There are many wrestlers that have held titles for a long time. Hulk Hogan's first title reign lasted four years. Rob Van Dam held the ECW TV Title for almost two years. Then we have those that have had one day title reigns (Mankind, Randy Savage). Some have lost the belt right back to the person they defeated (Edge lost the WWE Title back to John Cena three weeks after beating him in January 2006). Edge was called a transitional champion (incorrectly, I may add) by Michael Cole. What is a transitional champion? It's someone who holds the belt briefly to pass it on to the next big person to carry the company; however, losing it back to the same person does not count. Tommy Rich and Kerry Von Erich briefly held the NWA Title, but lost it back to the person they beat (Harley Race and Ric Flair, respectively).

10) Hulk Hogan. Though you'll see the Hulkster's name frequently throughout this post, this is the time where he passed the belt on instead of vice versa. HHH had defeated Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania X8 on March 17, 2002, and Hogan and HHH wrestled at Backlash the next month. Hogan beat HHH and was WWE champion for the first time in almost nine years. Hogan then defended the title the next month at Judgment Day against the Undertaker, who won the belt from him.

9) Big Show. Big Show defeated Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2002 (thanks to Paul Heyman's assistance) and went into Armageddon to wrestle Kurt Angle (it's true). Angle won the belt back, which eventually set up Angle/Brock at Wrestlemania XIX and one of the greatest botched spots in history (Brock's Shooting Star Press).

8) Ric Flair. This was supposed to be a transition to the New Generation motif that Vince was starting, and Flair came into the match injured with a chip dislodged in his ear courtesy of a messed up Ultimate Warrior suplex. Flair had recently beaten a despondent Randy Savage (who was having marital problems) and Flair noted in his book that the match was awful. Bret noted in his book that Flair screwed up a couple of spots. I can see why the spots got screwed up with Flair's balance off. Even if a couple of spots got flubbed, you still won the title, right? Bret held the title until Wrestlemania IX when he lost it to...

7) Yokozuna. Read Bret Hart's book on this part of his career and you can see where the Hitman started to lose respect for the Hulkster. Yoko cheated to beat Bret, and then the Hulkster came down to check on Bret and protest the injustice. Mr. Fuji offered Hogan a challenge, Hogan came in, pinned Yokozuna in 21 seconds, and was WWE Champion for the fifth time. Bret hadn't even made it backstage yet. I can't blame Bret for being upset that it seemed he got thrown to the curb after being champion for six months, but you can see where politics got involved and things like that. Like I said, read the book.

6) Ivan Koloff. Who's the man that held the belt for three weeks inbetween Bruno Sammartino's and Pedro Morales's two reigns that lasted more than ten years combined? No, not Vader. The man that ended the longest reign of all time was the one that started the third longest reign of all time on February 8, 1971, when Pedro beat him for the WWWF Title. At that time, it would have been unheard of for fan favorites Sammartino and Morales to wrestle each other, so Ivan Koloff proved perfect to pass the belt on to Pedro. Pedro was a better wrestler than Bruno, and had the ethnicity to draw the fans as well. Little did we know that Bruno would get his belt back through Pedro by him losing to...

5) Stan Stasiak. He got nine days as WWWF Champion before losing the belt to Bruno Sammartino, who was still a big draw, and a bigger draw outside New York than Pedro was. Pedro faded for a time, and Bruno was only supposed to hold the belt for a year, but the payoffs got bigger to stay and his title reign went for over three years. Does Bruno belong in the Hall of Fame? Absolutely. Unfortunately, my era only knows Bruno as being bitter towards today's product, although he was an announcer when I started watching. Bruno and Hulk Hogan are legends and have held the title for the most days in WWE history, but the majority of wrestling fans would still take Harley Race and Ric Flair over them any day.

4) Bob Backlund. There are two versions of Bob Backlund, but the majority of fans today only know the second version. The first version held the WWF Title for over five years and was one of the biggest babyfaces of all time. The second version (Mr. Backlund) tried not to be fallacious and snapped on Bret Hart in one of the best heel turns of all time, putting Bret in the crossface chickenwing. Eventually, Backlund would pull the upset and beat Bret Hart at Survivor Series (thanks to a little help from Owen Hart). Just three days later, Backlund lost in Madison Square Garden (a place he main evented countless times) in just eight seconds to Diesel, starting his first title reign. Backlund didn't deserve that, but then again, you can argue that they never should have put the belt on him in the first place. I think it tainted his legacy, but then again, many wrestling fans think wrestling started when Hulk Hogan pinned the Iron Sheik (more on that later).

3) Mankind. Mankind pulled the upset at SummerSlam 1999 when he defeated HHH and Stone Cold to win the WWF/E Title (it was F then, but call it what you want). The next night on RAW, HHH started his first of twelve (as of this writing) title reigns. This was a good feud for the next few months, and their Royal Rumble 2000 match (with Foley as Cactus Jack) is one of my all-time favorites, and the match that put HHH on the map as a believable and worthy champion. HHH is no doubt the wrestler of the decade, but I don't know what more he can do for the company, especially as a face. He has nothing to prove, and I hope he doesn't hang around long enough to eclipse Ric Flair's record of sixteen title reigns. I'm guessing he has some clout, though, for obvious reasons.

2) Sgt. Slaughter. Sgt. Slaughter, a supporter of Iraq during the heat of the Gulf War, was hated by fans for his lack of patriotism and traitorous ways. Slaughter had beaten the Ultimate Warrior at the Royal Rumble (Savage's scepter shot is the highlight of that one), and Hulk Hogan was called upon to be the American hero to set him straight at Wrestlemania VII. When the Gulf War ended, ticket sales for the Los Angeles Coliseum cooled big time, and it was moved indoors to the Los Angeles Sports Arena (then the home of the Clippers). This one may go down as the most predictable and obvious title change in wrestling history, as Hogan, despite taking a chair shot and bleeding, beat Sarge for the WWE Title, and all was good again. Sarge was past his prime, Hogan did nothing special, and it was the same old same old.

1) Iron Sheik. If ever there was a transition from eras, this would be it. The aforementioned Bob Backlund (Version 1... I talked with your lawyers, Matt Hardy), had been champion for over five years, and the fans were getting tired of "Howdy Doody". Backlund refused to turn heel to lose the title to Hulk Hogan, so the Iron Sheik was picked to be the man to lose to Hogan. Backlund had been injured by the Sheik's Persian Clubs, and then lost the belt to him when his manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel (Backlund never submitted) when Backlund was in the Camel Clutch. Hogan got Backlund's rematch because Backlund was declared injured, and you know the rest. Supposedly wrestling was born on that day. Hulkamania was born, and we got the transition of McMahons. Later this month marks the 25th anniversary of Hogan's first WWE Title win.