WWE Championship
WWE TITLE
WWWF World Heavyweight Championship April 29, 1963–February 8, 1971
WWWF Heavyweight Championship February 8, 1971–1979
WWF Heavyweight Championship 1979–1983
WWF World Heavyweight Championship 1983-1990
WWF Championship 1990 – December 9, 2001
Undisputed WWF Championship December 9, 2001 – May 6, 2002
WWE Undisputed Championship May 6, 2002 – September 2, 2002
WWE Championship September 2, 2002 - August 14, 2011
Undisputed WWE Championship August 14, 2011 - Present
# Wrestlers Reign Date Days held Location Event
1 Buddy Rogers 1 April 29, 1963 18 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2 Bruno Sammartino 1 May 17, 1963 2803 New York, NY Live event
3 Ivan Koloff 1 January 18, 1971 21 New York, NY Live event
4 Pedro Morales 1 February 8, 1971 1027 New York, NY Live event
5 Stan Stasiak 1 December 1, 1973 9 Philadelphia, PA Live event
6 Bruno Sammartino 2 December 10, 1973 1237 New York, NY Live event
7 Billy Graham 1 April 30, 1977 296 Baltimore, MD Live event
8 Bob Backlund 1 February 20, 1978 648 New York, NY Live event
- Antonio Inoki 1 November 30, 1979 6 Tokushima, Japan Live event
- Bob Backlund 1 December 17, 1979 672 New York, NY Live event
- Held up - October 19, 1981 0 New York, NY Live event
- Bob Backlund 1 November 23, 1981 763 New York, NY Live event
9 The Iron Sheik 1 December 26, 1983 28 New York, NY Live event
10 Hulk Hogan 1 January 23, 1984 1474 New York, NY Live event
11 André the Giant 1 February 5, 1988 0 Indianapolis, IN The Main Event I
— Vacated — February 5, 1988 — Indianapolis, IN The Main Event I
12 Randy Savage 1 March 27, 1988 371 Atlantic City, NJ WrestleMania IV
13 Hulk Hogan 2 April 2, 1989 364 Atlantic City, NJ WrestleMania V
14 The Ultimate Warrior 1 April 1, 1990 293 Toronto, ON WrestleMania VI
15 Sgt. Slaughter 1 January 19, 1991 64 Miami, FL Royal Rumble
16 Hulk Hogan 3 March 24, 1991 248 Los Angeles, CA WrestleMania VII
17 The Undertaker 1 November 27, 1991 6 Detroit, MI Survivor Series
18 Hulk Hogan 4 December 3, 1991 1 San Antonio, TX This Tuesday in Texas
— Vacated — December 4, 1991 —
19 Ric Flair 1 January 19, 1992 77 Albany, NY
20 Randy Savage 2 April 5, 1992 149 Indianapolis, IN WrestleMania VIII
21 Ric Flair 2 September 1, 1992 41 Hershey, PA Prime Time Wrestling
22 Bret Hart 1 October 12, 1992 174 Saskatoon, SK Live event
23 Yokozuna 1 April 4, 1993 0 Las Vegas, NV WrestleMania IX
24 Hulk Hogan 5 April 4, 1993 70 Las Vegas, NV WrestleMania IX
25 Yokozuna 2 June 13, 1993 280 Dayton, OH King of the Ring
26 Bret Hart 2 March 20, 1994 248 New York, NY WrestleMania X
27 Bob Backlund 2 November 23, 1994 3 San Antonio, TX Survivor Series
28 Diesel 1 November 26, 1994 358 New York, NY Live event
29 Bret Hart 3 November 19, 1995 133 Landover, MD Survivor Series
30 Shawn Michaels 1 March 31, 1996 231 Anaheim, CA WrestleMania XII
