WWE Breaks 54-Year Record On RAW
Marathon Raw opener clocks in at close to two hours long.
Finishing at an epic 106 minutes and 55 seconds, last night's Raw gauntlet match is officially the longest in-ring contest in WWE history.
This trumps the previous record of 81 minutes, which was set by Bruno Sammartino and Waldo Von Erich at a WWWF Madison Square Garden show in August 1964, and is also longer than any Royal Rumble or Iron Man match the company has ever held.
Standout performer Seth Rollins set a record of his own, too. Starting as the match's second entrant, 'The Kingslayer' was in the ring for a total of 65 minutes, pinning Roman Reigns and John Cena before he was upset by Elias. No other wrestler in Raw's 25-year history has ever competed for such a length of time.
WWE haven't so much broken Sammartino's 54-year record as blown it off the face of the year. Most fans knew the Elimination Chamber preview bout would be long, but not to this extent, and for a company so obsessed with "making history," it's surprising that WWE haven't made a bigger deal of this.
Still, it was a fantastic match from start to finish, and did plenty to whet fans' appetites ahead of Sunday's pay-per-view.