The 1000 Day Reign: Wrestling’s Longest World Champion

Since the introduction of the first men’s World Heavyweight Championship in 1905 and the first Women’s World Champion a year later in 1906, hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of wrestlers have become sanctioned World champions around the world. For most of these wrestlers, these reigns were exciting bumps in their careers and extra accolades to their accomplishments in the ring. Many were transitional World champions for bigger Superstars, while others, like Ric Flair, won these titles on multiple occasions. But the true testament of a wrestlers’ drawing power as World champions are in the number of days that a World title was kept around their waist – as long as the fans were paying to see a Champion win (or lose), then they did so. And while we’ve seen lengthy reigns from some of the top stars in the industry run anywhere from a month to six months to a year, there is a very small club (comparatively) of World Champions who have enamored their regions and audience and remained World Champions for greater than 1000 days. Here is a look at the exclusive 1000 Days Club.

The 1000 Day Reign: Wrestling’s Longest World Champions

Mildred Burke, Women’s World Champion/WWWA World Single Champion, 7000 days +/- (2nd reign), 1937 to 1956

Mildred Burke had been Women’s World Champion once before, defeating Clara Mortenson in January of 1937, but it was a short reign – Mortenson regained the title two weeks later. But in April, Burke defeated Mortenson once again, and this time, she held on to that title like no one before (or after). Her reign lasted until June 14, 1953, when the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) co-opted the World title for its new NWA Women’s World Championship. Burke’s ex-husband, Billy Wolfe, was the main promoter of women’s wrestling in the US at the time, and following their divorce in 1952, he only made things worse for the long-time World Champion. In 1950, the NWA had started to recognize Burke as the first NWA Women’s World Champion, but following her separation from Wolfe, things got shady. In the summer of 1954, the NWA held a 2-out-of-3 falls match between June Byers (Wolfe’s latest protege). During the second fall, officials called for the match and awarded Byers the title and effectively blackballing Burke from US wrestling. She would continue to carry the title into her own promotion instead, World Women’s Wrestling Association (WWWA), but only found proper work touring Japan. She retired as the Women’s World Champion/WWWA World Single Champion on July 1, 1956 in Cuba.

Cora Livingstone, Women’s World Champion, 5200 days +/- (1st reign), 1910 to 1925

In 1910, Cora Livingstone defeated Laura Bennett to become the first recognized Women’s World Champion. For 15 years, Livingston fought the best in the world, retiring as Champion in 1925. Upon leaving the ring, she continued in the industry alongside her husband, Paul Bowser, who ran the New England territories, particularly in the Boston area.

The Fabulous Moolah, NWA World Women’s Champion, 3841 days (3rd reign), 1968 to 1978

Other 1000+ day reigns: 3651 days (1st reign), 1909 days (4th reign)

While WWE likes to acknowledge the Fabulous Moolah‘s reign as NWA Women’s World Champion as being over 10,000 days from her first victory, the NWA record books show a very different matter. According to the NWA records, Moolah had at five reigns with the title. Her first reign was an impressive 3,651 days, spanning from September 18, 1956, to September 17, 1966, but it was her third reign that was her greatest reign as World Champion. Moolah defeated All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling (AJW)‘s Yukiko Tomoe, who had beaten Moolah for the title a month earlier, on March 2, 1968, and held the title until losing it to Evelyn Stevens on October 8, 1978.

Kay Noble, AWA World Women’s Champion, 3127 days (1st reign), 1963 to 1971

On April 13, 1963, Missouri’s Kay Noble defeated Kathy Starr to win the vacant American Wrestling Association (AWA) Women’s Championship. She held the title for nearly eight years, before losing it to Vivian Vachon in Canada in November of 1971.

