The Champs Are HERE: Ranking The 21st Century's WWE Champions

It has seen so many transformations over the years, from the classic wing design that HBK is holding, to the Undisputed belt look that Triple H won and finally to what we have now, the cool spinner deal that John Cena introduced.

Of course, I am talking about the most illustrious prize in the histroy of Pro Wrestling, the WWE Championship.

Since, it was first established the title has been held by the likes of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Stone Cold and by countless other WWE Hall Of Famers.

But, in the late 90's the belt would loose some of it's prestige due to the "Monday Night Wars" and the constant change of holders.

But, here in the 21st century we have seen the title regain it's honor thanks in part to some of the great champions of this era.

On this slideshow I have honored the top WWE Champions of the 21st Century's.

In total their have been 18 different holders of the title in this century.

So, 18 different slides for 18 different champions.

I have considered the amount of title reigns and the prestige of the holders title reigns when compiling this list.

Enjoy !

18. Hulk Hogan

1x WWE Champion

I really don't know what to say about Hulk Hogan and this really sad title reign.

Like most wrestling fans I knew that this was a mistake giving Hulk the belt over Triple H but, Vince thought he would attract a older audience back by giving the Hulkster the gold.

He had his runs in the 80's and 90's and to be honest wrestling fans respected him for what he did for the company.

But, he was basically 50 when he won the belt and the title lost a lot of it's prestige.

Reign History:

Won It- Backlash 2002- Beat Triple H
Lost It- Judgement Day- Lost to The Undertaker

Reign Length: 1 month

17. Jeff Hardy

1x WWE Champion

Hardy finally escaped the hells of the mid-cards by winning his first major title at the Armageddon PPV in a triple threat match.

I am a big fan of Jeff Hardy and I think the WWE was trying to give the guy a push but, when they finally gave him a shot at the main-event spot he did show that he was just a mid-card wrestler in a main-event.

He is a fun wrestler to watch but, his style his better suited for the match before the main event.

Reign History:

Won It- Armageddon 2008- Beat Edge and Triple H
Lost It- Royal Rumble 2009- Lost to Edge

Reign Length:

1 month

16. The Big Show

1x WWE Champion

The Big Show actually came into the 21st Century as the WWE Champion (okay, okay, for like a couple of days) but, he won only 1 WWE title in the 21st Century.

He would be in a nice feud on SmackDown! with Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar.

And, actually beat Lesnar for the title.

Reign History:

Won It- Survior Series 2002- Beat Brock Lesnar
Lost It- Armageddon 2002- Lost to Kurt Angle

Title Length:

1 month

15. Batista

2x WWE Champion

"The Animal" Batista is only at 16.

He could have been higher but, because his first reign had to end because of injury this is what he gets.

Batista would battle with Randy Orton and John Cena in is time as champion.

I never really liked him holding the WWE Title he always seemed like a guy that would look better holding the World Heavyweight Championship.

Just my opinion.

Reign History:

Won It- Extreme Rules 2009- Beat Randy Orton
Lost It- Forfeit due to injury

Won It- Elimination Chamber 2010- Beat John Cena
Lost It- WrestleMainia XXVI- Lost to John Cena

Reign Length:

First Reign- 2 days
Second Reign- 1 month

14. Sheamus

2x WWE Champion

Sheamus has the 100th reign WWE Title reign on his resume.

He hasn't even been with the promotion for 2 years and already has 2 WWE Title reigns.

I like him because he is one of the those heels that isn't a punk, he doesn't win matches by count out and his move set is one that anyone could fall in love with.

Good powerhouse wrestler.

Reign History:

Won It- TLC 2009- Beat John Cena
Lost It- Elimination Chamber- Lost to John Cena

Won It- Fatal 4-Way 2009- Beat John Cena
Lost It- Still has it

Reign Length:

First Reign- 2 months
Second Reign- 1 month +

13. Rob Van Dam

1x WWE Champion

RVD broke out from the mid-cards and won the WWE Championship from John Cena at ECW One Night Stand.

The gifted athlete would be given the ECW Title later as well.

RVD could have held the belt for a lot longer if he hadn't been busted for marijuana possesion. And, ECW storyline could have been a little longer.

The WWE didn't want to wait till a PPV to strip Van Dam so, they gave it up on RAW.

Reign History:

Won It- ECW One Night Stand 2006- Beat John Cena
Lost It- Monday Night Raw, July,3,06- Lost to Edge

Reign Length:

1 month

12. The Undertaker

1x WWE Champion

Hulk Hogan was walking around with the biggest title in wrestling history untill, he ran into "Big Evil" The Undertaker.

Going into the match The Undertaker was actually a heel but, I am sure that everyone wanted Undertaker to win it and bring prestige back to it.

During his time as champion, he would have a couple of really good matches, including a ladder match againest Jeff Hardy and a match againest The Rock.

Reign History:

Won It- Judgement Day 2002- Beat Hulk Hogan
Lost It- Vengeance 2002- Lost to The Rock

Reign Length:

2 months

11. Edge

4x WWE Champion

"The Ultimate Opportunist" misses the top 10.

