{"id":149410,"date":"2025-12-29T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=149410"},"modified":"2025-12-29T05:44:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T10:44:54","slug":"every-mens-wwe-world-champion-in-2025-ranked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/29\/every-mens-wwe-world-champion-in-2025-ranked\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Men&#8217;s WWE World Champion In 2025, Ranked"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>2025 is rapidly coming to a close, and it&#8217;s been a mixture of good and bad years for WWE. Some of the in-ring action and storylines have been sublime. However, Triple H hasn&#8217;t been exempt from criticism for some illogical booking decisions. Nevertheless, the men&#8217;s world title picture in 2025 has generally been booked strongly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/26\/wwe-attitude-era-all-december-ppv-main-events-ranked\/\" target=\"_self\">WWE Attitude Era: All December PPV Main Events, Ranked<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Undisputed WWE Championship resides on SmackDown, and the World Heavyweight Championship continues to feature on Raw since its inception in 2023. Every wrestler who walks through the door aspires to win a world title in WWE. Being a world champion has big responsibilities inside and outside of the squared circle, which some can cope with.<\/p>\n<p>However, only six men across both brands have held WWE world championships in 2025. Furthermore, some have been fortunate to have multiple world title runs in 2025. Moreover, some world title runs in 2025 were outstanding, and the champion was booked strongly. On the flip\u00a0side of the coin, some failed to deliver the goods as world champions.<\/p>\n<h2>6. CM Punk<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CM Punk vs. Jey Uso | World Heavyweight Title Match: Saturday Night&#039;s Main Event highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fRmfY_oPgAI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Despite becoming a seven-time WWE world champion in 2025, CM Punk has only one World Heavyweight Championship title defense to his name across his two World Heavyweight Championship runs.<\/p>\n<p>The Straight Edge Savior defeated Gunther in an excellent World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam. However, Punk&#8217;s reign lasted just five minutes and 10 seconds as Seth Rollins pulled off &#8220;The Ruse of the Century&#8221; by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase.<\/p>\n<p>Punk fell victim to the same fate that happened to him 14 years prior at SummerSlam 2011. However, Punk found himself winning the World Heavyweight Championship again sooner rather than later. Rollins&#8217; injury caused the prestigious Big Gold Belt to become vacant. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/11\/01\/cm-punk-finally-wins-7th-world-title-at-wwe-saturday-nights-main-event-snme-xli\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The Straight Edge Savior defeated Jey Uso on the November 1, 2025<\/span><\/a>, edition of Saturday Night&#8217;s Main Event to reclaim the title.<\/p>\n<p>As Punk featured in WarGames at Survivor Series, he&#8217;s yet to defend the World Heavyweight Championship. He&#8217;s next scheduled to defend the title against Bron Breakker on Raw&#8217;s January 5, 2026, episode, two months after winning the title.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>5. Jey Uso<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH: Gunther vs. Jey Uso | World Heavyweight Title Match: WrestleMania 41\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MEOMSxe9DsQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Unquestionably, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/22\/wwes-top-5-male-superstars-of-2025\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">2025 is the most important year in Jey Uso&#8217;s WWE career<\/span><\/a> as a solo competitor. WWE capitalized on his popularity and momentum by making him win the 2025 men&#8217;s Royal Rumble match. &#8220;Main Event&#8221; Jey Uso eliminating John Cena to win the Rumble was one of the most shocking Rumble victories in history.<\/p>\n<p>However, Jey converted his Rumble triumph by dethroning &#8220;The Ring General&#8221; Gunther in the curtain-raiser at WrestleMania 41 for the title.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Jey&#8217;s maiden world championship reign lasting two months, Jey had a couple of solid title defenses against the likes of Seth Rollins and Gunther. His World Heavyweight Championship was at stake against Logan Paul at an episode of Saturday Night&#8217;s Main Event.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_149438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-149438\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-149438\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/Jey_Uso_RR25_1-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic of former WWE World Champion in 2025 Jey Uso.\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/Jey_Uso_RR25_1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/Jey_Uso_RR25_1-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/Jey_Uso_RR25_1-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/Jey_Uso_RR25_1-1228x1536.jpg 1228w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/Jey_Uso_RR25_1-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/Jey_Uso_RR25_1-scaled.jpg 2047w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-149438\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Jey_Uso#\/media\/File:Jey_Uso_RR25_(1).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Diego Serrano<\/a> &#8211; WWE Royal Rumble 2025, CC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=159687923<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Furthermore, Jey&#8217;s title reign should&#8217;ve lasted longer, and he failed to defend the World Heavyweight Championship on a WWE PLE. Gunther recapturing the title from Jey was unexpected, and Jey winning a world title again in WWE currently looks unlikely.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>4. Gunther<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH: Gunther vs. Goldberg | World Heavyweight Title Match: Saturday Night&#039;s Main Event\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Kb2iwSylEAQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Speaking of Gunther, &#8220;The Ring General&#8221; entered 2025 as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. Gunther won his first World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2024 by defeating Damian Priest, converting his 2024 King of the Ring victory.<\/p>\n<p>During this title reign in 2025, Gunther only defended the World Heavyweight Championship twice, both times against Jey Uso. He prevailed in their meeting at Saturday Night&#8217;s Main Event the week before the 2025 Royal Rumble, but submitted to Jey at WrestleMania 41.<\/p>\n<p>Gunther&#8217;s second World Heavyweight Championship reign was shorter than his first reign. His second reign with the strap was historic as Gunther was the first man to win this version of the World Heavyweight Championship twice.