The Complete History of the WWE Championship - Part 1

Pedro Morales (February 8, 1971 - December 1, 1973)

Pedro Morales: Enjoyed a near three year WWE Championship reign

Rarely hailed in 2019, Pedro Morales was actually one of the most popular WWE Champions of all time.

To date, Morales is the only living member of the WWE Hall of Famer not to accept his award in person. This is due to the Hispanic superstar shunning the spotlight since his retirement in 1987 up until his death in early 2019.

However during his prime years in the 1970s, Morales was a successful box office draw and formed a strong relationship with the ticket buying public.

Unfortunately for Morales, despite his popularity with the Hispanic market and New York crowds, his appeal with the other regions dimmed over time. Simply put, he was just not as popular as Sammartino. Therefore in 1973, Vince McMahon Sr. began to make overtures to Sammartino to replace Morales as champion.

Morales's near three year reign on top would be terminated by Stan "the Man" Stasiak, in preparation for Sammartino's return to the summit of the promotion.

Morales would earn further success after his World title reign as Intercontinental Champion in the early 1980s and Tag Team Champion as well. He would become the first triple crown winner in WWE history by winning all three of the promotion's major titles.