Shortly after making her WWF debut, Sherri Martel upset the perennial WWF Women's Champion on July 24, 1987 in Houston.
Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne were tag team royalty in the AWA after defeating Bobby Duncum and Blackjack Lanza for the World Tag Team Titles on July 7, 1977. They held onto those crowns for well over a year before finally losing them to Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens on September 23, 1978.
As such, when after she defeated Lita at New Year's Revolution on January 9, 2005, Trish's sixth title reign lasted for over a year.
She was finally beaten at WrestleMania 22 during the culmination of an epic storyline featuring Mickie James as Trish's stalker.
Rockin' Robin held the championship for well over a year. After she decided to leave the WWF, she was stripped of the title on February 21, 1990.
Flair would defend the belt throughout 1988 before eventually dropping the belt to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat on February 20, 1989 in a match that some fans count among the greatest of all time.
The World Wrestling Federation used the character Gillberg to mock WCW's Goldberg during the late '90s. As part of this, they let Gillberg hold the Light Heavyweight Title for nearly 15 months before finally dropping it to Essa Rios on an edition of Sunday Night Heat.
The Honky Tonk Man defeated Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the WWF Intercontinental Title on June 2, 1987 and held on to the belt for over a year. He eventually lost to The Ultimate Warrior on August 29, 1988 at SummerSlam.
Following the retirement of Verne Gagne in 1981, the American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Heavyweight Title was given back to the previous champion, Nick Bockwinkel.
When Hulk Hogan joined World Championship Wrestling in 1994, it was clear immediately that he would be the new centerpiece of the entire company.
Hogan went on to retain the title for several months, feuding with Flair and others. He lost the belt at Halloween Havoc 1995 to The Giant in a match where the belt could change hands via disqualification.
Ax and Smash (a.k.a. Demolition) defeated Rick Martel and Tito Santana (a.k.a. Strike Force) at WrestleMania IV on March 27, 1988.
Demolition held onto the belts for over a year before losing them to Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard (the Brain Busters) on July 18, 1989.
Shinya Hashimoto won the International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) Heavyweight Title on April 29, 1996 by defeating Nobuhiko Takada. He lost the belt to Kensuke Sasaki on August 31, 1997.
Though Jack Brisco was originally scheduled to defeat long-reigning NWA champion Dory Funk, Jr. for the title, he actually ended up besting Harley Race for the belt. Some concluded that Funk preferred to drop the title to Race, in effect making him a transitional champion.
After winning the belt on July 20, 1973 Brisco went on to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Title all over the globe.
And it was in Japan where Brisco's first title reign actually did come to an end when he was defeated by Giant Baba on December 2, 1974.
After briefly dropping the AWA World Heavyweight Title to Otto Wanz in mid-1982, Nick Bockwinkel regained the belt weeks later.
Bockwinkel's third AWA reign lasted longer than his second, but finally came to an end on February 22, 1984 when he was bested by Jumbo Tsuruta in Tokyo.
The luchador Blue Demon, Jr. defeated Adam Pearce on October 25, 2008 in Mexico City to become the NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Blue Demon held the title for roughly a year-and-a-half before dropping the title to Pearce on March 14, 2010 in Charlotte, NC.
In the 1930s the World Heavyweight Title of wrestling was still somewhat universally recognized. As such, champions of the era were not champions of any particular promotion, but rather undisputed champions.
On June 16, 1937 former Chicago Bears fullback Bronko Nagurski defeated Dean Detton to become wrestling's World Heavyweight Champion.
Nagurski proved that he was more than a fluke by holding onto the title for over 17 months before finally losing it to Jim Londos.
Lex Luger's third reign as US Champion turned out to not only be his longest, but indeed the longest reign in that belt's entire lineage.
Verne Gagne was not only the owner of the American Wrestling Association (AWA), he was also the company's World Heavyweight Champion throughout much of the 1960s and '70s.
One of Gagne's title reigns lasted from besting Mad Dog Vachon on February 26, 1967 until he was defeated by Dr. X on April 17, 1968.
Nigel McGuinness defeated Takeshi Morishima on October 7, 2007 to become the new Ring of Honor (ROH) World Heavyweight Champion.
Months later it was widely announced that McGuinness had signed with WWE. This deal fell through, however, and he soon ended up in TNA, now known as Desmond Wolfe.
Adam Cole won the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Title by defeating Sabian on May 8, 2010. He lost the belt to Sami Callihan on November 12, 2011.
After holding the AWA Tag Team Titles for nearly a year, Bockwinkel and Stevens lost the belts to Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson. One week later, Bockwinkel and Stevens took the belt back and commenced a second title reign that outlasted the first.
Drake Younger defeated Nick Gage for the CZW World Heavyweight Title on July 12, 2008. He held the title until losing it to B-Boy on January 30, 2010.
Velvet McIntyre originally won the NWA Women's Tag Team Titles with Princess Victoria in 1983. When the WWF left the NWA, the two were recognized as the first WWF Women's Tag Team Champions.
Unfortunately, Desiree Petersen had to replace Princess Victoria after Victoria suffered a career-ending neck injury in 1984.