<\/p>\n<p>However, he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/23\/5-more-wrestlers-gunther-can-retire-after-john-cena-and-goldberg\/6\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">sent WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg into retirement<\/span><\/a> in front of Goldberg&#8217;s hometown fans in Atlanta, Georgia. Nevertheless, the highlight of Gunther&#8217;s two-month World Heavyweight Championship reign was his instant classic with CM Punk at SummerSlam 2025.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>3. Seth Rollins<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Seth Rollins CASHES IN on CM Punk in \u201cRuse of the Century\u201d: SummerSlam 2025 highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hlQDK_8jV8Y?start=25&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Seth Rollins is arguably the WWE superstar of the year in 2025. He defeated CM Punk and Roman Reigns in the main event of night one of WrestleMania 41.<\/p>\n<p>He won the Money in the Bank ladder match for the second time in his career. However, the injury bug seemed to rear its ugly head again at The Visionary&#8217;s expense. He feigned a knee injury for weeks, raising concerns among many considering Rollins&#8217; past issues with his knee.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/18\/seth-rollins-opens-up-about-how-much-longer-he-plans-to-wrestle\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Rollins bided his time masterfully<\/span><\/a> to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase when no one expected it. At SummerSlam 2025, he appeared after CM Punk defeated Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship.<\/p>\n<p>Punk appeared with his Oracle, Paul Heyman, and Rollins taunted Punk. He pretended to walk backstage with his crutches, but he dropped them. Heyman handed him the Money in the Bank briefcase.<\/p>\n<p>The Visionary&#8217;s master plan paid off, and he became a two-time World Heavyweight Champion. Once again, the World Heavyweight Championship was a yo-yo. Seth retained the title in a fatal-4-way match at Clash in Paris against CM Punk, Jey Uso, and LA Knight.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, Rollins sustained a legitimate injury in his showdown with Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel. He became the Men&#8217;s Crown Jewel Champion. Just like a decade ago, Rollins&#8217; world title reign after cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase ended prematurely because of a legitimate injury.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>2. Cody Rhodes<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH: Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens | WWE Title Ladder Match: Royal Rumble 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fl7AyJVb6JA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The quarterback of WWE, &#8220;The American Nightmare&#8221; Cody Rhodes, kick-started 2025 as the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion. Cody was a fighting champion in 2024, defending the title consistently on PLEs. Cody&#8217;s long-awaited first Undisputed WWE Championship reign was successful with a couple of title defenses in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Cody and Kevin Owens&#8217; ladder match at the Royal Rumble was nothing short of extraordinary. They hit a home run in a brutal ladder match.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, Cody&#8217;s 378-day reign as the Undisputed WWE Champion ended in a disappointing main event on night two of WrestleMania 41. However, Cody has a knack for his resiliency and love for the business. He wasn&#8217;t going to rest on his laurels and wanted the Undisputed WWE Championship back in his grasp. Cody and Cena made up for their poor &#8216;Mania outing in an epic Street Fight at SummerSlam.<\/p>\n<p>Inevitably, Cody regained the Undisputed WWE Championship. His second reign as champion currently lasts four months, and it has been steady. He&#8217;s currently feuding with Drew McIntyre over the Undisputed WWE Championship, and there&#8217;s a portion of fans who <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/19\/spoilers-crazy-stipulation-set-for-cody-rhodes-drew-mcintyre-title-match-for-1-9-26-wwe-smackdown\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">wouldn&#8217;t mind Cody losing the title to Drew<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>1. John Cena<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Cena walks out of his final WrestleMania as WWE Champion: WrestleMania 41 Sunday highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7Zw2BgHhycI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>John Cena&#8217;s retirement tour in 2025 was a rollercoaster for new and old wrestling fans who grew up with Cena as their childhood hero.<\/p>\n<p>For sure, there were its ups and downs, with Cena turning heel for the first time in over two decades, which was a shock. However, Cena became &#8220;The Never Seen 17&#8221; when he finally captured his long-awaited record-breaking 17th WWE world championship reign at WrestleMania 41. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/11\/every-wwe-wrestler-john-cena-defeated-for-a-wwe-world-championship-ranked\/12\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Cena only defended the Undisputed WWE Championship three times,<\/span><\/a> but the caliber of his opponents and matches was superb.<\/p>\n<p>Cena clashed with two of his biggest rivals, Randy Orton and CM Punk, respectively, one final time. The Never Seen 17 defeated Orton in front of the Viper&#8217;s hometown fans in St. Louis, Missouri, at Backlash. He also saw off Punk at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Cena&#8217;s 17th world championship reign kickstarting as a heel, it ended with Cena as a face once again. Both Cena and Cody deserve credit for their efforts at SummerSlam, and it was the perfect match to end Cena&#8217;s final world title reign.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><i>Header photo \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Seth_Rollins#\/media\/File:Seth_Rollins_2024.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WikiMedia Creative Commons<\/a> \u2013 Stay tuned to the <\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><em><u><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i> for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the significant news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2025 is rapidly coming to a close, and it&#8217;s been a mixture of good and bad years for WWE. Some of the in-ring action and storylines have been sublime. However, Triple H hasn&#8217;t been exempt from criticism for some illogical booking decisions. Nevertheless, the men&#8217;s world title picture in 2025 has generally been booked strongly. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5695,"featured_media":149437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7205,2192,25,26,4,3],"tags":[140,98,8238,1724,165,76],"class_list":["post-149410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-wrestling","category-raw","category-smackdown","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-cm-punk","tag-cody-rhodes","tag-gunther","tag-jey-uso","tag-john-cena","tag-seth-rollins"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5695"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149410"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149439,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149410\/revisions\/149439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}