10 Longest WWE Championship Reigns

#1 Bruno Sammartino: 2803 days

The reign that is, was, and always will be the longest WWE Championship reign ever.

8 years is what it took for Bruno Sammartino to be defeated. EIGHT YEARS. The single most iconic reign as champion in the history of professional wrestling. This iconic reign started after Sammartino defeated inaugural champion buddy Rodgers for the title on May 17, 1963 in New York, and ended in one of the most infamous losses in professional wrestling, as Ivan Koloff stunned Madison Square Garden on January 19, 1971.

To put this reign in perspective, there were 31 champions in the same time between 2002 and 2010, starting with The Undertaker in May 2002 (reign number 66) to John Cena in February 2010 (reign number 97).

To further shed light on this, The Undertaker's reign happened before John Cena had even made his WWE debut, and Cena's reign was his sixth, with his record setting 380 day reign also in this time frame. Sammartino's title loss to Ivan Koloff led Madison Sqaure Garden into stunned silence, as no one expected the reign to end. Sammartino's cumulative 11 years as champion will never be matched, and his 8 year reign as champion in on it's own will not see a competitor even come close to it ever again.