10 Best European Wrestlers In WWE History

Bruno Sammartino was sat atop the wrestling mountain before most of the performers on this list were even born, the Italian-born grappler having held the WWE Championship for a record 2,803 days between 1963 and 1971 (and then, for good measure, another 1,237 a couple of years later).

There is sometimes a tendency to conflate longevity with genuine quality, but few would argue that Sammartino's enduring legacy in the wrestling industry isn't well-deserved. Alongside contemporaries like Billy Graham and Bob Backlund, he was instrumental in establishing the WWE name during its formative, pre-TV years.

Although he was not an especially eye-catching performer between the ropes, Sammartino is also credited for introducing mainstream audiences to the slower, headlock style of which he was an early practicioner. All said, it's fair to say there are a few present-day stars who owe him a debt of gratitude.