00:00Okay, I know you're already in the comments going crazy, Simon, how dare you say these things?
00:05But here's the deal, here is the criteria we are using.
00:08Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently sat down with a bunch of WWE champions
00:13and he worked out how successful they've been, being on record-setting numbers and buy rates and pay-per-views
00:18and actually broke it down to say, hi, these guys are some of the best.
00:23So yes, hello, my name is Simon from WhatCulture, please do subscribe
00:26and here's the 10 most successful, in terms of statistics, WWE champions in history.
00:37Number 10, Randy Orton.
00:39When you go and look at Randy Orton's complete WWE title reigns, it is crazy
00:42because his first one happened in 2007 and goes all the way to 2020.
00:48And this really sums up Orton's career because for the past 20 years, he has basically been on top
00:54and naysayers always go, yeah, but he never really changed the business, he didn't blow it up.
00:59But who cares? Not everybody can be a super-duper game-changing star, but he has been consistent
01:05and when it comes to wrestling, he is so damn good and I'm going to say it, underrated.
01:09And of course, we did struggle a little bit when we turned in babyface after his first world heavyweight title reign,
01:15but still, he has so many bangers in the history books.
01:19So I say well done to Mr. Randy.
01:21Number 9, Bob Backlund.
01:23Bob Backlund may have only had two WWF championship reigns, but as you're about to learn,
01:28he was kind of a big deal, especially because of his second one, he only held it for three days.
01:32And of course, that last one came when WWF was doing a little bit of a transitional championship change
01:37because Bret Hart dropped it to Bob, who subsequently went and dropped it to Diesel less than a week later.
01:42But we ain't talking about that, we going way back in time when Backlund was the man.
01:46Way back in 1978, he beat superstar Billy Graham for the WWF title, and if you can believe it,
01:53he held onto it for over five years.
01:56Kind of ironically, he then lost it to the Iron Sheik, who would eventually lose it to Hulk Hogan
02:00to start a new wave in World Wrestling Federation.
02:03But yeah, when you hold onto something for that amount of time, you're going to have a successful run.
02:09Number 8, The Rock.
02:10The Rock first won the WWF title back in 1998, and his last one was in 2013, which is terrifying,
02:18because that was almost 10 years ago.
02:19The thing is, though, given that he was a champion during the Attitude Era, of course, his metrics are sky high.
02:25Whether you look at merchandise, whether you look at attendance, whether you look at TV ratings or pay-per-view buys,
02:30if Dwayne The Rock Johnson was heading up a show, people just took money and they threw it at him.
02:35This is even more impressive because, of course, he entered wrestling and was gone before you could say,
02:39hey, wait a minute, why is he a movie star now?
02:42And honestly, we could probably move forward 50 years, and The Rock is still going to be in a list like this.
02:47Number 7, Triple H.
02:48And kind of for the same reasons, too, especially because he had crazy longevity, Triple H gets into this list.
02:55I mean, while some people like to get on his case now, in the year 2000, when the World Wrestling Federation was crazy profitable,
03:01Hunter Hearst Helmsley was one of the best they had.
03:04And if you want to tell me that during this 12-month period he was untouchable as a heel, well, I'm going to agree with you.
03:10And sure, as the years went by and Triple H was still around, the numbers started to go down, but this wasn't his fault.
03:16It was just during, like, 1998 to 2001, we got to such a crazy level that eventually we were going to have to head the other way.
03:24But if you do go and watch The King of Kings from basically 1999 until he does suffer his injury in 2001, he is worth every penny.
03:32Number 6, Andre the Giant.
03:33I know what you're saying, Simon, the 8th Wonder of the World didn't even really ever hold the WWF title,
03:39because, of course, it was all that shenanigans with Ted DiBiossi, the Million Dollar Man, before the whole thing got cancelled.
03:45The thing is, he still was champion, kind of and kind of not.
03:47But when you get into the statistics and how much of a star he was around the world, well, there's a reason today we still talk about Andre.
03:55And don't forget he absolutely smashed it for most of his career as a good guy, but his biggest, most highest point is when he became a bad guy and fought Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 3.
04:04I mean, their rematch, which aired on NBC, was the most watched wrestling match in United States history.
04:10Of course, Hulk Hogan was a massive reason for that.
04:12But to be a great babyface, you need the best heel.
04:15And that's where the Giants came into this.
04:18Number 5, Roman Reigns.
04:19I mean, Roman these days is more associated with the Universal Championship, but he still has been the WWE Champion.
04:26And every time he has held it, he's done pretty damn well.
04:28And all this comes down to the fact that, as I say these words, as of right now, WWE is more profitable than ever,
04:34which means they're making a bunch of cash.
