The Complete History of the WWE Championship - Part 17

The Rock (January 27, 2013 - April 7, 2013)

The Rock: Won his eighth WWE Championship 11 years after his seventh

The Rock's seventh WWE Championship reign ended at SummerSlam 2002 on August 25, 2002.

He would not lift his eighth until January 27, 2013, over a decade later at the Royal Rumble.

The groundwork was laid for The Rock's title collision with WWE Champion, CM Punk at RAW 1000 on July 23, 2012, when Punk laid out The Rock following the champion's title defense versus John Cena.

The Rock gained his revenge and the WWE Championship before a massive pay-per-view audience of 512,000, the highest 'Rumble number in four years.

Elimination Chamber the following month saw The Rock successfully defend the belt versus Punk in a rematch, that drew 213,000 buys on pay-per-view, the event's highest number since 2010.

That all set up the big rematch in the headline spot at WrestleMania. The Rock defended the WWE Championship versus Royal Rumble winner, John Cena in a bout superior to their 'Mania battle the previous year. This time, the result was reversed as Cena defeated The Rock to win the title.

WrestleMania 29 drew over a million buys once more for Rock-Cena 2 as the pair's box office magic continued.

This was likely to be Rock's final ever WWE Championship reign.