10 Longest WWE Championship Reigns Ever

9. Hulk Hogan (364 Days)

434 Days CM Punk
WWE.com

There was much to love about Hulk Hogan's second reign with the WWE Championship, but it did serve as a masking agent to the reality that WWE's post-WrestleMania boom period gradually began heading towards a bust.

Randy Savage's 1988 tenure had been a surprise box office smash, with his WrestleMania V surrender to 'The Hulkster' doing incredible business for the company thanks to the lovingly crafted explosion of The Mega Powers over the full year the Macho Man ruled the roost.

Hogan's best work upon claiming the belt back came against his former partner. With Savage he continued to delight, but the summer No Holds Barred tie-in feud with Zeus required Randy to carry the load, and a pre-WrestleMania rivalry with Mr Perfect drew poorly enough that the company became convinced that Curt Hennig was never a draw beyond his midcard ceiling.

Ultimate Warrior's run confirmed the impending downturn, but the rot had quietly set in before Hulk sailed off.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett