10 Longest title reigns in wrestling history
Before you start to complain that Brock Lesnar's reign as WWE Universal Champion has gone on too long, you should bone up on your wrestling history.
Long title reigns used to be the norm, not the exception. Treating the championship like a hot potato can diminish its meaning, and also put the belt on unworthy performers (we're looking at YOU, Wildfire Tommy Rich.)
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If anything, Brock's lengthy reign has brought a lot more stability to the WWE's product, which is both good and bad. It's good because casual fans are more likely to be familiar with a champion who has reigned a long time, but bad because having the same champion for a long period of time can lead to stagnation.
There are other reasons why the title reigns of yesteryear lasted longer. For one, the world champion wasn't expected to be at every television taping or event, as they usually are now (with Lesnar's part-time schedule making him an exception.) Also, it is felt by the entertainment industry in general that consumer's attention spans have shortened.
Whatever the case, Lesnar's long reign is by no means the longest. In fact, it's not even in the top ten. Here are ten wrestlers who held their championships for a very long time. Note that these are not ALL the long title reigns, just the ones which are the most famous or influential.
#1 Fabulous Moolah: Over 10,000 days as Women's champion (sort of)
The WWE officially recognizes Fabulous Moolah's reign as women's champion as being nearly thirty years long. Of course, this isn't quite the case.
Moolah began her historic reign as champion in 1956 when she won a 13 woman battle royal. The WWE doesn't recognize the times she dropped the title, the first of which happened in 1966, partially because she usually won it back quickly. The WWE also doesn't acknowledge that the women's title changed from the NWA to the WWF in 1983.
Nonetheless, Moolah was basically champion for most of the 27 years WWE claims, which is no small feat.