The WWE World Heavyweight Championship is the top prize of the company. Throughout the years, it has been held by multiple superstars.
Sometimes, wrestlers hold on to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for several years, while for some, it has lasted mere minutes. With that said, let’s look at the top 10 longest-reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champions in history:
10. Hulk Hogan- 364 days
This is the Hulkster’s second reign as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He won the title from Randy Savage at WrestleMania 5. Hulk Hogan held on to the championship for almost a year, facing multiple opponents and finally dropping it to Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 6. Their match was definitely a classic and would be remembered for ages by the fans.
9. Randy Savage- 371 days
The “Macho Man” Randy Savage won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after defeating Ted DiBiase. He held the title for over a year and even successfully defended it against Andre The Giant once. However, he lost it to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 5.
8. AJ Styles- 371 days
Tied with Randy Savage at 371 days is none other than the Phenomenal AJ Styles. He won the title after defeating Jinder Mahal right before Survivor Series 2017 and immediately faced Brock Lesnar at the PPV following his victory. This was Styles’ second reign as the WWE World Championship on SmackDown. During his long reign as the champ, Styles became known as “The Face that runs the Place” as he defended it against anyone and everyone on SmackDown. He eventually dropped the title to Daniel Bryan around the same time as well, i.e. right before Survivor Series.
7. John Cena- 380 days
The Cenation Leader, John Cena is a record-setting 16-time WWE World Champion, tying with Ric Flair. He is one of the greatest wrestlers to set foot in the WWE ring and has a series of accomplishments in the company. His longest reign as the World Champion is a whopping 380 days. He won the title after defeating Edge in 2006. It’s likely that his reign would’ve been a lot more if he didn’t have to vacate the title due to an injury.
6. CM Punk- 434 days
The Best in The World CM Punk‘s reign as the WWE World Champion is still one of the best to date. Overall he was a great wrestler who was phenomenal on the mic and was super over with the fans as well. He defeated John Cena twice to win the title and went on to defend it against top superstars like Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton. His long reign ended at the hands of The Rock.
5. Pedro Morales- 1027 days
One of the superstars who isn’t recognized as much for his title reign is Pedro Morales. The man held and defended the championship for almost 3 years. He was the 4th superstar to hold the WWE World Championship and held it from 1971 to 1973.
4. Bruno Sammartino- 1237 days
This is the second title reign in the career of the legendary Bruno Sammartino. He is the longest reigning World Champion in the history of WWE. His reign was so dominant that even his second title reign is among the top 4 longest WWE title reigns in WWE history. He won the championship in 1973 and faced top stars like Bruiser Brody, Ken Parera, etc.
3. Hulk Hogan- 1474 days
It was the beginning of Hulkamania when Hulk Hogan defeated Iron Shiek to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It is one of the most popular title reigns in history. He held the title for well over 4 years and during that time, he faced Andre The Giant in one of the most memorable WrestleMania matches.
2. Bob Backlund- 2135 days
One of the strongest wrestlers who held the WWE title is Bob Backlund. He held the title for almost 6 years and during this time, he faced countless opponents, even fighting till draws in a lot of his matches. Regardless, he would go down in history as one of the greatest of all time.
1. Bruno Sammartino- 2803 days
It seemed for the longest time that Bruno Sammartino would be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion forever. The man held onto his title for almost 8 years, defeating everyone in his way. His historic reign started in 1963 when he defeated Buddy Rogers for the title. His combined reign as champion extends well over 4000 days. It’s a feat that will never be repeated by anyone ever in WWE.
Read More: Triple H unveils brand new World Championship on Monday Night RAW: April 24 2023
