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World championships in WWE
JDC808: ←Created page with ' File:Bruno WWWF Champion.jpg|thumb|right...'
[[File:Bruno WWWF Champion.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Two-time world champion and [[WWE Hall of Fame]]r [[Bruno Sammartino]], whose seven year-plus (2,803 days) first reign with the [[WWE Championship]] (then-WWWF World Heavyweight Championship) is the longest in history]]
[[WWE]] (formerly the WWF and WWWF) has maintained several [[Professional wrestling championship#World championship|world championships]] since [[Capitol Wrestling Corporation]] seceded from the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). Whenever [[WWE brand extension|brand division]] has been implemented, separate world titles have been created or allocated for each brand.
==Overview of titles==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Name
! Years
|-
|1
|[[WWE Championship]]
|1963 – present
|-
|2
|[[WCW World Heavyweight Championship]]
|1991 – 2001 (became WWF property in 2001)
|-
|3
|[[World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)]]
|2002 – 2013
|-
|4
|[[ECW World Heavyweight Championship]]
|1992 – 2001, 2006 – 2010 (became WWF property in 2001)
|-
|5
|[[NXT Championship]]
|2012 – present (became recognized as a world championship in 2017)
|-
|6
|[[WWE Universal Championship]]
|2016 – present
|-
|}
== History ==
In the 1950s, [[History of WWE#Capitol Wrestling Corporation|Capitol Wrestling Corporation]] (CWC) was a member of the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA) and by 1963, its executives held a controlling stake over NWA operations. During this time, [[Buddy Rogers]] held the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]] until January 24, when [[Lou Thesz]] defeated Rogers for the championship in a one fall match. Claiming the title can only be contested in a traditional two out of three falls match, the promotion disputed the title change, and thus seceded from the NWA and became the [[History of WWE#World Wide Wrestling Federation|World Wide Wrestling Federation]] (WWWF). The WWWF World Heavyweight Championship was then established and awarded to Buddy Rogers with the explanation that he won a fictional tournament in [[Rio de Janeiro]], supposedly defeating [[Antonino Rocca]] in the finals.<ref></ref> After several years, the WWWF became affiliated with the NWA once again, and "World" was dropped from the championship's name. In 1979, the WWWF was renamed [[History of WWE#World Wrestling Federation|World Wrestling Federation]] (WWF), and then after conclusively ending its affiliation with the NWA in 1983, the championship became known as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Although the full name appeared on the championship belts until 1998, the name was often abbreviated to WWF Championship, which became its official name in 1998.
In 1991, [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW), a member of the NWA, established the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to replace the NWA's world title. In 1993, WCW seceded from the NWA and grew to become a rival promotion to the WWF. Both organizations grew into [[mainstream]] prominence and were eventually involved in a [[Nielsen ratings|television ratings]] war, dubbed the [[Monday Night Wars]]. Near the end of the ratings war, WCW began a [[History of World Championship Wrestling#Signs of a decline|financial decline]], which culminated in WWF [[History of World Championship Wrestling#Acquisition by the World Wrestling Federation and aftermath|purchasing WCW]] in March 2001.<ref name="Purchase"></ref> As a result of the purchase, the WWF acquired, among other assets, [[World Championship Wrestling#Final champions|WCW's championships]]. Thus, there were two world titles in the WWF: the original WWF Championship and the WCW Championship, which was eventually renamed the "World Championship".<ref></ref><ref></ref>
In December 2001, the two championships were [[Championship unification|unified]] at [[Vengeance (2001)|Vengeance]]. At the event, [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] defeated [[Kurt Angle]] to retain the WWF Championship, while [[Chris Jericho]] defeated [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]] for the World Championship. After this, Jericho then defeated Austin, unifying the WWF and World Championships, and becoming the first Undisputed WWF Champion; the Undisputed championship retained the lineage of the WWF Championship and the World Championship was retired.<ref> </ref> The Undisputed Championship continued up through the beginning of the first [[WWE brand extension|brand extension]], which saw wrestlers being drafted to the company's main [[list of current WWE programming|television programs]], ''[[WWE Raw|Raw]]'' and ''[[WWE SmackDown|SmackDown]]'', each show representing the brand of the same name, with championships assigned to and authority figures appointed for each brand.<ref name="BrandExtensionPressRelease"></ref> The holder of the Undisputed Championship was the only male wrestler allowed to appear on both shows.
