bruno sammartino
(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Which Match Ended the Longest Title Run in Wrestling History?

During more than 50 years of battles for the championship belts of the WWE, and all its predecessors, there has been 47 great men that have succeeded in becoming champions, but all of their successes are dwarfed by the first reign of legendary Bruno Sammartino. His supremacy lasted from 17th of May 1963 until 18th of January 1971, or put in another way – 2,803 days!

John Cena has the most title reigns at twelve, and is one of the seven men in history to have held the championship for a complete year or more, but he would need to rule WWE for more than 4 additional years in order to come close to Sammartino’s first reign! But even that kind of a domination like Sammartino’s had to have an end, and it came after a fight with “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff!

Sammartino had won his first title in 1963 against “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers after only 43 seconds and then completely forgot the feeling of defeat, up until next decade, three U.S. presidents were in office while Sammartino reigned the wrestling world. He was overthrown by Ivan Koloff in Madison Square Garden in a fight that a lot of wrestling fans consider the most shocking sports event in the history of this epochal arena.

The Russian Bear Koloff started a feud with a heavy fan favorite Sammartino quickly after he burst on the scene, and the altercation reached a peak couple of years later with a huge prize on the line – the championship belt. On that day Madison Square Garden was heavily brewing against the foreigner, a man who has already tested Sammartino before, but always fell short of the objective, as did so many that have tested the might of Bruno “The Living Legend” Sammartino.

Longest Title Run in Wrestling History
(Photo by Matthew Simmons/Getty Images)

There was a rumour that Koloff had an advantage on that particular day because Sammartino was going into the fight with injured ribs, a consequence of a match that “The Italian Strongman” had against George “The Animal” Steele few weeks before the infamous fight. Inaccessibility of the champ to the press further heated the rumours of an injury, but Sammartino was still a favorite.

When the match started Koloff showed his teeth as his manager has been announcing before the brawl, holds were traded and tests of strength were brutally exchanged, Sammartino was pinned in New York. When it seemed that the champ got back in control a surprise knee from Koloff floored the champ! Support of 22.000 strong in the MSG wasn’t enough to make Bruno get up and continue fighting, and the man from Ukraine quickly climbed the ropes and shockingly ended the match with a devastating knee drop.

The referee raised Koloff’s hand, but The Russian Bear didn’t get his deserved prey, the belt, in the ring, but in the locker room, as it was feared that the Sammartino’s loss of title may cause riots!

Koloff managed to hold the then WWWF championship title for only 21 days, but he will be remembered in history as the man who ended the longest title run in wrestling history.

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