query: who is the world heavyweight champion of wwe

pos: WWE Championship champion at SummerSlam. After the unveiling of the Universal title, the WWE Championship was renamed WWE World Championship, but reverted to WWE Championship in December 2016 during AJ Styles' first reign. The title changed hands for the first time outside of North America when AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win his second WWE Championship in Manchester, England on the November 7, 2017, episode of "SmackDown". This was also the first time in nearly 15 years that the championship changed hands on an episode of "SmackDown"; the last time was in 2003 when Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle for the

neg: World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) lineage is connected with the earliest recognized world heavyweight championship. In 2009, WWE released a DVD set called "History of the World Heavyweight Championship" that definitively linked the title to the WCW and NWA titles. Following the end of the first brand extension in 2011, both the World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Champion could appear on both "Raw" and "SmackDown". In 2013, the night after Survivor Series, then-World Heavyweight Champion John Cena made a challenge to then-WWE Champion Randy Orton to determine an undisputed WWE world champion. Randy Orton defeated John Cena in a TLC match at the pay-per-view on

neg: Undisputed championship both the WWE Champion and the World Heavyweight Champion could appear on both "Raw" and "SmackDown". In November 2013, then World Heavyweight Champion John Cena made a challenge to then WWE Champion Randy Orton to determine an undisputed world champion; the match would take place at the pay-per-view the following month. Randy Orton defeated John Cena in a TLC match and unified the titles. Subsequently, the World Heavyweight Championship was retired and the WWE Championship was renamed the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and retained its lineage. Like the WWE Undisputed Championship, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was represented by the

neg: WWE Championship the first brand extension in August 2011, both the WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion could appear on both "Raw" and "SmackDown". In November 2013, the night after 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 TLC match at the 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. Orton and subsequent champions held both championship belts

neg: The Undertaker 17 championships. Within WWF/E, he is a four-time WWF/E Champion, a three-time World Heavyweight Champion, a six-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, a one-time WCW Tag Team Champion and a one-time WWF Hardcore Champion. Outside of WWE, he is a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WCWA Texas Heavyweight Champion. The Undertaker has headlined multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events for WWE, including four WrestleManias (WrestleMania 13, WrestleMania XXIV, WrestleMania XXVI, and WrestleMania 33). According to WWE, The Undertaker has 101 WWE PPV victories, more than any other WWE wrestler ever. Calaway was born in Houston, Texas, the son

neg: World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) December 15, 2013, to unify the titles. Subsequently, the WWE Championship was renamed WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The unified championship retained the lineage of the WWE Championship, and the World Heavyweight Championship was retired. With his victory over John Cena, Randy Orton became the final World Heavyweight Champion. Like with the Undisputed Championship, the Big Gold Belt was used in tandem with the WWE Championship belt to represent the WWE World Heavyweight Championship until a single belt was presented to then champion Brock Lesnar in August 2014. The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the World

neg: Raw (WWE brand) and having two titles on the brand. Eventually, then World Heavyweight Champion Batista took his title to SmackDown, leaving only the WWE Championship on "Raw". On the 2008 draft lottery, CM Punk got drafted to Raw and then won the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge, who was a SmackDown wrestler. Triple H, who was the WWE Champion at the time, got drafted to SmackDown while Kane, who was the then ECW Champion, got drafted to Raw. After the draft lottery in 2009, the WWE Championship was brought back to Raw when Triple H was drafted from SmackDown while the World

neg: Survivor Series (2013) Heavyweight Championship whilst Orton raised the WWE Championship as the event ended. The following night on "Raw", WWE Champion Randy Orton came out to talk to The Authority (Triple H and Stephanie McMahon) about causing a distraction in his title defense against Big Show when he was interrupted by World Heavyweight Champion John Cena who proposed a match against Orton to hold both world titles. Triple H agreed and made it a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at . Orton won the match and became the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Also later that night, The Shield (United States Champion

neg: Lex Luger Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958) better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, television producer and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy. He is best known for his work with Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Luger is a two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and one-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion. He is also a five-time NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Champion who holds the records for consecutive days and total days as champion. Although he never won a

neg: World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) who won at the age of 44. Edge held the title the most times with seven championship reigns. There were six vacancies throughout the title's history. Randy Orton was the final champion in his fourth reign. He defeated John Cena in a TLC match at on December 15, 2013 in Houston, Texas to unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships. World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) The World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling 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,

neg: Hulk Hogan He is a twelve-time world champion: a six-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion/WWF Champion (with his last reign being as Undisputed WWF/WWE Champion) and a six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Hogan's first WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign is the longest in history, while his first WWF Championship reign is the third-longest ever (and the longest of the 1980s). He was the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumbles, in 1990 and 1991, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2005, by Sylvester Stallone. A 2015 racism scandal ended his relationship with WWE, although he returned in 2018

neg: Randy Orton turning on Wyatt in February 2017. He won his first United States Championship in 2018, becoming the eighteenth overall Grand Slam Champion after already having been the Seventeenth Triple Crown Champion. Orton has held the WWE Championship nine times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship four times. He was the final holder of the World Heavyweight Championship, which he unified with the WWE Championship at in December 2013 to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion by defeating John Cena. Orton is recognized by WWE as having the fourth-most world championship victories in history behind only Triple H, Ric Flair and John

neg: ECW One Night Stand (2006) the controversy of Rob Van Dam's WWE Championship win. He announced that Vince McMahon ruled Van Dam's WWE Championship win as official and that the WWE Championship would be rechristened as the ECW World Heavyweight Championship on the premiere of "ECW on Sci Fi". On the debut episode of "ECW" on June 13, 2006, Heyman presented Van Dam with the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Van Dam said that he had opted to keep the spinner belt (sarcastically remarking that "this one spins!"), making him both WWE Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Edge, who was the number one contender for

neg: WWE Championship WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the SmackDown brand. It is one of two world titles for WWE's main roster, alongside the WWE Universal Championship that was created for the Raw brand as a result of the 2016 WWE draft. The current champion is Daniel Bryan, who is in his fourth reign. 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, following the promotion seceding from the

neg: Big Gold Belt at the pay-per-view, the title was unified with the WWE Championship when WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, and was officially retired. On December 15, 2013, the Big Gold Belt was used in conjunction with the existing WWE Championship belt to represent the unified championship known as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (the name has since reverted to the WWE Championship). However, much like how Chris Jericho carried both physical title belts as Undisputed WWF Champion, the title history for the World Heavyweight Championship was retired as this lineage follows that of WWE's original world title.

