For the most part, the modern championship reign in pro wrestling is relatively short. After all, the majors deliver at least a dozen PPVs a year and countless hours of weekly television, while on the indies travel schedules and wrestlers are getting snapped up by bigger promotions all the time. As a result, a year-long reign of 365 days -- give or take -- is the most one can expect.
RELATED: 10 Year-Long Championship Reigns That Were Actually Pretty TerribleBut triple-digit title reigns aren’t nearly as interesting when you find out that there are actually wrestlers whose title runs have ventured into quadruple digits. So let’s take a look at some of history’s champions whose reigns have exceeded a thousand days -- from historic legends all the way to modern stars.
10 Nick Aldis (NWA World Heavyweight Championship)
Beginning as a midcard tag team specialist in Impact working under the name Magnus, Nick Aldis would eventually become an Impact World Champion and a Global Force Wrestling World Champion before moving on to the rebooted National Wrestling Alliance. He’d soon become the face of the new NWA, winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, holding it for 266 days before dropping it to Cody Rhodes and winning it back for a second reign that’s lasted more than 1,000 days to date. Had Cody not interrupted his reign, Aldis’ run would have exceeded 1,300 days.
9 Caristico (NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship)
The luchador originally known as Mistico was one of the most popular modern performers in Mexico before signing to WWE and embarking on a lackluster run as the original Sin Cara. However, he’d return to CMLL where he’d adopt the name Caristico, defeating Ultimo Guerrero in 2018 to become the NWA World Historic Middleweight Champion in a reign that’s lasted over 1,000 days. The NWA affiliation is a strange one, as CMLL has possessed the belt since its creation in 1939, but replaced it with the new “Historic” version after NWA asked for the original back in 2010.
8 Bull Nakano (WWAA World Champion)
A legend of 1980s and 1990s joshi wrestling, Bull Nakano isn’t a super decorated star, but had very lengthy reigns in exchange. Westerners may know her 134-day reign as WWE Women’s Champion in the mid-1990s, but a decade before she was AJW Champion for All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling in a reign lasting 917 days. However, even that isn’t her longest run.
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From 1990 to 1992, Nakano held the WWWA World Championship for AJW for 1,057 days, defending against fellow legends like Manami Toyota, Kyoko Inoue, Akira Hokuto, and Monster Ripper (a.k.a. WWE’s Bertha Faye) before dropping the belt to Aja Kong, who held it for 850 days.
7 Verne Gagne (AWA World Heavyweight Championship)
In the old territory days, wrestlers who were considered a draw would hold the belts for much longer than anyone could ream of today. A great example of this is Verne Gagne, who founded the American Wrestling Association in 1960 and would become a 10-time champion for the company. His ninth reign, following that of the iconic masked wrestler Dr. X (a.k.a. Destroyer or Dick Beyer), lasted from 1968 to 1975 for a total of 2,625 days before he dropped it to Nick Bockwinkel in 1975.
6 Sara Del Rey (JAPW Women’s Championship)
One of the great, underappreciated women’s indie wrestlers of the 2000s, Sara Del Rey would become the inaugural Women’s Champion of the now-defunct Jersey All Pro Wrestling, defeating ODB in June 2009. Del Rey would spend 2009 through 2010 defending against fellow indie icons like Portia Perez, Sumie Sakai, Cheerleader Melissa, and LuFisto, but title matches would stop after that. Once Del Rey -- a.k.a. Sara Amato -- signed to WWE as a trainer in NXT in 2012, JAPW declared the title vacant, ending her reign at 1,114 days.
5 Giant Baba (PWF World Heavyweight Championship)
The iconic Japanese star Giant Baba founded All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1972 and was awarded the company’s top title -- the Pacific Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Championship -- in 1973 after winning 10 matches against various gaijin including Bruno Sammartino, Terry Funk, and the aforementioned Destroyer. This first reign (of four) would last 1,920 days, while his second would run 1,354 days and the other two were “only” in triple digits. The PWF belt would be unified with two other belts in 1989 to become the Triple Crown Championship, AJPW’s top title to this day.
4 The Fabulous Moolah (WWE Women’s Championship/NWA World Women’s Championship)
According to WWE, the original WWE Women’s Championship was won by The Fabulous Moolah in 1956, and she held it for nearly three decades until her 1984 defeat at the hands of Wendi Richter for a reign totalling an instant 10,170 days. However, this history is based on the NWA World Women’s Championship, and that number is only so high because WWE doesn’t acknowledge any title changes after that 1956 win.
RELATED: 10 Bad Women's Title Reigns That Were Still MemorableHowever, if one takes into account the actual history of the NWA belt, Moolah still has a wildly impressive record, albeit one broken up into several reigns: 3,651, 3,841, and 1,909 days.
3 Dory Funk Jr. (NWA World Heavyweight Championship)
Otherwise known as “Hoss Funk” in WWE, Dory Funk Jr. feels like the forgotten Funk thanks to his brother Terry being a notable fixture in the major promotions like ECW, WCW, and WWE in the 1990s. But Terry’s NWA World Title run lasted “only” 424 days while Dory Jr. -- the 10th ever champion -- enjoyed a four-year reign. Over the course of those 1,563 days, Dory Funk Jr. would defend against wrestlers like Ernie Ladd, Ox Baker, and Fritz Von Erich before dropping the belt to Harley Race.
2 Mercedes Martinez (WSU World Championship)
Wrestling fans nowadays know Mercedes Martinez for her handful of appearances in AEW before officially signing to NXT, but her career started in 2000. A pioneer of 21st century women’s indie wrestling, Martinez defeated Angel Orsini in a Title vs. Hair Bullrope Match in 2009 to win the World Champion of the all-female New Jersey promotion Women Superstars Uncensored (now known as Women Superstars United). With a reign lasting 1,092 days, Mercedes Martinez would have 39 successful defenses against notables like Awesome Kong, Mickie James, and Serena Deeb before dropping it to Jessicka Havok in 2012.
1 Hulk Hogan (WWE Championship)
Hulk Hogan was the face of 1980s pro wrestling as far as pop culture was concerned, and had a title run to match. Defeating Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden in 1984 would ordain Hogan the top star of WWE, and his run would last more than four years at 1,474 days. This reign would encompass his famous WrestleMania title matches against Andre The Giant and King Kong Bundy before losing the belt to Andre at The Main Event. Hogan would win back the belt in 1989 for a run lasting 364 days.
NEXT: 5 Longest (& 5 Shortest) Title Reigns Of Hulk Hogan's Career
