54 vs. 444: How Roman Reigns' WWE title defenses compare to Bob Backlund, Bruno Sammartino & Hulk Hogan
A lot has been made of Roman Reigns' part-time schedule over the last year. In 2023, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion has only defended his title five times on television. Including live events, that number increases to nine, but it still falls way short of the legendary title reigns of past generations.
Reigns' tenure as Universal Champion began on August 30, 2020, meaning his title reign stands at 1,171 days at the time of writing. He also captured the WWE Championship on April 3, 2022, but the two titles have since been combined into one world championship.
Including televised and untelevised shows, The Tribal Chief has successfully defended his title 54 times. His first defense came against Jey Uso at Clash of Champions 2020, while his most recent win occurred at Crown Jewel 2023 against LA Knight.
Only three men have held a WWE world title longer than Reigns: Bob Backlund, Bruno Sammartino (x2), and Hulk Hogan. The stats below (H/T Cagematch.net) show that all three icons were significantly busier than the Bloodline leader during their first 1,171 days as champion.
Roman Reigns' 54 title defenses compared to other WWE greats
At 2,803 days, Bruno Sammartino holds the record for the longest WWE world title reign ever. After winning the title (then known as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship) on May 17, 1963, he defended it 353 times in the next 1,171 days.
Bob Backlund's first title reign lasted 2,135 days and began on February 20, 1978. He defended the gold 444 times in the same number of days it has taken Roman Reigns to compete in just 54 title matches.
Hulk Hogan's 1,474-day reign started on January 23, 1984. Like Backlund and Sammartino, he competed in a staggering number of matches compared to Reigns. During his first 1,171 days as champion, he defended the title 358 times.
Sammartino's second lengthy reign as champion lasted 1,237 days and began on December 10, 1973. He only defended the title on 188 occasions in the first 1,171 days, but that number is still more than three times Reigns' tally.
On average, Reigns has defended his title once every 21.68 days so far. That figure is extraordinarily high compared to Sammartino's first reign (title defense every 3.31 days), Backlund (every 2.63 days), and Hogan (every 3.27 days). Even during Sammartino's second reign, he defended the title once every 6.22 days.
What do these numbers mean exactly? To Roman Reigns' detractors, they'll no doubt provide further ammunition to knock WWE's longest-reigning title holder of the last 35 years.
On a positive note, these figures also indicate how much WWE has progressed. Superstars of today still have grueling schedules, but nothing like the past. Reigns and Co. can rest assured that the era of title defenses every 2.63 days is unlikely to return any time soon.
What have you made of Roman Reigns' title reign? Let us know in the comments section below.