neg: Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling Beefcake, Brian Knobs (who are best friends of Hogan), and Tom Howard with assistant trainers Joseph Meehan, Kevin Martenson, Tommy Williams, Tommy Wilson and Sam Culver. Bubba the Love Sponge was the special commentator. Former professional wrestlers also made special appearances in the series. Bill Goldberg, a film actor and former WCW World Heavyweight Champion and WWE World Heavyweight Champion, guest starred in the sixth episode. Rob Van Dam, a former ECW World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Champion, guest starred in the fifth episode. Bonaduce was originally eliminated in week 5 because of an injury, but he was brought back

neg: Booker T (wrestler) bought WCW". Booker is a six-time world champion, having won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship five times (four times in WCW, and once in the WWF) and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. He is the first non-mixed race African American to become a world champion in WWE, and was voted the greatest World Heavyweight Champion in a WWE viewer poll. Booker is a 15-time world tag team champion between WCW (10 times), WWF/E (four times), and TNA (once). Additionally, he was the winner of the King of the Ring tournament in 2006, the sixteenth Triple Crown Champion, and the ninth

neg: WWE Intercontinental Championship WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the Raw brand. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE United States Championship on the SmackDown brand. The current champion is Dean Ambrose, who is in his third reign. The championship was established by the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on September 1, 1979, after inaugural champion Pat Patterson unified (kayfabe) the WWF North American Heavyweight and South American Heavyweight championships. It is the third oldest championship currently active in

neg: WCW International World Heavyweight Championship was the first and last titleholder. The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship has its origins in the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the principal championship of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA was a syndicate of wrestling promotions who would book an overall champion. In 1991, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion was Ric Flair, who held the title when he wrestled for WCW. Flair was simultaneously considered the WCW World Heavyweight Champion; he was stripped of both titles because he left to work for rival company World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Lex Luger won the vacant WCW World Heavyweight

neg: ECW World Heavyweight Championship at One Night Stand 2006. Heyman had originally stated that either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship would "become" the ECW World Heavyweight Championship if a competitor designated to the ECW brand became WWE Champion or World Heavyweight Champion at the event. However, Rob Van Dam later declared that he would hold both titles simultaneously instead. The title became known as the ECW World Championship in June 2006, and later simply as the ECW Championship in August 2007. Following the events of the WWE brand extension, an annual WWE draft was established, in which select members of the

neg: World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (original version) August 27, 1994, Shane Douglas participated and won the tournament and discarded the NWA World Heavyweight Championship proclaiming himself the new Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion. After this event ECW withdrew from the NWA and renamed itself Extreme Championship Wrestling. The title was decommissioned after ECW's bankruptcy in 2001 and subsequent purchase by WWE, then reactivated and competed for on the ECW brand of WWE from 2006 to 2010 when it was retired for the final time. WWE created a new World Heavyweight Championship following its first brand split, when then-WWE "Undisputed" Champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to the

neg: Rhyno Rhyno Terrance Guido Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler, actor and politician formerly signed to WWE under the ring name Rhyno. He has also worked in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH) under the ring name Rhino. Rhyno held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Heavyweight Championship once each, and was the final ECW World Heavyweight Champion within the original ECW promotion. He is also a one-time WCW United States Champion, two-time ECW World Television Champion, three-time WWF Hardcore Champion, and a one-time and inaugural WWE

neg: WrestleMania XXX both men. Bryan once again challenged Orton for the vacant championship at Hell in a Cell; Triple H interfered in the match and was attacked by Bryan, resulting in special guest referee Shawn Michaels attacking Bryan, which led to Orton capturing the WWE Championship again. At , WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena to unify the two titles into the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In January 2014, Batista returned to WWE after having left in May 2010, and promptly won the 2014 Royal Rumble match for a slot in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match

neg: WWE Tough Enough in WWE), former fitness model Kim Nielsen (who was known by her real name in WWE and as Desire in TNA, and who competed on season 13 of "The Biggest Loser") and Gunner. Order of Elimination: The third season was won by John Hennigan and Matt Cappotelli. Hennigan, who wrestled for two years under the name Johnny Nitro before changing it to John Morrison, is the most successful "Tough Enough" winner being a former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, a three-time Intercontinental Champion, and he has held both the WWE World Tag Team Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship. Cappotelli

neg: WWE Championship the oldest champion is Vince McMahon, who won it at the age of 54. John Cena holds the record for most reigns with 13. Daniel Bryan is the current champion in his fourth reign. He won the title on November 13, 2018, in St. Louis, Missouri, on "SmackDown Live" by defeating AJ Styles. WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the SmackDown brand. It is one of two world titles for WWE's main roster, alongside the WWE Universal Championship that was created for the Raw brand

neg: Triple H SummerSlam, in which Michaels came out of retirement to win. Afterwards, however, Triple H attacked him with a sledgehammer and Michaels was carried out of the ring. Before September 2, 2002, WWE recognized only one world champion, the WWE Undisputed Champion, for both the "Raw" and "SmackDown!" brands. After SummerSlam, then WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to "SmackDown!", leaving "Raw" without a world champion. "Raw" general manager Eric Bischoff then awarded Triple H the World Heavyweight Championship, represented by the Big Gold Belt (which previously had been used to represent the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and WCW World