Bruno Sammartino, WWWF World Heavyweight Champion, 2803 days (1st reign), 1963 to 1971

Other 1000+ day reigns: 1237 days (2nd reign)

The longest reigning male in the list of 1000-day World Champions is 2x WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino. Sammartino had had a run before with the WWWF (then Capitol Sports) but had only just returned to the company. Then-WWWF World Champion Buddy Rogers began to experience chest pains in 1963, something which went on several times. Fearing for his safety, Vince McMahon Sr. made a switch to Sammartino as World Champion, and it was a gamble that paid off. Sammartino held the title for an astounding eight years, as his Italian heritage united the minorities in WWWF’s territory around New York, propelling him to international stardom.

Jim Londos, World Heavyweight Champion, 2628 days (1st reign), 1938 to 1946

Other 1000+ day reigns: National Wrestling Association World Champion, 1847 days

Debuting in 1912, “The Golden Greek” Jim Londos would go on to become one of the greatest world champions of all time. During his peak heyday of the 1930s and 1940s, he was the top drawing wrestler in the United States – he was routinely pulling in crowds upwards of 35,000 people during the Great Depression. A national hero in Greece, one of his matches back in Greece drew an estimated 100,000 people. On November 18, 1938, Londos defeated Bronko Nagurski to become the World’s Heavyweight Champion, a title he defended until his retirement in 1946 (although like many wrestling retirements, he would come back for exhibition matches into the 1950s).

Verne Gagne, AWA World Heavyweight Champion, 2625 days (9th reign), 1968 to 1975

Verne Gagne had been an early star with the NWA before he returned home to Minnesota to form AWA in 1960. There, he became the prime focus of the promotion, where he would become a 10x World Champion. His greatest reign as AWA World Champion was his ninth reign, which began when he defeated Dr. X on August 31, 1968. Gagne fought back challenges from Larry “The Ax” Hennig, Dick The Bruiser, Harley Race, Eduoard Carpentier, and more, including regular trips to Japan. His run would finally come to an end on November 8, 1975, when Gagne would officially pass the torch to the AWA’s greatest star of the 1970s and 1980s, Nick Bockwinkel.

June Byers, NWA/AWA World Women’s Champion, 2563 days (1st reign), 1954 to 1964

June Byers became the NWA World Women’s Champion in 1954, in controversial fashion over Mildred Burke. But that wouldn’t be the only controversy to follow Byers. When the AWA seceded from the NWA in 1960, they continued to recognize June Byers as the women’s champion, thereby becoming the inaugural AWA Women’s Champion. But when Byers no-showed a title match in 1961, they ceased to recognize her as champion and crowned their own in Penny Banner. Her claim as the NWA Women’s World Champion was also tarnished in some territories, namely New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, when she announced plans to retire as Champion. That area stopped recognizing Byers as World Champion, but the NWA as a whole continued to recognize her as their champion until she retired in 1964.

Lou Thesz, NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, 2300 days (1st reign), 1949 to 1956

Other 1000+ day reigns: 1079 days (3rd reign)

Arguably the NWA’s greatest world champion, Lou Thesz dominated the NWA World title scene for three decades. A legit shoot fighter, upon the formation of the NWA in 1948, Thesz would travel to rogue territories and win their World titles, unifying them with the NWA’s title to build its prestige. While he had three long reigns as NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, his first was his longest, where he fought the likes of Bronko Nagurski, Whipper Billy Watson, Gorgeous George, “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers, Killer Kowalski, and others.

Bob Backlund, WWF World Heavyweight Champion, 2135 days (1st reign), 1978 to 1983

By the late 1970s, the WWF had had its run with Bruno Sammartino and tapped into the wildness of the 70s with “Superstar” Billy Graham, when they turned to former NCAA All-American wrestling star Bob Backlund. On February 20, 1978, at Madison Square Garden, Backlund defeated Graham to become the new WWF World Champion. Backlund would travel the globe defending his WWF world title, even against other World Champions like NWA World Champion Harley Race. During one such encounter in Japan, Backlund fought NJPW’s NWF Champion Antonio Inoki in 1979 – and lost. A re-match was scheduled the following night, but Tiger Jeet Singh interfered and the match was thrown out. Inoku refused to hold the title under controversy and vacated the title back to Backlund, this erasing his title reign from history and keeping Backlund’s monstrous run intact. At least until he faced The Iron Shiek in 1983…

