List of WWE Champions
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling title. Currently, it is the highest ranked championship on the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment. This is a list, by ring name, of people that have been WWE Champion.
| Wrestler | Times | Date | Place / Type Of Match / Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WWWF World Heavyweight Championship | ||||
| Buddy Rogers | 1 | April 29 1963 | Washington, DC | Awarded title on taped program, WWE has claimed Rogers won the title in a tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. |
| Bruno Sammartino | 1 | May 17 1963 | New York NY / One Fall | |
| Ivan Koloff | 1 | January 18 1971 | New York NY / One Fall | The title became a regional belt, (downgraded from a national belt), as the WWWF became part of the NWA. |
| Pedro Morales | 1 | February 8 1971 | New York NY / One Fall | |
| WWWF re-joins the NWA, title renamed WWWF Heavyweight Championship | ||||
| Stan Stasiak | 1 | December 1 1973 | Philadelphia PA / One Fall | |
| Bruno Sammartino | 2 | December 10 1973 | New York NY / One Fall | |
| "Superstar" Billy Graham | 1 | April 30 1977 | Baltimore MD / One Fall | |
| Bob Backlund | 1 | February 20 1978 | New York NY / One Fall | |
| Renamed WWF Heavyweight Championship (also referred to as the World Wrestling Federation Championship) | ||||
| On November 30, 1979 in Tokushima, Japan, Antonio Inoki pinned Bob Backlund to win the WWF championship. However, this title change was not officially recognised by the WWF and so Bob Backlund's title reign was never interrupted. During this reign, in a controversial match on November 23, 1981 with Greg Valentine, the title was declared vacant at ringside. But this was also not upheld by the WWF, and so again Backlund's reign continued to be uninterrupted. | ||||
| WWF withdraws from NWA, title renamed WWF World Heavyweight Championship (also referred to as the World Wrestling Federation Championship) | ||||
| The Iron Sheik | 1 | December 26 1983 | New York NY / One Fall | |
| Hulk Hogan | 1 | January 23 1984 | New York NY / One Fall | |
| André the Giant | 1 | February 5 1988 | Indianapolis IN / One Fall / The Main Event | |
| Awards title to Ted DiBiase, an illegal action, making the title vacant. | ||||
| Randy Savage | 1 | March 27 1988 | Atlantic City NJ / Tourn. Final / WrestleMania IV | |
| Hulk Hogan | 2 | April 2 1989 | Atlantic City NJ / One Fall / WrestleMania V | |
| The Ultimate Warrior | 1 | April 1 1990 | Toronto ON / One Fall / WrestleMania VI | |
| Sgt. Slaughter | 1 | January 19 1991 | Miami FL / One Fall / Royal Rumble | |
| Hulk Hogan | 3 | March 24 1991 | Los Angeles CA / One Fall / WrestleMania VII | |
| The Undertaker | 1 | November 27 1991 | Detroit MI / One Fall / Survivor Series | |
| Hulk Hogan | 4 | December 3 1991 | San Antonio TX / One Fall / Tuesday in Texas | |
| Title declared vacant due to disputed finish.Announcement aired on December 14,1991. | ||||
| Ric Flair | 1 | January 19 1992 | Albany NY / Royal Rumble / Royal Rumble | |
| Randy Savage | 2 | April 5 1992 | Indianapolis IN / One Fall / WrestleMania VIII | |
| Ric Flair | 2 | September 1 1992 | Hershey PA / One Fall / House Show | |
| Bret Hart | 1 | October 12 1992 | Saskatoon SK/ One Fall / House Show | |
| Yokozuna | 1 | April 4 1993 | Las Vegas NV / One Fall / WrestleMania IX | |
| Hulk Hogan | 5 | April 4 1993 | Las Vegas NV / One Fall / WrestleMania IX | |
| Yokozuna | 2 | June 13 1993 | Dayton OH / One Fall / King of the Ring | |
| Bret Hart | 2 | March 20 1994 | New York NY / One Fall / WrestleMania X | |
