Which WWE superstar had the longest run at top

[BizzarroNavarro]

What I mean basically is out of all the mega stars and icons like hogan, bret, michaels, rock austin cena, who actually stayed on top the longest? And I dont mean as champion or as a face, just like the center of most of the programming. Im just curious what you think or know cause I dont really know. Although id assume probably hogan then Cena.

Cause IMO although my memory is fuzzy neither hart or michaels had a loong run as the man and main face of the company. And Austin's injury kinda took away alot of his steam and gave it to the rock who did stick around for a while injury free but ended up leaving for Hollywood.

 

[The Liar]

I would say Hulk Hogan and John Cena are just about tied, with each having seven years on top. I would say Hogan became "the man" in 1985, and remained the biggest element of WWF programming until the summer of 1992, when he became more of a part-time wrestler. Cena became the man in 2005, and in my mind has been the face of the company ever since.

Of course, one could make the argument that Hogan was on top until the night he left the company at King of the Ring 1993, seeing as he was still champ and all. I just don't view a guy who refuses to wrestle on regular television to be the focal point of a wrestling company's product.

 

[BizzarroNavarro]

wow really, so its been seven years for cena now. Thats a pretty long run. How long and from what year to what year do you think Austin and Rock had?

 

[The Liar]

Some people might say Cena became the man at a later date, but if you watch RAWs from 2005-2006 he sure seemed like he was on top in my opinion.

I would say Austin was on top from time he won the Royal Rumble in 1998 until he took time off at the end of 1999, so two full years on top. Then I think The Rock was on top from there until 2001 or 2002, when he started wrestling less in order to make movies.

 

[Swarles Barkley]

The only two contenders are Hogan and Cena. Hogan's run on top was pretty much from when he won the belt in '84 to WrestleMania VIII. That gives him a little over seven years. Cena has been the man in WWE from the time he won his first title at WrestleMania 21 to now, and I don't see his run coming to an end any time soon. As of this moment, I'd give it to Hogan, but if Cena is still in the title picture or is in a marquee match by the time we get to WrestleMania XXIX, then Cena will have surpassed Hogan with the longest reign on top.

 

[GameOver]

I would say Hulk Hogan and John Cena are just about tied, with each having seven years on top. I would say Hogan became "the man" in 1985, and remained the biggest element of WWF programming until the summer of 1992, when he became more of a part-time wrestler. Cena became the man in 2005, and in my mind has been the face of the company ever since.

Of course, one could make the argument that Hogan was on top until the night he left the company at King of the Ring 1993, seeing as he was still champ and all. I just don't view a guy who refuses to wrestle on regular television to be the focal point of a wrestling company's product.

slight correction, Hogan became "the man" February 1984 thats when he beat the Iron Sheik for the WWF Heavyweight Title. and other then 18months when he didn't have the title and was frequently absent, he was still the face of the company for 6 years and then a further year roughly between WrestleMania 7 and 9 and what happened everytime he returned? he was immediately "the guy" to get the biggest pop again whether he was be a second for someone, he was in the main event or midcard matches or even just making a suprise appearance.

In other words Hogan will always be the biggest name to come out of WWF/E in history,

now if you are talking about longest run as the main focus during WWF post 1984 then it would be between Hogan and Cena both having held the titles and been on the winning end of Main events for the better part of 6-7 yrs.. unless you wanna count Hogans run in WCW which he was the face of the company for another 2-3yrs b4 Goldberg and the nWo

Austin and Rock aren't even close. Austin was only around for 4yrs as a full time face of the company. The Rock only competed for 7yrs. and Triple H was the face for around 4 straight yrs then on and off after that

now for the real answer, if we are talking about WWE (WWWF, WWF and WWE) total history. 2 names cement the spot as the longest running focus of the company, Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund
Bruno held the WWWF title for 8 straight years as "The Guy" (1963-1971) and Bob Backlund was "The Man" and champion for 6 straight years leading upto the soon to be Hulk Hogan returning as a face and capturing his first world title.

So there ya go let's have a fatal fourway between Hogan, Cena, Sammartino and Backlund....

 

[Ol'Canucklehead]

At first I thought you were going with champions which I would have to go with Hogan. It was different time though and storylines lasted much longer. But if what your asking is overall popularity and significance I would have to go with Taker. I don`t think you could argue anybody else. He wasn't champion as often because he didn`t have to be to draw. Close by would be Triple H, Cena, Flair and a few others.