El Canek, UWA World Heavyweight Champion, 1976 days (13th reign), 1994 to 1999

The longest reigning World Champion in Mexico didn’t come from one of the two biggest companies – Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) or AAA Lucha Libre – but from Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), a major promotion that ran from 1975 to 1995, and was affiliated at various times with NJPW and the WWF. UWA saw stars like Antonio Inoki, Lou Thesz, Vader, Dr. Wagner Jr., and Dos Caras become World Champions, but no one could touch the star power of El Canek, who became a 15x UWA World Champion. His 13th reign proved to be his greatest, winning it on March 18, 1994 and defending it against the likes of Cibernetico, Dos Caras, and Jason the Terrible, holding the title into 1999 – which is astounding considering the UWA folded in 1995. But El Canek and Mexican promotions kept the title alive by being defended around the country, including in CMLL and AAA, with the last title change happening when Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated El Canek during his 15th reign on a CMLL show in 2004 (although the title was quietly retired sometime during his reign and lost its World title recognition long before that).

Rikidōzan, NWA International Heavyweight Champion, 1936 days (1st reign), 1958 to 1963

In 1953, Rikidōzan created the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA), Japan’s first major promotion. While JWA had the Japanese Heavyweight Championship, it wouldn’t get its first World Championship until 1958, when Rikidōzan defeated Lou Thesz for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship in Los Angeles. While Thesz claimed the title was not on the line in the match, Rikidōzan returned to Japan with the prize, elevating it to become JWA’s World title. He would hold the title until his death in 1963. The NWA International Heavyweight title would continue to be defended in JWA until the promotion folded in 1973. It would continue to be defended in Japan, now in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where it would be unified with the PWF Heavyweight and NWA United National Championships to become the AJPW Triple Crown.

Giant Baba, PWF World Heavyweight Champion, 1920 days (1st reign), 1973 to 1978

Other 1000+ days reigns: 1354 days (2nd reign)

Up until its unification with the NWA International Heavyweight Championship and NWA United National Championship in 1989 to form the Triple Crown, AJPW’s top world title was the Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) World Heavyweight title. The first man to wear this belt was AJPW founder, Giant Baba, who won a tournament on February 27, 1973. Baba would go on to hold the title for five years, against the likes of Dory Funk Jr., The Shiek, Abdullah the Butcher, Harley Race, Fritz Von Erich, Billy Robinson, and Jack Brisco, before losing it to “Killer” Tor Kamata on June 1, 1978.

Frank Gotch, World Heavyweight Champion, 1824 days (1st reign), 1908 to 1913

Frank Gotch became the American hero in pro wrestling when he defeated the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion George Hackenschmidt in 1908 in Chicago. But following his rematch victory in 1911 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, in front of a then-record 30,000 people, Gotch became an American superstar and the first international wrestling star from America. He would hold the World Championship until he retired following a defense against Georg Lurich on April 1, 1913.

Nick Bockwinkel, AWA World Heavyweight Champion, 1714 days (1st reign), 1975 to 1980

For nearly two decades, Nick Bockwinkel toiled in various NWA territories, from 1955 to 1970, before making the move to the AWA. Despite becoming a 2x NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion with Georgia Championship Wrestling, Bockwinkel longed to main event at the top level. He began in the AWA as a tag team specialist, becoming 3x AWA World Tag Team Champions with Ray Stevens, but on November 8, 1975, Bockwinkel finally dethroned Verne Gagne as the face of the company and would carry the AWA World title into the 1980s.