neg: Kurt Angle the WWF/WWE Championship four times, the WCW Championship once, and the World Heavyweight Championship once. He is the tenth Triple Crown Champion and the fifth Grand Slam Champion (achieving this accolade twice under both the original and current format) in WWE history. On March 31, 2017, Angle was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. After leaving WWE in 2006, Angle joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now Impact Wrestling) where he became the inaugural and record six-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, and the second Triple Crown winner in TNA history (as well as the only one to hold all required

neg: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match CM Punk would retain the title after The Shield got involved. This was the first TLC match where all the weapons would have to be retrieved from under the ring. At , WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena in a TLC match for both the WWE and World Heavyweight titles. Orton became the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion after winning this match. At Extreme Rules (2014), a "WeeLC match" was contested between El Torito and Hornswoggle, the first TLC match to involve midget wrestlers and only the second to be won by pinfall rather than retrieving

neg: World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) Heavyweight Championship between the Raw and SmackDown brands. The inaugural champion was Triple H, and there were 25 different champions overall. The longest reigning champion was Batista who held the title from April 3, 2005, to January 10, 2006, for a total of 282 days. Triple H holds the record for longest combined reigns at 616 days. The shortest reigning champion was Randy Orton in his fourth reign, who immediately retired the championship upon winning it and unifying it with the WWE Championship. He was also the youngest champion, at the age of 24. The oldest champion was The Undertaker

neg: The Authority (professional wrestling) from the Authority. On November 4 at a live event in Dublin, Ireland, during a match with Kane, Rollins suffered legitimate tears in his right ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus, and underwent surgery and would be out for 6–9 months. As a result, he was forced to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on November 5. On the following episode of "Raw", Triple H announced a tournament to crown a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, then introduced Roman Reigns, who he gave the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, then told Reigns it could be his if he replaced Rollins as the

neg: World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) both brands could challenge the Undisputed Champion. Following the appointment of Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon as General Managers of the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively, Stephanie McMahon contracted then-champion Brock Lesnar to the SmackDown brand, leaving the Raw brand without a World Title. On September 2, after disputing the brand designation of the Undisputed title, Eric Bischoff announced the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship. Bischoff awarded the title to Triple H due to previously being Lesnar's scheduled opponent. Immediately afterwards, the Undisputed Championship returned to being the WWE Championship.<ref name="Raw9/2"></ref> The World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship

neg: Aleister Black Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, Westside Xtreme Wrestling, Over the Top Wrestling, Revolution Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Showdown among others. He also worked for international promotions, such as North America's Combat Zone Wrestling, Evolve and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as the Japanese promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling. End held numerous championships, among other accolades he is a former: wXw Unified World Heavyweight Champion, wXw World Light Heavyweight Champion, wXw World Tag Team Champion, ICW Tag Team Champion, Progress Tag Team Champion. In June 2016, it was reported that Budgen had signed with WWE. He reported to the WWE Performance Center

neg: Jerry Lawler Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American professional wrestler and color commentator signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the company's legends program. Prior to joining WWE in 1992 (then known as the World Wrestling Federation), he wrestled in numerous territories, winning numerous championships, including many world championships, throughout his career. Lawler is a one-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion and a three-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion. He unified the titles by defeating Kerry Von Erich at Superclash III, forming the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, a championship which

neg: Chris Benoit Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. During his 22-year career, Benoit worked for numerous promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Industry journalist Dave Meltzer considered him "one of the top 10, maybe even the top 5, all-time greats". Benoit held 22 championships between WWF/WWE, WCW, NJPW, and ECW. He was a two-time world champion, having been a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE; he was

neg: Dean Ambrose on to become a one-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, a three-time Intercontinental Champion, and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion (with Rollins). He was also the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match winner and successfully cashed in his contract to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Upon winning the Raw Tag Team Championship, Ambrose became the twenty-seventh Triple Crown Champion and the sixteenth and youngest Grand Slam Champion, the first Shield member to have completed it. Ambrose has headlined multiple pay-per-view events for WWE. Jonathan David Good was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 7, 1985. He has a sister.

neg: Ric Flair Horsemen, he is also a member of the NWA Hall of Fame, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. Flair is officially recognized by WWE as a 16-time world champion (eight-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time WWF Champion), although the number of his world championship reigns varies by source, ranging from 16 to 25. He has claimed to be a 21-time champion. He was the first holder of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (which he also held last). As the inaugural WCW

neg: Bret Hart his career, and 17 held between the WWF/WWE and WCW. Among other accolades, he is a five-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion and a two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Hart has most combined days as WWF World Heavyweight Champion during the 1990s (654), and was the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion born outside the United States. He is the second WWF Triple Crown Champion and fifth (with Goldberg) WCW Triple Crown Champion, and the first man to win both the WWF and WCW Triple Crown Championships. Hart is also the 1994 Royal Rumble match winner (with Lex Luger), and the only

neg: TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2013) TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2013) TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2013) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE, which took place on December 15, 2013, at the Toyota Center in Houston. It was the fifth annual event, and WWE's last pay-per-view event in 2013. The theme of the event is that the main event was a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on the pre-show. The main event saw WWE Champion Randy Orton defeat World Heavyweight Champion John Cena to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, thus unifying

neg: Randy Orton title against Big Show, Orton was confronted by World Heavyweight Champion and long-time rival John Cena. The following night on "Raw", Cena suggested that there should only be "one champion" in WWE, so Triple H stated there would be a unification match at the pay-per-view. On December 15, Orton defeated Cena at TLC to unify both titles, and becoming the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion as well as officially being recognized as the final World Heavyweight Champion. Orton retained the title at the Royal Rumble against Cena after interference by The Wyatt Family. On February 23 at Elimination Chamber, Orton

neg: WWE United States Championship in WWE at the time, received a minor update, replacing the long-standing scratch logo with WWE's new logo originally used for the WWE Network. In 2015, WWE introduced an updated version of its Grand Slam Championship, and the United States Championship became officially recognized as a component of the re-established honor. In August at SummerSlam, then-United States Champion John Cena faced then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in a title-for-title match, which Rollins ultimately won to become the first wrestler to hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and United States Championship simultaneously. Rollins held both titles until Cena defeated Rollins

neg: World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) programming became full roster "supershows". The World Heavyweight Championship was retired at on December 15, 2013, when it was unified with the WWE Championship. Triple H was the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion, with Randy Orton being the last. The title was one of six to be represented by the historic Big Gold Belt, first 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 introduced its World Heavyweight Championship in 2002 by Eric Bischoff awarding Triple H the inaugural

neg: Cruiserweight (professional wrestling) years the notion of lighter wrestlers becoming main event stars has become more accepted in WWE due to many of the top talents over the past 15 years arguably falling into the cruiserweight category. As a result, a very substantial portion of WWE's roster are billed at, slightly less, or slightly more than 220 lbs. Many lighter wrestlers have achieved main event status within WWE and, over the years, have won several world heavyweight championships. For instance, the billed weight of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan is 210 lbs. Other lighter wrestlers who have risen to prominence as

neg: Rob Van Dam Championship and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship as well as the only one to hold them at the same time, making him a double world champion. He would become the fifteenth WWE Triple Crown Champion as a result of his WWE Championship win. At Vengeance, Van Dam defeated Edge to retain the WWE Championship. Two nights later on "ECW on Sci Fi", Van Dam defeated Kurt Angle to retain the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 3 episode of "Raw", Van Dam lost the WWE Championship to Edge in a triple threat match that also featured John Cena. The

neg: Seth Rollins championship while with the group, the WWE Tag Team Championship with Reigns. Following the team's first breakup in June 2014, Rollins went on to become a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, two-time Intercontinental Champion, a one-time United States Champion, a four-time WWE/Raw Tag Team Champion (with Reigns, Ambrose, and Jason Jordan), the 2014 Money in the Bank winner, and the 2015 Superstar of the Year. Upon winning his first Intercontinental Championship, he became the 29th Triple Crown Champion and the 18th Grand Slam Champion. Rollins has headlined numerous major pay-per-view events for WWE, including WrestleMania 31. Industry veteran Sting, who

neg: WWE Championship a divider bar and a large plate. Default side plates consisted of a red globe with the WWE logo underneath a crown, but they were replaced with the reigning champion's personal logo in lieu of a name plate. This championship belt was used in tandem with the Big Gold Belt to represent the renamed WWE World Heavyweight Championship after Randy Orton unified the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship on December 15, 2013. On the August 18, 2014 episode of "Raw", reigning champion Brock Lesnar, who had won the title the night before at SummerSlam, was presented with a

neg: Bobby Lashley SmackDown vs Raw 2008", "WWE 2K19". Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. During Lashley's first tenure with WWE, he was a two-time ECW World Champion and one-time United States Champion. Lashley is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he was a four-time Impact World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time X Division Champion, and one-time and final King of the Mountain Champion. Between WWE and Impact, Lashley has won a total of 9 championships,

neg: SummerSlam (2015) while losing to Neville. On the July 13 episode of "Raw", Stardust defeated Neville. On the August 10 episode of "Raw", where Amell was again a special guest, Neville defeated King Barrett, but was then attacked by Stardust. Stardust then assaulted Amell, who entered the ring and attacked Stardust in return. Amell and Neville then persuaded Triple H backstage to make a tag team match at SummerSlam, with Amell and Neville facing Stardust and Barrett. On the July 20 episode of "Raw", United States Champion John Cena challenged WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins to a WWE World Heavyweight Championship

neg: Women's professional wrestling retirement in 1964, The Fabulous Moolah, who won a junior heavyweight version of the NWA World Women's Championship (the predecessor to the original WWE Women's Championship) in a tournament back in 1958, was recognized by most NWA promoters as champion by default. WWE has four active women's championships: two for their main roster's brands, the WWE Raw Women's Championship and WWE SmackDown Women's Championship, and two for their developmental brands, the NXT Women's Championship and the NXT UK Women's Championship. The Fabulous Moolah is recognized as WWE's first Women's Champion, with her reign beginning in 1956. In 2002, WWE began

neg: Dusty Rhodes (wrestler) the "Common Man", known for the personality exhibited in his interviews. WWE chairman Vince McMahon remarked that no wrestler "personified the essence of charisma quite like Dusty Rhodes". Rhodes was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions, later known as WCW, he was a United States Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time World Television, World Tag Team and World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He also won many regional championships, and is one of six men inducted into each of the WWE, WCW, Professional Wrestling, and "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" Halls of Fame. His sons, Dustin and

neg: Deep South Heavyweight Championship Deep South Heavyweight Championship The Deep South Heavyweight Championship was the primary championship in Deep South Wrestling, a former developmental territory of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). When the title was first introduced, it was awarded to Mike Mizanin, who won a tournament to become the initial champion. The title was vacated on April 18, 2007 when WWE ceased using DSW as a developmental territory. On July 12, 2007, a tournament was held to crown a new champion, which was won by Austin Creed. The title was first awarded to the winner of an 8-Man Single Elimination Tournament, held over a

neg: Deep South Heavyweight Championship 2 week period with the first round matches being held November 23, 2005, and the semi-final and final matches on December 1. The title was "held-up" after the agreement between WWE and DSW ended in March 2007, and another tournament was held in on July 12 to crown the new champion. Deep South Heavyweight Championship The Deep South Heavyweight Championship was the primary championship in Deep South Wrestling, a former developmental territory of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). When the title was first introduced, it was awarded to Mike Mizanin, who won a tournament to become the initial champion. The title

neg: SummerSlam (2002) Lesnar remained the youngest world champion in WWE history until Randy Orton won the World Heavyweight Championship in 2004, although Lesnar remains the youngest WWE Champion in history. On the August 26 episode of "Raw", due to the requirements of the WWE Undisputed Championship being defended on both shows, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff expected Brock Lesnar to be able to return on "Raw" the next night. Lesnar and SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon appeared to announce that Lesnar's contract only required him to defend the title on "SmackDown!"; subsequently Bischoff established the World Heavyweight Championship as a separate world

neg: Drew McIntyre Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born June 6, 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. During his first tenure at WWE from 2007 to 2014, McIntyre was a one-time Intercontinental Champion and one-time WWE Tag Team Champion. Outside of WWE, he performed under his real name, Drew Galloway, most notably with Impact Wrestling, where he was a one-time Impact World Champion and one-time Impact Grand Champion. Galloway has also wrestled extensively on the independent scene. He is a two-time ICW World Heavyweight

neg: Adam Pearce Adam Pearce Adam Pearce (born June 24, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler who is currently working as a producer for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is a former five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time PWG World Champion, a one-time NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion, a member of the NWA Hall of Fame, and a former trainer and coach at the WWE Performance Center. Pearce lettered in both football and baseball in high school. Between his junior and senior years, Pearce suffered from Acute Muscular Compartment Syndrome in both of his lower legs and underwent surgery. As a result,

neg: Rey Mysterio the course of his career include WWE's World Heavyweight Championship, the WWE Championship, WCW/WWE Cruiserweight Championship, WCW World Tag Team Championship, WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship, WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship, WWE Tag Team Championship, and WWE Intercontinental Championship. He is also the twenty-first WWE Triple Crown Champion and the winner of the 2006 Royal Rumble match. Gutierrez made his debut in Mexico on April 30, 1989, when he was 14 years old. He was trained by his uncle Rey Misterio Sr. and wrestled early on in Mexico where he learned the "Lucha Libre" high flying style that has been

neg: Bob Backlund Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler with an in-ring career spanning over 30 years, best known for his tenures in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation (WWWF/WWF, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment and currently simply known as WWE), where he is a two-time WWWF/WWF Heavyweight Champion/WWF World Heavyweight Champion (Backlund's first reign is the second-longest reign in the title history, behind Bruno Sammartino's first), as well as being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013. Backlund was an accomplished amateur wrestler for the North Dakota State University

neg: WWE United States Championship T and Seth Rollins are the only two men to have held both the United States Championship and a world championship simultaneously; in Booker T's case, the world title was the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, while Rollins held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. (Both Lex Luger and Goldberg were the United States Champion when they won their first world championship, but unlike Booker T and Rollins, they vacated the United States Championship after winning their world championships.) Terry Funk is the oldest champion in the title's history, winning the title at the age of 56 on September 22, 2000, while

neg: Bobby Lashley Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. During Lashley's first tenure with WWE, he was a two-time ECW World Champion and one-time United States Champion. Lashley is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he was a four-time Impact World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time X Division Champion, and one-time and final King of the Mountain Champion. Between WWE and Impact, Lashley has won a total of 9 championships, and headlined multiple pay-per-view events. Franklin

neg: Vengeance (2006) wrestlers belonged to the Raw brand – a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees to a different program, the other two being "SmackDown!" and "ECW". The main rivalry heading into Vengeance was between WWE Champion and ECW World Champion Rob Van Dam who was defending the WWE Championship against Edge in a singles match. The buildup to the match began on the television premiere of "ECW on Sci Fi", in which Van Dam was awarded the ECW World Heavyweight Championship (which later become simply known as ECW World Championship) by Paul Heyman, thus making Van Dam a double

neg: Rhyno to live on a boat. Rhyno Terrance Guido Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler, actor and politician formerly signed to WWE under the ring name Rhyno. He has also worked in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH) under the ring name Rhino. Rhyno held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Heavyweight Championship once each, and was the final ECW World Heavyweight Champion within the original ECW promotion. He is also a one-time WCW United States Champion, two-time ECW World Television Champion, three-time WWF Hardcore Champion, and

neg: Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler and author. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The New Daniel Bryan and is the current WWE Champion in his fourth reign. In WWE, Bryan held the WWE Championship four times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once, in addition to being a one-time United States Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion, and a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion as part of Team Hell No (with Kane). He was also the 2011 SmackDown Money in the Bank

neg: ECW World Heavyweight Championship days. ECW World Heavyweight Championship The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW promotion, spun off from the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. It was established under ECW in 1994, but was originally introduced in 1992 by the promotion's precursor, Eastern Championship Wrestling. The inaugural champion was Jimmy Snuka. The title was deactivated in 2001 when ECW went out of business. ECW was then purchased by WWE two years later during the summer of 2003.

neg: ECW World Heavyweight Championship ECW World Heavyweight Championship The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW promotion, spun off from the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. It was established under ECW in 1994, but was originally introduced in 1992 by the promotion's precursor, Eastern Championship Wrestling. The inaugural champion was Jimmy Snuka. The title was deactivated in 2001 when ECW went out of business. ECW was then purchased by WWE two years later during the summer of 2003. In

neg: Raven (wrestler) by Raven over the course of his career include the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, ECW World Tag Team Championship, NWA World Heavyweight Championship, WCW Light Heavyweight Championship, WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, WCW World Tag Team Championship and WWF/E Hardcore Championship. He is recognized as the most decorated wrestler in the history of WWE with 36 separate title reigns under the WWE, WCW and ECW banners, including a record 27 reigns as WWF/E Hardcore Champion. After graduating from the University of Delaware with a degree in criminal justice, Levy trained as a professional wrestler under Larry Sharpe at the Monster

