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WWE Championship

The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by WWE, currently defended on their Raw brand division.

The original world championship of the promotion, it was established by the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) on April 25, 1963 as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship. Since its inception, the title has undergone many name changes due to company name changes and title unifications. It is the oldest championship currently active in WWE, and is presented as being the promotion's most prestigious title.

From its inception until 2001, it was promoted as WWE's sole primary championship. An additional world title, the WCW Championship, was added after the then-World Wrestling Federation's purchase of World Championship Wrestling in early 2001. The titles were later unified as the Undisputed Championship. After the first brand split in 2002 and the promotion being renamed to WWE, the championship became exclusive to SmackDown, and the World Heavyweight Championship was created for Raw. ECW became a third brand in 2006, adding the ECW Championship. That title was deactivated in 2010, and the World Heavyweight Championship was unified into the WWE Championship in 2013. The championship was again the sole world title of WWE until the introduction of the Universal Championship with the 2016 brand split. During both brand splits, the WWE Championship switched brands, usually as a result of the WWE Draft.

Reigns:[]

No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes
Date Event Location Reign Days
1 Buddy Rogers April 11, 1963 House show Washington, D.C. 1 36 Won a fictional tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
2 Bruno Sammartino May 17, 1963 House show New York, NY 1 2,803
3 Ivan Koloff January 18, 1971 House show New York, NY 1 21
4 Pedro Morales February 8, 1971 House show New York, NY 1 1,027
5 Stan Stasiak December 1, 1973 House show Philadelphia, PA 1 9
6 Bruno Sammartino December 10, 1973 House show New York, NY 2 1,237
7 Superstar Billy Graham April 30, 1977 House show Baltimore, MD 1 296
8 Bob Backlund February 20, 1978 WWF on MSG Network New York, NY 1 2,118 The title was renamed the WWF Heavyweight Championship when the WWWF became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in March 1979.
9 The Iron Sheik December 26, 1983 WWF on MSG Network New York, NY 1 28
10 Hulk Hogan January 23, 1984 WWF on MSG Network New York, NY 1 1,474
11 André the Giant February 5, 1988 The Main Event I Indianapolis, IN 1 <1 Defeated Hulk Hogan when referee Earl Hebner, who was bribed by Ted DiBiase, scored the three-count despite Hogan raising his shoulder at the one-count.
Vacated February 13, 1988 Superstars of Wrestling Hershey, PA WWF President Jack Tunney refused to recognize Ted DiBiase as champion and vacated the title.
12 Randy Savage March 27, 1988 WrestleMania IV Atlantic City, NJ 1 371 Defeated Ted DiBiase in a tournament final to win the vacant title.
13 Hulk Hogan April 2, 1989 WrestleMania V Atlantic City, NJ 2 364 The title was renamed the WWF Championship in July 1989.
14 The Ultimate Warrior April 1, 1990 WrestleMania VI Toronto, ON, Canada 1 293
15 Sgt. Slaughter January 19, 1991 Royal Rumble Miami, FL 1 64
16 Hulk Hogan March 24, 1991 WrestleMania VII Los Angeles, CA 3 248
17 The Undertaker November 27, 1991 Survivor Series Detroit, MI 1 6
18 Hulk Hogan December 3, 1991 This Tuesday in Texas San Antonio, TX 4 1
Vacated December 4, 1991 Superstars of Wrestling New Haven, CT Hogan was stripped of the title by WWF President Jack Tunney due to the controversy surrounding both of the previous title changes.
19 Ric Flair January 19, 1992 Royal Rumble Albany, NY 1 77 This was the Royal Rumble match in which Flair last eliminated Sid Justice to win the vacant title.
20 Randy Savage April 5, 1992 WrestleMania VIII Indianapolis, IN 2 149
21 Ric Flair September 1, 1992 Prime Time Wrestling Hershey, PA 2 41
22 Bret Hart October 12, 1992 House show Saskatoon, SK, Canada 1 174
23 Yokozuna April 4, 1993 WrestleMania IX Las Vegas, NV 1 <1
24 Hulk Hogan April 4, 1993 WrestleMania IX Las Vegas, NV 5 70 After Yokozuna pinned Bret Hart to win the title, Yokozuna's manager, Mr. Fuji, issued an immediate challenge to Hogan for the championship, which was accepted and Hogan won the impromptu match.
25 Yokozuna June 13, 1993 King of the Ring Dayton, OH 2 280
26 Bret Hart March 20, 1994 WrestleMania X New York, NY 2 248
27 Bob Backlund November 23, 1994 Survivor Series San Antonio, TX 2 3
28 Diesel November 26, 1994 House show New York, NY 1 358
