Total Days as NWA Champion ~ooo .-------------------------------------------------------1

3,500 +--

3,000 +-

2,500 +--

2,000 +-

1,500 +--

1,000 -1--

500 +--

0 +--Lou Thesz Ric Flair Harley Race Dory Funk, Dan Sevem Gene Kiniski Adam Je ff Jarrett Pat Jack Brisco

Jr. Pearce O'Connor

4500 ~

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

CM Punk's Longevity May Hurt His Career by SnowMan Jones

Being the WWE Heavyweight Champion in the "Modem Era" for 400 days in a row must take a toll on your body, and it has to make a fan wonder 'Will CM Punk's career length be shortened if because of the sacrifices that he made as the WWE Heavyweight Champion?" For every Hell in a Cell match that Punk walks away as the victor, did he just shorten his career by six months? Does a TLC match with Ryback put his ability to walk after the age of sixty in jeopardy?

When asked by 911Wrestling.com about CM Punk's longevity as cham­pion, former WWEIWCW seventeen-time champion Goldust stated, "A champion is a person who will stand the test of time with heart, soul and stamina that is unmatched! CM Punk is a champion! You want to de­throne the champion, then you better pack a lunch because he has already got a game plan. Champions get tired but they persevere!"

It seems that truer words have never been spoken, but will that champion pay the price later in life. One can look at CM Punk and imagine that he isn't the man he was in 2010. The bags under his eyes are a bit heavier. His posture is a little off. His strut seems just a bit more forced, and his demeanor seems less jovial than it did when he first coined the term "pipe bomb."

"When a champion falls, he does not stay down! The champ gets back up! The champion is a champion for a reason," Goldust also told the staff at 911Wrestling.com.

Love him or hate him, CM Punk is a true warrior. Despite injuries, group attacks, and ever-mounting politics, he has remained the Champion longer than anyone in the past 25 years.