#8 Buddy Rogers - 22 days
Buddy Rogers is one of those names that newer fans have heard of, but never really knew. As it turns out his position in this list is quite ironic, considering he was the first ever WWE Champion back in 1963.
Given that this was the beginning of the company, things are a bit sketchy in terms of the length, but either way, Rogers belongs in the conversation for "most important champions ever".
That being said, the reign itself wasn't really long enough for people to become overly invested.
After winning the title in Brazil, things went rather similar to The Iron Shiek for Rodgers as he lost the title to the ultimate hero in Bruno Sammartino who went on to hold it for a long period of time. How long? Just a mere 2,803 days or nearly eight years. Massive.
In a way, Rogers kick started this whole thing, and can forever be remembered as the first of 49 WWE Champions throughout the course of history. Whether or not the youth of today will appreciate his achievement is irrelevant, because it will forever be engrained into the history books.
Now back to something a little bit more recent.