| Bob Backlund | 2 | November 23 1994 | San Antonio TX / Submission Match / Survivor Series | |
| Diesel | 1 | November 26 1994 | New York NY / One Fall / House Show | |
| Bret Hart | 3 | November 19 1995 | Landover MD / No DQ / Survivor Series | |
| Shawn Michaels | 1 | March 31 1996 | Anaheim CA / 60min-Iron man / WrestleMania XII | |
| Sycho Sid | 1 | November 17 1996 | New York NY / One Fall / Survivor Series | |
| Shawn Michaels | 2 | January 19 1997 | San Antonio TX / One Fall / Royal Rumble | |
| Title vacated due to injury on February 13,1997. | ||||
| Bret Hart | 4 | February 16 1997 | Chattanooga TN / Fatal Four-Way / In Your House | |
| Sycho Sid | 2 | February 17 1997 | Nashville TN / One Fall / RAW is WAR | |
| The Undertaker | 2 | March 23 1997 | Rosemont IL / One Fall / WrestleMania 13 | |
| Bret Hart | 5 | August 3 1997 | East Rutherford NJ / One Fall / SummerSlam | |
| Shawn Michaels | 3 | November 9 1997 | Montreal QC / One Fall (No DQ) / Survivor Series | Montreal Screwjob |
| Steve Austin | 1 | March 29 1998 | Boston MA / One Fall / WrestleMania XIV | Marked the "official" beginning of the WWF "Attitude Era" |
| Kane | 1 | June 28 1998 | Pittsburgh PA / First Blood / King of the Ring | |
| Steve Austin | 2 | June 29 1998 | Cleveland OH / One Fall / RAW is WAR | |
| Title vacated after controversial match between Austin, Kane, and The Undertaker in which Austin was pinned simultaneously by Kane and The Undertaker. September 27, 1998 | ||||
| The Rock | 1 | November 15 1998 | Saint Louis MO / Tourn. Finals / Survivor Series | |
| Mankind | 1 | December 29 1998 | Worcester MA / One Fall / RAW is WAR | Match aired January 4,1999 |
| The Rock | 2 | January 24 1999 | Anaheim CA / I Quit / Royal Rumble | |
| Mankind | 2 | January 26 1999 | Tucson AZ / One Fall / Halftime Heat | Matched aired January 31,1999, because of the Super Bowl the Arena was Empty |
| The Rock | 3 | February 15 1999 | Birmingham AL / Ladder / RAW is WAR | |
| Steve Austin | 3 | March 28 1999 | Philadelphia PA / One Fall / WrestleMania XV | |
| The Undertaker | 3 | May 23 1999 | Kansas City MO / One Fall / Over the Edge | |
| Steve Austin | 4 | June 28 1999 | Charlotte NC / One Fall / RAW is WAR | |
| Mankind | 3 | August 22 1999 | Minneapolis MN / Triple Threat / SummerSlam | |
| Triple H | 1 | August 23 1999 | Ames IA / One Fall / RAW is WAR | |
| Vince McMahon | 1 | September 14 1999 | Las Vegas NV / One Fall / SmackDown! | Match aired September 16,1999 |
| Title vacated on September 20 1999 and put on the line in a six-pack challenge on September 26 1999. | ||||
| Triple H | 2 | September 26 1999 | New York NY / Six-Pack / Unforgiven | |
| The Big Show | 1 | November 14 1999 | Detroit MI / Triple Threat / Survivor Series | |
| Triple H | 3 | January 3 2000 | Miami FL / One Fall / RAW is WAR | |
| On 4-17-00 on RAW in State College PA, Chris Jericho defeated Triple H for the title. Eighteen mintues later that match decision was reversed and the belt was returned to Triple H. | ||||
| The Rock | 4 | April 30 2000 | Washington DC / One Fall / Backlash | |
| Triple H | 4 | May 21 2000 | Louisville KY / 60min-Iron man / Judgement Day | |
| The Rock | 5 | June 25 2000 | Boston MA / Six-Man Tag-Team / King of the Ring | |
| On 7-23-00 at Fully Loaded in Dallas TX, Chris Benoit defeated The Rock for the title due to a stipulation where if the Rock was DQ'ed the title would change hands. During the match The Rock was mistakenly DQ'ed. Therefore the title was awarded to Chris Benoit. However, then Commissioner Foley restarted the match and The Rock won the restart.
