The World Heavyweight Championship was a world heavyweight championship owned by WWE. It was one of two top championships in WWE from 2002 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2013, complementing the WWE Championship, and one of three top championships from 2006 to 2010 with the addition of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.
Reigns:[]
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | |||
| 1 | Triple H | September 2, 2002 | Raw | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | 76 | After the WWE Undisputed Championship became exclusive to the SmackDown! brand, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff created the World Heavyweight Championship to be the world title of Raw and awarded it to Triple H, who was originally the number one contender for the WWE Undisputed Championship, which dropped the "Undisputed" moniker. |
| 2 | Shawn Michaels | November 17, 2002 | Survivor Series | New York, NY | 1 | 28 | |
| 3 | Triple H | December 15, 2002 | Armageddon | Sunrise, FL | 2 | 280 | This was a Three Stages of Hell match. |
| 4 | Goldberg | September 21, 2003 | Unforgiven | Hershey, PA | 1 | 84 | |
| 5 | Triple H | December 14, 2003 | Armageddon | Orlando, FL | 3 | 91 | |
| 6 | Chris Benoit | March 14, 2004 | WrestleMania XX | New York, NY | 1 | 154 | |
| 7 | Randy Orton | August 15, 2004 | SummerSlam | Toronto, ON, Canada | 1 | 28 | |
| 8 | Triple H | September 12, 2004 | Unforgiven | Portland, OR | 4 | 85 | |
| — | Vacated | December 6, 2004 | Raw | Baltimore, MD | — | — | The championship was vacated after a double fall occurred in a triple threat match. |
| 9 | Triple H | January 9, 2005 | New Year's Revolution | San Juan, PR | 5 | 84 | Defeated Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Batista, and Edge in an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant title. |
| 10 | Batista | April 3, 2005 | WrestleMania 21 | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | 282 | The title became exclusive to the SmackDown! brand following the 2005 WWE draft lottery while the WWE Championship became exclusive to the Raw brand. |
| — | Vacated | January 13, 2006 | SmackDown! | Philadelphia, PA | — | — | Batista vacated the title after he was sidelined with a triceps injury. |
| 11 | Kurt Angle | January 13, 2006 | SmackDown! | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 82 | This was a 20-man battle royal for the vacant title. |
| 12 | Rey Mysterio | April 2, 2006 | WrestleMania 22 | Rosemont, IL | 1 | 112 | The championship was referred to as the "World Championship", due to Mysterio not being a heavyweight. |
| 13 | King Booker | July 23, 2006 | The Great American Bash | Indianapolis, IN | 1 | 126 | |
| 14 | Batista | November 26, 2006 | Survivor Series | Philadelphia, PA | 2 | 126 | |
| 15 | The Undertaker | April 1, 2007 | WrestleMania 23 | Detroit, MI | 1 | 37 | |
| 16 | Edge | May 11, 2007 | SmackDown! | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | 70 | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Following the win, Edge transferred from Raw to SmackDown!. |
| — | Vacated | July 20, 2007 | SmackDown! | Laredo, TX | — | — | Edge vacated the title after he was sidelined with a pectoral injury. |
| 17 | The Great Khali | July 20, 2007 | SmackDown! | Laredo, TX | 1 | 61 | This was a 20-man battle royal for the vacant title. |
| 18 | Batista | September 16, 2007 | Unforgiven | Memphis, TN | 3 | 91 | |
| 19 | Edge | December 16, 2007 | Armageddon | Pittsburgh, PA | 2 | 106 | |
| 20 | The Undertaker | March 30, 2008 | WrestleMania XXIV | Orlando, FL | 2 | 33 | |
| — | Vacated | May 2, 2008 | SmackDown | Atlantic City, NJ | — | — | SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero stripped The Undertaker of the title for using the Hell's Gate submission hold, which she deemed to be dangerous. |
| 21 | Edge | June 1, 2008 | One Night Stand | San Diego, CA | 3 | 29 | Defeated The Undertaker in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to win the vacant title. |
| 22 | CM Punk | June 30, 2008 | Raw | Oklahoma City, OK | 1 | 69 | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
The title moved to Raw due to Punk's status as a Raw superstar as CM Punk was drafted to Raw the week prior in the 2008 WWE Draft. The WWE Championship moved to the SmackDown! brand a week prior due to the Draft as then-WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to SmackDown. |
| 23 | Chris Jericho | September 7, 2008 | Unforgiven | Cleveland, OH | 1 | 49 | |
| 24 | Batista | October 26, 2008 | Cyber Sunday | Phoenix, AZ | 4 | 8 | |
