10 Longest Reigning ECW World Heavyweight Champions
5. The Sandman - 196 Days
One of the many names that crop up when one things of 'ECW Originals', The Sandman was a great example of Paul Heyman's ability to take a very ordinary worker and make them something special. Sandman couldn't wrestle like Dean Malenko, but he could certainly get a crowd behind him whilst smashing beer cans against his own head. Sandman holds the record for the most reigns as ECW Champion at 5, and at 196 days his second reign the longest of these. It began by beating Shane Douglas at Hostile City Showdown at 1995, ending Douglas' vice-like grip on the strap. His victory came thanks to a double cross from his valet, Woman (better known as Nancy Benoit). Woman would go on to help Sandman retain the title against a variety of opponents including Cactus Jack. He feuded with Jack for most of 1995, memorably taking part in a Texas Death match where he suffered a legitimate concussion and seemingly forgot the booked ending to the match, continually kicking out and getting up when maybe he shouldn't have. In a shocking result, Sandman lost the title to Mikey Whipwreck in a ladder match in October 1995. He would regain the belt just seven weeks later.
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
