Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns with the Universal title
#2 Bob Backlund (WWE title reign: 2135 days)
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With 22,000 in attendance, the World Wrestling Federation was at @TheGarden in New York City, NY tonight! (The show was untelevised.)WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund battled WWF Intercontinental Champion Don Muraco to a 60-minute time-limit draw. #OnThisDaypic.twitter.com/S33xpXaBIw
On February 20, 1978, Bob Backlund ended Billy Graham's 296-day World title reign to become the new WWE Champion. A year later, he lost the belt to Japanese legend Antonio Inoki and won it back in a rematch on December 6, 1979.
The rematch was declared a no-contest due to interference by Tiger Jeet Singh, and Inoki remained the champion. He refused the belt though, thus making it vacant.
Backlund went on to defeat Bobby Duncum for the vacant belt. Vince McMahon's promotion doesn't recognize Inoki's World title reign as a part of its official history. Bob Backlund lost the title to The Iron Sheik on December 26, 1983, with his reign clocked in at 2135 days.
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#1 Bruno Sammartino (WWE title reigns: 2803 days, 1237 days)
RT @letsgobacktowcw: 8/29/1987Bruno Sammartino (in his final match) & Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy & The One Man Gang at a house show in Baltimore, Maryland.pic.twitter.com/nS9dCp9xD6
On May 17, 1963, Bruno Sammartino submitted Buddy Rogers at an MSG house show to become the second-ever WWE Champion in history, thus kicking off quite possibly the most impressive World title reign in all of WWE.
Sammartino held the title for a whopping 2803 days before dropping it to Ivan Koloff on January 18, 1971. Sammartino's second title reign would come two years later with a win over Stan Stasiak. Bruno held the title for 1237 days this time around, before eventually dropping it to 'Superstar' Billy Graham.
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About the author
Abhilash Mendhe
Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.
Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.
He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.
Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.
When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.
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