1. Bruno Sammartino - 4,040 Combined Days As Champion
The man in a class of his own. Bruno Sammartino held the WWF Championship for over eleven years, 4,040 days in total as the champion! It was partly down to his era, but take nothing away from Bruno, he was regularly outselling Madison Square Garden and was adored by thousands. He was a bit like Morales, a man who got over with his ethnicity. New York City's immigrant Italian population is huge and Bruno was one of them. With the title on him, ticket sales were always guaranteed to be strong at the MSG box office. Bruno wasn't just a regional phenom though, granted the WWF was North East based, but his legend resounded around the country. He even ended up having an audience with the pope! Sammartino's first reign started with a victory over Buddy Rogers in May 1963. He wouldn't lose the belt until a match against Ivan Koloff in January 1971. Supposedly you could hear a pin drop when that shock result went down. The Living Legend won the title back from Stan Stasiak in December 1973, holding the championship until April 1977 when Billy Graham won the gold. With second place Hulk Hogan not even coming close to Sammartino's Championship success, it says it all. The Living Legend's legacy will never be matched. The most successful WWE Champion then, now and forever.
