Who is the WWE Champion?
List of current champions in WWE
At the top of WWE's championship hierarchy are the WWE Universal Championship on Raw and the WWE Championship on SmackDown. The Universal Championship is held by record two-time champion Brock Lesnar, who won the vacant title by defeating Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel on November 2, 2018; previous champion Roman Reigns had to relinquish the title due to illness (leukemia). The WWE Champion is Daniel Bryan, who is in his fourth reign. He won the title on the November 13, 2018, episode of "SmackDown Live" by defeating AJ Styles.
Money in the Bank (2011)
To crown a new WWE Champion, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon started an eight-man tournament on the July 18 episode of "Raw", which included all the participants of the Raw Money in the Bank ladder match except Evan Bourne, whose place was filled by Dolph Ziggler. The Miz and Rey Mysterio made it to the tournament finals, which McMahon postponed so he could fire John Cena as a result of the conditions imposed on the Money in the Bank match. Triple H interrupted and announced that the WWE Board of Directors had removed McMahon from power in a vote of no confidence, and that Triple H was to take over the day-to-day operations of WWE. Triple H refused to fire Cena.
On July 21, Punk gatecrashed the joint WWE–Mattel panel at the San Diego Comic-Con International with title belt in hand. He confronted Triple H and took exception to WWE attempting to crown a new WWE Champion. Two days later, Punk made a surprise appearance at a show hosted by the All American Wrestling company without his title belt to endorse Gregory Iron, a wrestler with cerebral palsy, as an inspiration for overcoming his impediment.
Hulk Hogan
Hogan 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. His 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). Hogan 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 after making a number of apologies.
The Authority (professional wrestling)
Orton continued to feud with Bryan over the WWE Championship. At Night of Champions, Bryan defeated Orton to win the title. However, the following night on "Raw", Triple H stripped Bryan of the title due to a fast 3-count by referee Scott Armstrong. Orton and Bryan competed for the vacated WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell, where Orton won back the title after special guest referee Shawn Michaels superkicked Bryan, allying himself with The Authority.
On the November 25 episode of "Raw", Orton's long time rival, then World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, suggested that there should only be "one champion" in WWE. Triple H announced a unification match at , where Orton defeated Cena in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to unify his WWE Championship with Cena's World Heavyweight Championship, which ultimately created the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE Championship
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 title.
List of WWE Raw Women's Champions
The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. The inaugural champion was Charlotte Flair, then known simply as Charlotte, who won the title at WrestleMania 32. Ronda Rousey is the current champion in her first reign. She won the title by defeating Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam on August 19, 2018.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
After then-champion Enzo Amore was released from WWE on January 23, 2018, and the title was vacated, it was announced that a general manager would be appointed for "205 Live" and would address the championship. On the January 30 episode of "205 Live", Drake Maverick (formerly known as Rockstar Spud in Impact Wrestling) was appointed as the 205 Live General Manager. Maverick announced that there would be a 16-man single elimination tournament to crown a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion, with the finals to occur on the WrestleMania 34 pre-show. The tournament came down to Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali where Alexander defeated Ali to win the vacant championship.
Paul Heyman
In WWE, Heyman has managed a record five WWE Champions: Brock Lesnar, Big Show, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, and CM Punk. Critics have praised his abilities at managing and on the microphone. Heyman has also competed sporadically in the ring, most notably when he participated in the WWE Championship main event match in 2002 Rebellion pay-per-view.
Shanky Singh
Gurvinder Singh Malhotra, also known by his ring name Shanky Singh is an Indian professional wrestler currently signed into Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) and is the current CWE World Heavyweight Champion since May 7, 2018 by defeating Faruqua Khan. He had an interview with India's Hindi language newspaper Dainik Bhaskar where he said that his career's ambition is to join WWE and defeat Brock Lesnar.