31 Sycho Sid 1 November 17, 1996 63 New York, NY Survivor Series
32 Shawn Michaels 2 January 19, 1997 25 San Antonio, TX Royal Rumble
— Vacated — February 13, 1997 — Lowell, MA Raw
33 Bret Hart 4 February 16, 1997 1 Chattanooga, TN In Your House 13: Final Four
34 Sycho Sid 2 February 17, 1997 34 Nashville, TN Raw
35 The Undertaker 2 March 23, 1997 133 Rosemont, IL WrestleMania 13
36 Bret Hart 5 August 3, 1997 98 East Rutherford, NJ SummerSlam
37 Shawn Michaels 3 November 9, 1997 140 Montreal, QC Survivor Series
38 Steve Austin 1 March 29, 1998 91 Boston, MA WrestleMania XIV
39 Kane 1 June 28, 1998 1 Pittsburgh, PA King of the Ring
40 Steve Austin 2 June 29, 1998 90 Cleveland, OH Raw is War
— Vacated — September 27, 1998 — Hamilton, ON Breakdown:
In Your House
41 The Rock 1 November 15, 1998 44 St. Louis, MO Survivor Series
42 Mankind 1 December 29, 1998 26 Worcester, MA Raw is War 43 The Rock 2 January 24, 1999 2 Anaheim, CA Royal Rumble 44 Mankind 2 January 26, 1999 20 Tucson, AZ Halftime Heat 45 The Rock 3 February 15, 1999 41 Birmingham, AL Raw is War 46 Steve Austin 3 March 28, 1999 56 Philadelphia, PA WrestleMania XV
47 The Undertaker 3 May 23, 1999 36 Kansas City, MO Over the Edge
48 Steve Austin 4 June 28, 1999 55 Charlotte, NC Raw is War
49 Mankind 3 August 22, 1999 1 Minneapolis, MN SummerSlam 50 Triple H 1 August 23, 1999 22 Ames, IA Raw is War 51 Mr. McMahon 1 September 14, 1999 6 Las Vegas, NV SmackDown - Vacated - September 20, 1999 — Houston, TX Raw is War 52 Triple H 2 September 26, 1999 49 Charlotte, NC Unforgiven 53 Big Show 1 November 14, 1999 50 Detroit, MI Survivor Series 54 Triple H 3 January 3, 2000 118 Miami, FL Raw is War
55 The Rock 4 April 30, 2000 21 Washington, D.C. Backlash
56 Triple H 4 May 21, 2000 35 Louisville, KY Judgment Day
57 The Rock 5 June 25, 2000 119 Boston, MA King of the Ring
58 Kurt Angle 1 October 22, 2000 126 Albany, NY No Mercy
59 The Rock 6 February 25, 2001 35 Las Vegas, NV No Way Out
60 Steve Austin 5 April 1, 2001 175 Houston, TX WrestleMania X-Seven
61 Kurt Angle 2 September 23, 2001 15 Pittsburgh, PA Unforgiven
62 Steve Austin 6 October 8, 2001 62 Indianapolis, IN Raw
63 Chris Jericho 1 December 9, 2001 98 San Diego, CA Vengeance
64 Triple H 5 March 17, 2002 35 Toronto, ON WrestleMania X8
65 Hulk Hogan 6 April 21, 2002 28 Kansas City, MO Backlash
66 The Undertaker 4 May 19, 2002 63 Nashville, TN Judgment Day
67 The Rock 7 July 21, 2002 35 Detroit, MI Vengeance 68 Brock Lesnar 1 August 25, 2002 84 Uniondale, NY SummerSlam
69 Big Show 2 November 17, 2002 28 New York, NY Survivor Series
70 Kurt Angle 3 December 15, 2002 105 Sunrise, FL Armageddon
71 Brock Lesnar 2 March 30, 2003 119 Seattle, WA WrestleMania XIX
72 Kurt Angle 4 July 27, 2003 51 Denver, CO Vengeance 73 Brock Lesnar 3 September 16, 2003 152 Raleigh, NC SmackDown! 74 Eddie Guerrero 1 February 15, 2004 133 Daly City, CA No Way Out
