Hi folks! Today, we are looking at the 30 longest reigning WWE Champions in history. Ted DiBiase’s 1,010 days as Million Dollar Champion will not be included because it was unsanctioned. However, I have included those who defended sanctioned titles outside the promotion’s feature shows. I made the cutoff point 600 days, which means every champion has held their respective title (not always in one reign) for almost two years.
Only one superstar is currently increasing their tally. Can you guess who? Read on to find out the answer.
NXT Tag Team Champion – Kyle O’Reilly (606 Days)
He never became NXT Champion, but Kyle O’Reilly left WWE with a record for others to beat. As part of Adam Cole’s Undisputed ERA faction, O’Reilly was the only member to hold the tag titles across its three reigns.
The first run saw all four members (Cole, O’Reilly, Fish & Strong) defending the title with the “Freebird Rule”. On the second run, he defended it only with Roderick Strong for 215 days; which is the longest the stable held it. During their third run, the reDRagon team of O’Reilly & Fish defended it exclusively.
Current tag team challengers MSK & Imperium would need to hold the title over 400 days to get close to O’Reilly. The only other current NXT 2.0 superstar who can beat it is Roderick Strong, but he would need 300+ days. It might take years to see anyone get close to Kyle O’Reilly’s tag team dominance.
WWF/E Champion – Triple H (609 Days)
Triple H is here over many legends, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Randy Savage. None of these guys held the title longer than “The Game”, and I know what you’re thinking. His nine reigns as WWE Champion could possibly be helped by the fact he became part of the McMahon family.
Let’s be fair, though. Triple H was already champion in 1999, which was before he & Stephanie McMahon hooked up. Something else to note is the fact there are 17 years between his first and ninth reign in 2016, making his times as WWE Champion a generational affair. However, despite this accolade, he has gone one better with another championship. Triple H is the only superstar to be included back-to-back on this list.
World Heavyweight Champion – Triple H (616 Days)
No, we’re not done talking about Triple H yet. When Brock Lesnar took the WWE Championship to SmackDown in the first brand draft, he left Monday Night Raw without a title. General Manager Eric Bischoff grabbed the Big Gold Belt which formerly represented WCW, and literally handed it to Triple H. He became the new and first World Heavyweight Champion, on a par with the WWE Champion.
You could say Triple H didn’t deserve to have a title handed to him, but he made it his own between 2002 to 2005. He held the World Championship longer than the WWE title and did so with five reigns. Triple H dominated Raw for almost three years before losing to Batista, who was then drafted to SmackDown with the title. During his time, he fought challengers like Shawn Michaels, Goldberg, Chris Benoit and Randy Orton. If we were to add his WWE & World title reigns together? He’d be dangerously close to John Cena. You can breathe now. We’re moving on from Triple H.
WWF Intercontinental Champion – Pedro Morales (619 Days)
The often forgotten first Triple Crown Champion. Pedro Morales is hardly mentioned when WWE looks at its history, but we have to respect him. Not only is he the first to win the IC title twice, he remains the longest reigning champion in history. He last held it in 1981, so this record still stands over 30 years later! The Miz is dangerously close to reaching it, needing only 23 more days to knock Morales from the top spot.
Many have debated his significance in history. Some say he is the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, and I agree. He held it with pride and made it special. The Intercontinental title may not have gained the recognition it has without Morales, so anyone who held it after should respect him paving the way.
WWE (Raw) Tag Team Champion – Xavier Woods (627 Days)
You might think, huh? How is Xavier Woods here? The New Day makes this possible.
We previously knew the Raw title as the WWE Tag Team title (remember the Bronze pennies?). Woods was helped considerably by being added via the Freebird Rule, after Big E & Kofi Kingston claimed their first reign in 2015. In their second reign, the stable held it for an astounding 483 days, and during this time, WWE rebranded the championship as the Raw Tag Team title.
In the past two years, Woods & Kingston twice claimed it again, but did not hold on for long. It’s that second reign which got Woods here. The New Day beat the 478 day single reign record set by Demolition (albeit with a different title). There’s only one superstar who beats Woods, and you can probably guess who.