John Cena
Cena made a surprise return as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match, winning the match, and the traditional WrestleMania title shot, by last eliminating Triple H. Instead of waiting until WrestleMania, the title shot was cashed in against then WWE Champion Randy Orton at February's No Way Out pay-per-view in a match where Cena won by disqualification, resulting in him not getting the championship. The following night on "Raw", Cena was placed back into WrestleMania XXIV's WWE Championship match by defeating Orton in a non-title match with Triple H as special guest referee, making it a triple threat match between the three men, during which he was pinned by Orton. At Backlash, Cena failed to regain the title in a fatal four-way elimination match, in which he was eliminated by Orton. During that match, Cena eliminated JBL, renewing their feud from 2005. Cena defeated JBL at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match. However, JBL defeated him in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash in July to end the feud. Cena also failed to regain the WWE Championship from Triple H at Night of Champions.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
There have been 81 different champions. Chris Jericho has the most reigns with nine. Pedro Morales held the championship for a record total of 619 days and The Honky Tonk Man had the longest uninterrupted reign at 454 days, from June 2, 1987 until August 29, 1988. Dean Douglas had the shortest reign at just 13 minutes 52 seconds. Chyna is the only woman in WWE history to win the title. The youngest champion was Jeff Hardy, who won the championship at 23 years old, while the oldest champion was Ric Flair, who won the championship at Unforgiven in 2005 at the age of 56. There have been 10 vacancies throughout the title's history.
SummerSlam (2012)
In another match, CM Punk defended the WWE Championship against John Cena and Big Show in a triple threat match. In recent weeks, Punk has claimed that even though he is WWE Champion, he often feels as if he's pushed to the background in favor of stars like Cena and The Rock. At "Raw 1000", The Rock declared he would be getting a WWE Championship shot at the 2013 Royal Rumble PPV. That same night, Cena cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to challenge Punk for the title. After Big Show's interference led to a disqualification, The Rock rushed the ring to help fend off Show. Punk would then attack Rock, hitting him with a GTS and turning heel for the first time since 2011. The following week, Cena and Show would fight in a number one contender's match for a shot at the WWE title at SummerSlam. After Punk's interference led to a no contest, new Raw General Manager AJ Lee announced that Punk would defend the title against both Cena and Show in a triple threat match at SummerSlam.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Buddy Murphy is the current champion in his first reign. He won the title on October 6, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia at WWE Super Show-Down by defeating Cedric Alexander.
WWE Championship
Just prior to the end of the first brand extension, a storyline saw CM Punk vowing to leave the company with the WWE Championship when his contract expired on July 17, 2011, the date of the 2011 Money in the Bank pay-per-view. At the event, Punk succeeded in defeating the defending champion John Cena to win the title, and left the company with the physical championship belt. Subsequently, the championship was vacated and Rey Mysterio won an eight-man tournament by defeating The Miz in the finals to be crowned the new WWE Champion, only to subsequently lose it later that night to Cena, for the latter's record ninth reign. However, following Cena's win, Punk returned to WWE with his own championship belt, disputing Cena's claim to the title. The two WWE Champions wrestled each other at SummerSlam; Punk defeated Cena to solidify his claim on the title.
WWE Championship
After Dean Ambrose became champion in June 2016, the title's name was reverted to WWE Championship. In light of the return of the WWE brand extension the following month, Ambrose was drafted to SmackDown. Ambrose then retained his title at Battleground on July 24 against Raw draftees Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, making the title exclusive to SmackDown. On the July 25 episode of "Raw", to address the lack of a world title for the brand, the WWE Universal Championship was created; Finn Bálor became the inaugural 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.
British Strong Style
Through a partnership between Progress and WWE, all three members of British Strong Style have also appeared for WWE since 2017, with Bate defeating Dunne in the finals of the first United Kingdom Championship Tournament to become the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. Dunne won the title from Bate later that year, and is still the current champion; Seven and Bate were for a short time NXT Tag Team Champions in June 2018, making all three members champions in WWE for a short period.