Antonio Inoki, NWF Heavyweight Champion, 1688 days (2nd reign), 1975 to 1980

Long before New Japan Pro Wrestling set up the International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) as the “governing body” of NJPW in 1981, New Japan’s top title was the National Wrestling Federation (NWF) Heavyweight Championship. The title’s roots came from the NWF, a promotion in the early 1970s based out of Buffalo, New York, that had grandiose plans to compete with the NWA, AWA, and WWF. In 1973, Inoki defeated Johnny Powers for the NWF title and during his reign, NWF folded. Inoki kept the title and it became the world title for New Japan from 1973 to 1981 – despite repeated requests from the NWA to stop referring to it as a World title. While his first run was an impressive 429-days, his second run was even greater. He defeated Tiger Jeet Singh for the title on June 26, 1975, and held the title until February 8, 1980, when he lost it to Stan Hansen.

Édouard Carpentier, WWA World Heavyweight Champion, 1636 days (1st reign), 1957 to 1961

Many World Champions were created out of secession in the early days of the territories, and Canadian Eduoard Carpentier became one out of very much the same. On June 14, 1957, in a match against NWA World Champion Lou Thesz, Carpentier won the match when Thesz could not continue due to a back injury. Some territories still considered Thesz champion and the match a no-contest, while others backed Carpentier as the new World Champion. The NWA held a re-match on June 24, 1957 and Thesz won by disqualification. In a rare case, the NWA title changed hands on a DQ. While most of the NWA agreed to Thesz reclaiming the title, a group of territories on the West Coast did not, seceding from the NWA to create the North American Wrestling Alliance (NAWA). They continued to recognize Carpentier as the true World’s champion, and upon rebranding as the World Wrestling Associates (WWA) in 1961, anointed Carpentier the inaugural WWA World Heavyweight Champion, backdating to the match in question. He would lose his title to Freddie Blassie that same year.

Ed “Strangler” Lewis, World Heavyweight Champion, 1569 days (4th reign), 1931 to 1935

Other 1000+ day reigns: 1042 days (2nd reign)

Considered the inventor of the Sleeper Hold in pro wrestling, Ed “Strangler” Lewis is one of its most important historical figures – as part of the Gold Dust Trio with Toots Mondt and Billy Sandow in the 1920s, he helped create the blueprint for professional wrestling as we know it today. But Lewis was also one of its biggest stars. He was a 4x World Heavyweight Champion throughout his career, but arguably his greatest run was his second reign, where he fought his arch-rival Jim Londos.

Dory Funk Jr., NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, 1563 days (1st reign), 1969 to 1973

Dory Funk Jr. was part of one of the most influential Texas families during the NWA territory days, the Funks. His brother Terry Funk would become an NWA World Champion himself, as well as becoming a star in the WWF, ECW, and more, while his father, Dory Funk Sr., a wrestler in his own right, ran Western States Sports, which became the NWA territory in Amarillo starting in 1955 before taking ownership in 1967. On February 11, 1969, Dory Funk Jr. became the first World Champion in the Funk household, defeating Gene Kiniski for the NWA World’s Heavyweight title. For over four years, he battled the likes of Harley Race, Dick Murdoch, Billy Robinson, Lou Thesz, and Jack Brisco for the title, before losing it to Race in May of 1973.

Dan “The Beast” Severn, NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, 1479 days (1st reign), 1995 to 1999

Although he made his pro wrestling debut in Japan in 1992, it wouldn’t be until Dan Severn joined fledgling MMA company UFC in 1994 that his ship came in. By 1995, he and Ken Shamrock had become two of the UFC’s biggest stars. Severn continued to wrestle during his UFC career, and on February 24, 1995, a month shy of his three-fight victories over Joe Charles, Oleg Taktarov, and Dave Beneteau at UFC 5 in April, he defeated Chris Candido for the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. He would hold the title for nearly five years, defeating the likes of Tajiri, Dory Funk Jr., The Great Kabuki, Doug Gilbert, and William Regal. He would lose the title in Japan on March 14, 1999 to NJPW’s Naoya Ogawa.

