The Longest Reigning ECW Champions of All Time

Welcome one and all to another exclusive countdown here at Cheap-Heat.com! My name is Mark Haggerty and I'm back with another list featuring the longest reigning champions in history. In the past I've tackled titles from the NWA, the U.S. Championship, and the ROH world heavyweight championship. Today I'm taking a trip back in time and talking about the ECW World Title. We'll start in 1992 and work our way through 2001, all while carefully avoiding the 2006-2010 abortion produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. Let's kick things off with an ECW Original …

10. Sabu – 93 Days (2)
Number ten is the "Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal" Sabu. I don't think the WWE would call anyone "suicidal"—let alone GENOCIDAL— in today's PG Era, but those three words astutely summarize Sabu. The nephew of the �Original' Sheik made his professional debut in 1985, and won his first world title on October 2 ^nd 1993. Shane Douglas won the belt in August of that very year, and was the inaugural world champion when Eastern Championship Wrestling joined the National Wrestling Alliance. Sabu beat Douglas at NWA Bloodfest, and carried the title for 85-days. In 1997, Sabu regained the championship, partially due to a WWE-crossover coming up wherein Terry Funk—then-champion—wasn't to be featured. After just eight days as champion, Sabu dropped the title to the man he took it from 4 years earlier—"The Franchise" Shane Douglas.

9. Rhino – 93 Days (1)
Rhino was one of the most visible aspects of ECW as the doors began closing in 2001. Fans might remember the hand he played in the classic TLC match at WrestleMania XVII ; younger viewers are familiar with him from his current work with the WWE down at NXT. But Rhino was more than a few fleeting moments featuring some other Superstar . Rhino was the final man to hold the ECW World Championship in 2001. That's a pretty big deal. And with 93-days to his single title reign, the master of the " Gore " has a lot to be proud of. Rhino won the belt he'd retire in New York City on January 7 ^th 2001 at Guilty as Charged. He defeated the 5-time champion Sandman in just one minute, proving his worth as the leader of the ECW locker room.

8. Justin Credible – 162 Days (1)
With just one title reign lasting 163-days, Justin Credible is among the most prolific champions in ECW history. Credible was perhaps the most pivotal part of the world title scene from the turn of the century, right up until the final days of ECW. After the "Land of Extreme" ceased to be, Credible made his way to the WWE as a member of the Invasion, and a subsequent part of X-Factor with Sean Waltman. Credible won his championship at Cyber Slam 2000 from Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer won his first and only ECW world championship just moments beforehand when he defeated WWE Superstar Taz for a title he recently won from WCW wrestler Mike Awesome. Credible challenged him to an impromptu match wherein Francine turned on Tommy, and cost him his title. This cemented Credible as one of the most dastardly individuals in ECW, and kept Tommy alive as the "ultimate underdog."

7. Don Muraco – 174 Days (2)
Wait a minute—you mean the Don Muraco? The Magnificent Muraco? Believe it or not, the WWE Hall of Fame �Original Rock' was ECW champion not once, but twice! Totaling an astounding 174 days. His first reign—the shorter of the two at just 47 days—began on September 30 ^th 1992, when he defeated Jimmy Snuka to become the third man to hold the belt. He lost the strap to the Sandman at a LIVE event in November, when the Sandman was still dressed as a �beach bum.' Sandman had a lengthy run of his own, but was bested by Muraco in April of '93. Don Muraco enjoyed a 127-day reign as world champion, before handing the honor off to Tito Santana.

6. Mike Awesome – 201 Days (2)
It's pretty radical that we're counting down a list of ECW wrestlers and Mike Awesome is the first—and only—deceased person we've come across. Awesome was truly that—awesome. Before jumping ship to WCW in what would later be considered a dreadful mistake, Mike Awesome ran roughshod over the ECW locker room with a style unlike anything American fans had seen before. Awesome was agile and aggressive, combining strong-forward attacks with a more charismatic delivery. It was something akin to what you might witness in Japan. It made sense, in that case, that Awesome's greatest rival in ECW would be Masato Tanaka. Mike Awesome is a two-time champion and won his first title from Taz at Anarchy Rulz in 1999—just a few months before Taz debuted in WWE. Awesome split time between title reigns more evenly than most men on this countdown, and his first run lasted 89 days. He lost the belt to Tanaka on an episode of ECW on TNN on December 17, 1999, only to win it back one week later on the same show. Awesome was part of one of the most innovative scenarios in wrestling history; he signed with WCW in 2000, not long after Taz signed with WWE. Awesome was to be stripped of the title before he left the company, and did the job—to Taz! For the first and only time in history, a WCW wrestler competed against a WWE Superstar in an ECW ring for the ECW championship.

