World Heavyweight Championship History

[KelvinMcSnoogin]

The World Heavyweight Championship is one of the top-level championships in World Wrestling Entertainment, exclusive to the SmackDown! brand.




History
It is certainly not disputed that the current World Heavyweight Championship belt has a design inspired by the "Big Gold Belt" (which represented the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and later the WCW World Heavyweight Championship), but whether the championship is considered to be in the lineage of the two has been under debate. The WCW World Heavyweight Championship (then known simply as the "World Championship") was merged with the WWF Championship, forming the WWF Undisputed Championship. For a time, holders of the Undisputed Championship carried both the WWE and WCW belts, although it was effectively one championship as the two belts were always defended together. The two belts were replaced by one belt on April 1, 2002, when Ric Flair (then Co-Owner of the WWF) presented then-champion Triple H with a new belt. During the initial brand extension period, when RAW and SmackDown! became de facto separate wrestling promotions, the Undisputed Championship (along with the WWE Women's Championship) was defended on both shows, effectively designating the title as representing the top championships of RAW and SmackDown!.

In August 2002, WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar declared he would be a SmackDown! exclusive wrestler and no longer wrestle on RAW. In response, on September 2, 2002, then-General Manager of RAW Eric Bischoff introduced the World Heavyweight Championship to be the new top-tier championship for RAW. Bischoff immediately awarded the new World Heavyweight Championship, with a similar design to the old WCW belt, to Triple H because he was the "last man to wear the belt," in reference to Triple H being the last to physically hold the WCW title belt as champion.

Following the formation of the World Heavyweight Championship and the creation of separate set of tag-team belts for SmackDown!, the two sets of tag-team belts were renamed to mirror those of the top belts: hence the WWE World Tag Team Championship became the World Tag-Team Championship, while the newer belts took "WWE" into its name. When the two top singles titles switched shows, neither tag-team belt was renamed. With the top belts being show-exclusive, the WWE Women's Championship was quietly made into a RAW-exclusive belt. To date, there have been no plans to create a "World Women's Championship" on SmackDown! or a "World Cruiserweight Championship" for RAW cruiserweights, as each division is exclusive to one show.

The World Heavyweight Championship was initially considered by some to be the lesser of the two championship belts, but was eventually regarded as the greater of the two when, in the "major" pay-per-view events, the World Heavyweight Championship title match would often be billed later on the card than the WWE Championship match. However, with the WWE 2005 Draft, the two top belts effectively switched shows, with WWE Champion John Cena, moving to RAW as the first pick in the draft and World Heavyweight Champion Batista moving to SmackDown!. In the four-week interim period between the first and last draft picks, RAW had both of the top belts while SmackDown! had neither, prompting SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long to attempt to introduce a third top belt (presumably called the "WWE SmackDown! Championship"), only for it to be deemed unnecessary when Batista was introduced to SmackDown!.


Batista winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 21Batista would continue to hold the title for the rest of the year, only being forced to vacate the title on January 10, 2006 due to injury (despite working injured in the last months of his reign due to the sudden death of Eddie Guerrero, who was largely rumored to win the title from Batista so he could nurse his injury). In a shocking twist, SmackDown!, a taped show that is shown two to three days later on television, announced the new champion at the night of the taping as major breaking news, contrary to WWE's spoiler conventions in which such stories would be relegated to the background (as it was felt that spoilers for SmackDown! would have a negative impact on its ratings). Even more shocking was the fact that the new champion was Kurt Angle, who was a RAW wrestler at the time.

Angle would reveal on RAW the next week, where he was still obliged to fight Shawn Michaels, that he had negotiated a contract on SmackDown! after hearing of Batista's injury, and the fact that his RAW contract had expired at the end of the previous year (how Angle remained on RAW in a "handshake agreement" for several weeks after his contract expired remained unexplained), with negotiations on a contract extension stalled after the firing of general manager Eric Bischoff.

[KelvinMcSnoogin]

Lineage controversy
Whether Bischoff had retracted the WCW Championship from the Undisputed Championship or introduced a new championship with a belt that only looks like the WCW Championship belt is a matter of debate among wrestling fans. The WWE's position on the matter has changed over the years, but currently it recognizes the World Heavyweight Championship as being a new title. WWE.com currently lists the title as a new title created in 2002. [1] In mid-2005, WWE.com added a Title History section for the WCW Championship, which listed Chris Jericho as its final champion and may have proven that the current World Heavyweight Championship was a new title. However, the WCW Title History section was removed from WWE.com soon afterwards, causing confusion once again.