75 JBL 1 June 27, 2004 280 Norfolk, VA The Great American Bash
76 John Cena 1 April 3, 2005 280 Los Angeles, CA WrestleMania 21
77 Edge 1 January 8, 2006 21 Albany, NY New Year's Revolution 78 John Cena 2 January 29, 2006 133 Miami, FL Royal Rumble
79 Rob Van Dam 1 June 11, 2006 22 New York, NY ECW One Night Stand 80 Edge 2 July 3, 2006 76 Philadelphia, PA Raw 81 John Cena 3 September 17, 2006 380 Toronto, ON Unforgiven — Vacated — October 2, 2007 — Dayton, OH
82 Randy Orton 1 October 7, 2007 0 Rosemont, IL No Mercy 83 Triple H 6 October 7, 2007 0 Rosemont, IL No Mercy
84 Randy Orton 2 October 7, 2007 203 Rosemont, IL No Mercy 85 Triple H 7 April 27, 2008 210 Baltimore, MD Backlash 86 Edge 3 November 23, 2008 21 Boston, MA Survivor Series 87 Jeff Hardy 1 December 14, 2008 42 Buffalo,NY Armageddon
88 Edge 4 January 25, 2009 21 Detroit, MI Royal Rumble
89 Triple H 8 February 15, 2009 70 Seattle, WA No Way Out
90 Randy Orton 3 April 26, 2009 42 Providence, RI Backlash
91 Batista 1 June 7, 2009 2 New Orleans, LA Extreme Rules — Vacated — June 9, 2009 — N/A N/A
92 Randy Orton 4 June 15, 2009 90 Charlotte, NC Raw 93 John Cena 4 September 13,2009 21 Montreal, QC Breaking Point 94 Randy Orton 5 October 4, 2009 21 Newark, NJ Hell in a Cell 95 John Cena 5 October 25, 2009 49 Pittsburgh, PA Bragging Rights 96 Sheamus 1 December 13, 2009 70 San Antonio, TX TLC:
Tables, Ladders & Chairs
97 John Cena 6 February 21, 2010 0 St. Louis, MO Elimination Chamber
98 Batista 2 February 21, 2010 35 St. Louis, MO Elimination Chamber 99 John Cena 7 March 28, 2010 84 Glendale, AZ WrestleMania XXVI
100 Sheamus 2 June 20, 2010 91 Uniondale, NY Fatal 4-Way
101 Randy Orton 6 September 19, 2010 64 Rosemont, IL Night of Champions 102 The Miz 1 November 22, 2010 160 Orlando, FL Raw 103 John Cena 8 May 1, 2011 77 Tampa, FL Extreme Rules 104 CM Punk 1 July 17, 2011 19 Rosemont, IL Money in the Bank
105 Rey Mysterio 1 July 25, 2011 0 Hampton, VA Raw 106 John Cena 9 July 25, 2011 11 HamptonVA Raw
107 Alberto Del Rio 1 August 14, 2011 35 Los Angeles, CA SummerSlam
108 John Cena 10 September 18, 2011 14 Buffalo, NY Night of Champions
109 Alberto Del Rio 2 October 2, 2011 49 New Orleans, LA Hell in a Cell
110 CM Punk 2 November 20, 2011 434 New York, NY Survivor Series
111 The Rock 8 January 27, 2013 70 Phoenix, AZ Royal Rumble
112 John Cena 11 April 7, 2013 133 East Rutherford, NJ WrestleMania 29
113 Daniel Bryan 1 August 18, 2013 <1 Los Angeles, CA SummerSlam 114 Randy Orton 7 August 18, 2013 28 Los Angeles, CA SummerSlam
115 Daniel Bryan 2 September 15, 2013 1 Detroit, MI Night of Champions
— Vacated — September 16, 2013 1+ Cleveland, OH Raw
Vacated after a controversial finish between Bryan and Orton the previous night at Night of Champions.