29 Bret Hart November 19, 1995 Survivor Series Landover, MD 3 133
30 Shawn Michaels March 31, 1996 WrestleMania XII Anaheim, CA 1 231
31 Sycho Sid November 17, 1996 Survivor Series New York, NY 1 63
32 Shawn Michaels January 19, 1997 Royal Rumble San Antonio, TX 2 25
Vacated February 13, 1997 Raw Lowell, MA Shawn Michaels forfeited the title due to a knee injury.
33 Bret Hart February 16, 1997 In Your House 13: Final Four Chattanooga, TN 4 1 This was a four-way elimination match for the vacant title also involving Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Vader.
34 Sycho Sid February 17, 1997 Raw Nashville, TN 2 34
35 The Undertaker March 23, 1997 WrestleMania 13 Rosemont, IL 2 133
36 Bret Hart August 3, 1997 SummerSlam East Rutherford, NJ 5 98
37 Shawn Michaels November 9, 1997 Survivor Series Montreal, QC, Canada 3 140 This was the Montreal Screwjob.
38 Stone Cold Steve Austin March 29, 1998 WrestleMania XIV Boston, MA 1 91
39 Kane June 28, 1998 King of the Ring Pittsburgh, PA 1 1
40 Stone Cold Steve Austin June 29, 1998 Raw Cleveland, OH 2 90
Vacated September 27, 1998 Breakdown: In Your House Hamilton, ON, Canada The title was vacated after Kane and The Undertaker simultaneously pinned Stone Cold Steve Austin in a triple threat match.
41 The Rock November 15, 1998 Survivor Series St. Louis, MO 1 44 Defeated Mankind in the finals of the Deadly Game tournament.
42 Mankind December 29, 1998 Raw Worcester, MA 1 26
43 The Rock January 24, 1999 Royal Rumble Anaheim, CA 2 2
44 Mankind January 26, 1999 Halftime Heat Tucson, AZ 2 20
45 The Rock February 15, 1999 Raw Birmingham, AL 3 41
46 Stone Cold Steve Austin March 28, 1999 WrestleMania XV Philadelphia, PA 3 56
47 The Undertaker May 23, 1999 Over the Edge Kansas City, MO 3 36
48 Stone Cold Steve Austin June 28, 1999 Raw Charlotte, NC 4 55
49 Mankind August 22, 1999 SummerSlam Minneapolis, MN 3 1
50 Triple H August 23, 1999 Raw Ames, IA 1 22
51 Vince McMahon September 14, 1999 SmackDown! Las Vegas, NV 1 6
Vacated September 20, 1999 Raw Houston, TX Mr. McMahon vacated the title due to the stipulation after losing his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who defeated The Undertaker and forced McMahon to no longer appear on WWF television.
52 Triple H September 26, 1999 Unforgiven Charlotte, NC 2 49 This was a six-pack challenge also involving Big Show, The British Bulldog, Kane, Mankind, and The Rock.
53 Big Show November 14, 1999 Survivor Series Detroit, MI 1 50
54 Triple H January 3, 2000 Raw Miami, FL 3 118
55 The Rock April 30, 2000 Backlash Washington, D.C. 4 21
56 Triple H May 21, 2000 Judgment Day Louisville, KY 4 35
57 The Rock June 25, 2000 King of the Ring Boston, MA 5 119
58 Kurt Angle October 22, 2000 No Mercy Albany, NY 1 126
59 The Rock February 25, 2001 No Way Out Las Vegas, NV 6 35 After the WWF purchased World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001, the WCW Championship became a second concurrently active world championship in the WWF. By November 2001, the WCW title was renamed to World Championship.
60 Stone Cold Steve Austin April 1, 2001 WrestleMania X-Seven Houston, TX 5 175
61 Kurt Angle September 23, 2001 Unforgiven Pittsburgh, PA 2 15
62 Stone Cold Steve Austin October 8, 2001 Raw Indianapolis, IN 6 62
63 Chris Jericho December 9, 2001 Vengeance San Diego, CA 1 98 Earlier the same night, Jericho defeated World Champion The Rock for that title. By defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship, Jericho unified both titles to become the first-ever undisputed WWF world champion. The World Championship was retired while the WWF Championship became known as the Undisputed WWF Championship.
64 Triple H March 17, 2002 WrestleMania X8 Toronto, ON, Canada 5 35 In late March 2002, due to the WWF's roster having doubled in size, the brand extension began, splitting the roster between the Raw and SmackDown brands. Championships were assigned to be exclusive to a specific brand, with the exception of the Undisputed WWF Championship and the WWF Women's Championship, which were non-exclusive at this time.
65 Hollywood Hulk Hogan April 21, 2002 Backlash Kansas City, MO 6 28 After the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on May 6, 2002, the title was also renamed Undisputed WWE Championship and then WWE Undisputed Championship.
66 The Undertaker May 19, 2002 Judgment Day Nashville, TN 4 63
67 The Rock July 21, 2002 Vengeance Detroit, MI 7 35
