List of WWE Champions

The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand. It was the first world title established in WWE, at the time known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), having been introduced in 1963 as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship. The WWWF, a National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territory, did not recognize Lou Thesz's victory over reigning NWA champion Buddy Rogers and sought to create its own world title upon exiting the body.^[a] The WWWF rejoined the NWA in 1971; however, one of the caveats of rejoining is that the championship would no longer be recognised as a "world championship", and only as a regional heavyweight championship.^[1] The promotion was renamed World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979 and ended its affiliation with the (NWA) in 1983, with the title also renamed to reflect the changes; it regained its world championship status upon leaving the NWA. In 2001, it was unified with the World Championship and became the Undisputed WWF Championship.^[2][3] In 2002, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and split its roster into two brands, Raw and SmackDown.^[4][5] The title, now renamed the WWE Championship, was then designated to the SmackDown brand while WWE established an alternate world title known as the World Heavyweight Championship for the Raw brand. A third alternate world title, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, was reactivated for the ECW brand in 2006. It was vacated and decommissioned when the ECW brand disbanded in 2010.^[6]

When WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event on December 15, 2013, in a Tables, ladders, and chairs match, the World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship, resulting in the retiring of the former,^[7] as well as the renaming of the latter to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. On June 27, 2016, the name was shortened back to the WWE Championship,^[8] before assuming the WWE World Championship name on July 26, when the brand extension returned. It became designated to the SmackDown brand and WWE again established an alternate world title known as the WWE Universal Championship for the Raw brand. In December 2016, WWE again shortened the title's name back to WWE Championship.^[9] Since April 2022, the title has represented one-half of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, with the other half represented by the Universal Championship, but both titles have retained their individual lineages. Under the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship moniker, the title was moved to SmackDown in the 2023 draft and Raw established a new World Heavyweight Championship as an alternative title.

The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. Some reigns were held by champions using a ring name while others use their real name. Cody Rhodes is the current champion in his first reign. He won the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (WWE and Universal Championships) by defeating Roman Reigns in a Bloodline Rules match at WrestleMania XL Night 2 on April 7, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

As of June 6, 2024, there have been 147 recognized reigns between 55 recognized champions and 11 recognized vacancies (there are 4 reigns, 2 people, and 2 vacancies that are not recognized by the WWE). The first champion was Buddy Rogers, who was awarded the championship in 1963. The champion with the single longest reign is Bruno Sammartino with a reign of 2,803 days while the record for longest combined reign is also held by Sammartino at 4,040. John Cena has the most reigns with 13. Nine men in history have held the championship for a continuous reign of one year (365 days) or more: Bruno Sammartino (who achieved the feat on two occasions), Pedro Morales, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, John Cena, CM Punk, AJ Styles, and Roman Reigns. Of those nine, five held the championship for a continuous reign of 1,000 days or more: Bruno Sammartino (who achieved the feat on two occasions), Pedro Morales, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, and Roman Reigns. ^[10]

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