NWA/WWWF United States Tag Team Champion – Dr. Jerry Graham (632 Days)
You’ve got to either be an old fan, or super in to history to know about The Grahams. Jerry played an integral part in WWE’s early years, as he introduced The Graham family stable, including: Eddie Graham, “Superstar” Billy Graham, “Crazy” Luke Graham, Mike Graham, Jerry Jr, Luke Jr, and Mad Dog Steele Graham.
Between 1958 to 1964, with Eddie, a few month stint with Johnny Valentine, and later with Luke, Jerry became the longest reigning six-time champion. To begin with, the company used the NWA titles, but later introduced its own titles in 1963. It continued to recognize the previous NWA reigns.
Jerry also had singles success, feuding with the first WWE Champion Buddy Rogers. Later, he & Bruno Sammartino packed out Madison Square Garden so much they had to turn away over 10,000 fans. He was a draw, but also had his demons. After falsifying his age to enlist in the army for World War II, Jerry spent the rest of his life battling alcoholism and depression. Also, he was Vince K. McMahon’s favorite wrestler as a teen. He would sneak off with “The Good Doctor” to have fun, despite his Father discouraging it.
There’s a solid piece on the history of Jerry Graham at the following link. Be sure to give it a read if you’d like to learn more about one of WWE’s earliest superstars: Dr. Jerry Graham – Vince McMahon’s Favorite Wrestler’s Tragedy
NXT UK Women’s Champion – Kay Lee Ray (649 Days)
NXT’s Kay Lee Ray holds some records. Not only is she the longest reigning Women’s Champion outside of WWE’s main roster (over Shayna Baszler & Asuka), but she’s the longest reigning Scottish Champion too.
Much of her reign came at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the UK did not allow WWE to run shows. Yet, even when NXT UK got back to business without crowds, there wasn’t anybody on her level. Kay Lee Ray deserved to be #1, and it’s only a matter of time til she gets the NXT Women’s title as well.
WWF Champion – Bret Hart (654 Days)
Here we go, the second of many WWWF/WWF/WWE Champions to make the list. 1992-1997 was the era of Bret Hart, as the WWF & WCW competed in a strange time between the height of Hulkamania and the birth of the Attitude Era.
We should know enough about Bret Hart by now, along with the Montreal Screwjob, so I’m assuming we don’t need a history lesson on “The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be”. If he did anything for the WWE Championship, it was to show that technical excellence can be appreciated.
WWE Champion – Randy Orton (680 Days)
While many will remember Randy Orton becoming the youngest World Champion at SummerSlam 2004, they might not realize it added nothing to his legacy as WWE Champion. Because they are different titles, The Viper did not start his tally until No Mercy 2007. At the event, Vince McMahon awarded him the championship because of John Cena’s injury. Orton would then lose and win back the title from Triple H on the same night.
From this point on, Orton won the WWE title eight more times, the last coming in 2020 against Drew McIntyre. His second reign after No Mercy 2007 was his longest, at 203 days. Orton is great at finding his way to the top, but he’s not so good at staying there. Despite that, his 10 reigns over 13+ years of dedication has got him here. Orton’s time isn’t over yet… but talks of RKO bumps catching up to him could be a sign of his impending retirement.
WWE UK Champion – Pete Dunne (685 Days)
‘Ere, mate, as a fellow Brit, you better recognise Pete Dunne. The Bruiserweight is the longest reigning British Champion in the history of WWE. Crazy right? We’ve had Regal, Bulldogs, McIntyre, so many greats, but it’s Pete Dunne who holds the record.
It is with some slight regret that Dunne isn’t the longest reigning champion in NXT UK, but he set the bar for others to beat. He, Tyler Bate, and others helped to build up the brand from scratch. I’m not the biggest fan of his NXT run, but he’s still young, and I’m hoping his talent won’t go to waste during the 2.0 reshuffle.
