Roman Reigns Surpasses Bruno Sammartino In Historic World Championship Reign

Originally posted on SE Scoops | By Thomas Lowson | Last updated 1/21/24

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has continued to etch his name in history by surpassing the legendary Bruno Sammartino's second WWWF title reign.

Reigns has dominated WWE since capturing the Universal Championship at Payback 2020 , in a match that saw him defeat Braun Strowman and the late Bray Wyatt. This week, Reigns' tenure as champion reached 1,238 days with the Universal title. In doing so, the Head of the Table surpassed Bruno's second reign with the WWWF title. The WWE Hall of Famer's second reign saw him hold the gold from December 10, 1973, to April 30, 1977.

The Longest Reigning Champion Ever?

By surpassing Bruno's second World title reign, Reigns now boasts the fourth-longest WWE World Championship reign in the history of the company. Currently, the only reigns ahead of Reigns belong to Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund and Bruno Sammartino’s first WWWF title reign.

For Roman to overtake Hogan's first World title reign, he'll need to hold the gold until September 12, 2024. To overtake Backlund's first reign, he will need to remain champion until Sunday, July 5, 2026. Finally, to best Sammartino's first reign and become the longest-reigning champion in WWE history, Roman Reigns will need to keep the gold until Wednesday, May 3, 2028.