Notes
1 Won a fictitious tournament in Rio De Janeiro after the WWWF left the National Wrestling Alliance, of which Rogers was champion
2 Held title for over seven years, a record for professional wrestling world champions
4 Title renamed WWWF Heavyweight Championship when WWWF rejoined the NWA in 1971
8 The title was renamed the WWF Heavyweight Championship when the World Wide Wrestling Federation became the World Wrestling Federation in March 1979
Antonio The title change was only recognized once by WWE in an issue of Raw Magazine. Backlund and Inoki also met on December 6, 1979 but the match ended in a no contest. Inoki immediately vacated the title.
Bob Defeated Bobby Duncum in a Texas Death match
Held Up Title held up after a match against Greg Valentine in which the referee ave him the title after Backlund pinned him.
Bob Defeated Greg Valentine in a rematch to win the held up title. According to the official championship history, Backlund's reign lasted from February 20, 1978 to December 26, 1983 and was never interrupted. The title was referred to as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983 after the WWF withdrew from the NWA
9 Iron Sheik won by forfeit. After Bob Backlund's then manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel on Backlund's behalf to revert him from suffering any major injury as a result of Sheik's signature move "The Camel Clutch", but Bob Backlund never officially submit
Vacated Immediately after winning the title from Hogan, André sold the title to Ted DiBiase President Jack Tunney nullified this decision, and vacated the title
12 Defeated Ted DiBiase in a tournament final
14 This match was also for Warrior's WWF Intercontinental Championship
Vacated Superstars Hogan was stripped of the title by WWF President Jack Tunney due to the controversy surrounding both of the previous title changes. This aired December 7, 1991
19 Royal Rumble (1992) Won the Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Sid Justice
21 Aired September 14, 1992
26 Roddy Piper was the guest referee
27 This was a "Throw in the Towel" submission match; the only way to win was to have the opponent's cornerman throw a towel into the ring
28 Diesel defeated Backlund in eight seconds; the fastest WWF/E Championship match history and the last time the title changed hands at an untelevised event
29 This was a no-disqualification match
30 This was a 60-minute Iron Man match, which Michaels won in overtime after a 0–0 draw
Vacated Michaels forfeited the title due to a knee injury
33 This was a four-way elimination match also involving Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Vader
36 Shawn Michaels was the guest referee
37 Won the title in the Montreal Screwjob
39 This was a first blood match
Vacated Vacated after Kane and The Undertaker simultaneously pinned Austin in a triple threat match. A subsequent match for the vacant title at Judgment Day: In Your House between Kane and The Undertaker ended in a no-contest
41 Defeated Mankind in the finals of the Deadly Game tournament for the vacant title
42 Aired January 4, 1999
43 This was an "I Quit" match
44 This was an empty arena match that aired as a special during halftime of Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999
45 This was a ladder match
47 Both Vince & Shane McMahon were special guest referees
49 This was a triple threat match also involving Triple H, with Jesse Ventura as guest referee
50 Shane McMahon was the special guest referee
51 Aired September 16, 1999 with Shane McMahon as special guest referee
Vacated McMahon vacated the title
52 This was a Six-Pack Challenge match, also involving The Rock, Mankind, Big Show, The British Bulldog and Kane
53 This was a triple threat match, also involving The Rock
56 This was a 60-minute Iron Man match, which Triple H won 6–5 with Shawn Michaels as the guest referee
57 This was a six-man tag team match at with he Rock, The Undertaker and Kane vs. Triple H,Mr. McMahon and Shane McMahon. The Rock pinned Mr. McMahon to win Triple H's title
63 Jericho won a four-man one-night tournament consisting of himself, The Rock, Steve Austin and Kurt Angle to unify the World Championship with the WWF Championship. Austin defeated Angle to advance to the finals while Jericho defeated The Rock and subsequently defeated Austin in the finals.The unified title was named the Undisputed WWF Championship
