At the origins of the WWE Championship, we can immediately see the legendary status that Bruno Sammartino has in the eyes of all wrestling fans. The most fundamental statistic in his astonishing career is of course the 2,803 consecutive days for which he held the then WWWF Championship between 1963 and 1971. Of course, nowadays such a feat in the WWE is virtually unheard to the extent that current WWE Champ CM Punk's title reign is considered incredibly long, and he has held the title "only" 325 days. This change can be viewed in a number of ways. Sammartino at the time of his championship reigns was the biggest star in wrestling, as was Hulk Hogan during the majority of his WWE Championship reigns. The fans would back these superstars to the hilt, and would never want to see them lose a single match, let alone the championship. The devotion to Sammartino was so great, when he eventually lost the title to Ivan Koloff in 1971, the crowd were either stunned into silence or brought to tears. The wrestlers were regarded as warriors who fought tooth and nail to decide who was the victor, and men like Sammartino and Hogan were credible due to the fact that they won far more often than they lost. But if one examines the win-loss record of someone such as John Cena or Randy Orton, it often draws ire from your current WWE fan. Why is this you may ask? Perhaps it is the fact that the cloud of kayfabe is no longer draped over our eyes. Most wrestling fans over the age of twelve understand that the outcome of professional wrestling matches are pre-determined. Therefore constant victories by certain superstars are regarded as lazy booking by the creative team, and the perceived "burying" of the other members of the roster. Therefore the win column of a superstars resume is no longer as necessary in establishing a champion's credibility. The look of a superstar is also not so much of an issue. Despite Vince McMahon's supposed preference in signing on muscle-bound heavyweights rather than efficient technical wrestlers, one must say that these wrestlers do not get over with the crowd anymore. Whilst every week we can see CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and Rey Mysterio, superstars like Mason Ryan and Ezekiel Jackson come and go without too much of an impact, and certainly no hope of ever getting close to a WWE Championship (although admittedly the Great Khali was a mistake).
So what are the key attributes of making a credible WWE Champion? He must have a broad appeal with the WWE Universe, and always illicit a response from the crowd. Whether this is universal cheering, booing or a mixed reaction for superstars such as Cena, the audience has to be involved in this superstars rise to the top. A superstar's gimmick following the attitude era have to be realistic - no longer are characters like Doink and Repo Man successful in the WWE. They need to be involved in storylines that people can relate to and act in a manner the audience would expect. Next, a superstar must be able to wrestle effectively. That doesn't necessarily mean he has to be a technical master, but he has to be able to pace a match and play his role efficiently. Superstars like the Rock and Stone Cold did not have the most expansive move-sets compared to Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho, but they were the faces of the attitude era because they were able to grip the crowd into the match, and know their roles (see what I did there?) enough to make the matches entertaining and charismatic. Fundamentally, the major factor in determining a "Superstar" and future champion is their ability to connect to the audience, on the mic, backstage and in the ring. They need to be believable, passionate and strong-willed in promos, and also brilliant improvisers, in order to read the reaction of the crowd and act to generate the most brilliantly apt response imaginable. They also have to be an outlet outside the WWE, and be able to spread the message across TV, radio, websites, newspapers, etc. A WWE Champion also would have had some say in how his character should be portrayed, and if he felt his character was not getting over enough, they would instigate a change that made them the "face" of the product. A WWE Champion is today the face of a multi-million dollar product, so need to be role models and entertainers beyond most other performers in the industry. Charismatic talkers, inventive improvisers, entertaining wrestlers, broad audience response and wide media acceptability all contribute to superstars such as John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock, The Miz, and many others. These are the champions we will remember, sure-fire hall of famers, and all have the desired credibilty that all superstars crave.