You never forget your first time!

So in my column earlier today I made a comment in the passing about how John Cena is a giving Superstar given his main event position, and noted that he’s dropped the title to three people who had never previously held a World Championship. And that got me thinking, in modern history, how does every champion compare? How many of their reigns ended with a Superstar who is holding the title for the very first time?

I did need to set some criteria, however. I contemplated long and hard, and ultimately decided that if a Superstar held the WCW Championship, their first WWE Championship would not count as a “first time champion.” Guys like Ric Flair and Goldberg were the main reason. After dominating the World title scene in WCW for so long, how could I possibly argue that they were a first time champion when they captured the gold in WWE (the downside, on the other hand, was Big Show, who had a forgettable run with the WCW Championship as the Giant)? The ONE exception I made was Chris Benoit. I didn’t count his WCW title win. Conversely, I decided not to include the WWE’s version of the ECW Championship. So CM Punk’s World title win IS included as a “first time champion.”

I have to admit that there were some surprises. Like more than half of Hogan’s title reigns ended with somebody who had never before been a World Champion. On the other hand, all of Orton’s reigns ended with an established champion nabbing the gold. And only ONE of Austin’s reigns ended with a first timer, and that was Kane’s joke of a one-day run!

For what it’s worth, I began the list with Hogan’s first run as champion. And I included both WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship reigns. Enjoy (and kindly point out any errors):

Hulk Hogan – 3/5 (Andre the Giant, Ultimate Warrior, Undertaker)
Andre the Giant – 0/1
Randy Savage – 0/2
Ultimate Warrior – 1/1 (Sgt. Slaughter)
Sgt. Slaughter – 0/1
The Undertaker – 0/7
Ric Flair – 1/2 (Bret Hart)
Bret Hart – 2/5 (Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels)
Yokozuna – 0/2
Bob Backlund – 2/2 (Iron Sheik, Diesel)
Diesel – 0/1
Shawn Michaels – 2/4 (Sid, Steve Austin)
Sid – 0/2
Steve Austin – 1/6 (Kane)
Kane – 0/1
The Rock – 4/9 (Mankind, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar)
Mankind – 1/3 (Triple H)
Triple H – 3/13 (Mr. McMahon, Chris Benoit, Batista)
Mr. McMahon – 0/1
Big Show – 0/2
Kurt Angle – 1/5 (Rey Mysterio)
Chris Jericho – 1/4 (Jack Swagger)
Brock Lesnar – 1/3 (Eddie Guerrero)
Eddie Guerrero – 1/1 (JBL)
JBL – 1/1 (John Cena)
John Cena – 3/9 (Edge, RVD, Sheamus)
Edge – 2/9 (Jeff Hardy, CM Punk)
RVD – 0/1
Randy Orton – 0/6
Jeff Hardy – 0/3
Batista – 0/6
Sheamus – 0/1
Goldberg – 0/1
Chris Benoit – 1/1 (Randy Orton)
Rey Mysterio – 0/1
King Booker – 0/1
The Great Khali – 0/1
CM Punk – 0/3
Jack Swagger – Undetermined