Keeping in custom with long AWA world title reigns, when Rick Martel won the belt on May 13, 1984 he held onto it until the very end of 1985. It was then, and only then, that he finally relinquished the belt to Stan Hansen.
Mad Dog and Butcher Vachon defeated The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser for the AWA Tag Team Titles on August 30, 1969. The kept the belts for nearly two years before losing them to Red Bastien and Hercules Cortez on May 15, 1971.
Though Jushin Liger had captured New Japan Pro Wrestling's (NJPW) International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) Junior Heavyweight Title previously, his sixth reign turned out to be his longest.
Liger won the belt by defeating Ultimo Dragon in Tokyo on January 4, 1993. He held the belt for a year-and-a-half until it had to be vacated due to Liger sustaining an ankle injury.
Ric Flair made a name for himself over the 1970s after returning to the ring from a plane crash that literally broke his back.
Flair won his fist NWA World Heavyweight Title by defeating "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes in Kansas City on September 17, 1981.
For nearly two years "The Nature Boy" defended the belt around the world. His first reign was filled with controversy, as he was defeated on several occasions but the belt did not change hands.
When Joe Stecher defeated Charlie Cutler in Omaha, NE on July 5, 1915 that win cemented his place as wrestling's undisputed World Heavyweight Champion.
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was formed by several promoters in early 1948 in order to help unify the various wrestling titles of the times and come up with a universally-recognized World Heavyweight Champion.
By 1998, Bam Bam Bigelow was one of the bigger names in wrestling and, as such, ECW let him defeat Taz for their World Television Title.
On April 4, 1998 RVD defeated "The Beat from the East" for the title. During his title reign, which lasted almost two years, he also held the ECW World Tag Team Titles with Sabu.
In fact, Van Dam was forced to drop the belt on March 4, 2000 only after he broke his ankle and was unable to compete.
Had RVD not broken his ankle, its possible that he might have remained TV Champ until the company shut its doors in early 2001.
Gus Sonnenberg became wrestling's World Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Ed Lewis on January 4, 1929. He held the belt until he was defeated by Ed Don George on December 10, 1930.
After having held the belts for over a year previously, Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne took back the AWA World Tag Team Titles from Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura (a.k.a. The East-West Connection) on June 14, 1981.
Rasche Brown and Keith Walker (a.k.a. The Skullkrushers) defeated Los Luchas for the NWA World Tag Team Titles on October 4, 2008. They held the belts until being defeated by Dark City Fight Club on November 20, 2010.
When Ric Flair defeated Kerry Von Erich in Japan on May 24, 1984 he not only started his fourth title reign; he also began the longest title reign of his career.
Yes, "The Nature Boy" stayed NWA Champion not only throughout the remainder of 1984, but also the entirety of 1985 and all the way until July 26, 1986.
And, moreover, though Flair lost the belt to Dusty Rhodes on that date, he won the belt back two weeks later and began another 412-day-reign.
Pat O'Connor became NWA World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Dick Hutton on January 9, 1959 in St. Louis. He held the belt for two-and-a-half years, but finally lost it to "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers on June 30, 1961 in a bout that was billed as "the wrestling match of the century."
Leilani Kai and Judy Martin (a.k.a. the Glamour Girls) held the WWF Women's Tag Team Titles from August of 1985 until they were defeated by the Jumping Bomb Angels on January 24, 1988.
After briefly holding the NWA Title in 1973, Harley Race once again became champ after defeating Terry Funk on February 6, 1977.
Race went on to hold the belt for two-and-a-half years, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
Race finally lost the belt to "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes on August 21, 1979. He did, however, win the belt back from Rhodes only days later.
Joe Stecher became World Heavyweight Champion for a third time when he defeated Stanislaus Zbysko in St. Louis on May 30, 1925. He lost the belt just short of 1,000 days later to Ed Lewis on February 21, 1928.
After besting Joe Stecher on April 9, 1917 Earl Caddock won the right to call himself wrestling's World Heavyweight Champion.
After years of Bruno Sammartino being the company's top star, Vince McMahon Sr. and others came to the conclusion that Pedro Morales should hold the belt.
As such, Sammartino dropped the title to the hated "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. Three weeks later, Morales defeated Koloff to become WWWF Champion.
Morales held the belt from February 8, 1971 until December 1, 1973. After nearly three years with the belt, WWWF management decided to put the belt back on Sammartino. This meant having another transitional heel champion -- Stan Stasiak -- defeat Morales to hold the belt for a mere nine days.
Ed Lewis defeated Stanislaus Zbysko on March 3, 1922 to become World Heavyweight Champion for the second time. He held the belt until being defeated by Wayne Munn on January 8, 1925.
The first man to be recognized internationally as the Heavyweight Champion of the World was George Hackenschmidt of Estonia.
After winning several wrestling tournaments across Europe, Hackenschmidt defeated American wrestling champion Tom Jenkins on May 4, 1905 in New York City to be universally seen as wrestling's World Champion.