04:35And who is most definitely their top star?
04:38It's the head of the table, it's the tribal chief.
04:40And those two things just go together.
04:42And of course, you can start questioning it, but that's not the point here.
04:45Roman Reigns is the chosen one.
04:47When you get into all the metrics, WWE is swimming through Scrooge McDuck's cash.
04:51So if you do want to write a list like this, you've got to put Roman right up there.
04:55And also, I don't care what anybody else says, I think the man is smashing it.
04:59Number 4, John Cena.
05:00I mean, if I was going to stand here right now and go through every single one of John Cena's WWE title reigns,
05:05I would probably be dead before we got to the end of it.
05:09Because good grief, that man was on top forever.
05:12Because do not forget, not only was he a consistent main event player,
05:15but he was also the last guy to grow even bigger than WWE and go out into the mainstream world.
05:21And yes, become an absolute success.
05:23So really, he has set the bar too high.
05:25Like, even when he came back last year, people flocked to house shows to see him.
05:30Because you look at John Cena's name and think,
05:32hey, honey, should we go to the wrestling show?
05:34And then you go, yes.
05:34And really, he may be the last of a dying breed.
05:36Because as we know, WWE wants those three initials to be the biggest star.
05:41So even if somebody does come along and knock on the door,
05:44Vince McMahon will probably go, no, you've got to stay down.
05:46So never underestimate or undervalue the importance of John Cena.
05:50I mean, imagine that 20-year period without him.
05:53I mean, some things would have been better.
05:54But overall, it would have been a bit of a struggle.
05:57Number 3, Buddy Rogers.
05:58Though Buddy Rogers wasn't able to work too long for the WWWF back in 1963,
06:03he was their champion when Vince McMahon Sr. decided,
06:07I don't want to work with anybody else anymore.
06:09And I'm going to go out on my own.
06:11So if you want to say without Mr. Rogers,
06:12we never get the success that WWE would go on to get,
06:16you certainly have a point.
06:17And even though Buddy was put in there so he could eventually lose this championship
06:20to Bruno Sammartino, everything starts with him.
06:24So he is the catalyst.
06:26And come on now, it basically means he helped change the world.
06:29Number 2, Hulk Hogan.
06:31I mean, do we really need to get into this?
06:32No matter what your thoughts are on the Hulkster these days,
06:34and trust me, I totally get it.
06:36I am with you back in the 80s and the early 90s.
06:39No one was bigger than him.
06:41And he took the World Wrestling Federation on his back.
06:44And he took it into past as new.
06:47I mean, he basically changed the face of North American wrestling.
06:49And even my nan, bless her soul, knew who Hulk Hogan was.
06:53Like, she didn't really understand what she did.
06:55But if you talked about professional wrestling,
06:57she went, oh, that there WWF stuff with that there Hulk Hogan.
07:00I mean, even in 2022, people on the outskirts still use Hulk's name
07:06when they want to talk about sports entertainment.
07:09So, of course, when you get into the back end and look at the numbers,
07:12well, frankly, it is absolutely ridiculous.
07:15Number 1, Bruno Sammartino.
07:16But it is not as nuts as Bruno Sammartino,
07:19who basically got the WWF title and decided,
07:23you know what?
07:23I never want to lose it.
07:25And you cannot fathom how popular he was
07:27until you do sit down and read as much as you possibly can.
07:31Because in the 60s and 70s,
07:33people were so into Bruno
07:34that even the thought of him losing
07:36would get an audience to riot.
07:38I mean, he only had two title reigns,
07:40but they lasted for ages.
07:41But much like a Hulk Hogan or a Buddy Rogers,
07:42we do not get the WWE today, none of it,
07:46without Bruno Sammartino.
07:47The guy is a hero and the guy is a legend.
07:49Thankfully, in the mid-2010s as well,
07:51Triple H was able to mend their relationship.
07:53So we saw a little bit of Bruno
07:54back in a new version of World Wrestling Entertainment.
07:57But if you have nothing else to do today,
07:59just type in his name,
08:01even go to his Wikipedia entry,
08:03and you'll be looking around going,
08:04ha, ha, ha, how did he do so much?
08:07And of course, before we do end this video,
08:08don't forget, I'm sure you have your own vision
08:10of what a successful WWE champion is.
08:13And that's great.
08:14But when it comes to those digits,
08:16these are the 10 guys.
08:18But if you do want to put anybody else in the comments,
08:20make sure you do.
08:21And like the video, share the video, and subscribe.
08:23Head over to whatculture.com
08:24where you can read articles like this.
08:25Make sure you come follow us on social media.
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