WWE Universal Champion – Brock Lesnar (688 Days)
After Goldberg defeated Kevin Owens for the Universal title, it set up a collision between him and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. After six explosive minutes of action, Lesnar took the title away from Goldberg and began the longest single reign in Universal title history.
His record of 504 days stood tall from 2018 until the “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns broke it this month. However, Lesnar still holds the record for longest reigning champion overall, as his other two reigns bump him up to 688 days. WWE won’t tell you this, because it wants to sell him strong, but Reigns needs another 3 1/2 months to beat Lesnar. This means holding it long past WrestleMania 38.
Yet, I know what many fans are thinking… Brock Lesnar was hardly around! During his 504 day reign, he defended the title just six times on PPV, and nine times on live events. He did not wrestle once on Raw or SmackDown. Lesnar spent much of his reign showing up for the essentials, and his PPV matches rarely lasted longer than five minutes.
WWF World Tag Team Champions – Demolition (698 Days)
In 1988, Ax & Smash of Demolition took the world by storm. By defeating Strikeforce (Tito Santana & Rick Martel), they began a 478 day reign which stood the test of time. This wasn’t their only reign though, as after losing the titles to The Brainbusters (Anderson & Blanchard), Demolition won them back. 72 days later, it took André the Giant and Haku to stop them from amassing another extended reign. A few months after this, Demolition defeated The Colossal Connection to begin their third reign. They expanded to a three-man team by adding Crush, who would also defend the title via the Freebird Rule.
148 days into their third reign, Crush & Smash lost the titles in a two out of three falls match (2-1) to The Hart Foundation. The Legion of Doom, along with the rise of The Hart Foundation and The Rockers, made life difficult for Demolition. Ax left the WWF later that year, so the team continued with Crush & Smash, but the writing was on the wall. Demolition split up and went their own way after their last match in September 1991. Despite the comparisons to Legion of Doom, they cemented their place in history as the longest reigning tag champions of all time. 1988 to 1990 was the era of Demolition.
In modern times, their record single reign has been beaten by The New Day and NXT UK’s Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang), but with different titles.
Did you know? The original Smash was Randy Colley, otherwise known as Moondog Rex. According to unreliable sources, the fans noticed it was Moondog Rex and began chanting his name. Barry Darsow soon replaced him.
WWE Champion – Brock Lesnar (770+ Days)
The second man to appear on the list twice is the only superstar to be currently extending his tally. Brock Lesnar was penciled in to face Roman Reigns at Day 1, but the Universal Champion contracted COVID-19 and other arrangements had to be made. Brock Lesnar defeated Big E, Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins to claim his sixth reign. By doing so, he broke a record previously held by Hulk Hogan. The time between Lesnar’s first and last reign stands at 19 years and four months (a year longer than Hogan’s 1984 to 2002).
To claim the WWE Championship, Brock Lesnar has also defeated The Rock, Kurt Angle twice, John Cena, and Kofi Kingston. His longest reign was the fourth at 224 days in 2014. With that said, Lesnar hasn’t been as dominant with the WWE title, but his early career feud with Kurt Angle added to his tally. We may also remember some of the biggest losses Lesnar had with this title. They include:
- Eddie Guerrero’s glorious victory at No Way Out 2004
- Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank during the WrestleMania main event
- Putting over Drew McIntyre in the main event of the crowd less WrestleMania 36.
WWE/NXT UK Champion – Walter (807 Days)
No, we’re not talking about his new name. We’re only interested in Walter’s accomplishment, which is serving as the longest reigning WWE/NXT UK Champion of all time. Some of the best wrestling matches has involved Walter, beginning with his victory over Pete Dunne at TakeOver: New York. Walter set out on the longest single reign of the modern era, a stupefying 807 days. Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed, but he had already been champion a year before it made its mark on the world.
Just before the UK stopped sporting events, Ilja Dragunov became the #1 contender. NXT UK had done an amazing job of building him up, but Dragunov waited six months to get his shot. When it finally happened, he fell short, but the match was so closely contested they needed another go. They set the rematch in July, but a severe hand injury sidelined Walter for another month. When they finally met again in August, they tore down the house once more, and Dragunov walked out as champion.
There’s no telling how much the pandemic helped Walter’s reign. If it hadn’t happened, there’s a chance they would have built Dragunov up enough to take the title on the first attempt. Because of the long programming gap, the match had to happen, but perhaps management felt Dragunov didn’t have momentum? They pressed the reset button and again had to build him to the moment. In saying that, I wouldn’t take anything away from Walter, or his reign, which was more than sacred… it was history making. Here’s the list of victims who fell short of taking the title from him:
Pete Dunne, Travis Banks, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, Joe Coffey, Dave Mastiff, Ilja Dragunov, A-Kid, Tommaso Ciampa and Rampage Brown
WWF Women’s Tag Team Champion – Velvet McIntyre (811 Days)
WWE does not enjoy talking about the original women’s tag team title, and for good reason. Many will know the underhanded story of how it ended (I’ll cover it later), but how did it begin? The title belts (seen above) originally represented the NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championship. In 1983, Joyce Grable & Wendi Richter held the title, but the NWA sold the championship belts to the WWF. This began a new title lineage, but instead of making a match to crown new champions, the WWF awarded them to Velvet McIntyre & Princess Victoria.
They had previously held the NWA title, but never as a team (Velvet paired with Penny Mitchell, and Victoria with Sabrina), so the inaugural champions hadn’t worked together before. Despite this, Velvet & Victoria held the title for 574 days. In September 1984, Victoria suffered a career-ending neck injury, and was replaced by Danish wrestler Desiree Petersen by December. This marked a second reign for McIntyre, who held it with Desiree for 237 days. They lost the titles to The Glamour Girls, who we will talk about later.
Velvet McIntyre competed in only the second women’s match at WrestleMania, but lost in 1 minute, 25 seconds to The Fabulous Moolah at WrestleMania 2. She clearly had her leg on the rope, but the referee ignored it. In 1986, McIntyre defeated Moolah for the WWF Women’s Championship. However, Moolah got it back six days later, making McIntyre the shortest reigning female champion in the title’s history (Harvey Wippleman had it for a day). While it’s disappointing that McIntyre didn’t get far as a singles wrestler, she made her mark as the first female tag champion in company history.
WWF/E Women’s Champion – Trish Stratus (828 Days)
Between 2001 to 2004, Trish Stratus would always find a way to the top. As the leader of the WWE Divas, she found a lot of success after a surge in popularity from her heel run with Vince McMahon. Her five reigns totaled 380 days, as she rivaled other champions like Jazz, Molly Holly, Victoria, Gail Kim, and Lita. Yet it was Trish’s sixth reign which cemented her among the greatest. In modern times, 448 days remains a record.
Only NXT Champions Asuka, Shayna Baszler, and Kay Lee Ray have beaten this. Bayley wasn’t far away with her 380 days from 2019 to 2020. Trish Stratus holds the distinction of being the only woman to win, and then retire, as WWE Women’s Champion. Also, no other female superstar has won the same title seven times… although Charlotte Flair is close with six Raw and six SmackDown titles. Trish Stratus made records to be broken, and while it’s possible, it will take someone like Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley, or Sasha Banks to do it.
WWE (Raw) Tag Team Champion – Kofi Kingston (912 Days)
Kofi Kingston is the longest reigning male champion in the history of WWE tag teams. And this is before we take his World & SmackDown tag titles into account! First, let’s focus on his success with the WWE tag title, and later with the Raw brand.
If you think back a little over a decade ago, Kingston picked up the title (by beating New Nexus) with Evan Bourne. They were called Air Boom and lasted a solid 146 days. After losing out to Primo & Epico, Kingston won the title again, but this time with R-Truth. If we want to include his World Tag Team title run with CM Punk, Kingston had won with three partners in four years. He had proven his worth, but no one imagined the dominance The New Day would have after its debut in 2014.
