18. Buddy Rogers Never Actually Won The First WWE Title
If you look up the WWE Title lineage, you'll see that it starts with Buddy Rogers in 1963. But this is a complete and utter fiction, a mere pro wrestling work. McMahon made it all up, claiming that Rogers had won a tournament in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to become the first ever World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion. In reality, Rogers had just been handed the belt. A month later, Bruno Sammartino defeated Rogers, marking the first real victory for the championship. The victory came about in just 48 seconds, with Rogers submitting to the Italian Backbreaker. There were 19,639 fans on hand, grossing $58,966 in a packed Madison Square Garden. The belt wouldn't change hands again for another seven and a half years.
