The Complete History of the WWE Championship - Part 13

John Cena (September 17, 2006 - October 2, 2007)

John Cena defeated Edge in a TLC Match to win his third WWE Championship

John Cena reclaimed the WWE Championship in a terrific TLC battle at Unforgiven on September 17, 2006. It was his third title win and cemented him as the top guy in WWE.

His victory over Edge kicked off a 380 day reign as champion, which was the longest since Hulk Hogan's four year run as titleholder between 1984 and 1988.

Cena did not defend the WWE Championship on pay per view for the rest of the year. Instead, he competed in a losing effort for the World belt at Cyber Sunday and an Elimination Match at Survivor Series.

He defeated Umaga via fluke roll-up at New Year's Revolution in January 2007 after being pummelled by the "Samoan Bulldozer" for the vast majority of the bout. The pair's rematch at the 2007 Royal Rumble under Last Man Standing rules still stands out as Cena's finest ever match. In a super collision, the leader of the Cenation eventually choked out Umaga with a broken ring rope to keep the monster down for a 10 count.

Cena's reign continued unimpeded for most of 2007 as he vanquished the likes of Great Khali, Bobby Lashley, and Randy Orton before succumbing to a pectoral injury which forced him to vacate the title.

It was a shame that Cena's historic reign did not end inside the ring. However, the champion had earned a break after two and a half solid years, working full time as a headliner.

However, his absence would be much shorter than expected. Originally sidelined for an expected nine months, Cena returned just three months later as the shock number 30 entrant of the 2008 Royal Rumble, which he won to set up a bout with Randy Orton at No Way Out 2008.