17 Time World Champion

Ric Flair is currently the man who holds the most world title reigns in the history of wrestling with 16. 16 world title reigns is an amazing and staggering accomplishment. Very few wrestlers have ever achieved obtaining double digits in terms of world title reigns. For example Hulk Hogan has held the WWF/E and WCW world titles 12 times collectively, Stone Cold Steve Austin 6 times, The Rock 9 times and Shawn Michaels has held the belt only 3 times. The wrestlers mentioned there are all legends in my opinion but you will notice the numbers for their title reigns differ greatly. Notoriety does not always equate multiple title reigns.

HHH currently has 13 title reigns under his belt and would seem to be the prime candidate to become the man who either ties Ric Flair or captures the unthinkable 17th title reign. It's hard to say how much longer HHH will be around given how prone his leg muscles are to serious injury. He's already come back from two "career ending" injuries which is incredible to say the least but could his body handle a third? It's difficult to say if HHH could capture 4 more world titles before something gives.

If you want to know who I really think will beat Ric Flairs record? My money is on the Rated R Superstar himself, Edge. Keep in mind that they may seem like a silly proclamation as Edge only has 9 title reigns at this time. Having 9 reigns is impressive but it's a far cry from 16. Understood, but what makes the reigns unique as that his first world title reign was in 2006. That means in the past 3 years Edge has managed to capture the world championship 9 times. In 3 years he has managed to become more than halfway to the dream of 17 world championships. That's an unprecedented climb up the ladder!

Let's do some math here shall we. HHH won his first world title in 1999 so in a decade and he has won the belt 13 times. That means on average HHH wins a world title 1.3 times a year where as Edge wins 3 world titles a year. Given that Edge (35) is younger than HHH (39) and is less injury prone it is likely that not only will Edge surpass HHH but will even surpass Ric Flair as well. Statistically speaking it would seem like a sure thing. The only thing you can't factor into those numbers is poor life choices or serious injuries.

Given that Edge is a very good wrestler, has fantastic mic skills and a good mind for the business I don't see him going anywhere any time soon. Expect him to stay in the world title scene for some time to come and eventually break Ric Flairs record. Take a good long look at the picture below. I have a feeling you'll be seeing this image at least 8 more times.