Every Foreign WWE Champion Ranked From Worst To Best
2. Pedro Morales
Puerto Rican sensation Pedro Morales was just the fourth WWE Champion of all time, capturing the belt from the evil Ivan Koloff in early 1971, embarking on a near three-year reign with the company's top title as the new heroic babyface of an emerging WWWF.
He is one of just eight people to hold the title for more than a year in a single reign, comfortably surpassing the 365-day marker by racking up an incredible 1,027 days with gold in hand, before losing it at the end of 1973.
His appeal to the large ethnic populations of the New York area gained him superstar status within the company and the wrestling industry at the time, competing with Bruno Sammartino as one of the biggest babyface stars of all time at the peak of his powers.
His most famous bout throughout his reign came against Sammartino himself at the Showdown at Shea in 1972, battling the fellow crowd favourite to an incredible 75-minute draw, only ending because of a New York-imposed curfew. The match would often be regarded as 'The Match of the Century.'
He sits behind only Sammartino, Hulk Hogan and Bob Backlund with the fifth-longest single reign of all time, taking down many of the top heels in the territory of the time, including Stan Stasiak, George Steele, Freddie Blassie, The Black Demon and Jimmy Valiant in anything from Steel Cage matches to Texas Death matches.