 

[Cookie14]

Undertaker won his first WWE heavyweight title in 1992, he mainevented Wrestlemania 28 in 2012. That gives his 20 years at the top of WWE. The closets person to him would be Shawn Michaels, who was active in WWE for almost 20 years, almost all of them at the very highest level. Rock, Austin, Hogan Cena etc may have achieved higher leves of fame, but none of them can ever come close to the longevity of Taker or HBK.

 

[Rjw2688]

Undertaker won his first WWE heavyweight title in 1992, he mainevented Wrestlemania 28 in 2012. That gives his 20 years at the top of WWE. The closets person to him would be Shawn Michaels, who was active in WWE for almost 20 years, almost all of them at the very highest level. Rock, Austin, Hogan Cena etc may have achieved higher leves of fame, but none of them can ever come close to the longevity of Taker or HBK.

I'm confused by your comment. Maybe I watched the wrong show and I'm wrong but I thought Cena-Rock mainevented wrestlemania this year...

 

[BigThunder]

Taker, though Bruno (11 years as champ) and Hogan have also had extended runs at the top.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Undertaker won his first WWE heavyweight title in 1992, he mainevented Wrestlemania 28 in 2012. That gives his 20 years at the top of WWE. The closets person to him would be Shawn Michaels, who was active in WWE for almost 20 years, almost all of them at the very highest level. Rock, Austin, Hogan Cena etc may have achieved higher leves of fame, but none of them can ever come close to the longevity of Taker or HBK.

Taker, though Bruno (11 years as champ) and Hogan have also had extended runs at the top.

The thread is asking who was on TOP. Undertaker was never on top for more than a few months at a time if you consider his World Title reigns, but in reality he's never been on top. Guys who were on top were the indisputable top guys in the company, guys like Hogan, Sammartino, Austin, Rock for a little bit, and Cena. Hell, even Hart and Michaels were the top guys for a little bit, but Taker has never been on top. Big star? Icon? Legend? Absolutely. Top guy? Nope.

This is a simple Math question, but it's one I have no interest in figuring out. Going off of what I've seen from the previous posts in this thread, it seems that it's between the likes of Hogan, Cena, and Sammartino. Austin and Rock only spent around 5-6 years on top. HBK and Hart only spent a couple of years on top.

I'm leaning toward Hogan or Cena, but it is simply because I don't know enough about anyone prior to the 80s to make a definitive statement.

 

[metalbass]

Bob Backlund was the WWF champion for 5 years before losing to the Iron Sheik (he didn't get pinned or submitted, his corner threw the towel in). He came back about 10 years later (maybe more my timing is off) at the age of 43 and won the WWF Championship again. He also holds the record (I don't count ECW) for the shortest loss of title in a match in 8 seconds to Diesel.

 

[thebarber]

there is only one answer here, Hulk Hogan. From late 1983 until early 1992, Hulk Hogan was the man, the number one guy. Sure he didnt hold the title the whole time, bnot nobody earnt more than him and was recognised as the number one guy than Hogan. Michaels had a 2 yearr run on top in 1996-1998 then a recurring role 2002-2010 but he was not the "top guy" in that second period. John Cena has been on top since 2005, he will no foubt pass Hogan's longevity as the number one guy in the company. Hell even Austin was only the number one guy for 3 years 1998-2001. Thus love or hate him,. Hogan stayed on top for a hell of a long time, whether politics or what have you, he is, was and always will be the number one guy in WWE history.

 

[thebarber]

Bob Backlund was the WWF champion for 5 years before losing to the Iron Sheik (he didn't get pinned or submitted, his corner threw the towel in). He came back about 10 years later (maybe more my timing is off) at the age of 43 and won the WWF Championship again. He also holds the record (I don't count ECW) for the shortest loss of title in a match in 8 seconds to Diesel.

Backlund actually dropped the belt to Antonio Inoki during his 5 year reign, sometimes it is reccognised by WWE, other times it is not, but Backlund was hardly the top guy, certainly was not over. He was Vince Snrs guy, and the second Vince got control of the company, he got the belt off him

 

[thebarber]

Undertaker won his first WWE heavyweight title in 1992, he mainevented Wrestlemania 28 in 2012. That gives his 20 years at the top of WWE. The closets person to him would be Shawn Michaels, who was active in WWE for almost 20 years, almost all of them at the very highest level. Rock, Austin, Hogan Cena etc may have achieved higher leves of fame, but none of them can ever come close to the longevity of Taker or HBK.