We already covered The New Day with Xavier Woods, so let’s look at Kingston’s overall stats. This means taking the numbers from his World, Raw, and SmackDown title reigns in to account. When we add them together, Kingston is a 14-time tag team champion, totaling 1,339 days! That’s over 3 1/2 years of holding tag gold, which is longer than John Cena held the WWE Championship. Can we call him “Super Kofi”?
WWF Light Heavyweight Champion – Perro Aguayo (956 Days)
Let’s pay respect to the Mexican legend Perro Aguayo, although I reckon many won’t have heard of him. He held the WWF Light Heavyweight title when it was sanctioned to be used by the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA). There was a time when the WWF created titles to be only fought for in Mexico & Japan, and would rarely be brought home.
From 1981 to 1995, it was defended in Mexico. The Japanese expressed interest in the title for years, so they were happy when The Great Sasuke claimed it from Aero Flash in 1996. For the next year, Sasuke, El Samurai, Ultimo Dragon, and Jushin ‘Thunder Liger’ would hold the title. With 7 other championships, it also became part of New Japan’s famous “J-Crown”. Shinjiro Otani was the last to hold it before the J-Crown was dismantled, and the title returned to the WWF by 1997.
Several months later, Taka Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher in a tournament final to become the first WWF wrestler to hold the Light Heavyweight title. What many won’t remember is that Gillberg defeated Christian and held the title for 448 days. This joke reign is the longest in the WWF… even beating Dean Malenko’s 322. By 2001, WWE unified it in to the WCW Cruiserweight title, which they began using instead. As we know, WWE struggles to promote Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight titles over the long term.
There were no issues promoting this title while it was in Mexico. Perro Aguayo and his arch nemesis (he’s coming soon) made the title sought after. Fourteen years of Lucha Libre, and two years of J-Crown glory, were all but forgotten by the time it got to the Attitude Era. Yet, I like to believe that anyone who saw Perro Aguayo in action can tell you he was worthy of recognition.
Did you know? In 1991, Perro Aguayo & Gran Hamada were awarded the WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Champions, but not much is known about it. Six months later, the title was deactivated and forgotten, after the WWF cut ties with UWF Japan. The promotion heavily featured Lucha Libre in Japan from 1990 to 1995.
WWWF Heavyweight Champion – Pedro Morales (1,027 Days)
Pedro Morales is another featuring on the list twice. After Bruno Sammartino’s crazy long first reign, Morales had the task of picking up where he left off. He only had the one reign, but defended it with integrity between 1971 to 1973. He was a big draw for Latinos, and is still hailed as the greatest Puerto Rican wrestler of all time.
Essentially, Morales served as a credible face of the company until Sammartino’s return. Ivan Koloff & Stan Stasiak served as paper champs to bridge the gap. Morales & Sammartino never had to lose to the other, although a match was teased. As we already talked about his other achievements, we can move on knowing that Morales was one of the best champions WWE ever had.
WWF Women’s Tag Team Champions – The Glamour Girls (1,157 Days)
Male or female, Leilani Kai & Judy Martin remain the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history. From 1985 to 1989, there was no answer to their dominance. Luckily, The Fabulous Moolah wasn’t concerned by it, because the singles title remained the most prized. However, this all changed with the addition of the popular Japanese team, the Jumping Bomb Angels.
At the first Royal Rumble in 1988, they defeated The Glamour Girls and ended a 906 day reign. When we talk about tag team titles in WWE, 906 days remains an unlikely to beat record. One reason they deactivated the title was because there was a lack of female talent in the WWF. With women struggling to get airtime, it makes sense that The Glamour Girls held on as long as they did. However, it may also have had to do with the Fabulous Moolah controversy.
She tricked The Glamour Girls & Jumping Bomb Angels into making a title switch in Japan without asking for permission, and then snitched on them to management. Pat Patterson was not willing to listen to their explanation and sided with Moolah. They were scheduled to wrestle for the titles at WrestleMania V, but management scrapped it as punishment, and both teams lost out on a big payday. Had this gone ahead, the division may have gotten the exposure to be worthy of continuing. The reign of The Glamour Girls could have been longer.
