Who Held the WWE Championship Belt the Longest?

The WWE Championship is the most prestigious title in professional wrestling. Over the years, many wrestlers have held the WWE Championship Belt for long reigns. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at who held the WWE Championship Belt the longest.

WWE Basics

In order to understand who held the WWE Championship belt the longest, it is important to understand WWE belts in general. The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is one of WWE’s two flagship championships, alongside the Universal Championship. The current WWE Champion is Drew McIntyre, who is in his first reign.

What is the WWE?

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a WWE, is an American professional wrestling entertainment company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It was founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1952 as Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). The company’s name was changed to WorldWide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963, when it ran the largest individual wrestling circuit in the world. In 1982, it was renamed World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In 2002, the company was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment during a public lawsuit against it.

What is the WWE Championship?

The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the SmackDown brand. It is one of two world titles for WWE’s main roster, alongside the WWE Universal Championship that was created for the Raw brand as a result of the 2016 WWE draft. The current champion is Drew McIntyre, who is in his first reign.

The title was introduced in 1963 by the then-worldwide leader in sports entertainment, the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), as the CWC World Heavyweight Championship as part of its newly formed National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The championship was first awarded to Buddy Rogers after he defeated Nature Boy Ricki Starr in a tournament final that took place on April 25, 1963. It remained affiliated with the NWA until August 29,1971, when CWC seceded from the organization and became World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).The title was then renamed WWWF World Heavyweight Championship.

WWE Champions

The WWE Championship Belt has been around for over 50 years and has been held by many different WWE Champions. The current WWE Champion is Brock Lesnar, who has held the title for over 400 days. However, there have been many WWE Champions who have held the title for much longer than Brock Lesnar. In this article, we will take a look at the 10 WWE Champions who held the title for the longest time.

Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino is a former professional wrestler who was born in Pizzoferrato, Italy on October 6, 1935. He is best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE) where he held the WWWF Heavyweight Championship for more than 11 years across two reigns, the first of which is the longest single reign in the title’s history at 2,803 days. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan is a retired professional wrestler who is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). He held the WWF Championship for a record-setting 1,474 days from 1984 to 1988, and is recognized by WWE as the most popular wrestler of the 1980s. Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.

The Rock

The Rock, whose real name is Dwayne Johnson, is a professional wrestler who became one of the most popular wrestlers in history. He has held the WWE Championship belt ten times, which is more than any other wrestler in history. He is also a successful actor, producer, and director.

WWE Championship Belts

WWE championship belts are the most prestigious titles in all of professional wrestling. The WWE championship belt is the most coveted prize in the business. So who held the WWE championship belt the longest?

WWE World Heavyweight Championship

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship was a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on July 1, 2002. It was unified with the WWE Championship, which WWE recognized as its sole world heavyweight championship at the time. The title was established under then-WWE head writer Vince Russo. The unification took place as a result of The Rock defeating then-WWE Champion Kurt Angle and then-World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at WrestleMania X8.

The title is one of two top championships in WWE; the other being the Universal Championship that was established on July 25, 2016. The inaugural holder of the title was Triple H, who defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Rock in a Three Stages of Hell match at Judgment Day. Brock Lesnar won this title twice in his first reign and set the record for the shortest reign with it at 22 days. Rey Mysterio holds the record for the longest single reign at 336 days (while also holding co-record for most combined days as champion alongside John Cena) while Dean Ambrose holds the overall record at 512 days. Big Show has had more title reigns than any other wrestler with seven (although he shares this record with Hulk Hogan), while Ric Flair holds both records for longest combined days as champion (1,474) and most individual days as champion (1,192).As per usual with professional wrestling championships, WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship is not won via pinfall or submission; rather, it is won either via pinfall or submission inside of a steel cage.

WWE Universal Championship

The WWE Universal Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the SmackDown brand. It is one of two world titles for WWE’s main roster, along with the WWE Championship on Raw. The current champion is Brock Lesnar, who is in his first reign. The title was introduced at SummerSlam in 2016 after WWE Unified its sister world championship, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, by merging it with the former developmental world championship, the NXT Championship. The title is one of two top championships in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship, which serves as the promotion’s flagship world title on Raw.

The inaugural Universal Champion was Finn Bálor, who defeated Seth Rollins at SummerSlam on August 21, 2016. Since its establishment, fourteen different wrestlers have held the title for a combined twenty-seven reigns. Lesnar has been champion for almost all of his record-setting fifth reign totaling 480 days as of March 17, 2019; this is also the longest individual reign in history and surpassed CM Punk’s previous record of 434 days set during his second reign as WWE Champion in 2012–2013. Rollins has had the most reigns with three. Bálor and Lesnar are the only men to have won the title in their first match challenging for it; Bálor was also the first to win it at a pay-per-view event. Brock Lesnar has been both Universal Champion and NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion; he is one of four wrestlers (the others being Hulk Hogan, Edge and Kurt Angle) to hold multiple world heavyweight championships in wrestling.

WWE Intercontinental Championship

The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship contested in WWE on the Raw brand. It is one of the secondary titles of the company, complementing WWE’s flagship WWE Universal Championship. The current champion is Big E, who is in his first reign.

The Intercontinental Championship was introduced to WWE in 1979 as a secondary title and was contested under the NWA ruleset at that time. The inaugural champion was Ken Patera, who became the only man to win the title by winning a tournament when he defeated Ted DiBiase in the finals of a tournament on April 30, 1979. The title has been defended in Mid-South Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Continental Wrestling Association, World Class Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling and Smoky Mountain Wrestling before being brought back into WWE (then known as World Wrestling Federation) when it bought WCW in 2001.

The Intercontinental Championship has changed hands a total of 246 times among 57 different wrestlers and has been held by men of various racial backgrounds. As of 2020, Big E is the only black wrestler to have held the title for more than one reign. The longest reigning Intercontinental Champion is Pedro Morales, who holds the record for most combined days as champion at 619. Mr. Perfect holds the record for most individual days as champion at 434.

Longest WWE Championship Reigns

In professional wrestling, champions are determined by champions who win a match to become the holder of a championship. The WWE Champion is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, currently defended on their Raw brand. It is one of WWE’s oldest championships, having been introduced in 1963.

Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino is a former professional wrestler who is best known for his time with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He held the WWE Championship for a record 11 years and 8 months, during which time he defended the title against all comers. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.

Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan – 6/2/1984 to 1/23/1988Total: 1,474 days
Won the title from The Iron Sheik
Defeated by André the Giant
Hulk Hogan’s first title reign is the sixth longest in WWE history.

The Rock

The Rock held the WWE Championship for a total of 1,687 days across seven reigns, the most in WWE history. He first won the title in November 1998, defeating Mankind in the finals of a tournament for the vacant title, and went on to hold it for several more periods over the next few years. He finally relinquished the title in October 2002, after losing a “Last Man Standing” match to Brock Lesnar.