Hulk Hogan, WWF World Heavyweight Champion, 1474 days (1st reign), 1984 to 1988

While Hulk Hogan had many lengthy reigns as World Champion, in both WWE and WCW, none compared to his first monstrous run that took the WWF out of the Northeast territory and into a global phenomenon. Returning to WWF in late 1983 after a run in AWA, Hogan was poised to become the WWF’s next big star, following his appearance in the 1983 film, Rocky III. On January 23, 1984, at Madison Square Garden, Hogan defeated the Iron Shiek to become WWF World Heavyweight Champion, and ushering in a new era of Hulkamania in the pro wrestling world. He would hold the title for most of the Rock N’ Wrestling era, before finally losing it to arch-rival Andre the Giant on WWF The Main Event on February 5, 1988.

“Wild” Bill Longson, National Wrestling Association World Champion, 1463 days (2nd reign), 1943 to 1947

Salt Lake City, Utah’s “Wild” Bill Longson started wrestling in the 1930s and joined up with a new promotional body called the National Wrestling Association (NWA), an off-shoot of the National Boxing Association (NBA). This NWA was founded in 1930, 18 years before another NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) would take over the wrestling landscape across the nation. Bill Longson would win his first NWA World title for the Association in 1942 but had the unenviable task of holding the fort when the Alliance started up in 1948. While he was a fighting champion during his huge second reign, from 1943 through 1947, he spent his last days in the original NWA feuding with Lou Thesz, who finally defeated Longson on July 20, 1948. When Thesz won the Alliance World title in 1949, the Association World title was unified and deactivated.

La Amapola, CMLL World Women’s Champion, 1442 days (1st reign), 2007 to 2011

La Amapola began her career in 1999 and has become one of the top women to compete for CMLL. On November 16, 2007, she finally won the CMLL World Women’s Championship, defeating Lady Apache. She would go on to shatter the previous record of 828-days as champion by Reina Jubuki in 1994, holding it for nearly four years. She would lose it to Marcela on October 28, 2011.

Universo 2000, CMLL World Heavyweight Champion, 1225 days (2nd reign), 1999 to 2003

Universo 2000 began with CMLL in the 1980s, before jumping ship to AAA Lucha Libre in 1992 when the company was founded. But the grass wasn’t always greener, so Universo 2000 returned to CMLL in 1996. It proved to be a wise gamble, as he soon became one of CMLL’s top stars, winning his first CMLL World Championship in October of 1997. On December 10, 1999, he would defeat El Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in a 2-out-of-3 falls match to win his second World title, which he held on to for nearly four years. He finally lost it on March 18, 2003, to Mr. Niebla.

Gene Kiniski, NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, 1131 days (1st reign), 1966 to 1969

The second Canadian to make the list, Edmonton, Alberta’s Gene Kiniski was a major player in Sam Muchnik‘s St. Louis territory, as well as Canadian companies like Stu Hart‘s Big Time Wrestling (later Stampede Wrestling) and the Tunneys’ Maple Leaf Wrestling. In 1968, he took over co-ownership of NWA Vancouver. But on January 7, 1966, he defeated Lou Thesz in St. Louis to win the NWA World Title, and went on to defend it for over three years, facing the likes of Antonio Inoki, Bobo Brazil, Nick Bockwinkel, Fritz Von Erich, and Ernie Ladd. On February 11, 1969, he lost the title in Tampa, Florida to Dory Funk Jr.

El Terrible, CMLL World Heavyweight Champion, 1125 days (1st reign), 2012 to 2015

Long before he became the sole surviving member of Los Ingobernables in CMLL, El Terrible was a World Champion in CMLL. Originally starting in Mexican indies in 1992, he finally joined CMLL in 2002 as part of Shocker‘s Los Guapos faction of mid- and low-carders. In 2011, he formed La Fuerza TRT with Texano Jr. and Rey Bucanero, which propelled El Terrible to the main event. On January 1, 2012, he defeated Rush to become the new CMLL World Heavyweight Champion and would hold it until losing to Maximo in January of 2015.

