10 Totally Underrated WWE Championship Reigns

1. Pedro Morales - WWWF Heavyweight Champion (08/02/71 €“01/12/73)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggk5ZQU1_hk A classic WWWF Champion, Morales broke new ground at every opportunity and was genuinely beloved by fans of the era. Watch their reaction as he wins the WWWF Championship from Ivan Koloff in the above clip and judge for yourself. Pedro Morales was built like a tank, had a great look and connected well with fans. His wrestling style was basic, not particularly showy and he mainly relied on fan interaction and ring psychology rather than powerful feats of athletic derring-do. Morales€™ detractors often note that, like Bruno Sammartino, he was mainly popular with €˜ethnic€™ audiences (in this case, Puerto Rican/Latino crowds) and that he wouldn€™t have gotten over in the Southern territories as well as he did in New York, where these markets were at their strongest. However, whilst there is undeniably some truth to that, it still doesn€™t detract from the fact that Pedro Morales was over with pretty much everyone in his WWWF heyday, regardless of their race or ancestry. Pedro Morales was born on the small Puerto Rican island of Culebra, which was home to about 600 people (an estimated 300 of which are apparently related to Morales in some way). When Pedro was a boy, the island only made use of electricity between 4 and 11PM. He left for Brooklyn, New York in order and attend High School (because there wasn€™t one in Culebra) where he learned to wrestle and eventually became a two-time World Champion with the WWA in 1965. However, since the NWA didn€™t recognize the WWA at all, Morales€™ single WWWF title run is remembered as making him the first Latin American to win a recognized World Heavyweight Championship. History should celebrate that, if nothing else. He wasn€™t a flash in the pan, either. Pedro Morales remained WWWF Champion for 1,027 days (almost three years) and, even today, is remembered as the 5th longest-reigning WWE Champion in history. He is also the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE History. During his groundbreaking reign, Morales went up against stars of the era like Blackjack Mulligan, Stan €˜The Man€™ Stasiak, €˜Classy€™ Freddie Blassie, Blue Demon and, of course, the great Bruno Sammartino. In 1995, Morales became the first Latin American to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. If Pedro Morales hadn€™t had this hugely successful run as WWWF Champion, then it is likely that other Latin stars, such as Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio or Alberto Del Rio would have had a much harder climb to the top of the mountain. In short, Pedro Morales was a pioneer and an icon of the sport and he deserves to be remembered that way. ...And that, as they say, is that. 10 WWE World Championship reigns that, for one reason or another, don€™t quite get the respect that they are due. Do you have any other, better suggestions? A forgotten, overshadowed, or underrated title reign that you want to shine a little light on? Go on, then. Pop your suggestions in the €˜comments€™ section... - CQ