WWE Champion – John Cena (1,254 Days)
What to say about John Cena? 13 reigns is a record. Only Randy Orton joins him in the double digits. Cena has had many stints, much to the joy and sorrow of the WWE Universe. His third reign lasted over a year (2006/2007), 380 days to be exact, which only ended because of an injury. There’s no telling how long it would have been had he not suffered a torn right pectoral tendon. Cena won the title 10 more times after that, but never held it for longer than 133 days at a time. This shows that aside from his first and third reigns, Cena could find his way back to the top, but rarely stayed there for long.
I think it’s interesting to see, not only who he defeated, but who took the title away from him. After all, John Cena was involved in more title changes than anyone in WWE Championship history. It won’t add up to 13 on each list because of the title being vacated a few times.
Defeated: John “Bradshaw” Layfield, Edge (2), Randy Orton (2), Sheamus, Batista, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio, The Rock & AJ Styles
Put Over: Edge, Rob Van Dam, Randy Orton, Sheamus (2), Batista, CM Punk (2), Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar & Bray Wyatt
WWWF Junior Heavyweight Champion – Tatsumi Fujinami (1,406 Days)
As early as 1965, the Junior Heavyweight Championship became known through its title defenses by the popular Johnny DeFazio. We know little about this era, other than he won it four times and held it up to his retirement in 1972. Six years later, Carlos Jose Estrada established the title once more by winning it in a tournament final. Three days later, the legendary Tatsumi Fujinami beat him.
He traveled back home and started wrestling for New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1978. Here, he held it for 1,406 days over two reigns, in which it was only interrupted for 2 days by Ryuma Go. Fujinami isn’t only well-respected by his countrymen, but by WWE as well. He’s one of only a handful of Japanese wrestlers to be inducted via ceremony in to the WWE Hall of Fame. Bret Hart always idolized Fujinami, and can be quoted as saying: “I always wanted to be the great wrestler that Tatsumi Fujinami was.”
At the end of 1981, Fujinami vacated the title so he could enter the heavyweight division. This opened the door for a new breed of junior heavyweights, including Tiger Mask & Dynamite Kid. Together, Tiger Mask & Dynamite Kid wrestled a style which inspired many of the wrestlers and matches we see today. They were wrestling at least twenty years ahead of their time and doing so for the WWF Junior Heavyweight title. In 1984, after Dynamite Kid vacated it to wrestle in WWF’s tag team division with British Bulldog, the title struggled to reach the same heights. It was deactivated by the end of 1985.
It’s safe to say that Tatsumi Fujinami proved monumental in making the title worthy of wrestling hard for. Sadly, with Dynamite Kid, these matches took a toll on his health. Yet the legacy lives on in the wrestling we see in the present day. Perhaps one day I will take one of their matches and discuss the fine details? We’ll see. The important thing to note is that Fujinami is such a legend, he is still wrestling today! He recently won the Pro Wrestling HEAT-UP Championship, and competed in a battle royal at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 16 PPV. He is 68 years old and still delivers one of the meanest Dragon Screws in the business.
Did you know? Tatsumi Fujinami is nicknamed “The Dragon”, and invented the Dragon Sleeper and Dragon Suplex moves.
WWF Light Heavyweight Champion – Villano III (2,040 Days)
Villano III is the last wrestler on this list who served as a long-time champion outside of WWE’s main shows. Just like Perro Aguayo, Villano III fought hard for years over the WWF Light Heavyweight title. From records, he took part in 77 Luchas de Apuestas matches, winning 58 of them before losing his mask. If you don’t know, these are “bet” matches, like mask vs. mask, or mask vs. hair. Villano III may be the most successful wrestler in the history of Luchas de Apuestas.
However, the main thing I want to highlight is the passing of the torch from Perro Aguayo to him. The pair of them held this title seven times each, but Villano III reigned over twice as long. From 1983 to 1994, he held it over 5 1/2 years, and was the last champion in the UWA. The above match shows a unique style of wrestling in 1984, between the two most accomplished light heavyweight champions.
