Roman Reigns breaks yet another multi-time champion's record in WWE? Analysing the comparisons

A week ago, Roman Reigns was handed a brand new Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The gold-plated belt was presented to him to celebrate his 1000+ days as the Universal Champion, which is close to suprassing Pedro Morales' record (1027 days). He did accumulate yet another milestone today, beating a two-time WWE Champion's title reign record.

The Head of the Table surpassed CM Punk's WWE Championship reign of 434 days. He won the title at WrestleMania last year, beating Brock Lesnar with the assistance of The Usos to unify it with the Universal Title. Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were unsuccessful in taking the title away from The Tribal Chief.

CM Punk's memorable WWE Title reign began at Survivor Series 2011. He dethroned Alberto Del Rio at the big event following the latter's succesful Money in the Bank briefcase cash in at SummerSlam 2011. He boasts multiple wins over John Cena, Zack Ryder and fellow AEW stars Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) and Chris Jericho.

At Royal Rumble 2013, Punk dropped the title to The Rock despite interefence from The Shield. An impromptu rematch started by Vince McMahon resulted in a People's Elbow from The Great One for a three-count. The Voice of the Voiceless journeyed to All Elite Wrestling in 2021 and is a former two-time AEW World Champion.

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Who had a better WWE Champion reign: CM Punk or Roman Reigns?

A much-debated topic is whether CM Punk had a better WWE Championship reign than Roman Reigns. There is no solid answer to it though: it is a matter of perspective.

Reigns has gained a certain stature that challengers mostly don't get a second chance after failing to dethrone him. His title defenses have been entirely storyline focused, such that a long-term build up to a world championship program becomes a necessity.

Meanwhile, former WWE Champion Punk had a few rematches and even issued Open Challenges for the gold. A regular attraction of house shows, his usual rivals were John Cena, The Miz, and Daniel Bryan. The Best in the World's anti-authority run is still a fresh memory for hardcore wrestling fans.

CM Punk defended the WWE Title more than 140 times in his 434-day reign, including lives events and 13 pay-per-views. Roman Reigns has only put up 16 title defenses since winning the gold in April 2022. Seven of them have been in house shows.

The matter of quality over quantity comes into play when analysing both WWE Championship reigns. Some fans believe Roman Reigns' fewer title reigns added credibility to the top championship in the promotion. Others believe a fighting champion naturally gained more credibility.