Roman Reigns is no stranger to setting records with his historic Undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign, and no another record has been smashed.
During his time with NXT UK, GUNTHER reigned as champion for 870 days, making him the longest reigning modern champion in WWE history by a healthy margin. Though many thought his record, which lasted from April 2019 to August 2021, would never be broken, the Tribal Chief has now surpassed this historic achievement. As of January 18th, Roman Reigns has held the Universal Championship for 871 days.
Reigns’ incredible run as champion puts him in the conversation with title reigns of the past as he’s less than a year from surpassing Pedro Morales’ 1,207 day reign between 1971 and 1973. The longest reigns as acknowledged by WWE are as follows:
- Bruno Sammartino (2,803 days)
- Bob Backlund (2,135 days)
- Hulk Hogan (1,474 days)
- Bruno Sammartino (1,237 days)
- Pedro Morales (1,027 days)
Roman Reigns Holds Both The WWE And Universal Championships
After a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Roman Reigns returned at the 2020 edition of SummerSlam to attack The Fiend Bray Wyatt.
At WWE Payback on August 30th 2020, Reigns defeated The Friend and Braun Strowman in a No Holds Barred Triple Threat match to win the Universal Championship for the second time, starting his long and commanding reign.
Since then the Tribal Chief has obtained the services of Paul Heyman as his Special Counsel, and joined forces with The Usos, Sami Zayn, and Solo Sikoa to rule SmackDown with an iron fist.
After proving himself dominant on SmackDown for nearly two years, Reigns set his sights on a renewal of his rivalry with Brock Lesnar, who held a commanding reign of his own with 503 days as Universal Champion starting in 2017. Brock Lesnar won the WWE Championship at the 2022 Elimination Chamber, and at WrestleMania 38, he and Reigns faced off in a Winner Take All match that saw Reigns victorious, creating the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
At the upcoming Royal Rumble on January 28th, Roman Reigns is set to face Kevin Owens, who hopes to unseat the champion.