Promoters Vince McMahon, Sr. and Toots Mondt disagreed with this decision, however, and in protest formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), crowning Rogers its first champion.
After decades of being the top star in wrestling, Lou Thesz was finally bested for the NWA World Heavyweight Title one last time on January 7, 1966.
Kiniski traveled the globe defending the belt for three years before finally dropping it to Dory Funk, Jr. on February 11, 1969.
After letting Pedro Morales hold the belt for a few years, the WWWF put their title back on the man who had carried them through the '60s.
On December 10, 1973 Bruno Sammartino defeated transitional champion Stan Stasiak to once again hold the WWWF Title.
Sammartino's second and final reign came to an end on April 30, 1977 when he was bested by a charismatic new heel named "Superstar" Billy Graham.
Mike Quackenbush defeated Tiger Mask IV for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title on May 11, 2007. He held the title until being defeated by Craig Classic on November 6, 2010.
The Iranian national spouted anti-American sentiment at a time that the nation was still sensitive about the Iran hostage crisis.
As such, Vince McMahon Jr. used the Iron Sheik as a transitional heel champion to take the belt off the long-reigning Bob Backlund and put it on the man who would become the standard-bearer of the time -- Hulk Hogan.
During these first four years of Hulkamania, Hogan defeated virtually every major heel of the time -- from "Rowdy" Roddy Piper to King Kong Bundy to Andre the Giant.
Unfortunately, Hogan lost the belt on February 5, 1988 after Andre cheated to win the belt and then attempted to sell the title to "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.
After losing WCW and ECW in the early 1990s, the National Wrestling Alliance was a shadow of its former self. What it needed at the time was a champion who could bring credibility to the promotion.
Severn went on to defend the belt for over four years before finally losing the belt to Naoya Ogawa in Yokohama, Japan on March 14, 1999.
Ed Lewis defeated Ed Don George to become the World Heavyweight Champion on April 13, 1931. Though other claimants did arise during his reign, but met these men and defeated them. He finally lost the title after four years to Danno O'Mahoney on June 27, 1935.
This title change did not come without controversy, however, as it is widely believed that Funk was originally asked to lose the belt to Jack Brisco, but refused.
Frank Gotch made wrestling history when he faced George Hackenschmidt in Chicago's Dexter Park on April 3, 1908. Out-maneuvering his opponent, Gotch forced Hackenschmidt to surrender the World Heavyweight Title.
Over the following years Gotch defeated the greatest wrestlers of the era. He also defeated Hackenschmidt in a rematch at Comiskey Park on September 4, 1911.
Backlund's reign lasted nearly six years and bridged the gap between the 1970s era of Vince McMahon Sr. and the 1980s style of Vince Jr -- as well as the renaming of the company to simply "World Wrestling Federation."
Eventually, on December 26, 1983 Backlund lost the belt to the Iron Sheik when his manager, Arnold Skaaland, threw in the towel.
Following Orville Brown's car accident in November of 1949, Lou Thesz became the man who the NWA would rely upon to unify wrestling's world heavyweight titles.
Over several years, Thesz did in fact merge many championships with his own, becoming the last truly undisputed World Heavyweight Champion in wrestling history.
Thesz's first title reign came to an official end on March 15, 1956 when he lost to "Whipper" Billy Watson in Toronto in front of 15,000 fans in a match where former boxing champ Jack Dempsey served as referee.
After winning his belt back from Dr. X on August 31, 1968, Verne Gagne was not willing to let the title go. Though he had lost the belt to numerous competitors throughout the 1960s, Verne's ninth title reign lasted until November 8, 1975. It was only then that he found a worthy enough rival to drop the title to -- Nick Bockwinkel.
Jim Londos became a wrestling icon after defeating Bronko Nagurski for the World Heavyweight Title on November 18, 1938. He became a legend by never being defeated for the title and retiring as champion in 1946.
Vince McMahon Sr.'s Capitol Wrestling broke away from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1963 when a title dispute erupted between "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers and longtime champion Lou Thesz. Since McMahon and others wanted to continue recognizing Rogers as champion, they left the NWA and formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).
As such, Rogers dropped the belt to Bruno Sammartino on May 17, 1963 in Madison Square Garden in a match that lasted less than one minute.
Sammartino went on to hold the belt for over seven years, giving prestige to both the championship and the newly-formed company.
Though Moolah won and lost the title shortly 10, 12, 20 and 22 years later, when the WWF withdrew from the NWA for a second time in 1983 they also purchased Moolah's championship. Furthermore, the WWF refused to recognize Moolah's earlier losses, stating that she had been the champion consistently since 1956.
While this may seem dubious, keep in mind that Moolah did not lose her title for the first time until 1966, which was 3 years after the WWWF was formed. So, it does seem legitimate that the Federation could have overlooked her losses during the '60s and '70s.
Moolah was finally defeated for the belt by Wendi Richter on July 23, 1984, nearly 28 years after first becoming Women's Champion.
As such, Moolah has the distinction of being the longest-reigning wrestling champion in history -- and not to mention more than a quarter of a century longer than CM Punk.
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