10 WWE Championship Reigns That Definitely Should Have Been Longer

It has been exactly ten years since Rey Mysterio won the WWE Title for the first and only time.

It has also been exactly ten years since Rey Mysterio lost the WWE Title.

In the wake of WWE Champion CM Punk's exit, WWE set up a mini tournament to crown a new champion, with the masked man beating The Miz in the final on the July 25, 2011 episode of Raw.

It was a great moment for Rey, who had enjoyed two previous runs with the World Heavyweight Title, but it was spoiled just hours later when John Cena entered the picture and beat him for the title (in order to set up a title versus title programme with the returning Punk).

Not only was this a bad look for supposed good guy John Cena, but fans were also miffed that the hardworking and exciting Mysterio wasn't given a proper run with the belt.

That had been a recurring theme in WWE over the years, as they often gave popular stars either the WWE or World Heavyweight Title - depending on which brand they were on - only to quickly take it away from them.

Here are ten WWE (and World Heavyweight) Title reigns that should have, by rights, been a lot longer.

10. Bray Wyatt (2017)

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Poor Bray Wyatt has been through the wringer over the years.

He's one of WWE's most outlandish characters in recent memory, and certainly had an aura and a presence about him (as too did the whole Wyatt Family), but he is one performer who has suffered perhaps more than any other thanks to poor booking and writing.

In early 2017, however, the Eater of Worlds was on a tear, surviving until the final three in the Royal Rumble and then bagging a place in the WWE Title Elimination Chamber match at the namesake pay-per-view.

On the night, Bray was successful in his quest to win the big one, beating a strong field that included AJ Styles, John Cena and Dean Ambrose and setting up a WrestleMania showdown with Rumble winner Randy Orton.

During this time, The Viper was a member of the Wyatt Family and refused to face the leader of the backwoods dwellers at the Showcase of the Immortals.

Well, before he burnt down the Wyatt Family compound that is.

The two met at 'Mania in a major misfire of a match, more remembered for Kevin Dunn's misguided insect-projection than any of the action.

Making things worse, Orton unnecessarily beat Wyatt to win his umpteenth world title, ending the reign at a weak 49 days. His lone defense of any note was in a triple threat with Styles and Cena on the SmackDown after Elimination Chamber.

Still, I suppose it could have been worse. He could have lost in three minutes to Goldberg in Saudi Arabia.

9. Jeff Hardy (2008)

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Jeff Hardy has always been a popular performer with a dedicated fanbase, but that fanbase really started to make themselves heard when the Charismatic Enigma returned to WWE in 2006.

He was initially in the Intercontinental and Tag Team Title scenes, but by the end of 2007, the company's decision makers could hardly ignore the thunderous crowd reactions he received or the mountain of merchandise he shifted.

For Jeff, the thrill was very much in the chase.

He beat Triple H at Armageddon '07 to become number one contender to Randy Orton's WWE Title, a match that went down at the 2008 Royal Rumble and ended in defeat for Hardy.

Then, later in the year, Jeff once again challenged for the title, this time just coming up short against the Cerebral Assassin in a pair of thrillers at No Mercy and Cyber Sunday.

It seemed as though it would never happen for the Rainbow-Haired Warrior, especially when he was removed from a planned title match at Survivor Series and replaced with Vladimir Kozlov.

But, eventually, it did happen. Jeff beat Edge and Triple H in the triple threat main event of Armageddon, capping off a year-plus of trying to win the big one.

It was a jubilant scene, but it didn't last long as, at the next month's Royal Rumble, Jeff fell in his first major defense, losing to Edge in a No Disqualification match when brother Matt turned on him.

Jeff's sole WWE Title reign lasted 42 days.

8. Daniel Bryan (2013 & 2014)

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One of the most unlikely WWE Champions ever, Daniel Bryan was propelled to the spot thanks to the adamant reactions of WWE fans, who refused to be silenced until their pick was elevated into the main event.

He had already shown that he could hold a main title during his 2011-12 World Heavyweight Title run, but his popularity exploded in 2013, the bearded wonder having forged a strong connection with the audience in large part thanks to his exploits in the Team Hell No tag team with Kane.

He was handpicked by John Cena as his opponent at SummerSlam 2013, and beat the Face That Runs the Place clean in the middle. Then special referee Triple H helped facilitate a Randy Orton cash-in, with Bryan's reign lasting a matter of mere minutes.

His series with Orton would see him hold the title again - but only for a day, due to the controversial finish to their meeting at Night of Champions.

