6 Most-fighting champions of WWE in 2026

The landscape of WWE has changed drastically in the first half of 2026. Plenty of title changes have taken place in the first five months of the year. While some championships have been defended regularly, some have only had a few defenses.

That said, in this listicle, we will look at the six most-fighting champions of WWE in 2026.

#6. & #5. Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY – 4 title defenses

IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley have been one of the most beloved teams in WWE. The duo defeated The Kabuki Warriors on the January 5, 2026, episode of RAW to capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

RHIYO quickly established themselves as fighting champions after winning the titles. Their first major defense came against Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez from The Judgment Day at Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 24.

The team later retained the titles against Giulia and Kiana James on the February 6 episode of SmackDown. One week later, their title match against Lash Legend and Nia Jax ended in a no-contest after chaos broke out during the bout.

That said, RHIYO still agreed to defend the titles against The Irresistible Forces again on the February 27 episode of SmackDown. However, Lash Legend and Nia Jax eventually dethroned the duo to end their reign.

Despite the relatively short run, IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley consistently defended the titles and helped keep the women’s tag team division active during the early months of 2026.

#4. Myles Borne – 4 title defenses

Myles Borne captured the NXT North American Championship on the February 24, 2026, episode of NXT after defeating Ethan Page to win his first singles title in WWE.

Since then, Borne has quietly become one of the most active champions in the company. Just one week after winning the title, he successfully defended it against Ethan Page in a rematch on the March 3 episode of NXT.

The young star later picked up a huge victory over Johnny Gargano at NXT Stand & Deliver 2026 on April 4. Borne continued his momentum with successful title defenses against Dion Lennox and Saquon Shugars on back-to-back episodes of NXT in April.

That said, Myles Borne’s reign has helped establish him as one of the rising stars of the NXT brand. The champion has consistently defended the title on weekly television while continuing to improve with every major match.

#3. WWE veteran CM Punk – 5 title defenses

CM Punk won the vacant World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event in November 2025 after defeating Jey Uso. However, all of his major title defenses took place during the first few months of 2026.

The Second City Saint kicked off the year with a successful defense against Bron Breakker on the January 5 episode of RAW. Punk later retained the title against Finn Balor in Belfast before once again defending the championship against The Prince at Elimination Chamber 2026 in Chicago.

In between those two matches, The Second City Saint also defended the title against AJ Styles on RAW in Toronto. Although the match ended in a disqualification, Punk still retained the championship.

That said, the veteran star remained one of the most fighting world champions in WWE throughout early 2026. Punk regularly defended the title on both premium live events and weekly television while continuing to work lengthy main-event matches.

His reign eventually came to an end at WrestleMania 42, where Roman Reigns defeated him to capture the World Heavyweight Championship.

#2. Penta – 6 title defenses

Penta captured the Intercontinental Championship on the March 2 episode of RAW after defeating Dominik Mysterio. Since then, the masked star has established himself as one of the most active champions in WWE.

Just one week after winning the title, Penta successfully defended it against El Grande Americano on RAW. The champion later retained the gold against Dragon Lee, Dominik Mysterio, and Kofi Kingston in consecutive title defenses throughout March.

The luchador continued his impressive run at WrestleMania 42, where he retained the title in a Ladder Match involving Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, Je’Von Evans, Rey Mysterio, and Rusev.

That said, Penta’s reign has featured a mix of fast-paced television matches and high-risk premium live event defenses. The current champion has consistently put the Intercontinental Championship on the line since winning the title earlier this year.

#1. Carmelo Hayes – 9 title defenses

Carmelo Hayes ended 2025 by capturing the United States Championship from Ilja Dragunov. The 31-year-old continued the tradition of hosting open challenges for the title every week.

Hayes defended the US Title against multiple stars throughout his reign. Stars like Johnny Gargano, Shinsuke Nakamura, Matt Cardona, and others stepped up to challenge for the title, but were unsuccessful.

In the end, it was Sami Zayn who took the title from Hayes in his ninth defense on the March 27 episode of WWE SmackDown.

Edited by Parth Pujara