Brock pinned Big E to win the WWE Championship in a five-way match that also featured Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and Bobby Lashley.
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Brock Lesnar’s triumph in the WWE Championship on Day 1 (1 January) broke a Hulk Hogan record that had stood for over two decades. Brock pinned Big E to win the WWE Championship in a five-way match that also featured Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and Bobby Lashley, 19 years, four months, and seven days after capturing the title for the first time. This is the most interval between a wrestler’s first World Title win and their most recent in WWE.
Between his first World Heavyweight Championship victory on January 23, 1984, and his Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship victory on April 21, 2002, Hogan’s record stood at 18 years, two months, and 29 days. Brock’s first reign as WWE Champion began on August 25, 2002.
Bob Backlund is in third position, with a gap of 16 years, nine months, and three days. Lesnar was set to face Universal Champion Roman Reigns on Day 1, however it was modified after Reigns tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to leave the show. Instead, Brock was thrown into the WWE Championship match, making it a five-man match. At the Royal Rumble 2022, Lashley will make his first appearance (29 January).
Former WWE star and manager Ric Flair spoke highly of current WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, recalling their match up, in the spring of 2002. The Next Big Thing, as Lesner is nicknamed in WWE, made his debut in 2002 after a two-year stint at Ohio Valley Wrestling. It took him no-time to establish his name for the company as he defeated the likes of WWE stars Matt Hardy, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and The Rock to become a RAW sensation. However, even as his stature continued to grow, he chose to remain humble and not take advantage of his superiority against veteran stars like Ric Flair.
Flair revealed that the nine-time champion was hard to tackle once he decided to take on his opponent. However, he also mentioned that the former footballer never tried to hurt him, during their face-off.
“He took care of me,” Flair said in the latest edition of Wooooo Nation UNCENSORED. “He never hurt me, he never hurt me. I’ll tell you that. When he latches on to you, you’re not going anywhere. The first time I wrestled him was the night Steve Austin quit in Atlanta, and Vince said, ‘You’re not part of RAW,” I said, “I thought I owned RAW,” He said, ‘…You’re wrestling Brock Lesnar [tonight].”