Taker actually won his first World title in 1991, and lost it two weeks later. The had stellar matches with Giant Gonzales and the like. Taker was not on top the entire 20 years, nowhere near it. And the past five years he has wrestled an average of 3 matches a year at best, no argument Taker has been around a long time, but certainly not on top for anywhere near the time of a Hogan or Cena

 

[Cookie14]

Taker actually won his first World title in 1991, and lost it two weeks later. The had stellar matches with Giant Gonzales and the like. Taker was not on top the entire 20 years, nowhere near it. And the past five years he has wrestled an average of 3 matches a year at best, no argument Taker has been around a long time, but certainly not on top for anywhere near the time of a Hogan or Cena

It's true that Taker was never the face of WWE in the way that Hogan, Cena, Rock etc were, but for 20 years, he has been one of the biggest players in wrestling, always being a focal point, important in everything that WWE has done in this time. The fact that he only wrestles at WM shows just how important he is to WWE, and how much he is respected by them for being a top guy for them

 

[closet_fan]

Undertaker won his first WWE heavyweight title in 1992, he mainevented Wrestlemania 28 in 2012. That gives his 20 years at the top of WWE. The closets person to him would be Shawn Michaels, who was active in WWE for almost 20 years, almost all of them at the very highest level. Rock, Austin, Hogan Cena etc may have achieved higher leves of fame, but none of them can ever come close to the longevity of Taker or HBK.

My first thought was Undertaker as well, but add on another year. He beat Hulk Hogan with the help of Ric Flair to win the title at Survivor Series in 2001.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_Series_(1991)

 

[ilapierre]

Whoa..........you people are forgetting the most obvious 'pushed down our throats' star of the past 13 years. Triple H.

Yes Hogan had 9 years on top of WWE. Cena's had about 9 years as well. Shawn had about 9 in his two terms. Taker has been at the top but not really in the world title picture. Stone Cold and Rock were only on top for about 5 years. Backlund was on top for 6 years and a day. Bruno was on top of WWE a lot longer than Triple H but that was back in the days when RAW and Smackdown were non-existent. There were no PPVs. Triple H has been at the top of WWE since 1999 and has forced himself on fans as the main event focus of almost all the PPVs, 12 a month, and Raw or Smackdowns, 52 a year, for 13 years! Of course, Triple H was never the most dominant guy. There's always been guys like Cena, Rock, Austin or Shawn around that were better. But Triple H has been the major focus of WWE since he and Stephanie forged a power alliance.

Anyway, it's crazy that i'm the first poster to bring attention to this. I'm always the one singled out for bashing Triple H but the guy deserves to be bashed. He's Hogan 2.0. The hate Hogan gets should actually be directed at Triple H instead. Hogan is one of the all time best entertainers and Triple H is nothing but some goon we're forcefed.

 

[closet_fan]

You should put more definition to what you mean by on top. Does on top mean being champion? Does on top mean the main focus of the company at that moment?

I rank on top like this:

Bruno Sammartino - Yeah he doesn't get much fanfare because of the lack of media attention back then. But when he wrestled, it was like getting a ticket to an Ali bout. The guy held the title for over a decade, but it's still unclear just how many years total he held it.

Hulk Hogan - To me, the most popular on the list. He held the title a long time between periods. And ushered in a new era. If on top means mainstream success, no one will ever top Hogan. Cena will never top Hogan in mainstream success. You ask anyone, they will know who Hogan is. You ask some who Cena is and they'd have no clue. Which brings me to the last one:

John Cena - Cena has been on top for the better half of the 2000s. Whether he has the belt or doesn't have the belt, the WWE always focuses on his storyline. This era of wrestling, the heavyweight belts means nothing anymore. Punk and Sheamus may have the titles, but it's still Cena that the WWE pushes more than anyone.

Honorable Mention:
HHH - The one thing HHH will lack is mainstream success. He is only popular in the confines of the wrestling world only. This is only my opinion though. Yeah he had The Chaperone, but HHH will never have mainstream success like Hogan had.

 

[HBsam31]

Hogan is the one that comes to my mind first, he had his 7 year run, but when he would come back after wcw he was on top then to. When Hogan came back to face the rock he was the focus for a little while then to. Just seems like when you see Hogan in WWE he is the top guy.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

For me, when I think of "the longest run" it means more then being the champ. That has alot to do with it, but at the same time it also means who the show is revolving around. Who has the most compelling story that is getting the most time and who is in the main event.

