WWE likes to hype up how “historic” Roman Reigns’ undisputed Universal championship reign has been, and it appears the company might try to solidify “The Tribal Chief” in its history.
The Wrestling Observer’s Andrew Zarian reported Sunday WWE wants to update its history books and desires longer title reigns. This is on display with not only Reigns but also Gunther’s Intercontinental title reign that has gone over 320 days, as of early May, and is behind Randy Savage’s 414-day reign in 1986 and The Honky Tonk Man’s 454-record title reign.
But the world champion is the face of the company, and WWE has been committed to Reigns for nearly a decade, but it’s his Universal title run that began August 2020 that his kicked off a career resurgence for the 37-year-old.
The Bloodline storyline has captivated fans with the twists and turns from The Usos and the inclusions of Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa. There have been times WWE had a chance to end Reigns’ title reign, specifically with Zayn at Elimination Chamber in February and Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39 in April.
Instead, Reigns beat the pair with help from outside forces. That created a storyline reason for the creation of a new world heavyweight championship. This champion, who will be crowned at Night of Champions this month, presumably will be the main champion on “RAW,” which would leave Reigns on “SmackDown.” This also would signal a desire to have Reigns hold his titles for even longer but still have a champion on weekly television.
The question for WWE is does it matter? It already has Michael Cole add in multiple qualifiers like “longest-reigning champion of the modern era,” and fans buy that without a second thought. It’s why the idea of WWE creating its own made-up history is not something new — the company even does that with its own attendance figures.
Does anyone care if Reigns passes Hulk Hogan’s 1984 title reign of 1,474 days? He likely will pass Pedro Morales’ feat of 1,027 days set in 1971, and the title run might go past Bruno Sammartino’s feat of 1,237 days.
If Reigns were to pass Hogan, that would be a title run of over four years. That would have to be the limit, otherwise you’re trying to reach Bob Backlund’s 2,135-day reign from 1978 and Sammartino’s record 2,803-day reign from 1963.
But is this what fans want? What becomes of the rest of the product? WWE’s TV ratings have increased year-over-year, and it should get a solid deal in its media rights renegotiations, so money will be made either way, which is why comparing WWE in the 2020s to anything from Hogan’s era or Sammartino’s era can be a mute point because of how much the business has changed.
The audience seemingly does want Reigns to remain champion, but that’s become his character now. It’s why envisioning what he does when he does lose the title is a difficult task because his whole character is based around his dominance of the company.
WWE finally accomplished its goal of making Reigns a top star, but it has sacrificed so many names that there are very few contenders the audience can buy as legitimate. It’s why Zayn and Rhodes were logical choices to beat Reigns because of how hot the crowds were for them.
The company appears to be banking on its ability to luck into a hot wrestler like Zayn or build up Rhodes again for a possible rematch at WrestleMania XL at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia — if Reigns were to break Hogan’s record, his reign would need to go past the show’s starting date of April 6. It’s a risky gamble to make, and one that might prove to have been unnecessary.
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