68 Brock Lesnar August 25, 2002 SummerSlam Uniondale, NY 1 84 The following night, Lesnar signed a deal to appear exclusively on the SmackDown brand, making the championship exclusive to the brand. The World Heavyweight Championship was then created for the Raw brand and awarded to Triple H, who was Lesnar's number one contender. On September 2, 2002, the WWE Undisputed Championship became the WWE Championship as it was no longer "undisputed".
69 Big Show November 17, 2002 Survivor Series New York, NY 2 28
70 Kurt Angle December 15, 2002 Armageddon Sunrise, FL 3 105
71 Brock Lesnar March 30, 2003 WrestleMania XIX Seattle, WA 2 119
72 Kurt Angle July 27, 2003 Vengeance Denver, CO 4 51
73 Brock Lesnar September 16, 2003 SmackDown! Raleigh, NC 3 152
74 Eddie Guerrero February 15, 2004 No Way Out Daly City, CA 1 133
75 John "Bradshaw" Layfield June 27, 2004 The Great American Bash Norfolk, VA 1 280
76 John Cena April 3, 2005 WrestleMania 21 Los Angeles, CA 1 280 The title became exclusive to the Raw brand following the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery.
77 Edge January 8, 2006 New Year's Revolution Albany, NY 1 21 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract immediately after John Cena had won an Elimination Chamber match.
78 John Cena January 29, 2006 Royal Rumble Miami, FL 2 133
79 Rob Van Dam June 11, 2006 ECW One Night Stand New York, NY 1 22 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. The title became property of the new ECW brand due to Van Dam's status as an ECW wrestler. The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was subsequently reactivated for the brand and awarded to Van Dam, who became the only wrestler to ever hold both titles at the same time. The ECW Championship became a third concurrently active world championship in WWE.
80 Edge July 3, 2006 Raw Philadelphia, PA 2 76 The title became exclusive to the Raw brand due to Edge's status as a Raw wrestler.
81 John Cena September 17, 2006 Unforgiven Toronto, ON, Canada 3 380
Vacated October 2, 2007 ECW Dayton, OH The title was vacated when John Cena suffered a torn right pectoral tendon.
82 Randy Orton October 7, 2007 No Mercy Rosemont, IL 1 <1 Orton was originally scheduled to have a Last Man Standing match against John Cena for the title, but due to Cena vacating the title due to a legit injury, Mr. McMahon awarded it to Orton at the start of the event, and was immediately challenged by Triple H.
83 Triple H October 7, 2007 No Mercy Rosemont, IL 6 <1 After winning the championship, Mr. McMahon would tell Triple H he was previously booked for a match against Umaga, and he would face him the same night, now for the WWE Championship. After defeating Umaga, Mr. McMahon stated that Randy Orton was invoking his rematch clause and scheduled a rematch for the same night.
84 Randy Orton October 7, 2007 No Mercy Rosemont, IL 2 203
85 Triple H April 27, 2008 Backlash Baltimore, MD 7 210 The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand following the 2008 WWE Draft.
86 Edge November 23, 2008 Survivor Series Boston, MA 3 21
87 Jeff Hardy December 14, 2008 Armageddon Buffalo, NY 1 42
88 Edge January 25, 2009 Royal Rumble Detroit, MI 4 21
89 Triple H February 15, 2009 No Way Out Seattle, WA 8 70 The title became exclusive to the Raw brand following the 2009 WWE Draft.
90 Randy Orton April 26, 2009 Backlash Providence, RI 3 42
91 Batista June 7, 2009 Extreme Rules New Orleans, LA 1 2
Vacated June 9, 2009 The title was vacated when Batista suffered a torn left biceps.
92 Randy Orton June 15, 2009 Raw Charlotte, NC 4 90 This was a fatal four-way match for the vacant title also involving Big Show, John Cena, and Triple H.
93 John Cena September 13, 2009 Breaking Point Montreal, QC, Canada 4 21
94 Randy Orton October 4, 2009 Hell in a Cell Newark, NJ 5 21
95 John Cena October 25, 2009 Bragging Rights Pittsburgh, PA 5 49
96 Sheamus December 13, 2009 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs San Antonio, TX 1 70
97 John Cena February 21, 2010 Elimination Chamber St. Louis, MO 6 <1
98 Batista February 21, 2010 Elimination Chamber St. Louis, MO 2 35 Batista transferred to the Raw roster after winning the title.
99 John Cena March 28, 2010 WrestleMania XXVI Glendale, AZ 7 84
100 Sheamus June 20, 2010 Fatal 4-Way Uniondale, NY 2 91
101 Randy Orton September 19, 2010 Night of Champions Rosemont, IL 6 64
102 The Miz November 22, 2010 Raw Orlando, FL 1 160 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
103 John Cena May 1, 2011 Extreme Rules Tampa, FL 8 77
104 CM Punk July 17, 2011 Money in the Bank Rosemont, IL 1 28 Punk supposedly left WWE the day after with the championship, but he returned on the July 25, 2011 episode of Raw and his reign was deemed to continue through this period.
Vacated July 18, 2011 Raw Green Bay, WI The title was vacated due to CM Punk leaving WWE.