With that here is a timeline of who I would call as the top guy since I started watching WWF/E (80's-present)

Hulk Hogan: time he won the title to WM VI (6 years)
Ultimate Warrior: WM VI - 91 Rumble (9 months)
Hulk Hogan: WM VII - WM VIII (1 year)
Bret Hart: 94 Rumble - 94 Survivor Series (10 months)
Diesel: post 94 Survivor Series - 95 Survivor Series (1 year)
Bret Hart: 95 Survivor Series - WM XII (4 months)
Shawn Michaels: WM XII - Thursday Raw (lost smile speech) (11 months)
Stone Cold Steve Austin: 98 Rumble - 99 Survivor Series (1 year 10 months)
The Rock: 99 Survivor Series - WM XVII (1 year 4 months)
Stone Cold Steve Austin: WM XVII - took his ball and went home (4-6 months)
Triple H: 02 Rumble - PPV after WM XVIII (3 months)
Brock Lesner: 02 SummerSlam - 03 SummerSlam (1 year)
Triple H: Evolution days (1 year - 1 year 6 months)
John Cena/Batista: WM XXI - end of 2005 (8 months)
John Cena: Begininng 2006 - pec injury (1 year 6 months)
John Cena: 08 Rumble - Present (4 years 5 months)

Hogan 7 years
Cena 6 years 7 months
Stone Cold 2 year 3 months
Triple H 1 year 9 months
The Rock 1 year 4 months
Bret Hart 1 year 2 months
Brock Lesner 1 year
Diesel 1 year
Shawn Michaels 11 months
Warrior 9 months
Batista 8 months

Basically, like most have said it comes down to Cena and Hogan. Each man has had roughly the same amount of time on top. I don't see Cena passing Hogan soon as it looks to me that Punk is poised to start being the guy as Cena is now done with top fueds with Rock, Brock and Johnny. And with Trips set to take on Brock soon, its the perfect time for the focus to shift towards Punk.

 

[Davi323]

If you are going for who was "THE GUY" the longest, there is only one answer. I started watching in the 80s, and saw all of Hulkamania, and Hogan is still my all time favorite wrestler. But, for as great a run as Hogan had, if we are just counting time on top, even Hulk Hogan is second fiddle to this guy:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the legendary Bruno Sammartino.

Bruno held the WWWF/WWF title twice. But he held the belt for 4040 days, or approximately the length of Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels reigns. COMBINED. Or, to put this in the simplest terms possible, 11 total years.

There is simply no realistic argument that can be against Bruno Sammartino having the longest run at the top. He may not be the greatest WWWF/WWF/WWE wrestler of all time in terms of drawing power and all that, but as far as length of time at the top? There is Bruno, and then there is everyone else. It's not even close.

 

[relentless1]

hogan was at the top the longest, from january 1984 to june 1993 when he left. as another poster said whenever he came back from his time off he was immediately the man again so hogan had 9 years on top imo

 

[justtxyank]

I really can't believe anyone said Taker. Really?

He was rarely on top at all. Normally he was a special attraction type and was involved in upper mid card feuds, kept away from the title and main events.

I consider 1980 to be the start of the Modern Era for pro-wrestling because that is about the time that tv began to change. So from 1980 on there is no doubt that the answer is Hulk Hogan. Prior to that the answer is Bruno.

 

[Goldie]

If we are including the pre-modern era ... surely its Bruno?

In the Vince McMahon Jnr era... I'd say Hogan.
Won the title in January 1984.... held it 4 years... even when Macho was champion... he was still entering the ring before Hogan as they tagged as the Mega Powers. Even when he wasnt champion Hogan had to go on last!... and he was still the top draw all the way up to 1992. Thats just over 8 years.... and you could arguably add the odd few months when he came back in 1993 .... and when Hulkamania still ruled in 2002-03.
See Rock vs Hogan at WM18 .... the fans chose Hulk over the Rock!

Austins runs at the top are sporadic. Though he was a rising star in 1997... you'd put Bret and Shawn above him at that point as the 2 biggest WWE stars.
Enter 1998 and Austin the top guy... through to 1999 where he gets a neck injury and is out of action for a year. 2001 again was Austins year... though he'd walk out after WM18 for another year... and retire after 2 month comeback in 2003.
Cummulatively... I'd give Austin 3 and a half years as top guy