The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino is No. 1 for consecutive days as champion of the WWE. Can CM Punk hold onto the belt for nearly eight more years to pass him?NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Hey pro wrestling fans, like you, I watched with amusement the final segment of Monday Night Raw from the comfort of my home here in the Sunshine State. Let's be clear about this: CM Punk will never crack the top 5 in terms of consecutive days with the WWE Championship belt around his waist.
Sure, he's to be lauded for holding it for 365 days in the modern area where there are actually two world championship belts. The other is the holdover heavyweight championship that came over from WCW with Booker T.
It's now around the rather large waist of the Big Show. But the longer WWE continues with Punk holding the strap, the window of opportunity for Ryback to become the next Goldberg or Ultimate Warrior fades. The Survivor Series would have been the opportune time to anoint Ryback as next big star to make it to the top with his "Feed me more," chant, but with Punk heading on a collision course with the Rock, that window appears to have been lost.
How many times can WWE have three NXT nobodies put Ryback through the announcers' table.The real champion of the WWE is John Cena, who doesn't need the belt. In fact, the longer WWE continues pushing Punk, the title will become as meaningless as the Smackdown heavyweight belt.
Back in the day, the second belt of significance was the Intercontinental belt held by the likes of the Honky Tonk Man, Tito Santana, Don Muraco, Rowdy Roddy Piper, the British Bulldog, Ravishing Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect, to name a few.
Punk would be hard pressed to beat any of these Intercontinental greats with the possible exceptions being Santana, Morocco or even the Honky TonkMan, who held the belt longer than anyone for 454 days. But there's no way Punk is that much better, if at all than the British Bulldog, Rude or Mr. Perfect.
It's laughable that Punk would break the longest streak of 2,803 days held by the Living Legend, Bruno Sammartino.
To do so, Punk would have to keep the belt until July 25, 2018. And at the rate that professional wrestlers are dying from steroid abuse, drug and alcohol abuse and even suicide, who knows if Punk might even live that long, which in and of itself, is no laughing matter.
Wrestling truly has become the theater of the absurd with crybaby Punk led by the ringmaster himself, Paul Heyman, who has the audacity to throw a bone Sammartino's way in acknowledging his Hall of Fame snub. I would have loved to see Bruno come to the ring and give Punk a beat down. Or for that matter, Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin or the Undertaker.
Yes, CM Punk has cracked the top 10. As of today's he's at 366 days, ahead of Hogan's second longest run of 364 days and Diesel (aka Big Sexy Kevin Nash) at 358 days. It's pretty much a given he'll surpass the late "Macho Man" Randy Savage at No. 7 with 371 days, and even Cena at No. 6 with 380 consecutive days as champion.
But that's where it will end, if Vince McMahon doesn't want to continue making an even bigger mockery of the business.
There is no way Punk makes it to No. 5 over Pedro Morales and his reign of 1,027 days. Then at No. 4 stands Sammartino's second reign at 1,237 days.
Then Punk would have to pass arguably the greatest wrestler of all time in Hulk Hogan, who ranks No. 3 with 1,474 days. At No. 2 stands Bob Backland at 2,135 days and finally, Sammartino on top with 2,803 days.
Putting Punk's staying power with the likes of Sammartino, Hogan, Backlund, Morales and Cena is like trying to put Jimmie Johnson in the same conversation with Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, David Pearson and Cale Yarborough.
It's like putting newly crowned American League MVP Miguel Cabrera in the same company as MLB sluggers Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle. Or Michael Vick with the likes of NFL quarterback greats Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas and Dan Marino.
C.M. Punk's reign is as real as Lance Armstrong's streak of seven Tour De France titles.
Punk peaks at No. 30 in my Top 100 pro wrestlers I've seen in the squared circle either on TV or in person:
1. Hulk Hogan; 2. Bruno Sammartino; 3. Ric Flair; 4. Andre the Giant; 5. The Undertaker; 6. Shawn Michaels; 7. The Rock; 8. Stone Cold Steve Austin; 9. John Cena; 10. Bret the Hitman Hart;
11. The American Dream Dusty Rhodes; 12. Sting; 13. Bob Backlund; 14. Triple H; 15. Macho Man Randy Savage; 16. Edge; 17. The Ultimate Warrior; 18. Goldberg; 19. Chris Jericho; 20. Verne Gagne;
21. Rowdy Roddy Piper; 22. Superstar Billy Graham; 23. Harley Race; 24. Diesel/Kevin Nash; 25. Pedro Morales; 26. Dory Funk Jr.; 27. Randy Orton; 28. Nick Bockwinkel; 29. Brock Lesnar; 30. CM Punk;
31. Diamond Dallas Page; 32. Terry Funk; 33. The Big Show; 34. Jerry the King Lawler; 35. Ivan Koloff;
36. Eddie Guerrero; 37. Yokozuna; 38. Jack Briscoe; 39. Mankind/Cactus Jack; 40. Chris Benoit;
41. Gorilla Monsoon; 42. Booker T; 43. Kurt Angle; 44. The Sheik; 45. Barry Windham; 46. Antonio Inoki; 47. Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig; 48. Chief Jay Strongbow; 49. Ricky the Dragon Steamboat; 50. Lex Luger;
51. Ron Simmons; 52. Battista; 53. Jeff Hardy; 54. The Great Khali; 55, Ravishing Rick Rude; 56. Rob Van Dam; 57. Vader; 58. Sgt. Slaughter; 59. Tommy Rich; 60; 60. Big John Studd;
61. Christian Cage; 62. Alberto Del Rio; 63. JBL; 64. Jeff Jarrett; 65. Samoa Joe; 66. AJ Styles; 67. Jimmy Superfly Snuka; 68. Giant Baba; 69. Iron Sheik; 70. Stan Hansen;
71. Big John Studd; 72. Rey Misterio; 73. The British Bulldog; 74. King Kong Bundy; 75. Magnum TA; 76. The Great Muta; 77. Bobby Roode; 78. Stan the Man Stasiak; 79. Mark Henry; 80. Texas Tornado Kerry Von Erich;
81; The Big Cat Ernie Ladd; 82. Honky Tonk Man; 83. Tito Santana; 84. Polish Power Ivan Putski; 85. High Chief Peter Maivia; 86. Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndoff; 87. Spiros Arion; 88. Rhyno; 89. Tony Atlas;
90. Jesse the Body Ventura; 91. Raven; 92. The Miz; 93. Greg the Hammer Valentine; 94. Don Muraco; 95. The Junkyard Dog; 96. George the Animal Steele; 97. Dolph Ziggler; 98. Taz; 99. Jack Swagger; 100. Freddie Blassie.