George Hackenschmidt, World Heavyweight Champion, 1065 days (1st reign), 1905 to 1908

In 1896, Russian strongman George Hackenschmidt began wrestling across Europe, and by the turn of the century, his feats of domination on the mat became legend around the world. In 1902, he won the European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Championship, and after defeating American Heavyweight Champion Tom Jenkins in 1905, he was recognized as the first undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. He would hold the title for three years until he faced Frank Gotch in 1908.

Bull Nakano, WWWA World Single Champion, 1057 days (1st reign), 1990 to 1992

While All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling (AJW) had their own AJW Championship, it was never considered the top title in the company. It was more of a tertiary title, also behind the All Pacific Championship, with the prestige of main championship going to a title born out of tribute. Japan was one of the few areas Mildred Burke could still work in, and during a tour of Japan in the 1950s, she helped inspire and train a new breed of joshi wrestlers who would help AJW’s formation in 1968. In tribute to their mentor, whose own WWWA had folded by the mid-1950s, they adopted her WWWA World Championship “red belt” as their own World Championship. While she originally debuted alongside her mentor Dump Matsumoto in the mid-80s, by the time Matsumoto retired in 1988, Nakano was well on her way to becoming an international superstar. She won the AJW Junior Championship in 1984 and the AJW Championship in 1985 (which she held until 1988), but on January 4, 1990, she finally won the WWWA World title, defeating Mitsuko Nishiwaki. She would go on to defend her title against a slew of future legends, like Aja Kong, Manami Toyota, Kyoko Inoue, Bison Kimura, Akira Hokuto, and Monster Ripper (Rhonda Singh/Bertha Faye), in a reign that lasted into 1992. She would then go on to become the first CMLL Women’s World Champion that summer, and WWF Women’s Champion in 1994.

Pedro Morales, WWWF Heavyweight Champion, 1027 days (1st reign), 1971 to 1973

When WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino had to take time off to recoup from injuries sustained over his eight-year reign on top, McMahon Sr. had to make a move. He had Russian heel Ivan Koloff defeat Sammartino for the title, but he needed to get it back on a top drawing good guy to maintain the gates. That position fell on Puerto Rico’s Pedro Morales. Because so much of Sammartino’s success came from rallying the immigrant population of New York City, McMahon Sr. hoped that elevating another ethnic immigrant in Morales would help keep the momentum. While lightning didn’t strike twice, Morales did manage to remain World Champion through 1973, almost three years.

Earl Caddock, World Heavyweight Champion, 1026 days, 1st reign, 1917 to 1920

A student of former World Champion Frank Gotch and Martin “Farmer” Burns, Earl Caddock got started in professional wrestling in 1915. Early in his career, Caddock formed a quick rivalry with the World Champion, Joe Stecher, and on April 9, 1917, he finally beat Stecher to become one of the first World Champions. He would hold his spot at the top for nearly three years, before losing it back to Stecher January 30, 1920. After unsuccessful attempts to regain the World title, Caddock retired in 1922, after only seven years in the business.

Marcela, CMLL Women’s Champion, 1008 days (3rd reign), 2012 to 2014

Marcela started out in the Mexican indies before heading to CMLL in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, she also began working in Japan with Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling (JWP) and Big Japan Wrestling (BJW), as her stock in CMLL began to rise. She has gone to become a Mexican National Women’s Champion and 5x CMLL Women’s Champion, winning her first title in 2005. Her third reign, which began March 9, 2012, has so far been her longest reign as Champion, where she fought off challenges from Princess Sugehit, La Amapola, Syuri, and Dalys la Caribena. Her longest reign ended on December 12, 2014, in Japan, when she lost to Syuri.

For interest’s sake, here’s the list of the longest-reigning World Champions for some promotions not featured on here (* indicates current reigning champion).

