WWE.com recently posted an article looking at four company records that will never be broken. They were:
- Bruno Sammartino’s WWWF Title reign
- The oldest WWE Champion (Vince McMahon, at 54)
- The youngest WWE title holder (Nicholas, at 10)
- Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak
Now, I actually dispute that the second one will never be broken because I can certainly see Triple H wearing that title again six years from now (yes, he really is 48). The others, though, I agree with.
However, there are more! Here are another 10 WWE records that I am absolutely convinced will never be broken. Probably . . .
10. Bryan’s Rumble Record
Daniel Bryan shattered Rey Mysterio’s 12-year Rumble longevity record at the Greatest Royal Rumble, lasting 76:05, a whopping 14-minutes more than Rey managed in 2006. Of course, there were 20 more entrants in the match, which helped make it feasible.
It is not out of the question that the record could be broken if WWE decides to do another 50-man Rumble, or, knowing them, a 100-man Rumble (can you imagine?), but I don’t expect Bryan’s record to go any time soon.
9. Andre’s 15-Year “Unbeaten” Run
Yes, I know, I know, this record is about as legitimate as WWE’s justification for running a show in Saudi Arabia, but it is part of WWE lore so it’s ripe for the picking.
Prior to the historic WrestleMania III collision between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, the WWF made the fanciful claim that challenger Andre was on a 15-year unbeaten run. It was all hyperbole designed to make Hogan look even more impressive when he eventually conquered the unconquerable, of course, and in those days you could just about get away with such statements.
In reality, while Andre did lose infrequently he had actually been beaten several times. Top stars in their respective strongholds such as Antonio Inoki, Jerry Lawler, El Canek and The Sheik all hold victories over the Giant in this claimed period.
If the record were legitimate, the chances of it being broken today are less than zero. In this era of 50-50 booking and hours or weekly TV shows, there is no way anyone would ever be allowed to remain undefeated for such a length of time. Even Superman John Cena had to lose sometimes. Brock Lesnar never loses either, but he will, soon enough.
There is the possibility that someone will make a return in 15 years time – having not wrestled in that period – and WWE will claim they are unbeaten. I mean, technically, Steve Austin is unbeaten in 15 years. But let’s be realistic here – that’s not going to happen. Andre’s record – in WWE’s mind at least – will stand forever.
8. Honky Tonk Man’s IC Title Reign
The WWE.com list included Bruno Sammartino’s lengthy spells as WWWF Champion but not the Honky Tonk Man’s 454 days spent as Intercontinental champion between June 2, 1987 and August 29, 1988.
A year and a bit is not that long for a title reign, even in this day and age, as the likes of CM Punk, Asuka, Brock Lesnar, New Day, and, erm, Nikki Bella have proven. However, WWE cannot help themselves when it comes to switching the Intercontinental belt.
Michael Cole brought up an interesting statistic on Raw 25, saying the title had changed hands on the show just over 50 times. 50 times. And that’s just on Raw! It’s too many.
Every now and again someone will come along who seems to have a shot. There was Mr. Perfect in 1990 (280 days), The Rock in 1998 (265), Shelton Benjamin in 2004 (244) and Cody Rhodes in 2011 (236), but all had their reigns cut short. In some cases they lost the title then won it back, and without the interruption would have held the record, yet it did not pan out that way.
The Miz looks the most likely bet (he has held the title for 482 days over the past two years, only over four reigns rather than one), but don’t expect it to happen. WWE’s trigger-happy record when it comes to the title ensures that Honky’s place at the top of the pile looks secure for a long time to come.
7. Santino’s Rumble Record
How do you do a Royal Rumble elimination faster than Santino Marella’s 1.5 seconds? Well, you can’t, as WWE have found out a couple of times over the past few years.
Santino was eliminated in record time in 2009 by Kane, stepping into the ring and immediately getting thrown out. His quick-fire elimination broke The Warlord’s 20-year 2-second record, a number most felt would never be matched.
WWE have tried to beat Santino’s record since to no avail. In 2015 king of the Rumble botches Titus O’Neil was eliminated immediately by Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, but his general “bigness” got the better of him and he bounced on the ropes before going out, causing his intended record-breaking moment to end up taking four second, a lifetime in quick Rumble appearances.
WWE tried again with Mike Kanellis in the Greatest Royal Rumble. The rarely seen Raw star was dumped by Mark Henry in what Michael Cole claimed “must be a record”. It was not – Kanellis lasted 3 seconds. WWE will keep trying, and likely failing, to break Santino’s record from now until the end of time.
6. Record PPV Buy Rate
The year-long build to the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ clash between The Rock and John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII paid dividends, with an all-time high 1.217 million fans shelling out to see the collision of two eras. The show also featured an ‘end of an era’ battle between The Undertaker and Triple H inside Hell in a Cell, and a WWE Championship showdown pitting CM Punk against Chris Jericho.
Two years later the pay-per-view model was all but obsolete in WWE due to the formation of the WWE Network. With that medium having taken off to such an extent over the past four years, PPV numbers have dwindled to almost nothing. Unless there was a catastrophic collapse of the Network (which will not happen) this number will never be matched.
Is it possible that WWE could have surpassed this without the Network? Given the success of spectaculars such as Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor and other UFC and boxing events, it’s certainly possible, but obviously there is no way of knowing for sure.
5. Bruno’s MSG Sell-Outs
As nice a story as it is, Bruno Sammartino did not sell out Madison Square Garden 188 times (as claimed by WWE and in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech). However, the real number of between 60 and 65 (the exact number is unverified due to poor record keeping back in the day) still puts him head and shoulders ahead of everyone else.
Determining what constitutes a headline match and what does not can be difficult, as Bruno would often be the drawing card at the arena when he was not on last. Based on being the final bout on the card, then his first headline main event sell-out at the building came in his WWWF Championship win over Buddy Rogers on May 17, 1963. His final sell-out at the building when main eventing came 17 years later on December 8, 1980 in a count out win over Sgt. Slaughter.
Given the infrequency of WWE events at the Garden these days (largely due to their global expansion and very different business model compared to in the 60s and 70s when house show business was the primary revenue source), this cannot and will not be matched.
4. Most Viewed Raw Segment
Everyone should know by now not to trust any statistic or history lesson give by WWE. They rewrite the record books to suit, avoiding little things like facts and the truth. Their records and versions of events exist for “entertainment purposes” only, much like their WrestleMania attendance figures.
According to WWE lore the record rated segment on Monday Night Raw came in 1999 during a ‘This Is Your Life’ segment featuring The Rock and Mick Foley. Sorry, Vince Russo, but this is simply not true. The actual highest rated episode of the show came on June 28, 1999 for a WWF Championship match between Ministry of Darkness leader The Undertaker and the hottest act on the planet, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.
The rematch from their main event at Over The Edge (which was obviously overshadowed by Owen Hart’s fatal death), had an electric atmosphere. Fans were drawn in, fully invested in Austin’s successful quest to reclaim his prize. The numbers were astonishing for a cable TV show. The quarter hour featuring Austin vs. ‘Taker pulled a 9.5 rating, which translated to 10.72 million viewers. It remains the highest rated segment in the history of wrestling on cable TV, smashing ‘This Is Your Life’ (which did an 8.4)
3. Highest Rated Episode of Raw
Steve Austin and The Undertaker may have pulled the highest quarter hour in Raw history, but that June 28 episode of the show does not hold the honor of being the highest rated overall.
That belongs to a May 10, 1999 broadcast (yes, the WWF was hot in 1999), which achieved a stunning 8.1 rating, which equaled around 9.2 million viewers. It should be noted that whilst this came during a time when the WWF went head-to-head with WCW’s Monday Nitro, the rival show was preempted due to an NBA play-off double-header.
The main event featured all the big hitters from the era, as Steve Austin, The Rock and Vince McMahon joined forces to battle Shane McMahon, Triple H and The Undertaker. Shawn Michaels even made an appearance, donning his skimpy shorts and zebra tank top as the special referee. Also on the card were matches pitting Ken Shamrock vs. Chyna, Jeff Jarrett vs. Val Venis, Faarooq vs. Bradshaw and Big Boss Man vs. Test.
The WWF had pulled a similar rating in the past on cable with the 1988 Royal Rumble, which did an 8.2, but in those days that was only around five million viewers.
2. 33 Million Viewers
On February 5, 1988, the WWF’s tag-line of the time “what the world is watching” rang true when an absurd 33 million people tuned in to watch NBC special The Main Event, headlined by a WrestleMania III rematch between WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and the legendary Andre the Giant.
The number was unheard of in American professional wrestling before or since. Nothing else has ever come close and it never will. WWE these days is lucky if it can surpass 3.5 million viewers for an episode of Raw.
In typical Vince McMahon fashion, he treated his record audience to one of the most absurd pieces of booking you are every likely to witness, with four-year champion Hogan screwed out of the title by a crooked evil twin referee, paid for by the nefarious ‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase.
DiBiase then purchased the WWF Championship from Andre and declared himself the new incumbent at the top of the company. Surly on-screen President Jack Tunney had other ideas, stripping DiBiase and declaring the creation of a tournament to crown the legitimate champion at WrestleMania IV.
1. Fabulous Moolah’s Title Run
This one was never likely to be brought up by WWE in the aftermath of the Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal fiasco, despite being far and away the least likely to ever be toppled. Moolah reigned as Women’s Champion for a ridiculous 28 years, an almost inconceivable amount of time. That would be the equivalent of someone winning a title at WrestleMania VI and only dropping it at this year’s ‘Mania event . . .
. . . Of course, the issue here is that the record is almost entirely fictional. While Moolah certainly did win the title in 1956 (back when it was the NWA Women’s Title), she lost it several times. WWE – like with many other things in their history – simply declines to acknowledge the other changes. Moolah at one point even owned the title, buying the rights to the belt to ensure she would never have to lose it. Vince McMahon bought the rights from her in 1983, making Moolah the first WWF Women’s champ.
So where does the record come from? Well, in WWE’s eyes Moolah won the belt in 1956 when the NWA was still recognized by Jess McMahon’s Capitol Wrestling Corporation. By the time she lost the title to Bette Boucher in 1966, the now-WWWF and the NWA were no longer aligned, so any switches after their 1963 split were not recognized. When Vince Jr. bought the rights in 1983, the claim was that Moolah still held the title she had won in 1956.
A farcical circumstance, not too dissimilar to Nikki Bella’s record Divas Title reign, in which she barely defended the gold at all towards the end of her run. Or Gillberg, who had a record run as Lightheavyweight Champion despite not even working for the promotion for much of his spell with the belt.
Did we miss any WWE records that you feel will never be broken? Do you disagree with some of these selections and feel they CAN be broken? Let us know on Twitter or in the comments below.
Comments.
Loading comments…