neg: WWE 2K many to become the World Heavyweight Champion and attempts to gain the WWE title. And lastly, the One More Match story, which stars captain charisma, Christian as he complained about having one more match as his way of getting multiple second chances of earning the World Heavyweight Championship. Originally, these stories were meant to be produced for "WWE '12", "WWE '13" & "WWE 2K14", but the developers chose to use "WWE '12" for Road to Wrestlemania, the Attitude Era for and 30 years of Wrestlemania for . "WWE 2K16" details the historical career of Steve Austin, from his days at

neg: Big Show Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972), better known by the ring name Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Wight began his career in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he was known by the ring name The Giant. Big Show is a seven-time world champion, having held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice, the WWF/WWE Championship twice, WWE's World Heavyweight Championship twice and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once (he is the only man to have held all four of those particular

neg: SmackDown (WWE brand) that the Divas on SmackDown had no championship to compete for. Michelle McCool became the inaugural champion by defeating Natalya on July 20 at The Great American Bash. On February 15, 2009 at No Way Out, Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship in Raw's Elimination Chamber match, thus making it a SmackDown exclusive title and giving SmackDown two top tier championships. As a result of the 2009 WWE draft in April, then WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to Raw while the World Heavyweight Championship also moved to the Raw brand after Edge lost the title to Cena at WrestleMania

neg: Kane (wrestler) Stephanie McMahon announced Kane as the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules, prompting Kane to attack champion Daniel Bryan and his wife Brie Bella. Kane lost his title match to Bryan at Extreme Rules. At Money in the Bank, Kane helped Seth Rollins win his Money in the Bank contract, and then he competed in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship ladder match, which was won by John Cena. At Battleground, Kane competed in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship fatal four-way match against John Cena, Randy Orton, and Roman Reigns, but Cena retained the title.

neg: Road Dogg the WWF, James became the inaugural WWA World Heavyweight Champion before once again finding success as a tag team wrestler in TNA, where he was a two-time National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Tag Team Champion with Konnan and Ron Killings under the Freebird Rule as the 3Live Kru. James also twice competed for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view. WWE commentator John Layfield charted James's transition from "a cornerstone of the Attitude Era; one of its greatest stars and one of its architects", to "one of the prime creative forces behind WWE". James is a second generation wrestler; his

neg: Rob Van Dam August 26 episode of "Raw", Van Dam also unified the WWE Hardcore Championship into the WWE Intercontinental Championship by defeating Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore title unification match. As a result, the WWE Hardcore Championship was abandoned. On the September 9 episode of "Raw", Van Dam became the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, and Big Show in a fatal four-way elimination match. Van Dam started feuding with the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. On the September 16 episode of "Raw", Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Jericho

neg: Dave Bautista Dave Bautista David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor, professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and bodybuilder. Bautista began wrestling in 1999, and signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 2000. From 2002 to 2010 he gained fame under the ring name Batista, winning the World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWE Championship twice. He holds the record for the longest reign as World Heavyweight Champion at 282 days and has also won the World Tag Team Championship three times (twice with Ric Flair and once with John Cena) and the WWE

neg: OVW Light Heavyweight Championship win the title. OVW Light Heavyweight Championship The Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) Light Heavyweight Championship, was a title contested in Ohio Valley Wrestling. The title was created in February 9, 1999 and was retired in March 1, 2001 due to the company withdrawing its membership from the NWA in 2000 and becoming one of the first developmental territory's for World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). The title was declared retired, meaning that the OVW Light Heavyweight Championship is now being represented by a trash can. The final champion was Chris Micheals, who defeated the former champion Sean Casey at the OVW

neg: OVW Light Heavyweight Championship OVW Light Heavyweight Championship The Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) Light Heavyweight Championship, was a title contested in Ohio Valley Wrestling. The title was created in February 9, 1999 and was retired in March 1, 2001 due to the company withdrawing its membership from the NWA in 2000 and becoming one of the first developmental territory's for World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). The title was declared retired, meaning that the OVW Light Heavyweight Championship is now being represented by a trash can. The final champion was Chris Micheals, who defeated the former champion Sean Casey at the OVW TV Tapings to

neg: SummerSlam (2015) seventh match was a Winner Takes All match for both the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE United States Championship between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and United States Champion John Cena. Cena executed an "Attitude Adjustment" on Rollins for a near-fall. Rollins executed an "Attitude Adjustment" on Cena for a near-fall. As Rollins attempted a "Pedigree" ,Cena countered and applied the Figure Four Leglock on Rollins. Rollins countered but Cena reached the ropes, forcing Rollins to break the hold. Cena executed a second "Attitude Adjustment", but in the process, Rollins inadvertently kicked the referee. Jon Stewart, the

neg: WWE Backlash WWE Championship. The match involved reigning champion Randy Orton, Triple H, John Cena and John "Bradshaw" Layfield. The match was won by Triple H who became the new WWE champion. The other main event involved wrestlers from the SmackDown brand, in which reigning World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker defeated Edge in a regular Singles match to retain the championship. The main match from the ECW brand was a singles match for the ECW Championship, in which Kane retained his championship against Chavo Guerrero. The other primary match on the card was a Special Referee match between Shawn Michaels and Batista,

neg: World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (original version) name of a promotion, though the physical belt had the WWE logo on it. It would be reunified with the WWE Championship in December 2013. The Impact World Championship of Impact Wrestling, formerly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), can also be traced back to the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. TNA formed in May 2002 and established a partnership with the NWA, allowing TNA control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship. On June 19, 2002, TNA crowned the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion under their banner after Ken Shamrock won a Gauntlet for the Gold

neg: Money in the Bank ladder match 2013 at , the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships were unified into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. A fifth Money in the Bank pay-per-view took place on Sunday, June 29, 2014, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The original plan for the event was that the winner of the ladder match would receive a contract for a match for the now unified title as normal. However, on June 9, defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan was forced to vacate the title due to a neck injury, and so the already announced ladder match (consisting of John Cena, Randy