65 The title was renamed the WWE Undisputed Championship on May 6, 2002 after World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. settled a lawsuit with the World Wide
Fund for Nature, and became simply World Wrestling Entertainment
67 This was a triple threat match, also involving Kurt Angle
68 "Undisputed" was removed from the title's name after it became exclusive to the SmackDown! brand on September 2, 2002, which resulted in the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship for the Raw brand
72 This was a triple threat match, also involving Big Show
73 This was a 60-minute Iron Man match, aired September 18, 2003 on SmackDown
75 This was a Texas Bullrope match
76 The title became Raw-exclusive on June 6, 2005 when Cena was drafted to Raw as the first pick in the 2005 Draft Lottery
77 Cashed in his "Money in the Bank" contract from WrestleMania 21 immediately after Cena won an Elimination Chamber match
79 Cashed in his "Money in the Bank" contract from WrestleMania 22. This was an Extreme Rules match. The title becomes property of the ECW brand
80 This was a triple threat match, also involving John Cena. The title again becomes Raw exclusive
81 This was a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, If Cena lost, he would have had to leave the Raw brand
Vacated ECW on Sci Fi Vacated when Cena suffered a torn right pectoral tendon on the October 1 edition of Raw
82 Awarded the title by Mr. McMahon This was a Last Man Standing match
85 This was a Fatal-Four Way Elimination match, also involving John Cena and John "Bradshaw" Layfield. The title became a SmackDown exclusive title once again when Triple H was drafted to SmackDown! on June 23, 2008
86 This was a triple threat match, also involving Vladimir Kozlov. Jeff Hardy had originally been scheduled to take part in the match, but did not participate after, in storyline, was assaulted in the stairwell of his hotel prior to the event. Triple H and Kozlov started off in the match, and Edge was revealed as Hardy's surprise replacement, and won the championship
87 This was a triple threat match, also involving Triple H
88 This was a no-disqualification match
89 This was a Elimination Chamber match, also involving Jeff Hardy, Vladimir Kozlov, The Undertaker and Big Show. The title became a Raw exclusive title once again when Triple H was drafted to Raw on April 13, 2009
90 Won a six-man tag team match in which Orton would win the championship if his team won
91 This was a Steel Cage match
Vacated Announced on WWE.com Vacated when Batista suffered a torn left biceps
92 This was a Fatal Four-Way match also involving Triple H, John Cena and Big Show
93 This was an "I Quit" match. If anyone interfered on Orton's behalf, he would have automatically lost the title
94 This was a Hell in a Cell match
95 This was a 60-Minute Anything Goes Iron Man match. If Cena lost, he would have had to leave the Raw brand
96 This was a Tables match
97 This was an Elimination Chamber match, also involving Triple H, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase and Kofi Kingston
98 Awarded a title shot by Mr. McMahon immediately after Cena won the Elimination Chamber match
99 Title is returned solely to the Raw brand
100 This was a Fatal Four-Way match also involving Edge and Randy Orton
101 This was a Six-Pack Challenge Elimination match also involving Edge, John Cena, Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett
102 The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract after Randy Orton successfully defended the WWE Championship against Wade Barrett
103 This was a Triple Threat Steel Cage match also involving John Morrison
105 Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz in the final of an 8-man tournament to crown a new champion. According to WWE COO Triple H, CM Punk was still also the WWE Champion at this time
106 According to WWE COO Triple H, CM Punk is also the WWE Champion
107 Cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated CM Punk, who had just become undisputed WWE Champion after defeating John Cena
109 This was a triple threat Hell in a Cell match also involving CM Punk. Del Rio pinned CM Punk to win the title
111 The match was restarted by Vince McMahon due to suspected interference by The Shield.
113 Triple H was the special guest referee
114 Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Triple H, who attacked Bryan immediately preceding the match, was the special guest referee.