This vacancy is no longer recognized due to Punk's return on the July 25, 2011 episode of Raw.

105 Rey Mysterio July 25, 2011 Raw Hampton, VA 1 <1 CM Punk was also recognized as WWE Champion.
106 John Cena July 25, 2011 Raw Hampton, VA 9 20 Punk was also recognized as WWE Champion.
CM Punk August 14, 2011 SummerSlam Los Angeles, CA 1 Punk defeated John Cena in a match to determine the undisputed champion. This is considered a continuation of Punk's first reign.
107 Alberto Del Rio August 14, 2011 SummerSlam Los Angeles, CA 1 35 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.

On August 29, 2011, the first brand extension ended, allowing the WWE Champion to appear on both Raw and SmackDown.

108 John Cena September 18, 2011 Night of Champions Buffalo, NY 10 14
109 Alberto Del Rio October 2, 2011 Hell in a Cell New Orleans, LA 2 49
110 CM Punk November 20, 2011 Survivor Series New York, NY 2 434
111 The Rock January 27, 2013 Royal Rumble Phoenix, AZ 8 70
112 John Cena April 7, 2013 WrestleMania 29 East Rutherford, NJ 11 133
113 Daniel Bryan August 18, 2013 SummerSlam Los Angeles, CA 1 <1
114 Randy Orton August 18, 2013 SummerSlam Los Angeles, CA 7 28 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
115 Daniel Bryan September 15, 2013 Night of Champions Detroit, MI 2 1
Vacated September 16, 2013 Raw Cleveland, OH The title was vacated after a controversial finish when Daniel Bryan defeated Randy Orton to win the title.
116 Randy Orton October 27, 2013 Hell in a Cell Miami, FL 8 161 Orton defeated Daniel Bryan in a Hell in a Cell match to win the vacant title.

