In decades past, wrestling promoters generally tended to keep their championship belts (and in particular, the World championship) on one man for an extended period of time.  Sure, the regional belts were traded frequently, but for the most part, the three major promotions (NWA, AWA & WWWF) were, unlike today's promoters, reluctant to switch the "big one" very often.

As a result, a run with the World title was an unattainable goal for the vast majority of men, simply based of the number of wrestlers vs. the number of wrestlers allowed to wear the World title gold.  Generally, the men who did get a shot at being The Champ did so after many years of perfecting their trade, and proving themselves to be a good draw who could be counted on by promoters to make the sacrifices necessary in order to be the World champion.  So, a big testament to The Superstar's incredible talent, charisma and professionalism was that he was made the WW(W)F champion by Vince McMahon, Sr. after only a little over seven years in the business.