neg: Criticism of ESPN professional wrestling, as the network commissioned the Global Wrestling Federation for three years following AWA's failure, and Canadian sister network TSN held the Canadian rights to "WWE Raw" from 1996 to 2006, as well as the parent network having aired This is SportsCenter ads featuring The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and John Cena on occasion. On March 24, 2015, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and then-current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar appeared on "SportsCenter" for a "huge announcement" after it became public knowledge that Lesnar's WWE contract was set to expire after WrestleMania 31 and that he had been

neg: WrestleMania in his attempt to avenge Shawn Michaels' loss to The Undertaker from a year prior. This was the first WrestleMania in history in which both the World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Champion were able to successfully retain their titles. World Heavyweight Champion Edge defeated the challenger Alberto Del Rio in what would be Edge's last match before his retirement on April 11, and The Rock closed out the event saluting the fans after laying out John Cena and The Miz with the signature move Rock Bottom following Miz retaining the WWE Championship. This incident would set up the main event

neg: Judgment Day (2005) the match, but Theodore Long announced that he was still not the champion. Instead he had won the right to a match against the World Heavyweight champion, Batista, who was SmackDown!'s final 2005 draft pick, making the World Heavyweight Championship exclusive to SmackDown!. The following week, it was announced Batista would meet JBL at The Great American Bash with the World Heavyweight championship on the line. At the Great American Bash, Batista was disqualified for attacking JBL with a chair and JBL was declared the winner. In WWE, a title cannot be won by disqualification, but only by pinfall or

neg: Rob Conway Rob Conway Robert Thomas Conway Jr. (born November 28, 1971), is an American professional wrestler. He is known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he performed under his real name and as Robért Conway. Post-WWE, he is also known for his work with the National Wrestling Alliance, where he is a former two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He is also a seven-time Tag Team Champion, becoming a three-time World Tag Team Champion with Sylvain Grenier as part of La Resistance in the WWE and four-time NWA World Tag Team Champion once as part of The IronGodz with Jax

neg: ECW World Heavyweight Championship World Heavyweight Championship and instead proclaimed himself the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion. ECW subsequently seceded from the NWA and became Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was thus established, spun off from the NWA title. It remained active until April 11, 2001, when ECW closed and World Wrestling Entertainment subsequently purchased its assets. By 2005, WWE began reintroducing ECW through content from the ECW video library and a series of books, which included the release of "The Rise and Fall of ECW" documentary. With heightened and rejuvenated interest in the ECW franchise, WWE organized ECW One

neg: Bill Goldberg winner. Following WCW's closure in 2001, Goldberg wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) between 2002 and 2003, and for WWE between 2003 and 2004, becoming a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in the latter. After twelve years away from the company, he returned to WWE in 2016 and headlined Survivor Series against Brock Lesnar and Fastlane against Kevin Owens, where he won the Universal Championship, his third world title. Goldberg headlined multiple pay-per-view events for WCW and WWE, including twice closing WCW's premier annual event Starrcade. He is the only person to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, WWE's World

neg: WrestleMania XXVIII Henry, and Christian all came out and voiced their support for Laurinaitis over SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, who later that night put forth his own claim to run both brands. On the February 21 episode of SmackDown, the two General Managers got into an argument following a match between Raw's WWE Champion CM Punk and SmackDown's World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan that ended in a draw, with each man supporting the opposing brand's world champion. The two were then given the chance by the WWE Board of Directors to run the other show for one night in order for

neg: Christian Cage In November 2005, Reso signed with TNA under his Christian Cage ring name, where he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship twice. Reso left TNA in late 2008 and re-signed with WWE, where he won the ECW Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship twice each. He is the twenty-third Triple Crown Champion and the eleventh Grand Slam Champion in WWE history. Reso was born on November 30, 1973 in Kitchener, Ontario, the son of an American father and a Canadian mother. He played ice hockey and was a wrestling fan as a child. Reso lived in Huntsville and East Luther-Grand

neg: WWE United States Championship WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the SmackDown brand. It is one of two secondary titles for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE Intercontinental Championship on the Raw brand. The current champion is Rusev, who is in his third reign. The championship was established on January 1, 1975, as the version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in Jim Crockett Promotions, and later assumed by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which eventually seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

neg: TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2013) both titles. The professional wrestling matches at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting promotion, WWE. Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, "Raw" and "SmackDown". The main rivalry heading into TLC featured the World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, and the WWE Champion Randy Orton, over who was the proverbial "face of the WWE". Ever since SummerSlam in August, Orton had been engaged in a feud with Daniel Bryan over the WWE Championship, and owing to his alliance with The Authority (Triple H and Stephanie

neg: Survivor Series (1997) Hart left the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) immediately after the incident and moved to World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where during his tenure, he would become a 2-time World Heavyweight Champion, a 4-time United States Heavyweight Champion and a 1-time Tag Team Champion before retiring in 2000 after suffering a severe concussion. Hart would not appear in WWF (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE) until 2010 when he and Michaels finally called a truce and buried the hatchet on the Montreal Screwjob. After Survivor Series, Shawn Michaels began his third reign as WWF World Heavyweight Champion. He entered a

neg: World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) and championships among other assets. The slew of former WCW talent joining the WWF roster began "The Invasion" which effectively phased out the WCW name. Following this, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWF Championship, the WWF's world title, at Vengeance in December. At the event, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was decommissioned with Chris Jericho becoming the final WCW World Heavyweight Champion and the subsequent Undisputed WWF Champion after defeating The Rock and Steve Austin respectively. The WWF title became the undisputed championship in professional wrestling until September 2002 with the creation of the World Heavyweight

