Bruno Sammartino was the dominant figure in the early days of the WWE. His first title reign was from 1963 - 1971. He regained the title in 1973 and held it until 1977. Even after losing the belt, he was still the top draw in the company. He headlined the 1980 Shea Stadium show in a cage match against Larry Zbysko. He was a commentator for the WWE in the '80s. Since leaving the business, Bruno has been an outspoken critic against the WWE and that has kept him out of the WWE Hall of

Hulk's six title reigns barely place him in second place. Hulk's first title reign was his longest. He beat the Iron Sheik in 1984 and held the title until 1988. During his time in WCW, he was their champion for approximately 3 calendar years.

John Cena won his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21 from JBL. He was briefly without the WWE title when Edge cashed in his money in the bank shot but he regained it a few weeks later. He lost the title to Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand 2006 but would win it again from Edge at Unforgiven. His third title reign lasted over a year and ended with him having to forfeit the title due to an injury. He won the World Heavyweight Championship by beating Chris Jericho atSurvivor Series 2008 and lost it a few months later in an Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out. Over the course of the next few years, John has had several runs with both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship.

Triple H is a 13-time champion. While he does not hold the record for the length of his title reigns, he does hold the record for most combined championship title reigns in the WWE. His 8 WWE Championship reigns as well as his 5 World Heavyweight Championship reigns are also records. Triple H's first won the WWE Championship in 1999. His 13th title reign began at No Way Out 2009

.

Bret's first title win was a shock to wrestling fans anywhere. He beat Ric Flair in an untelevised match and showed up on TV as champ even though he wasn't thought to be a contender for the title. By contrast, his final title loss and final match in the WWE is the most talked about match of all time.

In 2004, Randy Orton won his forst World Heavyweight Championship and in the process became the youngest man to ever win a world championship for the company.  Since then, he has been a fixturein the main event scene.  He is a former 9-time world champion.  He has held the WWE Championship six times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times.

Starting in 2006, Edge became fixture on the main even scene after cashing in his Money in the Bank title shot to win the WWE Championship. Edge would go on to be known as the Ultimate Opportunist because of the way he would go about winning and retaining the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship. He wound up having four WWE Championship reigns and seven World Heavyweight Championship reigns. Sadly, Edge was forced to retire in 2011 while still the World Heavyweight Champion due to medical problems related to a neck injury he suffered several years earlier.

Batista won his first title by beating Triple H at WrestleMania 21. His first title reign ended when he was forced to vacate the following January due to injury. His second reign lasted from Survivor Series '06 when he beat King Booker until WrestleMania 23 when he lost to the Undertaker. His third reign started at Unforgiven '07 when he beat the Champion the Great Khali and Rey Mysterio in a triple threat match. He lost the title for the third to Edge in a triple-threat match that also included the Undertaker at Armageddon '07. His fourth and fifth championship reigns each lasted only 8 days.  His sixth title reign began at Eimination Chamber 2010 and ended five weeks later at WrestleMania XXVI when he beat and lost the title to John Cena.

How bad is the problem?
The list below only includes wrestlers that have appeared on national TV and were stars. Imagine if this many baseball players died at such an early age. There would be congressional hearings. Yet because it is wrestlers, no one cares. In an effort to stop this problem, the WWE has instituted a wellness program that monitors wrestlers for drug usage and cardiovascular issues.

Famous Wrestlers That Have Died Since 1985 Before the Age of 65 (please read this FAQbefore making any assumptions or writing me any emails about this list)
Chris Von Erich (Von Erich Family Tree) - 21 
Mike Von Erich - 23 
Louie Spiccoli - 27 
Art Barr - 28 
Gino Hernandez - 29 
Lance Cade - 29 
Jay Youngblood - 30 
Rick McGraw - 30 
Joey Marella - 30 
Ed Gatner - 31 
Buzz Sawyer - 32 
Crash Holly - 32 
Kerry Von Erich - 33 
D.J. Peterson - 33 
Eddie Gilbert - 33 
The Renegade - 33 
Chris Candido - 33 
Test - 33
Adrian Adonis - 34 
Gary Albright - 34 
Bobby Duncum Jr. - 34 
Owen Hart - 34 
Yokozuna - 34 
Big Dick Dudley - 34 
Brian Pillman - 35 
Marianna Komlos - 35 
Umaga - 36
Pitbull #2 - 36 
The Wall/Malice - 36 
Emory Hale - 36
Leroy Brown - 38 
Mark Curtis - 38 
Eddie Guerrero - 38 
John Kronus - 38 
Davey Boy Smith - 39 
Johnny Grunge - 39 
Chris Kanyon - 40
Vivian Vachon - 40 
Jeep Swenson - 40 
Brady Boone - 40 
Terry Gordy - 40 
Bertha Faye - 40 
Billy Joe Travis - 40 
Chris Benoit - 40 
Larry Cameron - 41 
Rick Rude - 41 
Randy Anderson - 41 
Bruiser Brody - 42 
Miss Elizabeth - 42 
Big Boss Man - 42 
Earthquake - 42 
Mike Awesome - 42 
Biff Wellington - 42 
Brian Adams (Crush) - 43
Ray Candy - 43 
Nancy Benoit (Woman) - 43 
Dino Bravo - 44 
Curt Hennig - 44 
El Gigante/Giant Gonzalez - 44
Bam Bam Bigelow - 45 
Jerry Blackwell - 45 
Junkyard Dog - 45 
Hercules - 45 
Toni Adams - 45
Andre the Giant - 46 
Big John Studd - 46 
Chris Adams - 46 
Mike Davis - 46 
Hawk - 46 
Mitsuharu Misawa - 46 
Ludvig Borga - 47 
Luna Vachon - 48
Steve Dunn - 48 
Cousin Junior - 48 
Dick Murdoch - 49 
Jumbo Tsuruta - 49 
Rocco Rock - 49 
Sherri Martel - 49 
Steve Williams - 49 
Doug Furnas - 50
Moondog Spot - 51 
Bastion Booger/Norman the Lunatic - 53
Ken Timbs - 53 
Uncle Elmer - 54 
Pez Whatley - 54 
The Angel of Death - 54
Eddie Graham - 55 
Tarzan Tyler - 55 
Haystacks Calhoun- 55 
Giant Haystacks - 55 
Buddy Rose - 56 
Kurt Von Hess - 56 
Moondog King - 56 
Randy Savage - 58
Gene Anderson - 58 
Dr. Jerry Graham - 58 
Bulldog Brown - 58 
Tony Parisi - 58 
Rufus R. Jones - 60 
Ray Stevens - 60 
Stan Stasiak - 60 
Terry Garvin - 60 
Boris Malenko - 61 
Little Beaver - 61 
Sapphire - 61 
Shohei Baba - 61 
Sir Oliver Humperdink - 62
Dick the Bruiser - 62 
Wilbur Snyder - 62 
George Cannon - 62 
Karl Krupp - 62 
Dale Lewis - 62 
Gorilla Monsoon - 62 
Hiro Matsuda - 62 
Bad News Brown - 63 
Bulldog Brower - 63 
SD Jones - 63 
Wahoo McDaniel - 63 
Savannah Jack - 63

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