April 25, 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the WWE Championship. Though the years the championship it self has witnessed several changes, whether it be design or meaning.



The best way to tell the story about the WWE Championship is to break down by generations, better known in the wrestling world as eras.



We start by talking about the Bruno Sammartino era. This is an era with very few superstars, and title reigns would span for several years.

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Highlighted by the record holding reign of Sammartino, which lasted 2803 days. Sammartino’s seven-year reign that has not even come close to being broken.



The next era was the most important thus far for the growth of wrestling. It was the superstar era, headed by the biggest superstar of all time Hulk Hogan who beat the Iron Sheik in 1984 for his first title; some names that helped contribute to the success in the Superstar era are Macho Man Randy Savage, the Ultimate Warrior and Bret the Hit man Hart. All of which held the WWE title multiple times from 1984-1998.



As the Superstar era dwindled down, the WWE became more vicious and less censored following the “Montreal Screw job,” in which Bret Hart was defeated by Shawn Michaels with a cheap pin, because Hart was leaving the WWE for the rival company WCW.



The “Screw Job” let to what is now known as the “Attitude Era,” which featured WWE Champions like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Mankind, The Rock, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker.

The WWE would eventually soften up, which many believe is due to WWE President Vince McMahon’s wife’s running for a senate seat. The more conservative era would be known as the PG Era. This allowed a younger generation to get involved with wrestling.

The WWE would strike gold around the same time as wrestler John Cena would start to pick up steam up the WWE ranks. His bright personality would help the company get over with families.

Cena would go on to hold the WWE Championship a record eleven times. Other wrestlers who held gold during the current era are Randy Orton, Edge, Alberto Del Rio and most notable wrestler next to Cena, CM Punk who recently had a championship reign of 434 days, which is the longest reign in the last 25 years.