The general consensus is that the current World Heavyweight Championship initially claimed legitimacy as the successor to the NWA and WCW belts, but the subtle point has been dropped after the belt gained a reputation of its own. In particular, when Chris Benoit had won the belt at WrestleMania XX, announcers Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler stated that he had won the belt for the first time, despite the fact that Benoit had won the WCW Championship before (in fact, Benoit left WCW while he was champion). To date, only Goldberg, Kurt Angle and Benoit have won both the WCW Championships and World Heavyweight Championships.

While WWE announcers occasionally make allusions to the belt's lineage dating back as far as 1904, a reference to the World Heavyweight Championship held by Georg Hackenschmidt, as well as segments detailing the history linking that timeframe as well as the WCW lineage to the title during episodes of WWE Confidential, the majority of evidence suggests that the belt does not derive its lineage beyond its debut on September 2, 2002, and instead is simply using the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt to represent the new title. In particular, former WCW Champions -- even those such as Kurt Angle who had won the belt during the Invasion storyline -- were, with the exception of Goldberg and Benoit and more recently Kurt Angle, never recognized as having held the current World Heavyweight Championship belt. However recently on SmackDown!, Angle stated he was a "6-time world champion" thus making a similar claim to Flair including his WCW reign.

Perhaps most telling of how the World Heavyweight Championship is considered a new belt (and perhaps subtly that the WCW championship was not a major championship in post-Brand Extension WWE, but that it is included in world title histories for some wrestlers (i.e. Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan were both listed as former WCW champions during the 2002 Brand Extension in the stats given for them when the initial draft took place)) was on the May 19, 2003 edition of RAW, when Stone Cold Steve Austin gave Triple H the choice to defend the title against any former "world champion" on the roster and specifically named all of RAW's former WWE champions -- Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Kane, Kevin Nash -- and then named Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Goldberg, all of whom were former WCW Champions but had never won a world title in WWE.

It is to be noted, however, legends such as Ric Flair have their major wrestling title totals, including the WCW championship, amalgamated - thus he is considered to be a sixteen-time world champion despite the fact that he had never held the World Heavyweight Championship (although he was a six-time WCW champion and two-time WWE champion).

Despite WWE's claims, some fans still claim that the NWA and WCW Championships have carried on in the World Heavyweight Championship, citing the restoration of the WWE United States Championship and the WWE Cruiserweight Championship as examples. In the case of the former, it was reintroduced as a WWE belt while retaining its NWA and WCW heritage despite having it absorbed into the WWE Intercontinental Championship (and ultimately, the World Heavyweight Championship) and a subsequent two-year absence. In addition, Batista, in his speech before vacating the championship, cited Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, and Ric Flair as former World Heavyweight Champions, despite none of them having won the belt (Rhodes and Race never won the WWE Championship either, but all three were former holders of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and Flair is a 16-time champion, including two WWE Championship reigns), giving some credence to its possible NWA roots.

Some fans also claim that WWE's view on its own title histories (and thus lineage) may be susceptible to revisionism: such revisionism would explain how the WWE recognized The Fabulous Moolah holding the WWE Women's Championship for over 30 years (it actually was inactive for much of that period) or how WWE does not recognize the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship's lineage history before it was awarded to Taka Michinoku, despite the fact that it had been defended before as part of the J-Crown. Interestingly, WWE.com's profile of Chris Benoit seemed to support this, which mentioned he previously won the World Heavyweight Championship while in WCW shortly after winning his "first" World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX (Although WWE.com recognises Ric Flair as a former WCW Champion, but for some reason not Benoit who was referred to as a former World Heavyweight Champion.). This supposed bias on the part of WWE, however, is also used in defense of the view that the WCW Championship being not considered to be a major championship (save for cases such as Flair above), only reaching "major status" as the World Heavyweight Championship, as WWE notes the WCW championships of different wrestlers on an inconsistent basis, mentioning it for some champions (such as Chris Jericho) but not for others (such as Kurt Angle).

Any question of the true lineage of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was complicated on the January 13, 2006 edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown!. When Batista dropped the title on that day due to injury, he included Dusty Rhodes in a short list of previous holders of the title. Dusty Rhodes was a holder of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but never held a singles title in WWE. In addition, though he has held the WWE Championship before, Ric Flair has not held the "Big Gold Belt" in WWE. This could be the first on-screen acknowledgement of a connection between the lineages of the WCW and WWE versions of the "Big Gold Belt". A brief recap of this event the on January 21, 2006, SmackDown! also displayed the WCW version of the "Big Gold Belt" when General Manager Theodore Long referred to the heritage of the title.

On February 27, 2006, WWE.com added a section devoted to Triple H's 10 World Title reigns[2]. The section devoted to his sixth title reign[3](the one awarded to him by then-General Manager of RAW Eric Bischoff) states that "RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff then declared that since Lesnar had left for SmackDown that RAW needed its own champion. So with that, he opened a briefcase and pulled out the old WCW Championship and gave it to Triple H, naming him the first World Heavyweight Champion."

[KelvinMcSnoogin]

Terminology confusion
Part of the controversy can be explained by the fact that WWE often uses the terms "world championship" or "world heavyweight champion" as a generic term (as opposed to the specific "World Heavyweight Championship" title in particular) to refer to either of the top-tier championships of WWE, i.e. either the RAW or SmackDown! world title.

In the aforementioned May 19, 2003 edition of RAW, when the World Heavyweight Championship was held by Triple H, then co-General Manager "Stone Cold" Steve Austin demanded that he defend the belt against a former world heavyweight champion and listed Shawn Michaels, Kane, Chris Jericho, and Kevin Nash as being among Triple H's options for opponents. Of the four, only Shawn Michaels had held the "World Heavyweight Championship" in its current form; Chris Jericho was a former WCW Champion who had held the belt after it was renamed the "World Championship" but prior to its September 2, 2002 reintroduction; Kevin Nash had been a former WWF and WCW Champion but had never held the belt in its current form; and Kane was a former WWE Champion but had never held any version of the "big gold belt." Given the fact that Kane was included in Austin's list, the generic term "world heavyweight champion" must be seen to include WWF/E Championship reigns as well. However, given that notable former WCW Champions like Booker T, Scott Steiner, and Goldberg, all of whom were on the RAW roster at the time, were also explicitly listed by Austin, it would seem that the term "world heavyweight championship" does include former WCW Champions regardless of whether or not they won a WWE belt. However, Austin also did not include Ric Flair, who would be Triple H's actual choice, in his list, so this is not conclusive. Given WWE's dismissive attitude towards any wrestling concept that it did not originate itself, it is not surprising to see that WWE does not want recognize the WCW Championship as a "world heavyweight championship." Despite this, these men, former WWE and WCW champions were all listed on this night.

The lone exception to this rule is Ric Flair, who is touted as a sixteen-time world champion. He has only won two WWF Championships; the remainder of his WWE-recognized world championship reigns are NWA titles (8) and WCW titles (6). Flair, however, has a special place in the legacy of professional wrestling, and WWE wants to tout his numerous world titles to acknowledge this. It is noteworthy that no other WWE wrestler has any pre-unification WCW Championship reigns recognized as a "world championship" (prior to WrestleMania 21, for example, Kurt Angle was touted as a "former WCW Champion and a four-time WWE Champion," not a "five-time world champion") and no mention has ever been made of former WCW Champions, such as Goldberg or Chris Benoit, winning the title "again" when they won the World Heavyweight Championship in WWE. Curiously, WWE continues to insist that Randy Orton is it's youngest World Heavyweight Champion (having captured the title at the age of 24, possibly in an effort to upstage Brock Lesnar's "record" of winning the belt at 25 years of age) when The Big Show held the WCW World Heavyweight title at the age of 23.

[KelvinMcSnoogin]

Trivia
The following pertains specifically to the history of the belt since its WWE reintroduction in 2002:

Record: Record holder: Record number: Notes:
Longest reign Batista 282 days N/A
Longest heel reign Triple H 280 days In all five reigns, Triple H has held the title for a total of 616 days.
Shortest reign Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels 28 days N/A
Oldest champion Shawn Michaels 37 years This claim is disputed. Batista stated in a January 2005 interview that he was born in 1966, making him 39 years old when he won the title. He later removed this claim in March 2006 by saying that he was born in 1969. (This makes Shawn Michaels the oldest champion at 37 years).
Youngest champion Randy Orton 24 years Won title from Chris Benoit at SummerSlam on August 15, 2004
Heaviest champion Batista c. 317 lb (144 kg) N/A
Lightest champion Chris Benoit c. 220 lb (100 kg) N/A
Tallest champion Batista, Goldberg, Randy Orton and Triple H c. 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 4 champions tied
Shortest champion Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit c. 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) N/A

[KelvinMcSnoogin]

The belt itself was modified from the original NWA/WCW World championship belt to include a new WWE logo at the top of the belt and a slight curve on the face plate. The WWE logo was added several months after the title was reintroduced.
Triple H has won the World Heavyweight Championship five times, more times than anybody else in WWE history.
Triple H is also the only person to hold the World Heavyweight Championship more than once.
The only three superstars that have claimed both the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship in their careers are Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. Of the three superstars in the list, only Kurt Angle has held the WWE Championship again (for the third time) months after the title's introduction in 2002
Goldberg, Chris Benoit, and Kurt Angle are the only former WCW World Champions to hold this belt.
Kurt Angle is the only person ever to have won the WWE Championship, WCW World Championship and World Heavyweight Championship.
Both Shawn Michaels and Triple H have won the World title in Elimination Chamber matches, making them the only men in WWE history to win one of the heavyweight championships in any sort of a cage match.
Triple H in all of his five title reigns has held it for 616 days. The average for each title reign is 123 days.
Triple H is the only superstar to successfully defend the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania.
Since the titles introduction in September 2002, seven men have gone on to hold the championship, averaging a new person as champion every 6.1 months.
Kurt Angle and Triple H are the only people to win the title in a match that was not during a pay-per view. Kurt Angle won it in a 20-man Battle Royal and Triple H was awarded the title by Eric Bishoff on RAW.
Chris Benoit is the only Canadian to have won the WWE's Version of the World Heavyweight Championship.
The WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship Both Changed hands three times in one night:
Survivor Series 2002: The Big Show Defeated WWE Champion Brock Lesnarin a Standard Singles Match; Shawn Michaels Last pinned World Heavyweight Champon Triple H in the first ever Elimination Chamber Match
Armageddon 2002: Kurt Angle Defeated WWE Champion The Big Show in a Standard Singles Match; Triple H Defeated World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match: Triple H pinned Michaels in a "Street Fight" match, Michaels pinned Triple H in a "Steel Cage" match, and Triple H defeated Michaels in a "Ladder" match.
Wrestlemania 21: John Cena Defeated WWE Champion JBL; Batista Defeated World Heavyweight Champion Triple H; Both Matches were Standard Singles Matches
Both the WWE Champion and the World Heavyweight Champion were able to retain their titles on the same night on the ff. PPV Events:
Unforgiven 2002:World Heavyweight Champion Triple H def. Rob Van Dam; WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker fought to a No Contest
No Mercy 2002: World Heavyweight Champion Triple H def. WWE Intercontinental Champion Kane to unify the titles; Brock Lesnar def. The Undertaker in a Hell In A Cell Match to retain the WWE Championship
Royal Rumble 2003:Scott Steiner defeated World Heavyweight Champion Triple H by disqualification when Triple H used his trademark sledgehammer. Steiner won the match but Triple H kept the title as a the championship could not change hands via disqualification; WWE Champion Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit via heel hook submission
Judgement day 2003: Kevin Nash defeated World Heavyweight Champion Triple H by disqualification. However, Triple H retains his World Heavyweight Title; Brock Lesnar defeated The Big Show in a Stretcher match to retain the WWE Championship
Summerslam 2003:WWE Champion Kurt Angle defeated Brock Lesnar by submission; World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defeated Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels in an Elimination Chamber Match
Royal Rumble 2004: WWE Champion Lesnar defeated Hardcore Holly; The Last man Standing Match Between World Heavyweight Champion Triple H and Shawn Michaels was a Draw after neither of the two was able to stand up. Triple H Retains his Title
Royal Rumble 2005: World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defeated Randy Orton via pinfall; WWE Champion JBL Defeated The Big Show and Kurt Angle after pinning Angle following a Clothesline from Hell
Summerslam 2005:World Heavyweight Champion Batista defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield via pinfall in a No Holds Barred Match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship; WWE Champion John Cena defeated Chris Jericho via pinfall
The Ff. Events featured both the WWE Champion and the World Heavyweight Champion competing on the card however only one Champion Put his Title on the line while the other competed in a tag team match
No Way Out 2003:World Heavyweight Champion Triple H def. Scott Steiner via pinfall; WWE Champion Brock Lesnar & Chris Benoit def. Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas in a Handicap Match
Backlash 2003:WWE Champion Brock Lesnar def. John Cena while World Heavyweight Champion Triple H Participated in a 3-on-3 Tag Team match
Survivor Series 2003: WWE Champion Brock Lesnar Participated in a 5-on-5 Elimination Tag Team Match While World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg Defeated Triple H to Retain his title
Survivor Series 2004:WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield def. Booker T while World Heavyweight Champion Triple H Participated in a 4-on-4 Elimination Tag Team Match
Survivor Series 2005:WWE Champion John Cena defeatrd Kurt Angle, with special referee Daivari while World Heavyweight Champion Batista Participated in a 5-on-5 Elimination Tag Team Match

Current World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle
Current champion
The current champion is Kurt Angle. He won the title for the first time by winning a 20 man over the top rope battle royal on January 10, 2006 by eliminating Mark Henry last.


Wrestlemania 22
At Wrestlemania 22 Kurt Angle will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat Match.

[Memento]

can't lie, i've had quite an interest in where the title is going to go from here.

i'll likely read this history of it later too.