From there, Bryan was eased out of the title picture in favour of Cena, Orton and Big Show, but the fans wouldn't let it lie and the Yes Movement ensured that Bryan not only made it to the main event of WrestleMania XXX, but that he won the title on the Grandest Stage, too.

Sadly, what could have been an epic reign was cut short due to Bryan's neck injury, ending it at 65 days.

Thankfully, he'd get a chance to have another, more substantial run four years later.

7. Edge (2006)

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Edge had a tremendous 2005, after a 2004 return from a major neck injury that had to be considered something of a letdown for the man himself.

Propelled by the real-life love triangle saga with Matt Hardy and Lita, Edge became the sleazy, must-watch Rated-R Superstar and upped his game in every aspect.

WWE, knowing full well what his potential was, booked him to win the first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21, giving him a guaranteed WWE Title shot at any point within the following year.

Edge carried the briefcase around everywhere but, since he was the first person to hold it, there was no expectation or clue as to when he would cash it in.

When he did so on John Cena at New Year's Revolution - following Cena's successful defense inside the Elimination Chamber - it was instantly iconic and solidified Edge as a true main eventer.

In the weeks after the title win, Edge demonstrated that he could be a ratings draw, too, as fans tuned into Raw in their droves to see what he was doing (a promised Live Sex Celebration might have had a little something to do with it, but still).

It was exciting, it was different and, three weeks later, it was over, as Cena triumphed in their rematch at the Royal Rumble in order to set up a WrestleMania main event with Triple H.

In point of fact, most of Edge's WWE Title reigns were of a transitional nature, with the longest of the four clocking in at 76 days.

6. Big Show (2002)

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2002 was a weird year for Big Show, as he was hardly featured and had the ignominy of being the WWE star posted at the WWE New York restaurant for WrestleMania 18, rather than being booked on the card itself.

His highlights for the first ten months of the year included being involved in the rubbish nWo revamp and having a midcard feud with Booker T (which he lost).

His fortunes changed when he was drafted to SmackDown in October, making an instant impact by attacking and kayfabe injuring The Undertaker, and then becoming number one contender to Brock Lesnar's WWE Title.

The Next Big Thing hadn't had the belt for too long at that point and was in the midst of an impressive undefeated streak, so the odds of the World's Largest Athlete unseating him were not great.

However, Brock was working with several niggling injuries at the time (including a painful rib injury suffered in a match with Show), and WWE opted to take the title off him at Survivor Series, turning Lesnar babyface and Paul Heyman heel in the process.

A rejuvenated Big Show running roughshod over the blue brand's roster with Heyman by his side could have been some great stuff, but it was not to be.

28 days after winning the gold, Show lost it to Kurt Angle at Armageddon.

Nothing was going to stop Angle/Lesnar happening at WrestleMania, and Show was always going to be a way to get the title to Kurt so that Brock could chase, but it was a shame for Paul Wight.

Especially since, three years earlier, he'd had another shortish transitional reign (50 days) that didn't exactly set the world on fire.

5. Rob Van Dam (2006)

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Many fans at the time attested that Rob Van Dam really should have won a world title within his first year or two in the company.

Immensely popular and altogether different than anyone else on the roster, RVD took WWE by storm when he showed up as part of the WCW and ECW invasion of WWE in 2001.

Despite getting over and mixing it up with top stars like Steve Austin and The Rock in main events, WWE were hesitant to book him above a certain level and, over the course of the next several years, he settled into the Tag Team and Intercontinental Title scenes.

Van Dam spent 2005 on the shelf recovering from major knee surgery and returned in early '06 with a renewed focus and corresponding push.

He was booked to win the second-ever Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21 and opted to cash-in his title shot against John Cena at the second One Night Stand pay-per-view.

His first world title victory was worth the wait, as he beat Big Match John in a thriller in front of a rabid, partisan ECW crowd. Then, on the first episode of ECW on Sci-Fi, Paul Heyman presented the new champ with the ECW World Title, too, making him a double champ.

Van Dam managed one significant defense of the WWE Title (against Edge at Vengeance) before his infamous arrest went down.

On July 3, Rob and travelling partner Sabu were caught speeding and pulled over. Upon further inspection of their vehicle, police officers found drugs and drug paraphernalia in it.

In the end, Van Dam was only issued a small fine and some additional court costs for the incident, but WWE went ahead and suspended him for 30 days without pay, while also booking him to drop both titles on the subsequent Raw and ECW shows.

It's hard to say how long his WWE Title reign would have been without the arrest, but I'm sure it would have been at least a little longer than 22 days. After years of being overlooked, it's a shame his run went up in smoke.

