocking fashion by Mark Henry at Night of Champions a month later.
Between his ninth and tenth World Championship, there was a two-year gap. At Summerslam 2013, The Apex Predator cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Daniel Bryan to capture the WWE Title.
After unifying the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena, Orton dropped the titles to Bryan at WrestleMania 30, The Viper had to wait three years until WrestleMania 33, where he defeated Bray Wyatt to win his thirteenth.
He ended up dropping the championship to Jinder Mahal at Backlash 2017, before winning the WWE Championship once again three years later from Drew McIntyre at Hell in a Cell 2020.
What are some other names you could think of? Let us know in the comments section below.
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