Holding the WWE Championship is massive honor, as it means that you are the face of the company. There's immense pressure that comes with being WWE Champion, which is why only the very best handle the situation to achieve great success. Furthermore, the best WWE Champions can draw big crowds and get fans heavily invested in their matches.

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Some of the most memorable WWE Champions are fondly remembered for putting on matches that live in sports entertainment history They also generated the most revenue for the company with their merchandise and ticketing sales, which was another bonus for these great WWE Champions. While all that is well and good, wrestling is about what happens in the ring. So what was arguably the best match of their careers?

10 Bruno Sammartino

Sammartino

It's increasingly unlikely that anyone will break Bruno Sammartino's record of holding the WWE Championship for eight years from 1963-1971. It's an outstanding achievement, and Sammartino deserves a lot of credit for holding the WWE Championship that long.

Sammartino is a two-time WWE Champion, and he held the title for a combined 4,040 days. He captivated audiences, and he sold out Madison Square Garden on several occasions. The Living Legend didn't have it easy in life early on, but he leaned on those experiences and became one of the all-time greats.

9 Best Match: Vs. Billy Graham - Madison Square Garden, 8/1/77

Sammartino v Graham

On April 30, 1977, Superstar Billy Graham ended Bruno Sammartino's 1,237-day reign as WWE Champion. The bitter rivals engaged in a high-profile rematch for the WWE Championship on August 1, 1977.

Gorilla Monsoon was the man in the middle as the special guest referee to ensure that everything went smoothly. It was a hard-hitting match with both men bleeding profusely, which was contested at a remarkably high level. There was no definitive winner but Graham retained the WWE Title after a thrilling contest.

8 Bret Hart

Bret Hart WWF Champion

Arguably, Bret Hart was the greatest in-ring technician in the 1990s and he was a man who held the WWE Championship with a great deal of pride. The Excellence of Execution became the second man after Hulk Hogan to hold the WWE Championship five times.

Hart had some legendary rivalries with the likes of Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin, and he is often in the conversation for being the greatest WWE Champion ever. Hart's attention to detail in the ring was exceptional, and he could play a babyface or a heel remarkably well.

7 Best Match: Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - WrestleMania 13

Bret v Stone Cold WrestleMania 13

Bret Hart has competed in countless five-star classics, but his best match came at WrestleMania 13 against 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. This match should have closed out the show, and they should have collided for the WWE Championship, but it was not meant to be.

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Ken Shamrock was the special guest referee, and this was technical wrestling of the highest order. Austin wore the proverbial crimson mask, with blood dripping down his face when Hart locked him the Sharpshooter. The Hitman prevailed, but Austin became a star that night with him turning face, and Hart turning heel, in a perfectly executed double-turn.

6 John Cena

Cena WWE Champion

John Cena may have not been the best in-ring wrestler, but he is certainly one of the most polarizing superstars in WWE history. No man has held the WWE Championship more times than Cena, who has held the title a record 13 times.

Cena was the undisputed face of the company in the Ruthless Aggression Era and most of the PG era, and he held the WWE Championship for 380 days between September 2006 and October 2007. Big Match John has been the focal point of many legendary storylines, and he has been hated by many fans, since they feel that he has hogged the spotlight.

5 Best Match: Vs. AJ Styles - Royal Rumble 2017

Cena v Styles Royal Rumble 2017

Big Match John continued to deliver classics when his full-time WWE career began to wind down. At Royal Rumble 2017, Cena challenged AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, with him looking to become a 16-time World Champion.

This was the final match in their trilogy, and they continued to operate at a high level. This encapsulated the beauty of wrestling with the number of false finishes, and it hard to tell which way the bout would go. In the end, Cena prevailed, and while he has many legendary matches, this one was arguably his best.

4 Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan WWF Champion

Unquestionably, Hulk Hogan was the biggest star during the 1980s. Business was booming, and The Hulkster was the ideal face of the company. Hogan is a six-time WWE Champion, and he had a vice grip on the WWE Championship throughout the mid-80s and early 90s.

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Moreover, Hogan had a reputation for being extremely difficult to work with as he rarely liked to lose. Nonetheless, Hogan was an iconic figure, and was an integral part of the early success of WrestleMania. He wasn't an in-ring general by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew how to grab an audience's attention.

3 Best Match: Vs. The Ultimate Warrior - WrestleMania VI

Hogan v Warrior WrestleMania 6

WrestleMania VI staged one of the biggest WWE Championship matches in WWE history, with Hulk Hogan defending the gold against The Ultimate Warrior. Both were babyfaces, and Warrior was ready to take the baton from Hogan.

As mentioned earlier, Hogan isn't an in-ring general, and Warrior isn't the best in-ring performer either. However, Hogan deserves a lot of credit for carrying this match, which ebbed and flowed. He made Warrior look like a star, and Warrior captured the WWE Championship, which went nicely with his Intercontinental Title.

2 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin WWE Champion

The biggest star of the Attitude Era was 'Stone Cold' Stone Austin. Once he turned babyface after losing an epic to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13, Austin skyrocketed to the main event scene. He captured his first of six WWE Championships when he beat Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV.

Austin became public enemy number one in the eyes of Mr. McMahon, and their iconic rivalry turned the tide in WWE's favor, as they beat WCW in the Monday Night Wars. The Texas Rattlesnake thrived as the reigning WWE Champion, and he battled with the likes of The Rock and The Undertaker over his legendary career.

1 Best Match: Vs. The Rock - WrestleMania X-Seven

Austin v Rock WrestleMania 17

WrestleMania X-Seven is widely considered to be the greatest WrestleMania of all time by fans, talent, and critics alike. The main event was hotly anticipated, with Steve Austin challenging his rival The Rock for the WWE Championship in a No Disqualification match.

They tore the house down in an outstanding match. Austin had the hometown support with the match taking place in Texas, and Rock was booed despite being a face. However, the unthinkable happened when Mr. McMahon help Austin systematically break down The Rock in a shocking heel turn, which led to Austin recapturing the WWE Title.

NEXT: The 10 Longest WrestleMania Main Events, Ranked From Worst To Best