4. The Undertaker (2007)

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Despite being one of WWE's longest mainstays and beloved characters, The Undertaker didn't hold the top prize all too often or for too long.

The argument could be made that The Deadman didn't need to be WWE or World Heavyweight Champion, of course, since his gimmick was so strong and so over and that his general lack of beatability made it hard to book him as effectively if he held the belt.

Of all his short reigns, his World Heavyweight Title run in 2007 was the most disappointingly brief.

He beat Batista in a blockbuster at WrestleMania 23, having earned his shot by winning the Royal Rumble match. At this point in time, 'Taker was lean, mean and putting on the matches of his life.

Many saw him having a lengthy run through, at least, SummerSlam, similar to his reign in 1997.

Regrettably, however, he went down with a torn bicep, necessitating surgery. That meant his reign would have to be cut short, so WWE engineered a scenario where Edge would cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase (which he had won from an also-injured Ken Kennedy), with The Phenom dropping the strap to the Ultimate Opportunist after holding it for 37 days.

3. Shawn Michaels (2002)

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Similar to the case of Big Show we looked at earlier, Shawn Michaels won a world title at the 2002 Survivor Series, only to lose it the next month at Armageddon.

For the Heartbreak Kid, though, his title win was even more special, as he won it in the main event of the show, in the first ever Elimination Chamber match, at Madison Square Garden, in only his second bout back after improbably returning from a four-year injury layoff.

WWE gave Michaels, one of their best ever performers, the World Heavyweight Title in a confetti-filled feel-good moment. However, it soon became apparent that Michaels was not (yet) back long-term and that the title reign was tokenistic in nature.

HBK defended the title one time, a disqualification loss to Rob Van Dam on Raw, before giving it back to Triple H at Armageddon when he lost a Three Stages of Hell match.

A four-week reign with the big gold belt would have been fine, had The Showstopper captured another between then and his 2010 retirement, but he didn't, and this felt like a missed opportunity.

2. Christian (2011)

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In 2011, there were few WWE stars as dependable as the ever-consistent and reliable Christian.

Since returning to the company in 2009, Captain Charisma had enjoyed a run with the ECW Title, but the third brand's main prize seemed to be his ceiling, until lifelong friend and tag partner Edge was forced to retire while still in possession of the World Heavyweight Title.

Gunning for the championship both in a bid to move out of Edge's shadow while also paying tribute to him, Christian beat Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match at Extreme Rules.

It was something that had been a long time coming for Christian, who was a great worker, popular and also a fresh face at the top of the card.

Then, on the very next episode of SmackDown, he dropped it to Randy Orton. You know. The proper star.

It was a blow, no doubt, but he won it back a couple of months later at Money in the Bank. Now a heel, Christian and Orton had a tremendous summer series that elevated not just the them, but the title itself.

Christian proved that he could carry the championship and deliver the goods, but he didn't get too long to enjoy it, dropping it back to The Viper 28 days later in another belter at SummerSlam.

Outside of Shawn Michaels and Jeff Hardy, Christian held the World Heavyweight Title for the third shortest amount of time.

1. Mankind (1999)

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The Attitude Era is fondly remembered by the fans and wrestlers who lived through it, but it was far from perfect.

Yes, everyone was over and the arenas were wold out, but some of the output was downright awful. One thing that certainly suffered during that time was WWE's championship belts, including their World Title.

1999 was particularly bad for playing hot potato with the main prize, as it flipped back and forth between the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker and Triple H.

Mick Foley got in on the act, too, when the overachiever won the big one on the January 4 episode of Raw, which was historically spoiled by WCW announcer Tony Schiavone giving away the result at the start of Nitro (which was lived while Raw was taped).

It was a phenomenal moment, but Mankind lost the title back to The Rock 20 days after the switch aired, in an I Quit match at the Royal Rumble.

A week later, Foley got the belt once again, winning the ratings smash 'Halftime Heat' empty arena bout with The Great One, which aired during halftime of the Super Bowl.

Once again, though, it was a short reign where Mankind didn't get to do much with the title, losing it back to The Rock once again two weeks later in a ladder match on Raw.

There was simply no chance WWE weren't going to go with Rock versus Austin for the title at WrestleMania, but it was harsh on the hardworking Foley.

Mankind's third and final WWE Title run that year lasted just 24 hours. He won it in a triple threat match at SummerSlam (in order to have special referee and Minnesota Governor Jesse 'The Body' Ventura get a photo op with a babyface), only to drop it to Triple H the next night on Raw (word is that Austin was against doing a job to The Game at that point in time).

So, while Foley is a three-time WWE Champion, none of those three reigns were allowed to reach their full potential.