Current Champions to Have Historical Reigns on Road to WrestleMania?

I hope you enjoy who the men and women holding gold in WWE currently are. Don't expect any of those titles to change hands until at least WrestleMania XXVIII, which is in just 59 days. It is a safe bet to say that CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Epico, Primo and Beth Phoenix will all still hold championship gold come April 1 in Miami.

Historically speaking, title changes don't occur in February or March. Of the six active championships in WWE, titles have rarely changed hands in those two months. In fact, February and March are two of the three months (May being the other) where the fewest title changes have happened. Only 32 title changes have happened in February and 29 have happened in March, the month with the fewest changes. With Elimination Chamber, a pay-per-view where titles rarely change hands, and no events in March, it is safe to assume that no changes will be made until WrestleMania on April 1.

This news should be good for many wrestling fans, especially those who complain about the constant shuffling of champions in today's WWE. The company seems satisfied with the current slew of champions, as well as how great the ratings have been recently.

Seeing how the champions stack up now, their journey to WrestleMania will make all of them pretty prestigious in history. Instead of piling up title reigns, WWE may be focusing on creating historical significance for the holders of their belts. Here is a list of current champions with their length of reigns up to this point:

WWE Champion: CM Punk (74 days)

World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan (46 days)

Intercontinental Champion: Cody Rhodes (177 days)

United States Champion: Jack Swagger (17 days)



WWE Tag Team Champions: Epico and Primo (18 days)

WWE Divas Champion: Beth Phoenix (123 days)

Now let's take those numbers and add 59 days to them in order to see the length of their reigns, should they last until WrestleMania:

WWE Champion: CM Punk (133 days)

World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan (105 days)

Intercontinental Champion: Cody Rhodes (236 days)

United States Champion: Jack Swagger (76 days)

WWE Tag Team Champions: Epico and Primo (77 days)

WWE Divas Champion: Beth Phoenix (182 days)

Punk’s title reign would make his reign the longest since The Miz’s, which ended at the pay-per-view following last year’s WrestleMania. It would also make it the second-longest reign since Triple H reigned for most of 2008.

Bryan’s World Heavyweight Championship reign would be the longest for him since Kane’s 154-day reign following his Money in the Bank cash-in two years ago. It would also tie Edge’s reign as the ninth longest in the 10-year history of the World Heavyweight Championship.

Cody Rhodes, come WrestleMania, would be eight days shy of tying Shelton Benjamin’s reign from 2004 and would have the eighth-longest reign in the title’s existence. Rhodes would even pass the 233-day reign by Pat Patterson, the original Intercontinental Champion.

Despite just getting started with his reign, Jack Swagger would pass 24 different men on the list of total days with the United States Championship if he made it to WrestleMania.

Epico and Primo would be on their way to joining the ranks of every other WWE Tag Team Champion. Epico is currently the only superstar to not hold the title for at least 91 days.

As for Beth Phoenix, remaining Divas Champion would make The Glamazon just 34 days shy of tying Maryse for the longest Divas Championship reign in history.

It is certainly a breath of fresh air for the champions to have lengthy reigns to stand with. It will make WrestleMania that much more epic to put long-term champions against reliable and worthy challengers. The potential of a CM Punk/Chris Jericho match, along with Daniel Bryan/Sheamus or possibly Beth Phoenix/Kharma, could make for one of the greatest all-around cards in WrestleMania history. Let's not forget that The Undertaker may end up facing Triple H yet again, as well as this match between The Rock and John Cena, just in case you haven't heard.

Is it a bit premature to look to WrestleMania so soon and completely bypass what may be a great Elimination Chamber pay-per-view? Yes. However, history shows us that seeing these reigns getting ended prior to The Showcase of Immortals just doesn't happen. So sit back and enjoy the establishment of champions and the revitalization of the prestige to WWE's championship belts.

Source: Bleacherreport