A.J. Styles
On the November 7 episode of "SmackDown Live" in Manchester, England, Styles defeated WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and won the title in what marked the first time the title changed hands on "SmackDown" since September 2003, claiming his second WWE Championship and becoming recognized by WWE as the first titleholder crowned outside of North America (Antonio Inoki had won the title in Japan in 1979, but this reign is unrecognized by WWE). With the win, Styles replaced Mahal in the champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series on November 19 against Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, which he would go on to lose. At Clash of Champions on December 17, Styles defeated Mahal via submission in his first title defense. Styles' next feud came against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, whom he lost back-to-back matches to due to interference, which led to a handicap championship match at the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2018 which Styles won. Styles then successfully defended the title against Owens, Zayn, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin in a six-pack challenge at Fastlane on March 11.
List of WWE tournaments
As part of WrestleMania Axxess, the winner of the WWE United Kingdom Championship Invitational received a championship match against WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne on the morning of April 8, 2018.
As part of WrestleMania Axxess, the winner of the NXT North American Championship Invitational received an NXT North American Championship match on the morning of April 8, 2018. The defending champion, Adam Cole, was determined the night before at .
As part of WrestleMania Axxess, the winner of the NXT Tag Team Championship Invitational received an NXT Tag Team Championship match on the morning of April 8, 2018. The defending champions, The Undisputed Era, were determined the night before at .
As part of WrestleMania Axxess, the winner of the NXT Women's Championship Invitational received an NXT Women's Championship match on the morning of April 8, 2018. The defending champion, Shayna Baszler, was determined the night before at .
WWE Divas Championship
The final champion was Charlotte, who was in her first and only reign. She defeated Nikki Bella on September 20, 2015 at Night of Champions in Houston, Texas to win the title. Charlotte was originally scheduled to defend the title at WrestleMania 32 against Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, but during the event it was announced that the scheduled triple threat match would instead be for the new WWE Women's Championship (now Raw Women's Championship), with the Divas Championship subsequently being retired. Charlotte won the match and the Women's Championship; this ended her reign as Divas Champion and began a new reign as Women's Champion.
WWE Divas Championship
As a result, WWE created the WWE Divas Championship and introduced it on the June 6, 2008 episode of "SmackDown" when then SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced the creation of the title. On the June 6 and July 4, editions of "SmackDown", Natalya and Michelle McCool won their respective Golden Dreams match (also involving Maryse, Victoria, Kelly Kelly, Cherry, and Layla) to qualify for the Divas Championship match. At The Great American Bash, McCool defeated Natalya to become the inaugural champion. When Maryse won the title from McCool in December 2008, she dislocated her kneecap at a live event later that month. Similar to how Trish Stratus kept the Women's Championship when she was sidelined with a herniated disc in 2005, Maryse was able to keep the Divas title upon her return in late January 2009. As part of the 2009 WWE draft, then Divas Champion Maryse was one of the people drafted to the Raw brand, in the process making the championship exclusive to Raw.
On January 4, 2010, WWE vacated the title after the current Divas Champion Melina sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament. A tournament was started two weeks later on "Raw", where former Divas Champion Maryse qualified over Brie Bella, Alicia Fox qualified over Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres qualified over Katie Lea Burchill, and Gail Kim qualified over former Divas Champion Jillian Hall. In the semifinals, Maryse defeated Eve Torres, and Gail Kim defeated Alicia Fox. On February 22 episode of "Raw", Maryse defeated Gail Kim to win the vacant championship, making her the first person to hold the title on more than one occasion. It was announced on the August 30 episode of "Raw" that the Divas Championship would be unified with the Women's Championship at a match at Night of Champions. With that, the title (known briefly as the WWE Unified Divas Championship) became accessible to both WWE brands and the champion could appear on both shows, a situation made permanent by the ending of the brand extension in 2011. In August 2014, the Divas Championship belt, along with all other pre-existing championship belts 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.
CM Punk
In June 2011, after pinning WWE Champion John Cena on "Raw", Rey Mysterio at Capitol Punishment and finally Alberto Del Rio again in a contendership match all within one week, Punk revealed his contract would expire on July 17 at Money in the Bank and vowed to leave the company with the WWE Championship. After making a scathing yet highly acclaimed on-air speech concerning the way in which WWE is run and its owner Vince McMahon, Punk was given a storyline suspension from televised WWE events. Punk would be reinstated on Cena's insistence. Upon his return, Punk ceased to appear with the remaining members of The Nexus and the group quietly dissolved that month. This turned him face as Punk defeated John Cena to become the WWE Champion on his final night under contract with WWE.
List of WWE United States Champions
Overall, there have been 92 different champions. Ric Flair holds the record for having the most reigns at six, while John Cena holds the record for most reigns under the WWE banner at five. Lex Luger holds the record for the longest reign, with his third reign lasting a total of 523 days, while Dean Ambrose holds the longest reign under the WWE banner, at 351 days (overall the third longest in the title's history). Only two men, Lex Luger and Rick Rude, have held the championship for a continuous reign of one year (365 days) or more, while the shortest-reigning champion, Steve Austin, held it for five minutes.
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 R-Truth, who is in his second reign.
List of WWE United States Champions
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship contested in the American promotion WWE on the SmackDown brand. It was originally known as the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship and began as a regional championship created by and defended in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, run by Jim Crockett Jr. Harley Race became the inaugural champion on the title's introduction on January 1, 1975. Turner Broadcasting bought the company in November 1988 and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after its primary television program.
WWE United Kingdom Championship
In a press conference at The O2 Arena on December 15, 2016, Triple H revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. The tournament was held over a two-day period, January 14 and 15, 2017, and aired exclusively on the WWE Network. Tyler Bate won the inaugural tournament to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.
WWE Universal Championship
The WWE Universal Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the Raw brand. It is one of two world titles for WWE's main roster, alongside the WWE Championship on the SmackDown brand. The championship is currently held by Brock Lesnar, who is in his record second reign.
WrestleMania
WrestleMania centers on the main event matches, primarily for the WWE Championship (and between WrestleManias XIX and 29, the World Heavyweight Championship), as well as matches involving sportsmen such as American footballer Lawrence Taylor, multi-weight boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather, and sumo wrestler Akebono. Other WWE championships are also contested for, while gimmick matches and personal feud matches also take place on the match card.
NXT UK (WWE brand)
Tyler Bate won the inaugural tournament to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion. The first title change, as well as first defense to air live, took place on May 20, 2017, at , where Pete Dunne defeated Bate to become champion.
WWE
The company's majority owner is its chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon, who retains a 42% ownership of the company's outstanding stock and 83% of the voting power.
WWE Crown Jewel
At Super Show-Down, AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe by submission in a no countout, no disqualification match to retain the WWE Championship. On the same night, Daniel Bryan defeated The Miz to earn a WWE Championship match. Following Bryan's win, it was announced by SmackDown General Manager Paige that he would receive his WWE Championship match against Styles at Crown Jewel. However, after the two had a heated exchange on the October 30 episode of "SmackDown", Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that their championship match would take place that night. Styles successfully retained his championship after submitting Bryan with the "Calf Crusher". Moments after the match concluded, Joe attacked both men, choking each out with the "Coquina Clutch". Enraged, Styles demanded to face Joe at Crown Jewel with the title on the line, and Paige reluctantly made it official. In reality, Bryan had also legitimately refused to work Crown Jewel due to the controversy surrounding the event, so WWE moved his championship match up to the October 30 episode of "SmackDown".
World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (original version)
WWE created a new World Heavyweight Championship following its first brand split, when then-WWE "Undisputed" Champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to the SmackDown brand, refusing to face designated number one contender Triple H, who was a member of the Raw brand. Triple H was awarded the newly established title. This championship was a successor to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, split via the WWE Championship. It was represented by the same "Big Gold Belt" once used for the WCW and NWA championships, and was awarded by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, the former President of WCW. WWE asserts its legacy extends back to the title created in 1905. Like the original World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, the title was not prefixed with the 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.
List of World Heavyweight Champions (WWE)
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. The Undertaker was the oldest champion when he won the title for the third time at the age of 44 years.
Triple H
At the end of the July 18 episode of "Raw", Triple H returned on behalf of WWE's board of directors to relieve his father-in-law Vince McMahon of his duties. This was followed by the announcement that he had been assigned to take over as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the WWE. This was during a storyline where CM Punk had won the WWE Championship and left the company. Though a new champion was crowned, Triple H helped re-sign Punk and upheld both championship reigns. He announced he would referee a match to unify both WWE Championships at SummerSlam. Although he counted a pinfall for CM Punk to win, John Cena's leg was on the ropes, which would break the pin. Regardless, Triple H's longtime friend Kevin Nash attacked Punk immediately after the match to allow Alberto Del Rio to become the new champion. Though Nash and Punk demanded a match against each other, Triple H fired Nash for insubordination and booked himself in a No Disqualification match at Night of Champions with his position of COO on the line. He won the match despite interference from John Laurinaitis, Nash, The Miz and R-Truth. After repeated attacks from these wrestlers in various matches, the majority of WWE's on-screen staff gave Triple H a vote of no confidence. Mr. McMahon returned to relieve him of his duties on "Raw", though he remained the COO. He was replaced as general manager of "Raw" by Laurinaitis, who booked him in a tag team match against Miz and R-Truth at Vengeance. During the match, Nash once again attacked him and did so the following night on the October 24 episode of "Raw", hospitalizing him (kayfabe). WWE later announced that Triple H had sustained a fractured vertebra, and would be out of action. He returned on December 12, as part of the Slammy Awards. On December 18, he defeated Nash at in sledgehammer ladder match, after attacking him with a sledgehammer.
SummerSlam (2017)
At Battleground, Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match to retain the WWE Championship with help from The Singh Brothers and the return of The Great Khali. On the following episode of "SmackDown", Mahal demanded a new opponent for SummerSlam and John Cena came out and confronted Mahal. Cena congratulated Mahal for being the champion and then challenged him for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. However, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan informed Cena that he had to earn his opportunity and scheduled a number one contender's match between Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura. The following week, Nakamura defeated Cena to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. On the final "SmackDown" before SummerSlam, Mahal held a celebration for India's Independence Day and his reign as WWE Champion. Nakamura interrupted and said that he would win the title at SummerSlam.
Pete Dunne (wrestler)
Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English professional wrestler and promoter. He is signed to WWE under the ring name Pete Dunne, where he is the current and longest reigning WWE United Kingdom Champion in his first reign. Dunne also competes on the independent circuit in Europe and occasionally the United States, most notably in Progress Wrestling, where he is a former Progress World Champion.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The final of the Cruiserweight Classic came down to T.J. Perkins and Gran Metalik. Before the final match, Triple H revealed that the winner would not only receive a trophy, but would also become WWE Cruiserweight Champion for the new cruiserweight division on the Raw brand. Perkins defeated Metalik to become the inaugural champion. Like the WWE Championship's side plates, the Cruiserweight title's side plates include removable round sections, allowing the holder's personal logo to be added to the championship belt; the default sections show silver and purple world maps with the WWE logo over them. During Neville's first reign, the color of the slash under the WWE logo on the center plate and default side plates were changed from purple to orange..
The Miz
On the November 22 episode of "Raw", he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract following a successful WWE Championship defense by Randy Orton against Wade Barrett to become the new WWE Champion, making him the first "Tough Enough" contestant to win the WWE Championship. He successfully defended the championship against Jerry Lawler in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match on the following episode of "Raw", due to help from Michael Cole and Riley, and again at the pay-per-view in December by defeating Orton in a Tables match following interference from Alex Riley. The Miz defeated Morrison to retain the championship in a Falls Count Anywhere match on the first Raw of 2011. In January 2011, he defeated Orton again at the Royal Rumble after interference from CM Punk and Lawler the following month at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view to retain the championship. The night after Elimination Chamber, The Miz and John Cena were paired together by the Raw General Manager to challenge The Corre (Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater) for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The Miz and Cena were successful in winning the titles, but lost them back to Corre immediately afterward in a rematch after The Miz turned on Cena. This made their reign the shortest in the championship's history. The following week, The Miz lost Riley as his apprentice after Cena defeated Riley in a steel cage match with the stipulation that if Cena won, Riley was fired from his job, but The Miz hired Riley back in mid-March, this time as his Vice President of Corporate Communications. In the main event of WrestleMania XXVII on April 3, The Miz successfully defended the WWE Championship against Cena, following interference from The Rock. At Extreme Rules on May 1, The Miz lost the WWE Championship to Cena, in a triple threat steel cage match, also involving John Morrison. The following night on "Raw", The Miz failed to regain the championship from Cena in a singles match when he lost by disqualification and failed to regain the championship again in an "I Quit" match at Over the Limit.
The following night on the May 23 episode of "Raw", the Anonymous Raw General Manager's denied The Miz's request for another WWE Championship match and ended the feud with John Cena. The Miz blamed Riley for not being able to regain the WWE Championship because of Riley not being at ringside at Extreme Rules when Miz lost the championship. On the May 2nd episode of "Raw", Riley raised the hand of Miz with the WWE Championship with leading to his disqualification and at Over the Limit, Riley left his phone behind that he used to trick the referee into thinking that Cena said "I Quit". Riley attacked him, sending him crashing into a barricade at ringside and then head first over the broadcast table, which turned Riley a fan favorite for the first time in WWE. On the May 30 episode of "Raw", The Miz assaulted Riley after an interview from Michael Cole, but Riley gained the upper hand and Miz escaped through the crowd. At Capitol Punishment, Riley defeated Miz in a singles-match. He went on to lose to Riley in various singles and tag team matches. Miz lost Raw's Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank after leaving with a knee injury kayfabe, then returning but being stopped from claiming the briefcase by Rey Mysterio. The next night on Raw, Miz made it to the final of the WWE Championship tournament, defeating his former NXT rookie Alex Riley in the first round. The next week on Raw, Miz lost to Rey Mysterio. At SummerSlam, The Miz teamed with R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio loing to Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston and John Morrison.
List of World Heavyweight Champions (WWE)
At the 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.
List of former championships in WWE
The original WWE Women's Championship, established in 1956, and the WWE Divas Championship, introduced in 2008, were unified on September 19, 2010, maintaining the title history of the Divas Championship. The older title was retired in favor of keeping the newer title as the sole championship contended for in WWE by the Divas. The self-professed co-Women's Champion Michelle McCool defeated Divas Champion Melina at Night of Champions to become the unified champion, thus making Layla the final holder of the Women's Championship. On April 3, 2016, at WrestleMania 32, Divas Champion Charlotte was originally scheduled to defend her title in a triple-threat match. At the event, however, the Divas Championship was replaced with a new WWE Women's Championship, with the winner of the triple-threat match becoming the inaugural champion, thus Charlotte was the final holder of the Divas Championship.
List of current champions in WWE
Secondary titles in WWE include the WWE Intercontinental Championship for Raw and the WWE United States Championship for SmackDown. The Intercontinental Championship is held by Bobby Lashley, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating previous champion Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match on the January 14 episode of "Raw". The United States Championship is held by R-Truth, who is in his second reign. He won the title by defeating Shinsuke Nakamura on the January 29 episode of "SmackDown Live".
Daniel Bryan
Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Daniel Bryan and is the current WWE Champion in his fourth reign.
Triple H
After legitimately marrying Stephanie 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 Ric Flair (16) and John Cena (16). He has headlined WrestleMania, WWE's flagship pay-per-view, seven times.
WWE The Bash
After winning the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules, Batista was assaulted the next night on "Raw" by former champion, Randy Orton, incapacitating Batista and leading to him vacating his title due to a legitimate tear in his Biceps brachii muscle. The next week on "Raw", a fatal four-way match was held to determine the new champion, which featured Orton, Triple H, John Cena, and The Big Show. Orton won the match, and it was later announced by WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, that the next man to face Orton for the title would be the winner of a 10-man battle royal; Triple H won the match, and became the number one contender. It was also announced on this episode of "Raw" by storyline owner, Donald Trump, that the title would be defended the next week on "Raw" between the two in a Last Man Standing match,where the winner would go into The Bash with the title, defending against the other. The match ended in a draw when neither man was able to answer the referee's ten-count; Orton retained the championship as a result. Later in the show, Mr. McMahon acquired "Raw" back from Trump with his first act back in control being to change the match between Orton and Triple H at The Bash to a Three Stages of Hell match, consisting of a singles match, Falls Count Anywhere, and a stretcher match for the first, second, and third falls respectively.