5. Terry Funk – 208 Days (2)
He wasn't always "middle aged and crazy," but Terry Funk was definitely on the decline during the 1990s. But that wouldn't detract the former NWA world champion from pursuing his goals, and conquering every obstacle put in his path. Terry Funk was champion for a total of 208 days; his first title reign began in 1993 and lasted 90 days. He lost the championship in 1994 to Shane Douglas at the infamous event wherein ECW and Shane Douglas declared their independence from the National Wrestling Alliance . The symbolic main event proved to separate the old guard from the new, but Terry Funk wasn't done fighting. He returned to Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1997 to take part in the company's first-ever pay-per-view event. Funk defeated the Sandman and Stevie Richards in a three way dance during the semi-main event, and won his second ECW title from Raven to close the show.

4. Taz – 261 Days (2)
Taz came into ECW as a cannibalistic cave man who wore fur and didn't talk to anyone. With time, he developed into a complex character combining shoot-fighting skills with sports entertainment. His moniker "Beat Me if You Can, Survive if I Let You" became synonymous with the sort of brutality one might expect out of Taz. It was no surprise then, that Taz was poised to be one of the longest reigning champions in ECW history. Taz first became champion on January 10 ^th at Guilty as Charged 1999. Taz's first title reign made up for the lion's share of his championship success, and lasted 252-days. He lost the title to another fearless competitor in Mike Awesome, and eventually signed with the World Wrestling Federation . Taz debuted for the WWE as a one-time ECW champion, but his work was far from finished. On April 13 ^th 2000 Taz returned to ECW and defeated Mike Awesome for the world title. Awesome was a WCW wrestler at the time, and Paul Heyman would apparently rather give the championship to a WWE guy. Taz lost the championship to his longtime best friend Tommy Dreamer on April 22 ^nd 2000 in what would be Dreamers only day as champion.

3. Raven – 379 Days (2)
Who'd have thought Scotty Flamingo would be a celebrated former world champion? A lot of people aren't familiar with Scott Levy, and are therefore clueless as to who Johnny Polo is and what sort of anguish Raven is based in. Raven debuted for WCW as a manager; he was a manager and television personality in both WCW and WWE, and continued the tradition in the corner of his real-life best friend Stevie Richards. It wasn't long however before Raven stole the spotlight, and was able to prove what kind of work he could get done inside the squared-circle. Raven is a two-time champion, and first won the belt in January 1996 from ECW's resident legend, the Sandman. He maintained his grip on the main event for 252 days before succumbing to the Sandman's wrath. Sandman won the belt back, but Raven would ultimately come out on top. He regained his championship from the Sandman at Holiday Hell 1996 , and wore the championship proudly into the spring of 1997.

2. The Sandman – 446 Days (5)
He's unruly and utterly ridiculous, but the Sandman is a championship caliber performer in his own right. Never an especially polished performer, the Sandman made a name for himself as a hardcore innovator, and master storyteller. Some of the most memorable moments in ECW history feature the sandman, including his longstanding rivalry with Tommy Dreamer, his crucifixion as the hands of Raven, and wasn't the Sandman BLIND for a little while? But before the blood and guts and beer cans, the Sandman was a regular performer—in a wet suit. Yeah, he's called the Sandman because he likes the beach. I think that's awfully strange. Nevertheless, the Sandman clicked as a competitor and picked up his first world championship in 1992 when he defeated the "Magnificent" Muraco. The Sandman would set the record for frequency in terms of championship titles, winning the big one on five separate occasions. He defeated Shane Douglas three years later for his second championship, Mike Whipwreck for his third, and Raven for his fourth. The Sandman did in fact break Shane Douglas's record of four, but his fifth reign as champion lasted less than one day. He defeated Steve Corino at Guilty as Charged 2001 , only to drop it moments later to the final ECW Champion Rhino.

1. Shane Douglas – 874 Days (4)
A future Hall of Famer? I sure hope so. With four individual title reigns to his credit, lasting nearly 900 days, Shane Douglas is the longest reigning ECW Champion in history. Douglas is more than a paper champion however, and took part in some of the most groundbreaking moments in ECW, and therefore wrestling , history. Douglas was the eighth ECW Champion, but was honored with the distinction of being the first champion as part of the National Wrestling Alliance . His first run of just 23 days paled in comparison to his second opportunity to wear the title; on March 26 ^th 1994 Shane Douglas defeated Terry Funk and held the belt for 385 days. This was the night that ECW succeeded from the NWA, and Douglas declared himself EXTREME Championship Wrestling heavyweight champion. Douglas left ECW for seemingly greener pastures in New York, but returned to Philadelphia with his sights set on regaining the title. "The Franchise" became a three-time world champion on August 19 ^th 1997 at Hardcore Heaven, but lost it weeks later to Bam Bam Bigelow. Shane's championship swan song came at November to Remember 1997 when he defeated Bigelow in a rematch. His first run as champion was the second longest in company history, outdone by his own record of 406-days in his final reign.

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