WWE history: WWE title changes hands 5 times in 5 months

Bruno Sammartino, The Honky Tonk Man, Bob Backlund and Pedro Morales are just some names that spring to mind when you talk about legends who have held on to a coveted strap for a long time outdoing most of their peers.

When there is a promotion full of superstars who have one goal in common, then the relevance of the above mentioned feat is amplified multiple times.

But the longevity of being a champion has not always been something that WWE fans get to witness. On occasions, there are too many stars in the locerrom and in order to cater to all their egos, the titles go on a musical chair sort of setup to keep storylines fresh and relevant.

Today, take a look at one such instance in the year 2002.

The backstory

2002 was what many dub as a transitional year in WWE. The likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock had left the company, while Brock Lesnar was being pushed as "The Next Big Thing". Over on the blue side of things, Paul Heyman had saved SmackDown from going off WWE TV by introducing "The SmackDown Six".

2002 is also known for a series of months during the middle of the year, which saw the WWE title changing hands in quick succession, even though the holders of the title were the biggest icons in the history of this business.

The exchanges

At WrestleMania 18 in March, Chris Jericho's months-long reign as champion came to an end, when Triple H defeated him to win the title. The following month, WWE decided to make Hulk Hogan champion, after he was incredibly well received by fans at The Show of Shows in his legendary encounter against The Rock. Hogan defeated Triple H at Backlash to win the belt. The next month, Hogan lost the belt to Undertaker after interference from Vince McMahon.

Taker managed to successfully defend his title against Triple H at King of the Ring, but went on to lose it in a Triple Threat Match at Vengeance 2002, when The Rock pinned Kurt Angle in the final moments of the match. The next month, at SummerSlam, the King of the Ring winner Brock Lesnar put down The People's Champion to become the youngest WWE Champion of all time.

Thus, from 17th March to 25th August, in a span of just over 5 months (161 days to be specific), the WWE title changed hands 5 times!

The aftermath

Lesnar managed to keep the belt on his shoulder for around three months, finally breaking the chain. He defeated Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell to retain his title, but lost the same to The Big Show after Lesnar's manager Paul Heyman betrayed The Beast.