neg: Cyber Sunday (2006) of Champions" match between the WWE Champion John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion King Booker and the ECW Champion The Big Show. The fans voted for the World Heavyweight Championship to be defended. At the start of the match, Booker tried to team with Cena but was prevented by Big Show, who began to dominate. Booker and Cena combined to clothesline Big Show over the top rope and they fought. Cena tried an FU but Booker countered with a DDT. Big Show performed a chokeslam on Booker. He attempted a chokeslam through a broadcast table on Cena but Cena countered and

neg: Money in the Bank ladder match cashed in his contract on WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, who had defeated John Cena to win the championship. Orton defeated Bryan to win his seventh WWE Championship, after WWE COO Triple H, who was the special guest referee between Bryan and Cena, attacked Bryan with a Pedigree, following five weeks of holding the briefcase. On the October 28, 2013, episode of "Raw", Sandow cashed in his contract on World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Cena defeated Sandow, making Sandow the second wrestler to unsuccessfully cash in the contract and the first to lose a cash-in match via pinfall. On December 15,

neg: The Authority (professional wrestling) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, making it a triple threat match, becoming a world champion for the first time and bringing the title back to The Authority. At Extreme Rules, Rollins defeated Orton in a steel cage match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, while Big Show lost to Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match. Show took a brief hiatus from WWE afterwards, quietly leaving The Authority in the process. On the April 27 episode of "Raw", it was announced, by vote on the WWE App, that Rollins would defend the title against Orton and Reigns

neg: Yokozuna (wrestler) Japanese character Mr. Fuji (in reality a Japanese American), who would follow Anoai to the ring with a wooden bucket of salt, and waving a Japanese flag. In the WWF, Anoai was a two-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion and two-time WWF Tag Team Champion (with Owen Hart), as well as the winner of the 1993 Royal Rumble. Anoaʻi was the first wrestler of Samoan descent to hold the WWF World Heavyweight Championship as well as the first Royal Rumble winner who as a result of a direct stipulation received a WWF's world championship title shot at WrestleMania. He defeated WWE

neg: WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1991–2007) Championship on March 20, 1996. However, after the acquisition of World Championship Wrestling's assets by rival company WWE (then WWF), both lineages of the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship and the WCW Cruiserweight Championship are considered to be one and the same, and WWE refers to the holders of the Light Heavyweight Championship as former Cruiserweight Champions. Following the introduction of the Light Heavyweight Championship in 1991 (which WCW had considered to be a separate title, but WWE does not), a tournament was held to determine the inaugural champion. On October 27, Brian Pillman defeated Richard Morton in the tournament final

neg: Triple H McMahon in 2003, Levesque became a member of the McMahon family, which maintains majority ownership of WWE. Since 2011, he has curtailed his in-ring appearances as he has taken on a greater behind-the-scenes role within WWE. Over the course of his career, Levesque has held a total of 25 championships including nine reigns as WWF/WWE Champion and five as WWE's World Heavyweight Champion. In addition, he was also the winner of the 1997 King of the Ring tournament and the 2002 and 2016 Royal Rumbles. His total of 14 world championships is the third-most all-time (recognized by WWE) behind only

neg: Professional wrestling championship synonymous/alternate terms, such as the AAA Mega Championship of AAA or the WWE Universal Championship, the world title of the WWE's Raw brand, for examples). The first recognized world heavyweight championship was the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, created in 1905, and the inaugural champion was George Hackenschmidt. The lineage of many prominent contemporary world championships can be traced back to the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. The WWE also consider their top two women's championships as world championships for their women's divisions of their two respective main roster programs, Raw and SmackDown. A very common championship variation. The championship usually specifies

neg: Royal Rumble (1992) were involved for the winner -- the stipulation in which the winner would face the WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania first took place at the following year's event. It would be 24 years before the Royal Rumble was again for the (now) WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and the first match in which the champion -- Roman Reigns -- defended his title in the Rumble match. That match was won by Triple H. A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes. Ric Flair sets a new longevity record with a time of 1:00:02. This was the fifth consecutive year

neg: Booker T (wrestler) Television Championships (along with being the first African American titleholder), and a record eleven WCW World Tag Team Championships: ten as one half of Harlem Heat with his brother, Lash "Stevie Ray" Huffman in WCW (most reigns within that company), and one in the WWF with Test. Harlem Heat were recognized by WWE as being – along with The Steiner Brothers – WCW's greatest ever tag team. Booker was the final WCW World Heavyweight Champion and WCW United States Heavyweight Champion under the WCW banner; industry veteran John Layfield described him as "the best acquisition that WWE got when they

neg: Cyber Sunday (2008) program. The main feud from the Raw brand was over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the October 6, 2008 episode of "Raw", General Manager Mike Adamle announced that World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho would defend his title against Batista in a standard wrestling match, also known as a singles match, in which a guest referee would be voted for by WWE fans; the candidates for the position were Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Earlier that night, it was also announced that Santino Marella would defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against a former Intercontinental Champion voted for

neg: Kevin Nash (WWF, now WWE), where he was originally billed as Diesel. In 1994, Nash (as Diesel) won all three titles comprising the WWF Triple Crown and at that year's Slammy Awards won the MVP (now Superstar of the Year) and (with Shawn Michaels) Best Tag Team (now Tag Team of the Year) awards. Between WWE, WCW and TNA, Nash has won a total of 21 championships, including being a five-time world champion (four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and one-time WWF Champion) and a 12-time world tag team champion between the three promotions. Nash's 358-day WWF Championship reign is the longest of

neg: Royal Rumble (2016) Statement on Charlotte. Flair pulled Charlotte out of the ring. The main event was the 30-man Royal Rumble match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and Rusev began the match at number one and number two, respectively. After Reigns eliminated Rusev, AJ Styles entered at number three, marking Styles's WWE pay-per-view debut, and eliminated the next entrants, Tyler Breeze and Curtis Axel. On orders of WWE chairman Vince McMahon, the League of Nations pulled Reigns out of the ring and attacked him, where Rusev performed a Running Splash on Reigns through a broadcast table,