On December 15, 2013 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Orton defeated John Cena in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match to unify the World Heavyweight Championship with the WWE Championship. The World Heavyweight Championship was then retired and the WWE Championship became known as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

117 Daniel Bryan April 6, 2014 WrestleMania XXX New Orleans, LA 3 64
Vacated June 9, 2014 Raw Minneapolis, MN Daniel Bryan was stripped of the title due to a neck injury.
118 John Cena June 29, 2014 Money in the Bank Boston, MA 12 49 This was an eight-way ladder match for the vacant title also involving Alberto Del Rio, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, Kane, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and Sheamus.
119 Brock Lesnar August 17, 2014 SummerSlam Los Angeles, CA 4 224
120 Seth Rollins March 29, 2015 WrestleMania 31 Santa Clara, CA 1 221 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during a singles match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, converting it into a triple threat match and subsequently pinned Reigns to win the match.
Vacated November 5, 2015 The title was vacated after Seth Rollins suffered a torn ACL, MCL and a damaged meniscus at a live event in Dublin, Ireland.
121 Roman Reigns November 22, 2015 Survivor Series Atlanta, GA 1 <1 Defeated Dean Ambrose in a tournament final to win the vacant title.
122 Sheamus November 22, 2015 Survivor Series Atlanta, GA 3 22 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
123 Roman Reigns December 14, 2015 Raw Philadelphia, PA 2 41
124 Triple H January 24, 2016 Royal Rumble Orlando, FL 9 70 This was the Royal Rumble match in which Roman Reigns defended the title and entered at number one. Triple H eliminated Reigns before lastly eliminating Dean Ambrose to win the title.
125 Roman Reigns April 3, 2016 WrestleMania 32 Arlington, TX 3 77
126 Seth Rollins June 19, 2016 Money in the Bank Las Vegas, NV 2 <1
127 Dean Ambrose June 19, 2016 Money in the Bank Las Vegas, NV 1 84 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and the title's name reverted to WWE Championship. The brand extension returned and the title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand following the 2016 WWE Draft. The WWE Universal Championship was created for the Raw brand; the WWE Championship was renamed to WWE World Championship.
128 AJ Styles September 11, 2016 Backlash Richmond, VA 1 140 In December 2016, the title's name was shortened back to WWE Championship.
129 John Cena January 29, 2017 Royal Rumble San Antonio, TX 13 14
130 Bray Wyatt February 12, 2017 Elimination Chamber Phoenix, AZ 1 49
131 Randy Orton April 2, 2017 WrestleMania 33 Orlando, FL 9 49
132 Jinder Mahal May 21, 2017 Backlash Rosemont, IL 1 170
133 AJ Styles November 7, 2017 SmackDown Manchester, England 2 371
134 Daniel Bryan November 13, 2018 SmackDown St. Louis, MO 4 145
135 Kofi Kingston April 7, 2019 WrestleMania 35 East Rutherford, NJ 1 180
136 Brock Lesnar October 4, 2019 SmackDown's20th Anniversary Los Angeles, CA 5 173 or 174 On the November 1, 2019 episode of SmackDown, Lesnar quit SmackDown and went to Raw, taking the title with him.
137 Drew McIntyre March 26, 2020 WrestleMania 36Part 2 Orlando, FL 1 213
138 Randy Orton October 25, 2020 Hell in a Cell Orlando, FL 10 22
139 Drew McIntyre November 16, 2020 Raw Orlando, FL 2 97
140 The Miz February 21, 2021 Elimination Chamber St. Petersburg, FL 2 8 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
141 Bobby Lashley March 1, 2021 Raw St. Petersburg, FL 1 195
142 Big E September 13, 2021 Raw Boston, MA 1 110 Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
143 Brock Lesnar January 1, 2022 Day 1 Atlanta, GA 6 27
144 Bobby Lashley January 29, 2022 Royal Rumble St. Louis, MO 2 20
145 Brock Lesnar February 19, 2022 Elimination Chamber Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 7 43
146 Roman Reigns April 3, 2022 WrestleMania 38 Arlington, TX 4 106+
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