Roman Reigns Hits Huge WWE Title Milestone

While a recent report suggests Reigns' days as champion (or at least as a double champion) could be numbered, the only number that matters today is two.

Today marks the two-year anniversary of Reigns defeating Braun Strowman and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt for the WWE Universal Championship at Payback 2020, and the Tribal Chief hasn't lost the title since, making him the longest-reigning world champion WWE has had in 34 years. Reigns' current run ranks sixth all-time on the list of longest-reigning champions. The only ones ahead of him are reigns by Pedro Morales (1027 days), Bruno Sammartino (1237) days, Hogan (1474) days, Bob Backlund (2135 days), and Sammartino again (2803 days). Sammartino's first run with the WWE Championship will almost certainly remain unbroken, as it last almost eight years. Hogan's run, also his first time holding the gold, is the most recent of the top five, beginning in 1984 and ending in 1988.

Reigns has defeated a bevy of babyfaces since winning the title including John Cena, Bryan Danielson, Edge, Claudio Castagnoli, and Rey Mysterio. In total, The Head Of The Table has defended his championship 23 times since winning the belt, and Reigns made his title run even more impressive when he unified the Universal Championship with the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 38 by defeating Brock Lesnar.

Today marks the anniversary, but the celebration happens this Friday on "WWE SmackDown." The segment, which has already been taped, will be part of the build for the main event of WWE Clash At The Castle on September 3, when Reigns will defend his championship once more against Drew McIntyre in Cardiff, Wales, the first major WWE event held in the United Kingdom since 1992.