The 21st Century has been very generous to "The Rated R Superstar" with 4 title reigns. He is tied for the 4th most WWE Championships in the 21st Cenury along with Kurt Angle and The Rock.

Even though he has 4 reigns, he has never really had a long reign and that's what kept him back.

His longest reign was only 2 and a half months.

Reign History:

Won It- New Years Revolution 2006-Beat John Cena
Lost It- Royal Rumble 2006- Lost to John Cena

Won It- Monday Night Raw, July,3,06- Beat John Cena and RVD
Lost It- Unforgiven 2006- Lost to John Cena

Won It- Survior Series 2008- Beat Triple H and Vladmir Koslov
Lost It- Armageddon 2008- Lost to Jeff Hardy

Won It- Royal Rumble 2009- Beat Jeff Hardy
Lost It- Elimination Chamber- Lost to Triple H

Reign Length:

First Reign- 3 weeks
Second Reign- 2 and a half months
Third Reign- 1 month
Fourth Reign- 3 weeks

10. Chris Jericho

1x WWE Champion

Chris Jericho is a one time WWE Champion in the 21st Century.

He went through a intense match with The Rock to win the WCW title and then was forced to face Stone Cold for the WWE Title.

In his title reign he would feud with Triple H and give a great match againest at Wrestlemainia X8 and then another great match at Fully Loaded.

Reign History:

Won It- Vengeance 2001- Beat Stone Cold
Lost It- Wrestlemainia X8- Lost to Triple H

Reign Length:

4 months

9. Eddie Guerrero

1x WWE Champion

Finally, when Eddie Guerrero won the WWE Championship we saw they evolution of a underrated mid-card wrestler to a prime time main-eventer.

Eddie was wrestling againest a bonified monster in Brock Lesnar, Lesnar had been on a tear beating Kurt Angle and Hardcore Holly the previous months.

With a little cheating Eddie hit the "Frog Splash" and took the title, a month later he would defend it againest Kurt Angle.

Reign History:

Won It- No Way Out 2004- Beat Brock Lesnar
Lost It- Great American Bash 2004- Lost to JBL

Reign Length:

4 and a half months

8. The Rock

4x WWE Champion

"The People's Champ" The Rock and his 4 WWE Championships come in at number 8.

Rock would deliever some pretty good matches as the champ, Triple H vs. The Rock and Kurt Angle vs. The Rock for the title are instant classics.

Should be in the WWE HOF already but, his time will come.

Reign History:

Won It- Backlash 2000- Beat Triple H
Lost It- Judgement Day 2000- Lost to Triple H

Won It- King Of The Ring 2000- Beat Triple H
Lost It- No Mercy 2000- Lost to Kurt Angle

Won It- No Way Out 2001- Beat Kurt Angle
Lost It- Wrestlemainia X7- Lost to Stone Cold

Won It- Vengeance 2002- Beat The Undertaker
Lost it- Summer Slam 2002- Lost to Brock Lesnar

Reign Length:

First Reign- 1 month
Second Reign- 4 months
Third Reign- 1 month
Fourth Reign- 1 month

7. Brock Lesnar

3x WWE Champion

I think we can officially call Brock Lesnar "THE Big Thing" and drop the next.

Before, he was tearing heads off in UFC, he was the baddest man in the WWE.

He was known for being one of the toughest competitors in WWE. He still was wrestling even when he missed the "Shooting Star Press" and legitimitly hit his head on the mat at Wrestlemainia.

Moments like him breaking the the ring by suplexing the Big Show and him destroying Hulk Hogan will live on in WWE history.

Who knows ? Maybe, he comes back to the WWE as the Raw guest host.

Reign History:

Won It- SummerSlam 2002- Beat The Rock
Lost It- Survior Series 2002- Lost to Big Show

Won It- WrestleMainia X9- Beat Kurt Angle
Lost It- Vengeance 2003- Lost to Kurt Angle

Won It- SmackDown! Sept.18,03- Beat Kurt Angle
Lost It- No Way Out 2004- Lost to Eddie Guerrero

Reign Length:

First Reign- 3 months
Second Reign- 4 months
Third Reign- 5 months

6. Stone Cold

2x WWE Champion

The biggest superstar ever ?

"The Texas Rattlesnake" might have won the majority of his titles in the 90's but, he was a great champion in the 21st Century also.

He would enjoy feuds with Triple H, The Rock, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle.

He was so big, he would have his own WWE Championship belt, "The Smokin Skull Belt".

Reign History:

Won It- Wrestlemainia X7- Beat The Rock
Lost It- Unforgiven 2001- Lost to kurt Angle

Won It- Monday Night Raw, Oct,8,01- Beat Kurt Angle
Lost It- Vengeance 2001- Lost to Chris Jericho

Reign Length:

First Reign- 6 months
Second Reign- 2 months

5. Kurt Angle

4x WWE Champion

"The Wrestling Machine" Kurt Angle starts our top 5.

With two reigns that lasted 4 months and some of the best matches ever Kurt has cemented his place in wrestling lure.

So, many times I have seen bad wrestlers look good in the ring because this man is able to work the match to perfection.

