10 Longest Gaps Between World Title Reigns In WWE History
1. Bob Backlund - 16 Years 9 Months 4 Days
Bob Backlund holds the official record for the 2nd longest WWE Championship reign of all time.
From 1978 to 1983, Backlund was top dog in the federation; bar a weird blip when he lost the title to Antonio Inoki only to have the result overturned and nullified. Bob eventually lost the title to The Iron Sheik. He then hung around for eight months or so before taking semi-retirement.
Then came one of the strangest comebacks in wrestling history.
Backlund reappeared in the WWF in 1992 and immediately felt out of place. This changed in 1994, when Backlund introduced a new gimmick; a dangerous eccentric hell-bent on making examples of The New Generation. Backlund's change came after a loss to Bret Hart, which got him a world title shot against The Hitman at Survivor Series.
In a stunning upset, Mr. Backlund won the match and the title after Owen Hart threw in the towel for his brother. For the first time in nearly 17 years, Backlund was champion.
This is a record that will likely never be broken, but so is the record that Backlund set when he lost the title to Diesel just 3 days later - a match that was over in eight seconds.