In May 2002, the WWF was renamed [[History of WWE#World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Entertainment]] (WWE) and the championships were renamed accordingly. At first, the Undisputed Championship remained unaffiliated with either brand as wrestlers from both brands could challenge the champion. Following the appointment of [[Eric Bischoff]] and [[Stephanie McMahon]] as [[Professional wrestling authority figures|General Managers]] of [[Raw (WWE brand)|Raw]] and [[SmackDown (WWE brand)|SmackDown]], respectively, Stephanie McMahon convinced then-Undisputed Champion [[Brock Lesnar]] to become exclusive to the SmackDown brand, leaving the Raw brand without a world title.<ref></ref><ref></ref> In response, on September 2, Bischoff disputed Lesnar's status as champion, stating Lesnar was refusing to defend his title against the designated No. 1 contender, [[Triple H]], and awarded the latter with the newly created [[World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]]. Immediately afterwards, Lesnar's championship dropped the epithet "Undisputed" and became known as the WWE Championship.<ref name="Raw9/2"></ref>
In 2001, the WWF had also acquired [[Extreme Championship Wrestling]] (ECW). In June 2006, the WWE established a third brand dubbed [[ECW (WWE brand)|ECW]] on which former ECW stars and newer talent competed. When ECW's [[Rob Van Dam]] won the WWE Championship at [[ECW One Night Stand (2006)|ECW One Night Stand]] on June 11, 2006, the [[ECW World Heavyweight Championship]] was subsequently reactivated for the ECW brand and awarded to Van Dam, who held both titles until he lost the WWE Championship to Raw's [[Edge (wrestler)|Edge]] the following month. The ECW brand was disbanded in 2010, subsequently deactivating the ECW Championship. The first brand extension ended in August 2011.
Following the end of the first brand extension, both the WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion could appear on both ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown''. In November 2013, the night after [[Survivor Series (2013)|Survivor Series]], then-World Heavyweight Champion John Cena made a challenge to then-WWE Champion [[Randy Orton]] to determine an undisputed WWE world champion. Orton defeated Cena in a [[Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match|TLC match]] at the [[TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2013)|TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs]] pay-per-view on December 15, 2013, to unify the titles. Subsequently, the unified championship was renamed WWE World Heavyweight Championship and retained the lineage of the WWE Championship; the World Heavyweight Championship was retired.<ref></ref>
After [[Dean Ambrose]] became champion in June 2016, the title's name was reverted to WWE Championship.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref name="WWE Championship"></ref> In light of the return of the WWE brand extension the following month, Ambrose was [[2016 WWE draft|drafted to SmackDown]] and retained his title at [[Battleground (2016)|Battleground]] on July 24 against Raw draftees [[Seth Rollins]] and [[Roman Reigns]], making the title exclusive to SmackDown.<ref></ref> On the July 25 episode of ''Raw'', to address the lack of a world title for the brand, the [[WWE Universal Championship]] was created; [[Finn Bálor]] became the inaugural champion at [[SummerSlam (2016)|SummerSlam]].<ref></ref> After the unveiling of the Universal title, the WWE Championship was renamed WWE World Championship,<ref></ref><ref name="WWE World Championship"></ref> but reverted to WWE Championship in December 2016 during [[A.J. Styles|AJ Styles]]' first reign.<ref name="WWEChampionshipDec2016"></ref>
In 2012, [[NXT (WWE brand)|NXT]] was established as a developmental brand for the WWE, along with the [[NXT Championship]]. Over the years, NXT would grow to become its own reputable brand and in 2017, the NXT Championship became recognized as a world championship. The WWE Championship, Universal Championship, and NXT Championship are WWE's three currently active world championships.
==Longest championship reigns==
[[Bruno Sammartino]], [[Brock Lesnar]], [[Hulk Hogan]], and [[Shane Douglas]] each retain the specific records for each of their respective titles held. [[Dave Bautista|Batista]] holds the record for the longest reign for the World Heavyweight Championship at 282 days for his first reign, while [[Finn Bálor]] retains the record for the longest reign with the NXT Championship at 292 days.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Champion
! Title
! Reign
! Length<br>(days)
! Notes
|-
|1
|[[Bruno Sammartino]]
|[[WWE Championship]]
|1st reign
|2,803
|
|-
|2
|[[Bob Backlund]]
|[[WWE Championship]]
|1st reign
|2,135
|WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 684 days as they do not recognize [[Antonio Inoki]]'s reign.
|-
|3
|[[Hulk Hogan]]
|[[WWE Championship]]
|1st reign
|1,474
|
|-
|4
|[[Bruno Sammartino]]
|[[WWE Championship]]
|2nd reign
|1,237
|
|-
|5
|[[Pedro Morales]]
|[[WWE Championship]]
|1st reign
|1,027
|
|-
|6
|[[Brock Lesnar]]
|[[WWE Universal Championship]]
|1st reign
|504
|WWE recognizes this reign as lasting 503 days, although they had initially recognized 504 days.
|-
|7
|[[Hulk Hogan]]
|[[WCW World Heavyweight Championship]]
|1st reign
|469
|
|-
|8
|[[CM Punk]]
|[[WWE Championship]]
|2nd reign
|434
|
|-
|9
|[[Shane Douglas]]
|[[ECW World Heavyweight Championship]]
|4th reign
|406
|
|-
|10
|[[John Cena]]
|[[WWE Championship]]
|3rd reign
|380
|
|-
|}
==See also==
* [[Women's championships in WWE]]
* [[Tag team championships in WWE]]
==References==
[[Category:WWE world championships]]
September 11, 2019 at 11:58AM