I dare you to find one bad Kurt Angle match.

Reign History:

Won It- No Mercy 2000- Beat the Rock
Lost It- No Way Out 2001- Lost to Rock

Won It- Unforgiven 2001- Beat Stone Cold
Lost it- Monday Night Raw, Oct,8,01- Lost to Stone Cold

Won It- Armagedden 2002- Beat Big Show
Lost It- Wrestlemainia X9- Lost to Brock Lesnar

Won It- Vengeance 2003- Beat Brock Lesnar
Lost It- SmackDown!, Sept.18,2003- Lost to Brock Lesnar

Reign Length:

First Reign- 4 months
Second Reign- 2 and half weeks
Third Reign- 4 months
Fourth Reign- 1 and half months

4. John Bradshaw Layfield

1x WWE Champion

JBL started the 21st Century out as a member of the APA, a cool team with one goal in mind and that was to make money.

When they APA had to split up, JBL fought his way to the main event spot and beat Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship.

He would then go on to defend it againest the likes of the Undertaker, Booker T, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle and John Cena.

He might have had the most prestigous reign of the the century thus far.

Reign History:

Won It- Great American Bash 2004- Beat Eddie Guerrero
Lost It- Wrestlemainia 21- Lost to John Cena

Reign Length:

10 months

3. Randy Orton

5x WWE Champion

Randy Orton has the third most WWE titles in the 21st Century with a total of 5.

Orton has given some good performances since his time in the big leagues, with a career match againest Mick Foley and good performances againest John Cena and Shawn Michaels he will be sticking around for at least another decade.

Maybe, title #6 is just around the corner.

Reign History:

Won It- No Mercy 2007- John Cena surrendered due to injury
Lost It- No Mercy 2007- Lost to Triple H

Won It- No Mercy 2007- Beat Triple H
Lost It- Backlash 2008- Lost to Triple H

Won It- Backlash 2009- Beat Triple H
Lost It- Extreme Rules- Lost to Batista

Won It- Monday Night Raw, June,15,09- Beat John Cena, HHH and Big Show
Lost It- Breaking Point 2009- Lost to John Cena

Won It- Hell In The Cell 2009- Beat John Cena
Lost It- Bragging Right 2009- Lost to John Cena

Reign Lengths:

First Reign- 2 hours
Second Reign- 6 months
Third Reign- 1 month
Fourth Reign- 3 months
Fifth Reign- 3 weeks

2. Triple H

6x WWE Champion

"The Game" with Randy Orton is tied for the second most WWE Titles in the 21st Century.

he had the first WWE Title win of the 21st Century.

I think that his day has sort of passed him now, Triple H is still the big name and can still sell out arenas but, he might be living more on the name rather then the ability.

Reign History:

Won It- Monday Night Raw, Jan.3,00- Beat Big Show
Lost It- Backlash 2000- Lost to The Rock

Won It- Judgement Day 2000- Beat The rock
Lost It- King Of The Ring 2000- Lost to The Rock

Won It- Wrestlemainia X8- Beat Chris Jericho
Lost It- Backlash 2002- Lost to Hulk Hogan

Won It- No Mercy 2007- Beat Randy Orton
Lost It- No Mercy 2007- Lost to Randy Orton

Won It- Backlash 2008- Beat Randy Orton
Lost It- Survivor Series 2008- Lost to Edge

Won It- Elimination Chamber 2009- Beat Edge
Lost It- Backlash 2009- Lost to Randy Orton

Reign Lengths:

First Reign- 4 months
Second Reign- 1 month
Thrid Reign- 1 month
Fourth Reign- An hour
Fifth Reign- 7 months
Sixth Reign- 2 months

1. John Cena

7x WWE Champion

The CHAMP John Cena will end this list.

He has had some of the longest title reigns that we have seen in a while.

He has been the face of the company for the entire past decade and he will continue to be the face untill the wants to retire.

He is the closest thing to a Rock we have right now.

People won't know how good he is untill he is gone.

Reign History:

Won It- Wrestlemainia 21- Beat JBL
Lost It- New Years Revolution 2006- Lost to Edge

Won It- Royal Rumble 2006- Beat Edge
Lost It- ECW One Night Stand- Lost to RVD

Won It- Unforgiven 2006- Beat Edge
Lost It- No Mercy 2007- Forfeit du to injury

Won It- Breaking Point 2009- Beat Randy Orton
Lost It- Hell In The Cell 2009- Lost to Randy Orton

Won It- Bragging Rights 2009- Beat Randy orton
Lost It- TLC 2009- Lost to Sheamus

Won It- Elimination Chamber 2010- Beat Sheamus
Lost It- Elimination Chamber 2010- Lost to Batista

Won It- Wrestlemainia 26- Beat Batista
Lost It- Fatal 4-Way- Lost to Sheamus

Reign Lengths:

First Reign- 9 and a half months
Second Reign- 5 months
Third Reign- A year and one month
Fourth Reign- 1 month
Fifth Reign- 1 month
Sixth Reign- 10 minutes
Seventh Reign- 3 months