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List of World Heavyweight Champions (WWE, 2002–2013)

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List of World Heavyweight Champions (WWE, 2002–2013)

none

Youngest, four-time and final champion [[Randy Orton

The World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It was established by WWE in 2002 after WWE bought out World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and split its roster into two brands, Raw and SmackDown!, in a brand extension. WWE's original world title, the WWE Championship, with which the WCW World Heavyweight Championship had been unified in 2001, was designated to the SmackDown! brand; as a result the World Heavyweight Championship was established for the Raw brand. Although both titles used the "Big Gold" belt design, the World Heavyweight Championship was not a continuation of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but rather its indirect successor. For a list of champions who have held those titles, see the list of WCW World Heavyweight Champions and list of NWA World Heavyweight Champions respectively.

At the TLC pay-per-view on December 15, 2013, when WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, the World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship, resulting in the retiring of the former, and the renaming of the latter to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

The championship was contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes. The first champion was Triple H, who was awarded the title on September 2, 2002, by Eric Bischoff, then-General Manager of Raw, and he also holds the record for longest combined reign at 616 days. Overall, there have been 25 different official champions, with Edge having the most reigns at seven. The longest single reign was held by Batista, lasting 282 days. The final holder was Randy Orton, who was also the youngest champion at the age of 24 when he first won the championship, as well as the shortest reigning champion in his fourth and final reign, immediately retiring the title after winning and unifying it with the WWE Championship. The Undertaker was the oldest champion when he won the title for the third time at the age of 44 years.

Title history

Names

NameYears
World Heavyweight ChampionshipSeptember 2, 2002 – December 15, 2013
World ChampionshipDuring Rey Mysterio's reignsDuring Rey Mysterio's reigns in 2006 and 2010, the title was referred to as the World Championship due to Mysterio not being a heavyweight.

Reigns

At No Mercy on October 20, 2002, Triple H defeated Intercontinental Champion Kane to unify the Intercontinental Championship into the World Heavyweight Championship. Aired on tape delay on January 13, 2006. Aired on tape delay on January 13, 2006. Following the win, Edge transferred from Raw to SmackDown!. Aired on tape delay on May 11, 2007. Aired on tape delay on July 20, 2007. Aired on tape delay on July 20, 2007. Aired on tape delay on May 2, 2008. The title moved to Raw due to Punk's status as a Raw wrestler as CM Punk was drafted to Raw the week prior in the 2008 WWE Draft. The WWE Championship moved to the SmackDown! brand a week prior due to the Draft as then WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to SmackDown. The title became exclusive to SmackDown due to Edge's status as a SmackDown wrestler. The title became exclusive to the Raw brand due to Cena's status as a Raw wrestler. The title was returned to SmackDown due to Edge's status as a SmackDown wrestler. Two weeks prior to the event, then WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to Raw in the 2009 WWE Draft. WWE recognizes Jericho's reign as ending on April 2, 2010, when the following episode aired on tape delay. WWE recognizes Swagger's reign as beginning on April 2, 2010, when the episode aired on tape delay. WWE recognizes Edge's reign as ending on February 18, 2011, when the following episode aired on tape delay. Aired on tape delay on February 18, 2011. Aired on tape delay on February 18, 2011, the date WWE recognizes for the reign. Aired on tape delay on April 15, 2011. WWE recognizes Christian's reign as ending on May 6, 2011, when the following episode aired on tape delay. Aired on tape delay on January 11, 2013.

Combined reigns

RankWrestlerNo. of
reignsCombined daysCombined days
recognized by WWE1234567811121314151617182021222324
5616611
{{sortnameBatistaDave Bautista}}4508507
{{sortnameEdgedab=wrestler}}7409405
2223
{{sortnameSheamusSheamus}}1210
3207
3160161
1154153
3154155
{{sortnameKanedab=wrestler}}1154153
2140139
4140145
1126125
3106
1105104
191
{{sortnameGoldbergBill Goldberg}}18483
18378
18281
272
269
16160
{{sortnameChristiandab=wrestler}}23132
22827
1

Notes

References

;General

;Specific

References

  1. (2001-03-21). "WWE Entertainment, Inc. Acquires WCW from Turner Broadcasting". [[WWE]].
  2. (2002-03-27). "WWE Entertainment To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands". [[WWE]].
  3. (2002-09-02). "RAW gets its own champion!". [[WWE.
  4. "World Heavyweight Championship title history". [[WWE]].
  5. "WCW World Heavyweight Championship history". [[WWE]].
  6. "Retired Championships". WWE.
  7. "Triple H's first reign". [[WWE]].
  8. Mahling, Mallory. (2002-09-03). "9/2 WWE Raw review: New Raw World Championship established". PW Torch.
  9. (17 November 2002). "Shawn Michaels' first reign". [[WWE]].
  10. Keller, Wade. (2002-11-17). "11/17 WWE Survivor Series: Keller's Virtual Time PPV Results". PW Torch.
  11. (15 December 2002). "Triple H's second reign". [[WWE]].
  12. Keller, Wade. (2002-12-15). "12/15 WWE Armageddon PPV report: Keller's "virtual time" results". PW Torch.
  13. "Goldberg's first reign". [[WWE]].
  14. Keller, Wade. (2003-09-21). "9/21 WWE Unforgiven PPV results: Keller's "virtual time" results of live event". PW Torch.
  15. "Triple H's third reign". [[WWE]].
  16. Keller, Wade. (2003-12-14). "12/14 WWE Armageddon PPV: Keller's ongoing "virtual time" detailed coverage". PW Torch.
  17. (14 March 2004). "Chris Benoit's first reign". [[WWE]].
  18. "Randy Orton's first reign". [[WWE]].
  19. Keller, Wade. (2004-08-16). "8/15 WWE Summerslam PPV review: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live event". PW Torch.
  20. (12 September 2004). "Triple H's fourth reign". [[WWE]].
  21. Keller, Wade. (2004-09-12). "9/12 WWE Unforgiven PPV review: Keller's ongoing "virtual time" analysis of event". PW Torch.
  22. (9 January 2005). "Triple H's fifth reign". [[WWE]].
  23. Keller, Wade. (December 6, 2004). "KELLERS' 12/6 WWE Raw Review: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live show". Pro Wrestling Torch.
  24. Keller, Wade. (2005-01-09). "Keller's New Year's Revolution PPV report 1/9: Ongoing "virtual time" analysis of live event". PW Torch.
  25. (3 April 2005). "Montgomery Maniac's first reign". [[WWE]].
  26. Keller, Wade. (2005-04-03). "Keller's WrestleMania PPV Report 4/3: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live event". PW Torch.
  27. (10 January 2006). "Kurt Angle's first reign". [[WWE]].
  28. Benjamin, Charlie. (2006-01-14). "SmackDown Results – 1/13/06 – Philadelphia (New World Champion)". Wrestle View.
  29. (2 April 2006). "Rey Mysterio's first reign". [[WWE]].
  30. Keller, Wade. (2006-04-02). "Keller's WrestleMania Report: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of PPV". PW Torch.
  31. (23 July 2006). "King Booker's first reign". [[WWE]].
  32. Keller, Wade. (2006-07-23). "Keller's WWE Great American Bash PPV Report 7/23: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage". PW Torch.
  33. (26 November 2006). "Batista's second reign". [[WWE]].
  34. Keller, Wade. (2006-11-26). "Keller's WWE Survivor Series PPV Report 11/26: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of event". PW Torch.
  35. (April 2007). "The Undertaker's first reign". [[WWE]].
  36. Keller, Wade. (2007-04-01). "Keller's WWE WrestleMania 23 Report (Hour 2): Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live event". PW Torch.
  37. "Edge's first reign". [[WWE]].
  38. Parks, Greg. (2007-05-08). "5/11 WWE Smackdown: Parks's Virtual Time Coverage of the Show". PW Torch.
  39. (17 July 2007). "The Great Khali's first reign". [[WWE]].
  40. Parks, Greg. (2007-07-21). "7/20 WWE Smackdown: Parks's Coverage of the Show".
  41. "Batista's third reign". [[WWE]].
  42. Caldwell, James. (2007-09-16). "Caldwell's Unfrgiven Report 9/16: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of PPV". PW Torch.
  43. "Edge's second reign". [[WWE]].
  44. Keller, Wade. (2007-12-16). "Keller's WWE Armageddon PPV Report 12/16: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV event".
  45. "The Undertaker's second reign". [[WWE]].
  46. Keller, Wade. (2008-03-30). "Keller's WWE WrestleMania 24 Report: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of pay-per-view event".
  47. "Edge's third reign". [[WWE]].
  48. Caldwell, James. (2008-05-03). "Caldwell's WWE SmackDown REPORT 5/2: Taker stripped of title, Hardy vs. MVP, Foley's SD debut on commentary". PW Torch.
  49. Keller, Wade. (2008-06-01). "Keller's WWE One Night Stand PPV Report 6/1: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live event from San Diego".
  50. "CM Punk's first reign". [[WWE]].
  51. Martin, Adam. (2008-06-30). "Raw Results- 6/30/08 – Oklahoma City, OK (Hour 1 coverage, more)". Wrestle View.
  52. "Chris Jericho's first reign". [[WWE]].
  53. Keller, Wade. (2008-09-07). "Keller's WWE Unforgiven PPV Report 9/7: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live PPV event". PW Torch.
  54. "Batista's fourth reign". [[WWE]].
  55. Keller, Wade. (2008-10-26). "Keller's WWE Cyber Sunday PPV Report 10/26: Triple H vs. Vladimir Kozlov or Jeff Hardy, Batista vs. Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio vs. Kane (ongoing live coverage)". PW Torch.
  56. "Chris Jericho's second reign". [[WWE]].
  57. Golden, Hunter. (2008-11-04). "Raw Results – 11/3/08 – Tampa, FL". Wrestle View.
  58. "John Cena's first reign". [[WWE]].
  59. Keller, Wade. (2008-11-23). "Keller's WWE PPV Report 11/23: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live event including Jeff Hardy update, Triple H vs. Kozlov, John Cena return". PW Torch.
  60. "Edge's fourth reign". [[WWE]].
  61. Keller, Wade. (2009-02-15). "Keller's WWE No Way Out PPV Report 2/16: Two Elimination Chambers, two new world champions, plus Michaels vs. JBL, Super-Shane-O-Mac vs. Orton". PW Torch.
  62. (6 April 2009). "John Cena's second reign". [[WWE]].
  63. Keller, Wade. (2009-04-05). "Keller's WrestleMania XXV Results 4/5: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of biggest PPV of the year". PW Torch.
  64. "Edge's fifth reign". [[WWE]].
  65. Keller, Wade. (2009-04-26). "Keller's WWE Backlash PPV Report 4/26: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage – Orton & Rhodes & DiBiase vs. McMahon & Triple H & Batista". PW Torch.
  66. "Jeff Hardy's first reign". [[WWE]].
  67. Caldwell, James. (2009-06-07). "Caldwell'S WWE Extreme Rules PPV Report 6/7: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Orton vs. Batista, Edge vs. Jeff Hardy". PW Torch.
  68. "Punk's second reign". [[WWE]].
  69. "Hardy'ssecond reign". [[WWE]].
  70. Keller, Wade. (2009-07-26). "Keller's WWE Night of Champions PPV Report 7/26: Results, star ratings, thoughts, observations, nitpicks, quotebook". PW Torch.
  71. "Punk's third reign". [[WWE]].
  72. Keller, Wade. (2009-08-23). "WWE Summerslam PPV Report 8/23: Keller's report on John Cena vs. Randy Orton, DX vs. Legacy, Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk, Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler...". PW Torch.
  73. (5 October 2009). "Undertaker's third Reign". [[WWE]].
  74. Keller, Wade. (2009-10-04). "WWE Hell in a Cell Results: Keller's ongoing "virtual time" coverage of John Cena vs. Randy Orton, DX vs. Legacy, Undertaker vs. C.M. Punk". PW Torch.
  75. "Chris Jericho's third reign". [[WWE]].
  76. Caldwell, James. (2010-03-30). "WWE News: Major Spoiler at tonight's Smackdown TV taping for Friday's show". Pro Wrestling Torch.
  77. "Jack Swagger's first reign". [[WWE]].
  78. "Rey Mysterio's second reign.". [[WWE]].
  79. "Kane's first Reign.". [[WWE]].
  80. "Edge's sixth Reign". [[WWE]].
  81. "Dolph Ziggler's first reign". [[WWE]].
  82. (20 December 2010). "Edge's seventh reign". [[WWE]].
  83. "vacant". [[WWE]].
  84. (2 May 2011). "Christian's first reign". [[WWE]].
  85. "Randy Orton's second reign". [[WWE]].
  86. "Christian def. Randy Orton (New World Heavyweight Champion)". [[WWE]].
  87. "Christian's second reign". [[WWE]].
  88. (15 August 2011). "Randy Orton's third reign". [[WWE]].
  89. "Big Show's first reign". [[WWE]].
  90. "Daniel Bryan's first reign". [[WWE]].
  91. "Sheamus' first reign". [[WWE]].
  92. "Big Show's second reign". [[WWE]].
  93. "Alberto Del Rio's first reign". [[WWE]].
  94. "Dolph Ziggler's second reign". [[WWE]].
  95. (17 June 2013). "Alberto Del Rio's second reign". [[WWE]].
  96. "John Cena's third reign". WWE.
  97. (16 December 2013). "Randy Orton's fourth reign". WWE.
  98. "WHC Retired". WWE.
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