10 Longest WWE Championship Reigns Ever
1. Bruno Sammartino (2803 Days)
The original WWWF take on the NWA stalwart, Bruno Sammartino's original reign with the North East territory's title exponentially helped the organisation's status as a breakaway rival to the established and largely trusted industry standard.
In the eight years his reign lasted, Bruno's drawing power at gates across the region never faltered, and nor did his relationship with an adoring crowd. He was a Champion not just of Vince McMahon Sr's wrestling but of Italian-American communities that wore his success as a badge of honour for themselves and blue-collar ringsiders that shared his working class roots.
'The Living Legend' acted as an inspiration to countless fans and spectators that would be fish-hooked for life by the industry, and came to define the entire booking style of the organisation for nearly 50 years. It took an entire paradigm shift in the 1990s for Vince McMahon Jr to flip the script from having long-form babyface titleholders to having heroes chase.