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Special custom belts have been created to match the gimmicks of some champions:
Special custom belts have been created to match the gimmicks of some champions:
*[[Billy Graham (wrestler)|"Superstar" Billy Graham]] (red leather strap)
*[[Billy Graham (wrestler)|"Superstar" Billy Graham]] (red leather strap)
*[[Hulk Hogan]] (yellow, red stitching in the black belt leather during 3rd reign)
*[[Hulk Hogan]] (yellow, red stitching in the black belt leather during 2nd reign)
*The [[Warrior (wrestler)|Ultimate Warrior]] (white, blue and purple leather straps)
*The [[Warrior (wrestler)|Ultimate Warrior]] (white, blue and purple leather straps)
*[[Sgt. Slaughter]] (blue leather strap, later changed to original black strap at [[Wrestlemania VII]])
*[[Sgt. Slaughter]] (blue leather strap, later changed to original black strap at [[Wrestlemania VII]])

Revision as of 20:55, 15 December 2008

This article is about the championship that is currently defended on the SmackDown brand of WWE. For Raw's top championship, see World Heavyweight Championship (WWE). For ECW's top championship, see ECW Championship.
WWE Championship
File:WWE Championship.jpg
The Raw version of the WWE Championship belt
(April 11, 2005 – present)
Tournament information

The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship is a professional wrestling world title in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is the original world title of WWE. Currently, it is the highest ranked championship on the SmackDown! brand.

History

1963-2001

The WWE Championship was originally known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Heavyweight Championship. Following the title's introduction in 1963, Buddy Rogers became the inaugural champion on April 29. The World Wide Wrestling Federation joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1971 and was renamed the World Wrestling Federation in 1979. During this time, the title was referred to as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Heavyweight Championship. It became known as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship when the promotion left the NWA in 1983. The title began to be referred to as the WWF Championship in 1998.

2001-2002

In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling. Soon after, "The Invasion" took place in which the WCW/ECW Alliance was ultimately dismantled. Following this, it was agreed to unify the title with the WCW Championship at Vengeance 2001. At the event Chris Jericho defeated The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WCW/World Championship and the WWF Championship respectively. As a result, Chris Jericho was named the last WCW World Champion[1] and became the first Undisputed Champion in the World Wrestling Federation.[2]

2002-present

Following the WWF/WWE name change and the WWE Brand Extension, the Undisputed Championship was defended on the Raw and SmackDown brands simultaneously while other titles became exclusive to either brand. However, when Brock Lesnar won the Undisputed Championship he was signed by SmackDown General Manager, Stephanie McMahon, to appear and defend the title only on the SmackDown brand, which left the Raw brand without a world title. As a result, Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff, disputed the title's "Undisputed" status and introduced the World Heavyweight Championship, commissioning it to be the main world title of the Raw brand. Immediately afterwards, the Undisputed Championship returned to being the WWE Championship.

The title remained on the SmackDown brand from August 26, 2002 until June 6, 2005 as a result of the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery. The WWE Champion, John Cena, was drafted to the Raw brand with the WWE Championship, which left the two main world titles in WWE on that brand until the World Heavyweight Champion, Batista, was drafted to the SmackDown brand with the World Heavyweight Championship on June 30, 2005.

The title was briefly the property of the ECW brand, when Rob Van Dam cashed in his Money in the Bank contract at the ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view on June 11, 2006 and defeated defending champion Cena (Van Dam had been drafted to the then new ECW brand two weeks previous). Edge brought the title back to Raw three weeks later after defeating RVD and John Cena in a Triple Threat Match on the July 3 episode of Raw. The title returned to the SmackDown brand when champion Triple H was taken in 2008 WWE Draft. This makes the WWE Championship the first of three titles to (at various times) have been property of all three WWE brands, followed by the ECW Championship, and the World Tag Team Championship.

Custom belt designs

Special custom belts have been created to match the gimmicks of some champions:

A belt with an exceptionally long strap was created for André the Giant before WrestleMania III, however he never wore it as champion. Similarly, Edge had originally designed an entirely different custom belt than the "Rated R Spinner" design he used for his second reign; however, the plans were scrapped due to time constraints.[3] The "Spinner" belt's design has become the WWE Championship's primary design since April 11, 2005.

Current champion

The current champion is Jeff Hardy, who is in his first reign.[4] He defeated champion Edge and Triple H in a Triple Threat match at Armageddon 2008 on December 14 in Buffalo, New York.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ WCW World Champion - Chris Jericho at WWE.com
  2. ^ "WWWF/WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
  3. ^ Jon Robinson. "Edge Interview". p. 2. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
  4. ^ "History Of The WWE Championship - Jeff Hardy". WWE. 2008-12-14. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  5. ^ DiFino, Lennie (2008-12-14). "Swanton to the top". WWE. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
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