Similarly, on 9-24-00, at Unforgiven, Chris Benoit won the WWF Title during a Fatal-4-way against The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker. Yet as Benoit was leaving the ring, Commisioner Mick Foley came down and restarted the match. The Rock won the restart. | ||||
| Kurt Angle | 1 | October 22 2000 | Albany NY / One Fall / No Mercy | |
| The Rock | 6 | February 25 2001 | Las Vegas NV / One Fall / No Way Out | |
| Steve Austin | 5 | April 1 2001 | Houston TX / One Fall / WrestleMania X-Seven | |
| Kurt Angle | 2 | September 23 2001 | Pittsburgh PA / One Fall / Unforgiven | |
| Steve Austin | 6 | October 8 2001 | Indianapolis IN / One Fall / RAW | |
| Chris Jericho | 1 | December 9 2001 | San Diego CA / One Fall / Vengeance | Jericho defeats The Rock for the World Championship and later in the same night defeats Steve Austin for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, therefore, Jericho became the first WWF Undisputed Champion and the title is renamed WWF Undisputed Championship. |
| Unified with the WCW World Championship/Renamed as the WWF Undisputed Championship. | ||||
| Triple H | 5 | March 17 2002 | Toronto ON / One Fall / WrestleMania X8 | |
| Hulk Hogan | 6 | April 21 2002 | Kansas City MO / One Fall / Backlash | |
| Renamed WWE Undisputed Championship after World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. settles a lawsuit with the World Wildlife Fund, and drops "Federation" from all references in the company. | ||||
| The Undertaker | 4 | May 19 2002 | Nashville TN / One Fall / Judgement Day | |
| The Rock | 7 | July 21 2002 | Detroit MI / Triple Threat / Vengeance | |
| Brock Lesnar | 1 | August 25 2002 | Uniondale NY / One Fall / SummerSlam | |
| Renamed WWE Championship after Brock Lesnar signs a SmackDown!-only deal, and forces RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff to create the World Heavyweight Championship and award it to the wrestler who was supposed to be the number one contender for Brock's title, Triple H. | ||||
| The Big Show | 2 | November 17 2002 | New York NY / One Fall / Survivor Series | |
| Kurt Angle | 3 | December 15 2002 | Fort Lauderdale FL / One Fall / Armageddon | |
| Brock Lesnar | 2 | March 30 2003 | Seattle WA / One Fall / WrestleMania XIX | |
| Kurt Angle | 4 | July 27 2003 | Denver CO / Triple Threat / Vengeance | |
| Brock Lesnar | 3 | September 16 2003 | Raleigh NC / Iron man / SmackDown! | |
| Eddie Guerrero | 1 | February 15 2004 | San Francisco CA / One Fall / No Way Out | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield | 1 | June 27 2004 | Norfolk VA / Texas Bull rope / The Great American Bash | |
| John Cena | 1 | April 3 2005 | Los Angeles CA / One Fall / WrestleMania 21 | In the 2005 Draft Lottery, John Cena is drafted to RAW from SmackDown!. The WWE Championship becomes a RAW-exclusive belt. |
| Edge | 1 | January 8 2006 | Albany NY / One Fall / New Year's Revolution | Cashed in his "Money in the Bank" opportunity from WrestleMania 21 after Cena won the Elimination Chamber match minutes earlier. |
| John Cena | 2 | January 29 2006 | Miami FL / One Fall / Royal Rumble | |
| Rob Van Dam | 1 | June 11 2006 | New York NY / One Fall / ECW One Night Stand | Cashed in his "Money in the Bank" contract from WrestleMania 22. First WWE championship won in an ECW environment. |
| Edge | 2 | July 3 2006 | Philadelphia PA / Triple Threat / RAW | Brings the WWE Championship back to the RAW brand. This match also involved John Cena. |
| John Cena | 3 | September 17 2006 | Toronto ON / Tables, Ladders & Chairs / Unforgiven | |