WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
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List of World Heavyweight Champions (WWE, 2002–2013)The World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It was established by WWE in 2002 after WWE bought out World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and split its roster into two brands, Raw and SmackDown!, in a brand extension. WWE's original world title, the WWE Championship, with which the WCW World Heavyweight Championship had been unified in 2001, was designated to the SmackDown! brand; as a result the World Heavyweight Championship was established for the Raw brand. Although both titles used the "Big Gold" belt design, the World Heavyweight Championship was not a continuation of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but rather its indirect successor. For a list of champions who have held those titles, see the list of WCW World Heavyweight Champions and list of NWA World Heavyweight Champions respectively. At the TLC pay-per-view on December 15, 2013, when WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, the World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship, resulting in the retiring of the former, and the renaming of the latter to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The championship was contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes. The first champion was Triple H, who was awarded the title on September 2, 2002, by Eric Bischoff, then-General Manager of Raw, and he also holds the record for longest combined reign at 616 days. Overall, there have been 25 different official champions, with Edge having the most reigns at seven. The longest single reign was held by Batista, lasting 282 days. The final holder was Randy Orton, who was also the youngest champion at the age of 24 when he first won the championship. The Undertaker was the oldest champion when he won the title for the third time at the age of 44 years.
WCW World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of the World Championship Wrestling promotion, spun off from the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. It existed in WCW from 1991 to 2001. Following the acquisition of WCW by the WWF in March 2001, it became one of two world titles in the WWF, with its name being immediately abbreviated to the WCW Championship and finally, the World Championship in November. It continued to complement the then-WWF Championship until the following month, when both titles were unified to create the Undisputed WWF Championship. Ric Flair was the first holder of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, with Chris Jericho being the last. The title was the second to be represented by the historic Big Gold Belt, first introduced in 1986.
WWE ChampionshipThe WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two men's world titles on WWE's main roster, along with the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw. The current champion is John Cena, who is in his record-setting 14th reign. He won the title by defeating previous champion Cody Rhodes on Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 on April 20, 2025. 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, after the promotion seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) following a dispute over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The inaugural champion was Buddy Rogers. 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, with many matches for the title having headlined pay-per-view and livestreaming events—including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania. In professional wrestling in general, it is considered to be one of the most prestigious championships of all time. 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 (WWF) purchase of World Championship Wrestling in early 2001. The titles were later unified as the Undisputed WWF Championship. After the first brand split in 2002 and the promotion being renamed to WWE, the championship became exclusive to SmackDown, dropping the "undisputed" moniker, while the World Heavyweight Championship (2002–2013 version) 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 WWE Universal Championship with the 2016 brand split and then a new World Heavyweight Championship in 2023. From April 2022 until April 2024, the WWE and Universal titles were held and defended together as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, maintaining their individual lineages until the Universal title was deactivated in April 2024, with the WWE title subsequently referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship. During both brand splits, the WWE Championship has switched brands, usually as a result of the WWE Draft; the 2023 draft moved it back to SmackDown.
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE, 2002–2013)The 2002 to 2013 version of the World Heavyweight Championship was a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was the second world championship to be created by the company, after their original world title, the WWE Championship (1963). The title was one of two top championships in the company 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. Established in September 2002, its creation came as a result of the WWE Undisputed Championship becoming exclusive to the SmackDown brand which left Raw without a world title due to the introduction of the brand split. Raw then created the World Heavyweight Championship and the title was awarded to Triple H. The titles moved between the brands on different occasions (usually as a result of the WWE Draft) until August 29, 2011, when all programming became full roster "supershows". The World Heavyweight Championship was retired at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 15, 2013, when it was unified with the WWE Championship with Randy Orton recognized as the final champion. The title was one of five to be represented by the historic Big Gold Belt, introduced in 1986. Its heritage can be traced back to the first world heavyweight championship, thereby giving the belt a legacy over 100 years old, the oldest in the world.
WWE Women's ChampionshipThe WWE Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two women's world titles for WWE's main roster, along with the Women's World Championship on Raw. The current champion is Tiffany Stratton, who is in her first reign. She won the title by defeating Nia Jax in her Money in the Bank cash-in match on the January 3, 2025, episode of SmackDown. Established on April 3, 2016, at WrestleMania 32, it replaced the Divas Championship and has a unique title history, separate from WWE's original Women's Championship and the Divas Championship. Charlotte Flair, then known simply as Charlotte, was the inaugural champion. As a result of the 2016 WWE Draft, the championship became exclusive to Raw and was renamed the Raw Women's Championship while SmackDown created the SmackDown Women's Championship as its counterpart. As a result of the 2023 WWE Draft, the Raw and SmackDown women's championships switched brands, with the Raw Women's Championship reverting to its original name of WWE Women's Championship, while the SmackDown Women's Championship became the Women's World Championship. The title was the first women's championship to headline a WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event, which occurred at Hell in a Cell in 2016. It also headlined WWE's only all-female event, Evolution in 2018. Along with the SmackDown Women's Championship at the time, it was also defended in the main event match of the 35th edition of WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania, in 2019.
World championships in WWEThe American professional wrestling promotion WWE has maintained several men's world championships since Capitol Wrestling Corporation seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which was later subjected to various name changes, including World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)—in April 2011, the company ceased using its full name and has since just been referred to as WWE. The company's first world championship was the WWE Championship, which was established along with the promotion's creation in 1963 as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship; it is still active today and is WWE's oldest active title. Whenever the WWE brand extension has been implemented (2002–2011; 2016–present), separate world championships have been created or allocated for each brand. As of 2025, WWE promotes two men's world championships, with the Undisputed WWE Championship on the SmackDown brand and the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw.
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)The World Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two men's world titles on WWE's main roster, along with the Undisputed WWE Championship on SmackDown. The current champion is Jey Uso, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Gunther on night one of WrestleMania 41 on April 19, 2025. The title's creation came as a result of Roman Reigns, who at the time jointly held both the WWE Championship and the WWE Universal Championship as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. With the announcement of the 2023 WWE Draft, the World Heavyweight Championship was unveiled on the April 24, 2023, episode of Monday Night Raw and subsequently became exclusive to Raw after Reigns and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship became exclusive to SmackDown. The inaugural World Heavyweight Champion was Seth "Freakin" Rollins. The title is distinct from WWE's previous World Heavyweight Championship that was contested from 2002 until 2013 when it was unified into the WWE Championship. Although the two titles share the same name, they do not have a direct lineage. It is the fourth overall men's world championship to be created by WWE, after the WWE Championship (1963), the previous World Heavyweight Championship, and the Universal Championship (2016–2024).
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