| 25 | Chris Jericho | November 3, 2008 | Raw | Tampa, FL | 2 | 20 | |
| 26 | John Cena | November 23, 2008 | Survivor Series | Boston, MA | 1 | 84 | |
| 27 | Edge | February 15, 2009 | No Way Out | Seattle, WA | 4 | 48 | The title became exclusive to SmackDown due to Edge's status as a SmackDown wrestler. |
| 28 | John Cena | April 5, 2009 | WrestleMania 25 | Houston, TX | 2 | 21 | The title became exclusive to the Raw brand due to Cena's status as a Raw wrestler. |
| 29 | Edge | April 26, 2009 | Backlash | Providence, RI | 5 | 42 | The title was returned to SmackDown due to Edge's status as a SmackDown superstar. Two weeks prior to the event, then-WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to Raw in the 2009 WWE Draft. |
| 30 | Jeff Hardy | June 7, 2009 | Extreme Rules | New Orleans, LA | 1 | <1 | |
| 31 | CM Punk | June 7, 2009 | Extreme Rules | New Orleans, LA | 2 | 49 | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. |
| 32 | Jeff Hardy | July 26, 2009 | Night of Champions | Philadelphia, PA | 2 | 28 | |
| 33 | CM Punk | August 23, 2009 | SummerSlam | Los Angeles, CA | 3 | 42 | |
| 34 | The Undertaker | October 4, 2009 | Hell in a Cell | Newark, NJ | 3 | 140 | |
| 35 | Chris Jericho | February 21, 2010 | Elimination Chamber | St. Louis, MO | 3 | 40 | |
| 36 | Jack Swagger | April 2, 2010 | SmackDown | Las Vegas, NV | 1 | 79 | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Swagger transferred from Raw to SmackDown upon winning the title. |
| 37 | Rey Mysterio | June 20, 2010 | Fatal 4-Way | Uniondale, NY | 2 | 28 | The championship was referred to as the "World Championship" due to Mysterio not being a heavyweight. |
| 38 | Kane | July 18, 2010 | Money in the Bank | Kansas City, MO | 1 | 154 | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract which he had won earlier in the night. |
| 39 | Edge | December 19, 2010 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Houston, TX | 6 | 61 | |
| — | Vacated | February 18, 2011 | SmackDown | San Diego, CA | — | — | Edge was stripped of the title by SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero as a result of using the spear (which had been banned) in a previous match. |
| 40 | Dolph Ziggler | February 18, 2011 | SmackDown | San Diego, CA | 1 | <1 | Awarded the title by SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero. |
| 41 | Edge | February 18, 2011 | SmackDown | San Diego, CA | 7 | 55 | |
| — | Vacated | April 15, 2011 | SmackDown | Albany, NY | — | — | Edge relinquished the title when he announced his immediate retirement as a result of being diagnosed with spinal stenosis. |
| 42 | Christian | May 1, 2011 | Extreme Rules | Tampa, FL | 1 | 5 | Defeated Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match to win the vacant title. |
| 43 | Randy Orton | May 6, 2011 | SmackDown | Orlando, FL | 2 | 72 | |
| 44 | Christian | July 17, 2011 | Money in the Bank | Rosemont, IL | 2 | 28 | |
| 45 | Randy Orton | August 14, 2011 | SummerSlam | Los Angeles, CA | 3 | 35 | On August 29, 2011, the first brand extension ended, allowing the World Heavyweight Champion to appear on both Raw and SmackDown. |
| 46 | Mark Henry | September 18, 2011 | Night of Champions | Buffalo, NY | 1 | 92 | |
| 47 | Big Show | December 18, 2011 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Baltimore, MD | 1 | <1 | |
| 48 | Daniel Bryan | December 18, 2011 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Baltimore, MD | 1 | 105 | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. |
| 49 | Sheamus | April 1, 2012 | WrestleMania XXVIII | Miami, FL | 1 | 211 | |
| 50 | Big Show | October 28, 2012 | Hell in a Cell | Atlanta, GA | 2 | 72 | |
| 51 | Alberto Del Rio | January 11, 2013 | SmackDown | Miami, FL | 1 | 90 | |
| 52 | Dolph Ziggler | April 8, 2013 | Raw | East Rutherford, NJ | 2 | 70 | Cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. |
| 53 | Alberto Del Rio | June 16, 2013 | Payback | Rosemont, IL | 2 | 134 | |
| 54 | John Cena | October 27, 2013 | Hell in a Cell | Miami, FL | 3 | 50 | |
| 55 | Randy Orton | December 15, 2013 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Houston, TX | 4 | <1 | This was a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs title unification match, in which Orton also defended his WWE Championship. |
| — | Unified | December 15, 2013 | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Houston, TX | — | — | Randy Orton defeated John Cena to unify the World Heavyweight Championship with the WWE Championship. The World Heavyweight Championship was retired and the WWE Championship became the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. |