10 Longest WWE Championship Reigns Ever
4. Bruno Sammartino (1237 Days)
Incredible not just for the four-figure length but for the fact that it was Bruno's second time with the strap, the 'Living Legend's return to the summit continued much of the legacy he'd already established in his original, iconic tenure (more on that later).
With victory over transitional Champion Stan Stasiak in 1973, Bruno took the throne back two full years after his devastating loss to Ivan Koloff had silenced the Madison Square Garden crowd. It seemed improbable that the working class hero could meet the outstanding standards of his original reign, but four more years with the title enhanced his already-solidified status as one of the architects of the McMahon wrestling empire.
Terminated through injury rather than because he'd remotely diminished as a draw by then, the end of Sammartino's second reign was only slightly less heartbreaking than the first because people hoped against hope that he might rise to the top a third time.