For those of us whose fandom overlaps between the NBA and the WWE, it has been a historic week on the hardwood.
On Monday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder tied a record set by the legendary Wilt Chamberlain back in 1963, by scoring at least 20 points in 126 consecutive games. SGA’s career trajectory is remarkable and he will undoubtedly set a ton of records in his NBA career. But the record he just set on Monday is an obscure one that may not make the cut in his Hall of Fame induction speech.
Then, last night, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo made history of his own when he tallied the 2nd highest point total in a game in NBA history. Bam dropped 83 points on the lowly Washington Wizards, and trails only Chamberlain, who crafted his 100 point masterpiece in March of 1962, right in the middle of his 126 game streak that SGA just tied. No disrespect to Bam Adebayo. He is a great basketball player, an Olympic gold medalist, and probably a future Hall of Famer, but being 2nd on a scoring list of any kind ahead of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and other prolific scorers makes him one of the more unlikely runners-up in any NBA stat category.
All this basketball history being made, of course, got me thinking about similar obscure accomplishments and little-known 2nd place finishers in WWE history. After doing a little digging and asking around the Cageside offices, we came up with some good ones!
Obscure WWE Records
Youngest Title Holder in WWE History - Nicholas (10 years old)
In the leadup to WrestleMania 34, the RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus, better known as The Bar, were running roughshod over the tag division. In need of dance partners for his tag champs at ‘Mania, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle signed a tag team battle royal, where the last remaining competitor would earn a title shot at the Grandaddy of Them All. An angry Braun Strowman, looking for a fight and his own path to ‘Mania, interjected himself into the battle royal and won it. For weeks after, he would beat The Bar in singles matches without revealing who his partner would be in the eventual tag title match.
Fantasy bookers and matchmakers threw a ton of options out there, but much to most of our respective disappointments, Strowman chose a seemingly random kid from the audience to be his partner. His choice, Nicholas, who ended up being referee John Cone’s 10 year old son, would essentially be in Braun’s corner as he won a Handicap Match at the Superdome and became the youngest person to ever hold a championship in WWE history.
Oldest Title Holder in WWE History - Pat Patterson (78 years old)
In the spring of 2019, the WWE trotted out Mick Foley to introduce their newest championship belt. Hoping to recapture some of the magic of the 24/7 rule instilled on the Hardcore Title many years earlier, WWE stars started competing for the WWE 24/7 Championship. For the next 3 1/2 years, the title was used predominantly in comedy segments, many of them memorably featuring R-Truth, who won the title a record 53 times. (Of course, he also lost the title 53 times as well!)
The list of former champions includes male and female WWE superstars, male and female referees, and perhaps one of the most random assortments of celebrities you will ever find, featuring NFL players Rob Gronkowski and Doug Flutie, musicians Bad Bunny and Marshmello, NASCAR legend Kyle Busch, sports host Rob Stone, former NBA player Enes Kanter, and perhaps the most famous former champion of all, Santa Claus.
This prestigious championship lineage also produced the oldest title holder in WWE history. On RAW Reunion in July of 2019, reigning, defending 24/7 Champion Drake Maverick was trying to evade The Boogeyman when he tripped and fell. Ever the opportunist, 78 year old Pat Patterson pinned the fallen champion and added to his hall of fame resume. He would drop the title just moments later to long time compadre Gerald Brisco in a confrontation not shown on camera.
Shortest Title Reign - Big Show (45 seconds)
Since the inception of Money in the Bank in 2005, briefcase cash-ins have provided us with some memorable moments and some very short title reigns. Just months after their previous meeting when a Big Show superplex on Mark Henry collapsed the entire ring, the two monsters collided at the TLC pay per view PLE in 2011 with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Big Show would win the battle (and also his final world title), but Money in the Bank briefcase holder Daniel Bryan wasted absolutely no time to run down and cash in on the new champ, ending Big Show’s World Title reign just 45 seconds after it started.
Curious about the shortest title reign in WWE history that did not involve a briefcase being cashed in? Well, that distinction, ironically belongs to another giant.
Andre THE Giant to be more specific.
In February of 1988, Andre the Giant defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship. Offering anecdotal proof that the Million Dollar Man’s catchphrase “Everyone has a price!” is in fact true, Andre sold the title to Ted DiBiase Sr. for an undisclosed amount of money just 108 seconds after winning it.
Biggest Gap Between ‘Mania Matches - Ricky Steamboat (21 years)
A few years back, Stone Cold Steve Austin came out of retirement for an epic match against Kevin Owens that closed out WrestleMania 38. It had been 19 years since Austin last competed at ‘Mania, a losing effort to The Rock in Seattle. Believe it or not, Austin’s ‘Mania break is not the longest in history.
That distinction belongs to Ricky ‘the Dragon’ Steamboat.
Steamboat competed in the first four WrestleManias, losing to Greg Valentine at WrestleMania IV, before taking an incredible 21-year hiatus. At WrestleMania 25 in Dallas, a 56-year-old Dragon would reemerge and team up with fellow legends Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper, where the iconic trio would lose a 3-on-1 Handicap match to Chris Jericho.
Notable 2nd Places & Runners-Up
2nd Longest Intercontinental Title Reign - Honky Tonk Man (454 days)
The Ring General, GUNTHER became the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time with his 666 day reign that lasted from June 2022 through April 2024. But the second longest reign in history?
That belongs to none other than the Honky Tonk Man.
Fans may remember Santino Marella as Intercontinental Champion, striving to have a longer reign than one of my favorite “Santino-isms”, the Honky Donkey Man. Santino’s reign would end after just 84 days and Honky Tonk Man’s record would hold for 14 more years.
2nd Longest WrestleMania Undefeated Streak - Rob Van Dam (4-0)
It’s been almost 12 years since Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30 to halt the Deadman’s streak of 21 straight ‘Mania wins. With Taker’s run long over, taking up the mantle for longest active WrestleMania win streak is none other than Rob. Van. Dam. RVD himself hasn’t competed on the Grandest Stage of Them All in almost 20 years so him extending that streak seems pretty unlikely at this point. Since Sable and Demolition (both 3-0) are unlikely to come out of retirement for another run, the next longest streak to watch belongs to Bianca Belair, who also boasts a 3-0 ‘Mania record.
Most 2nd Place Rumble Finishes - Roman Reigns (4)
Liv Morgan was a favorite pick to win this year’s Royal Rumble, partially because she had been the runner up the last two years. Prior to her win a few weeks ago, Liv found herself in premiere company, tied with Big Show, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, and Charlotte Flair for most 2nd place finishes in Rumble history. Ahead of those four on that list is Triple H with 3 and Roman Reigns, who was the last person eliminated in 4 different Rumble matches. Add in Roman’s two Rumble wins and he has a case to be considered the best Royal Rumble competitor in WWE history.
Other random notable runners up in Royal Rumble matches?
How about One Man Gang in 1988, Santino Marella in 2011, Ryback in 2013, or Rusev in 2015?
So what do you think Cagesiders? Can you think of any obscure feats or accomplishments for top WWE superstar like SGA’s scoring streak? Any surprising people in 2nd place on any WWE list you can recall? What is your favorite random WWE statistic that not many people know of? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!