• AAA Lucha Libre Mega Championship, Texano Jr., 735 days, 2012-2014
• AAA Lucha Libre Reina de Reinas Championship, Taya Valkyrie, 945 days, 2014-2017
• All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Championship, Chris Jericho, 182 days, 2019-2020
• All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Women’s World Championship, Riho, 133 days, 2019-2020
• All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) Triple Crown, Mitsuharu Misawa, 705 days, 1992-1994
• Big Japan Wrestling (BJW) Strong World Heavyweight Championship, Yuji Okabayashi, 370 days, 2015-2016
• CHIKARA Grand Championship, Eddie Kingston, 924 days, 2011-2014
• Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) World Heavyweight Championship, Drake Younger, 567 days, 2008-2010
• Dramatic Dream Team (DDT Pro) KO-D Openweight Championship, Konosuke Takeshita, 405 days, 2017-2018
• Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) World Heavyweight Championship, Shane Douglas, 406 days, 1997-1999
• GAEA Japan AAAW Championship, Aja Kong, 609 days, 1999-2001
• Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) World Championship, Nick Gage, 722 days, 2017-2019
• Ice Ribbon ICExInfinity Championship, Tsukasa Fujimoto, 615 days, 2013-2015
• IMPACT World Heavyweight Championship, Bobby Roode, 256 days, 2011-2012
• IMPACT Knockouts Championship, Taya Valkyrie, 377 days, 2019-2020
• Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling (JWP) Openweight Championship, Azumi Hyuga, 751 days, 2001-2003
• *Major League Wrestling (MLW) World Heavyweight Championship, Jacob Fatu, 296+ days, 2019-
• New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Kazuchika Okada, 720 days, 2016-2018
• OZ Academy Openweight Championship, AKINO, 537 days, 2013-2014
• Pro Wrestling EVE Championship, Nikki Storm (Nikki Cross), 665 days, 2013-2014
• Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) World Championship, Adam Cole, 538 days, 2012-2014
• Pro Wrestling NOAH GHC Heavyweight Championship, Kenta Kobashi, 735 days, 2003-2005
• Pro Wrestling ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship, Kohei Sato, 408 days, 2014-2015
• PROGRESS Wrestling Unified World Championship, Jimmy Havoc, 609 days, 2013-2015
• PROGRESS Wrestling Women’s Championship, Toni Storm, 357 days, 2017-2018
• Ring of Honor (ROH) World Championship, Samoa Joe, 645 days, 2003-2004
• Ring of Honor (ROH) Woman of Honor Championship, Sumie Sakai, 251 days, 2018
• SHIMMER Championship, Nicole Savoy, 721 days, 2017-2019
• Stardom World of Stardom Championship, Nanae Takahashi, 602 days, 2011-2013
• Tokyo Joshi Pro (TJP) Princess of Princess Championship, Miyu Yamashita, 484 days, 2018-2019
• Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) Unified World Wrestling Championship, Tommy End (Aleister Black), 421 days, 2013-2014
• World Championship Wrestling (WCW) World Heavyweight Championship, Hulk Hogan, 469 days, 1994-1995
• World Championship Wrestling (WCW) World Women’s Championship, Akira Hokuto, 168 days, 1996-1997
• World Wrestling Council (WWC) Universal Heavyweight Championship, Carlos Colon, 655 days, 1983-1985
• World Wrestling Association (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship, Blackjack Lanza, 611 days, 1967-1969
• World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Divas Champion, Nikki Bella, 301 days, 2014-2015
• *World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) NXT Championship, Adam Cole, 331+ days, 2019-
• World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) NXT Championship, Asuka, 510 days, 2016-2017
• *World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Raw Women’s Championship, Becky Lynch, 386+ days, 2019-
• *World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) SmackDown Women’s Championship, Bayley, 199+ days, 2019-
• World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Universal Championship, Brock Lesnar, 504 days, 2017-2018
• World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Women’s Championship, Rockin’ Robin, 502 days, 1988-1990
• World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) World Heavyweight Championship (Big Gold Belt), Bautista, 282 days, 2005-2006

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