WWWF/WWF Heavyweight Champion – Bob Backlund (2,121 Days)
We’re getting to the thick end now, with the third longest reigning WWE Champion of all time. Bob Backlund’s a funny guy in more ways than one. WWE wants you to believe his first reign went uninterrupted, but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise. There’s footage of Antonio Inoki beating him for the title in 1979, but WWE refuses to accept it.
There was also some controversy in 1981 after a match with Greg Valentine, in which the title was vacated. Backlund got the title back, but again, WWE refuses to acknowledge any interruptions. As far as we’re supposed to believe, Backlund had two reigns. The first went drama free between 1978 to 1983. Less favorably, we may remember Backlund beating Bret Hart in 1994, before losing the title three days later to Diesel in a squash match. This took took place at a live event house show.
The most interesting part of Backlund’s time as champion was cross-promotion. Long before anyone thought of a “forbidden door”, Backlund was working champion vs. champion matches against Ric Flair, Harley Race & Antonio Inoki. He might not have been the most popular champ, but he was doing the job of getting the WWF name out there.
WWF/E Championship – Hulk Hogan (2,185 Days)
To be fair, there have been so many positive and negative things said about the legacy of Hulk Hogan. Arguably the most popular wrestler of all time, I can’t think of anything original to say. Many of us may not be here today if it were not for Hulkamania. We should be thankful for the work, but some may not respect the ego behind the character. I’m putting the ego to one side here, because this is about his championship reigns.
Aside from Bruno Sammartino, no one has had a single reign (1,474) as long as Hogan. 1984 to 1988 was the prime era of Hulkamania, and it only ended because of a Ted DiBiase & André the Giant screw job. He won the title five more times, but yeah, those reigns wouldn’t get anywhere near his first. Upon winning it for a sixth time in 2002 from Triple H, he held a record for the time between a superstar’s first and last reigns. Ironically, Brock Lesnar, the man who destroyed Hogan and ended his sixth reign, would also beat the length record at Day 1 after becoming WWE Champion.
WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Champion – Antonio Inoki (4,000 Days)
In 1978, the WWF made the Martial Arts Heavyweight title just for Antonio Inoki. The idea was to defend it in shoot wrestling fights, which could have served as a precursor to MMA. Vincent J. McMahon likely did this so they could feature Inoki as a champion without putting him over Bob Backlund. WWF never wanted to acknowledge his win in Japan, because they had already made a title just for him.
Inoki is one of the most popular Japanese wrestlers of all time. Perhaps best known for his wrestler vs. boxer fight with Muhammad Ali. Like Fujinami, he is one of only a few Japanese stars inducted via ceremony into the WWE Hall of Fame. In the above video, while they aren’t going off-topic, Mick Foley & Michael Cole talk about the significance of Antonio Inoki in the WWF and his impact in Japan. I’d rather somebody more knowledgeable, but the commentary on top of a match with Larry Sharpe at Shea Stadium is as good as I can find.
After NJPW became unaffiliated with the WWF in 1985, the title was only defended in Japan. The only fighter to beat Inoki was Shota Chochishvili, which he did by 5th round knockout in 1989. 31 days later, Inoki won it back, and held it for another 220 days before it was abandoned on new year’s eve. In 1991, he brought the title belt back after establishing a Hall of Fame, and renamed it the Greatest 18 Club Championship. Only Riki Choshu and The Great Muta won it before it was abandoned forever
WWWF Heavyweight Champion – Bruno Sammartino (4,040 Days)
Bruno Sammartino is the longest reigning WWE Champion, with a record that I’m 99% sure will never be broken. His first reign of 2,803 days from 1963 to 1971 is a ridiculous stat. Imagine someone holding it that long today? It would never happen. The schedule and mentality for wrestling was much different back then. They didn’t hold shows every week, so events were special, and champions didn’t need to wrestle or defend their titles as frequently. Bruno could stay healthy and train for each match, and there would be plenty of time to advertise.
