10 Wrestling Champions Who Barely Defended Their Title
These wrestling champions didn't put their belts on the line much
We’re sure that, if given the option, none of us would come to work. But when you’re a professional wrestling champion, the expectation is that you’ll show up in the next town to defend your title with pride.
Expectation and reality are not always the same, of course. Whether it was due to an injury, cushy contract or clueless creative, the following ring warriors – all of whom had lengthy reigns – put their championship belt on the line about once every solar eclipse.
These are 10 Wrestling Champions Who Barely Defended Their Title.
10. Kenny Omega - AEW World Championship
Kenny Omega became just the third AEW World Champion by beating Jon Moxley on the special Winter is Coming episode of Dynamite in December 2020.
These were the COVID times, with AEW taping in front of small, socially distanced crowds at their home base of Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Best Bout Machine helped carry the fledgling promotion through these uncertain days, putting together a reign that saw him have tremendous matches with the likes of Moxley, Rey Fenix, Orange Cassidy, PAC, Christian Cage, and Jungle Boy.
And he still had time to go over to IMPACT and take their world title away from Rich Swann, too!
These matches were all different and told individual stories that made them feel distinct and special. They were all rather lengthy affairs, too, with the shortest clocking in at 17 minutes and several pushing half an hour.
In his 346 days as champ, The Cleaner defended the title seven times on television and pay-per-view, before passing the torch to ‘Hangman’ Adam Page in a blinder at Full Gear 2021.
Kenny Omega’s AEW World Title reign perfectly demonstrated that it’s really about quality, not quantity.
