10 Most Unlikely First WWE World Championship Defenses

Nothing says "the hipster's entry" quite like 1963 WWWF.

Despite the bulk of his career taking place in the 1960s and '70s, Bruno Sammartino is a name still highly regarded in wrestling circles, largely due to his historic eight-year run with the WWWF Championship, beginning in 1963 after toppling Buddy Rogers at Madison Square Garden. After battling the likes of Rogers, Lou Thesz, Boris Malenko and Gene Kiniski in the months prior, Sammartino had certainly proven himself, and was ready to face any and all challengers, including one Miguel Torres.

Not much exists online about Torres outside of his Cagematch.net profile. After various extended forays in professional wrestling during and post-World War II, Torres largely hit his stride with the sport in 1957, becoming a mainstay with the NWA and the affiliated CWC promotion - the precursor promotion to the modern-day WWE.

However, Miguel wasn't quite what you'd call a "star performer". No records indicate he ever held a championship of any kind (this was his first match for any title in over two years), and by the time of his WWWF Championship shot against Sammartino, he had a record of 2-7-1 in 1963 alone, including a loss to Bruno the month prior.