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The 10 Shortest WWE & AEW Title Reigns Of 2024

Sid Pullar III

WWE.com

The wrestling world is going through an era highlighted by lengthy title reigns. These legendary runs are not only solidifying the legacies of today's stars, but also rewriting the record books before our eyes.

On the other end of the spectrum, there's also been some blink-and-you-miss-it runs throughout the past year, leaving several competitors suffering the embarrassment of holding the gold for just a fleeting moment.

With 2024 in the rearview, here are the 10 shortest WWE and AEW title reigns of 2024.

*Criteria: Any WWE or AEW title reign that started and ended in 2024

10. Will Ospreay's first AEW International Championship reign

At AEW Double Or Nothing, Will Ospreay won his first championship gold in All Elite Wrestling when he defeated Roderick Strong. This title reign would see Ospreay set a high standard for in-ring work with the AEW International Championship.

Immediately becoming the number one contender for the AEW World Title after winning the gold, Ospreay set an excellent pace with standout defenses against Rey Fenix and Kyle O'Reilly during this run. This reign, however, was cut short when MJF stole a win over "The Aerial Assassin" on the July 17 edition of AEW Dynamite.

Title Reign: 52 days

MORE: The 20 Best Wrestling Moments Of 2024, Ranked

9. Bron Breakker's first WWE Intercontinental Championship reign

After coming up short at Money In The Bank, Bron Breakker captured the Intercontinental Championship from Sami Zayn at WWE SummerSlam 2024. Many fans expected this to be the start of a run of dominance for the former NXT Champion.

Breakker would go on to successfully defend the title against Sami Zayn in a two out of three falls match, but this would be his only successful title defense. Breakker ran into Jey Uso who claimed his first singles title of his 14-year WWE career by picking up the win on the September 23 episode of Raw.

Title Reign: 51 days

8. Will Ospreay's second AEW International Championship reign

Through superb in-ring masterpieces and sheer activity, Will Ospreay became one of the greatest AEW International Champions in the title's short history. This makes it even crazier to realize that his second reign was even shorter than his first.

Following his victory over MJF at AEW All In London, Ospreay started his second reign by putting on an instant classic against PAC at All Out two weeks later. After his draw with Ricochet, both men competed in a spectacular three-way encounter with Konosuke Takeshita at WrestleDream.

With an assist from Kyle Fletcher, "The Alpha" pinned Ospreay to win the International Title, ending his reign at just 48 days.

Title Reign: 48 days

7. MJF's AEW International/American Championship reign

The 59 minute, 58 second epic between MJF and Will Ospreay on the July 17 AEW Dynamite was the longest match on pro wrestling television in 2024. This grueling bout ended with Maxwell Jacob Friedman winning gold and trying to erase its existence.

Throwing the AEW International Championship in the garbage, Friedman introduced the American Championship. In an ironic move, MJF would go on to bring the title back to its essence by defending the gold outside of the United States in different promotions.

Representing AEW and America, MJF defended his title against Templario in CMLL and Michael Oku in RevPro. In just 39 days, MJF along with his rival Ospreay made the International Title feel just as prestigious and special as the top prize in the company.

Title Reign: 39 days

6. The Patriarchy's (Christian Cage, Nick Wayne & Killswitch) AEW World Trios Championship reign

The AEW World Trios Championships saw a lot of shakeup over the summer. After Jay White went down with a foot injury, The Bang Bang Gang were stripped of the titles.

This led to the Patriarchy's Christian Cage, Killswitch and Nick Wayne defeating Juice Robinson and The Gunns to win the trios titles on the July 20 edition of AEW Collision. This win helped to further Cage's nefarious heel act as he held all three titles by himself before eventually allowing Nick and Mother Wayne hold one, not Killswitch.

This reign would conclude just after a little more than a month when Claudio Castagnoli, PAC and Wheeler Yuta of the Blackpool Combat Club and now The Death Riders claimed the gold in a four-way ladder match at AEW All In London.

Title Reign: 36 days

5. Willow Nightingale's AEW TBS Championship reign

Willow Nightingale had another breakout year and started off strong by defeating Julia Hart to win the TBS Championship at AEW Dynasty in April.

Nightingale became yet another champion who made their gold a world title by defending it outside of the United States. Picking up a win over Tam Nakano in STARDOM, Willow proved that she could hold on to her gold whenever and whenever.

The title reign was centered on Willow's feud with Mercedes Mone and would culminate with their rematch at Double Or Nothing. Unfortunately for Willow, her first AEW singles title run was a short one when Mone captured the gold at the PPV.

Title Reign: 35 days

4. Jey Uso's WWE Intercontinental Championship reign

Jey Uso
Jey Uso shocks Bron Breakker to win the Intercontinental Championship / wwe.com

Jey Uso's rise up the ranks has been one of the most fascinating stories to watch unfold for wrestling fans. Since debuting in WWE back in 2010, Jey had become a tag team specialist as one half of The Usos with his brother Jimmy.

Through the superb work of The Bloodline storyline, Jey had gone from perennial twin brother to one of the most popular singles talent in the entire WWE today. With his signature "YEET" catchphrase, Jey found himself as a top merchandise mover and in position to win his first singles title.

On the September 23 edition of WWE Raw, Jey Uso defeated Bron Breakker to win the Intercontinental Championship. This win had to be one of the happiest endings to Monday Night Raw in 2024 and will be remembered for years to come.

However, this run didn't last and would conclude just 28 days later when Breakker recaptured the IC Title with an assist from The Bloodline on the October 21 Monday Night Raw.

Title Reign: 28 days

3. Sting & Darby Allin's AEW World Tag Team Championship reign

When Sting announced his retirement for AEW Revolution 2024, many fans wondered what the company had planned for his final few months as an active in-ring competitor.

Fans were delighted when Sting and Darby Allin finally challenged for the AEW World Tag Team Championships after a three-year undefeated streak as a duo. On the February 7 episode of AEW Dynamite, the face-painted tandem beat Ricky Starks and Big Bill to win the tag gold.

This set up a tantalizing main event for AEW Revolution where Sting and Darby defended the titles against Matthew and Nicholas Jackson of The Young Bucks. This excellent bout concluded with Sting and Darby picking up the win to have the legend go out on top, relinquishing the titles and retiring as a champ.

Title Reign: 25 days

2. Chase U's (Andre Chase & Ridge Holland) NXT Tag Team Championship reign

Chase U went through various changes throughout 2024. One of the big ones saw Ridge Holland join the ranks, trying to prove himself to the group after being counted out by most of the NXT roster.

This led to Holland teaming with Andre Chase to defeat Nathan Frazer and Axiom to win the NXT Tag Team Championships on the August 13 edition of WWE NXT. However, the reign did't last long at all.

The duo went on to drop the titles to the former champions Axiom and Frazer 19 days later at NXT No Mercy. After the bout, Ridge Holland turned heel by betraying Chase U with a brutal beatdown on Andre Chase, Duke Hudson and Riley Osbourne.

Title Reign: 19 days

1. Drew McIntyre's World Heavyweight Title reign

The most notable short title reign in all of wrestling has to be Drew McIntyre. "The Scottish Warrior" chased the World Heavyweight Championship since the fall of 2023 and looked to finally have the advantage over his rival Seth Rollins.

McIntyre defeated Rollins to win the World Heavyweight Title in the opener to WrestleMania XL: Night Two. However, Drew's rivalry with CM Punk came back to haunt him.

After injuring Punk in the 2024 Men's Royal Rumble match, McIntyre gloated and rubbed this fact in his face. With his vicious social media game and various promos, Drew got under Punk's skin, but also became a little obsessed with him.

Following his title win, McIntyre gloated in Punk's face, which led to "The Second City Saint" tripping Drew and hitting him with his arm brace. This led to Damian Priest coming down to cash in his Money In The Bank contract, ending McIntyre's reign at just five minutes and 46 seconds.

This became the catalyst for Punk vs. McIntyre to be one of WWE's most personal and bitter rivalries in years.

Title Reign: 5 minutes, 46 seconds

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Published
Sid Pullar III
SID PULLAR III

Sid Pullar III, born and raised in New York, is a lifelong pro wrestling fan who fell in love with the business when stars like Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Sting captured his imagination. In 2017, he started the Tru Heel Heat Wrestling podcast. Then in 2020, he began his writing for Sportskeeda Wrestling before moving to WrestleTalk in 2021. He is looking to capture his three decades worth of pro wrestling knowledge through his pieces and interviewing various stars.

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