The New York audience had many Italians, so having somebody representing them was a big draw. Madison Square Garden was the house Sammartino built from the love of the fans who never grew tired of him. When Ivan Koloff defeated him, the reaction was eerie. The fans had become so accustomed to Sammartino winning that it never crossed their minds he could lose. So when he did, the loss was met with silence. There was no heat on Koloff. It was a state of utter disbelief at what they had just seen. I wouldn’t say it was like The Undertaker’s streak being broken, because there was a lot of angry heat at the booking. It may have taken a while for some fans to accept it happened.
While Pedro Morales served well as champion, after two years, the fans still wanted Sammartino. Despite his reluctance, Bruno accepted Vincent J. McMahon’s offer of extra money and a lighter schedule, and would later beat Stan Stasiak to begin a second reign. This lasted for 1,237 days before Bruno told McMahon he needed to drop it because of injuries, so he put “Superstar” Billy Graham over.
For decades, WWE fans continued to ask why Bruno Sammartino had not been inducted in to the Hall of Fame. Bruno refused many times because he did not appreciate the creative direction of the company in the 90s and 2000s. He wanted nothing to do with the company. Sammartino was about family entertainment and good moral values. WWE would not induct him until Triple H called and let him know what they had done to rectify some of its questionable decisions.
Inducting Sammartino in to the Hall of Fame was like putting the hood ornament on a Mercedes. There should never have been a Hall of Fame without the man who started it all. I believe Bruno enjoyed having the time to share stories with this generation before his passing. It was possibly the best induction WWE has ever done.
WWWF United States Heavyweight Champion – Bobo Brazil (4,072 Days)
When we’re talking about longest reigning champions, Bobo Brazil is often forgotten. Not only was he the first & last WWWF United States Champion, he held it 7 times and reclaimed it on every occasion a challenger took it away. This includes Johnny Barend twice, Ray Stevens, and The Sheik twice. The only time this didn’t happen was when Pedro Morales vacated (he won it in a tournament after Bobo vacated) in 1971.
Bobo Brazil’s longest reigns were his 3rd and 7th. His 3rd lasted between 1963 to 1967 for 1,335 days. His 7th and last reign soldiered on from 1971 to 1976 for 1,837 days, before the WWF abandoned it. But was he done there? Nope. Bobo was awarded the NWA title because he was never defeated for the WWF title, but he would later lose it to The Sheik.
Bobo Brazil was inducted early in the WWE Hall of Fame for good reason. He’s one of the most successful African-American wrestlers of all time, and he helped to break down racial barriers. In the late 1940s, when racism was blatant, Brazil fought hard and earned popularity as a babyface to all races. This was despite African-Americans being seated in areas which made it difficult to see his matches properly. Even as a growing star, Brazil was not allowed to enter restaurants, hotels, or to wrestle in certain territories.
Brazil was known for his bloody feuds, notably with The Sheik. He also had feuds with Killer Kowalski, Johnny Valentine, Dick The Bruiser, and Haystacks Calhoun. Brazil had many accomplishments, including the WWA World Championship, along with many mid-card and tag titles. He goes down in history as one of the first successful African-American wrestlers ever. In WWE, he serves as the longest reigning male champion of all time. Bobo Brazil did this with so many looking down on him, just because of his skin color. For his dedication to wrestling, he is one of the greatest to lace up a pair of boots.
NWA/WWF Women’s Champion – The Fabulous Moolah (10,984 Days)
From 1956 to 1987, The Fabulous Moolah controlled women’s wrestling in the NWA and WWF. She was to take care of the ladies, and while there were some positives, it’s impossible to know how much she halted the progress of women’s wrestling.
I’m not detailing this last entry, because I already did so in a review for the Dark Side of the Ring episode which talked about her career. If you have not read that yet, I recommend this two-part piece at the following links:
Dark Side of the Ring Review — “The Fabulous Moolah” Volume #1 / Volume #2
With that said, I realize this is a long piece, so cheers for sticking with me through this extensive list of the longest reigning champions in WWE history. Thank you!
