The Calgary, Alberta native started from the very bottom and rose to the top of the charts in the WWF, going from tag team job to WWF Champion by 1992, when he defeated Ric Flair at a house show in Saskatoon.
He would go on to lose to the massive Yokozuna at Wrestlemania IX before winning a rematch with the native of Japan at the event the following year. After a six month reign as champion, he would lose a "Throw in the Towel" match to Bob Backlund at the 1994 Survivor Series.
At the 1995 Survivor Series, Hart would end Diesel's year long reign as champion, utilizing a small package to defeat the big man. He would hold the belt until Wrestlemania 12, losing to Michaels in the epic Iron Man match.
It would be another year until Hart re-gained the title, winning a fatal-four-way match at In Your House: Final Four against Austin, Undertaker and Vader but would end up losing the belt the next night on Raw to Sid.
Hart's final reign as champion would come at Summerslam 1997 when some accidental interference from Michaels would help him defeat The Undertaker. Michaels would get the last laugh, however, as the Montreal Screwjob would result in Hart's final match in the WWF.
Hart would leave on bad terms, but will always be remembered as a fighting champion and a great technical master. It's a shame that his backstage problems with Michaels disrupted what could have been an even better feud.
4.) Bruno Sammartino (2 Reigns)--
Though Bruno held the title just twice in his career, his first win in 1963 would serve as the longest reign in WWF/E history. From the time of his win, it would be eight years (think about that one, Cena haters) before he would relinquish the belt, losing to Ivan Koloff in 1971.
Sammartino would regain the title from Stan Stasiak in December of 1973 and would hold the title three and a half years before finally losing to "Superstar" Billy Graham in April of 1977.
"The Italian Strongman" would leave the WWF on bad terms, feeling he was cheated out of a percentage of the gate he was owed by Vince McMahon Sr. He has since been on bad terms and refuses to work for or be acknowledged by the WWF/E.
3.) The Rock (7 Reigns)--
The Great One would begin his title history at the 1998 Survivor Series. He entered as a fan favorite and left as one of the most hated men in the WWF, joining Vince McMahon's Corporation stable after winning the WWF title.
He and Mankind would trade the title back and forth through early 1999 before The Rock was forced to chase Steve Austin for it after losing it to him at Wrestelmania XV.
He would regain the title at Backlash 2000 before trading it with Kurt Angle and Triple H during 2000, winning it back from Angle at No Way Out 2001. He would again drop the title to Austin at Wrestlemania, though this time Austin made the dramatic heel turn, joining up with McMahon.
His final reign would come at Vengance 2002 after winning a triple threat match with Angle and then-champion Undertaker. Rock would pass the torch at Summerslam that year, dropping the belt to up and comer Brock Lesnar.
Like the Undertaker, Rock had plenty of reigns but lacked that truly long and established reign. Still, no one can take away the fact that he has held the title more times than anyone in history.
18 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete