10 Best WWE Title Runs Ever
Gold against the soul.
To determine the greatest WWE Heavyweight title runs ever, we must first establish a (realistic) criteria.
Match quality, in-ring influence and drawing power are the primary considerations here, which may put some historical noses out of joint. The diminished ability to revisit the herculean body of work assembled by Pedro Morales between February 8, 1971 and December 1, 1973 creates what is likely the starkest omission. Morales was a major draw for his time, but his basic, brawling-heavy in-ring legacy does not seep into the modern narrative, in the court of opinion nor even the vast reaches of the WWE Network.
Longevity also obscures effectiveness.
A cursory scroll through the List of WWE Champions Wikipedia page confirms that a pre-insanity Bob Backlund held the WWWF Championship for a nominally impressive 2,135 days. In reality, we can consider Bob Backlund a sort of proto-Roman Reigns; propped up by a deep roster within a well-oiled machine of a wrestling promotion, his manufactured, cloying act divided opinion, but he was beloved by the man promoting him (Vince Sr.) and must have done something right to stay the course.
We exist in the era of the 'Moment', and this is a list crafted through 21st century eyes...
10. Bruno Sammartino - May 17, 1963 To January 18, 1971
...with one omission.
Few can pretend, in 2018, to have witnessed the minutiae of Bruno's epic reign, which is not widely available on the WWE Network, nor did it survive through the era of early 1990s tape trading, a practise that saw only the craziest (FMW) and most exciting (AJPW) cult wrestling action change hands. Bruno, on the evidence available, wrestled a brawling style that, while formulaic and dry to the modern armchair audience, deserves the utmost respect for drawing so many fans for so many years. As a sort of crib sheet summarising the emotion that defined Sammartino's lucrative bond with the audience, consider the reaction to his shocking loss to Ivan Koloff. To modern audiences, this means little - it's telling that, despite repaired relations, WWE, knowing the appetite isn't there, has not released a Sammartino BioDVD - but to his people, this was a crushing blow. It was so unexpected and upsetting that, once the shock wore off, it reduced grown women to tears and men to stuff upper lips.
A huge and consistent box office draw, Bruno's legend is such that it has survived well beyond the extinction of tape trading.