WWE Raw 25 Years
Hours prior to the event WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore was suspended due to a violation of WWE's zero tolerance policy regarding matters involving sexual harassment and sexual assault. WWE released a statement indicating he would remain suspended "until the matter [was] resolved." 15 minutes after the show ended, Amore was released by WWE and the Cruiserweight Championship was vacated. The following day on "205 Live", SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan announced that Amore was no longer part of the "205 Live" roster and that the show would receive a new on-screen general manager, which later revealed to be Drake Maverick, previously known as Rockstar Spud in Impact Wrestling. Maverick announced a 16-man tournament to crown a new champion with the finals being held at WrestleMania 34. The tournament and title would be won by Cedric Alexander.
Royal Rumble (2006)
The main feud heading into the Royal Rumble on the Raw was between Edge and John Cena, with the two feuding over the WWE Championship. The feud started at New Year's Revolution when Cena won an Elimination Chamber match also involving 5 other superstars to retain the WWE title. Immediately after the match, however, Vince McMahon came out and stated that Edge was cashing in his Money in the Bank contract that he won at WrestleMania 21. Edge then came out with Lita and, two spears later, he pinned Cena to become WWE Champion. Then the next night, Edge held a live sex celebration which got smashed up by Cena and Cena delivered an FU on Lita and sent a message to Edge.
List of WWE tournaments
The United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a professional wrestling tournament produced by WWE, that aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The first round took place on January 14, 2017, while the finals occurred on January 15, 2017. The tournament was held at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England and crowned the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.
Backlash (2003)
The predominant match at Backlash was a WWE Championship match between John Cena and the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar; the main feud from the SmackDown! brand heading into the event. Their feud began on February 13 on "SmackDown!", when Lesnar and Cena last fought, which ended with Lesnar almost ending Cena's career by using the F-5 to propel his leg into a ring post. At WrestleMania XIX, Lesnar challenged for the WWE title held by then-champion Kurt Angle. Toward the end of the match, Lesnar botched a shooting star press when he underestimated the distance, slamming his head into Angle's side and ribcage. This stunned Lesnar and forced Angle to improvise the finish of the match. Lesnar then capitalized and regained the WWE title. On the April 3, 2003 episode of "SmackDown!", then-General Manager, Stephanie McMahon announced a WWE Championship tournament, where the winner would receive a WWE Championship match at Backlash against Lesnar. John Cena was involved in the tournament, where he defeated Chris Benoit in the finals on the April 17, 2003 episode of "SmackDown!" to earn a WWE Championship match at Backlash. The week before Backlash, the feud intensified during a main event match involving Lesnar and A-Train, where Cena interfered by breaking a pinfall attempt by Lesnar. After the match, Cena hit Lesnar with his trademark chain and the WWE Championship title belt.
The main match on the undercard from the Raw brand, was a Six-man tag team match involving the team of Triple H, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho facing Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Booker T. The feud began on the March 31, 2003 episode of "Raw", in a backstage segment, where Booker T was being medically attended following his title match with Triple H at WrestleMania XIX, as Flair came into the scene to confront and taunt Booker T. Later that night, Jericho cut a promo, where he complained that he should have won his match against Michaels at WrestleMania XIX. After the promo, Booker T defeated Jericho via disqualification after Flair interfered in the match and attacked Booker T. Afterwards, Triple H came down to the ring, where he, Jericho, and Flair attacked Booker T simultaneously. The attack caused Michaels to come down to the ring to help Booker T to no avail, as Jericho locked Michaels in the Walls of Jericho and Triple H locked Booker T in an Indian deathlock. The following week on "Raw", Nash entered the feud during a main event tag team match between the team of Triple H and Jericho facing Michaels and Booker T. After Booker T pinned Triple H to earn the victory for his team, Flair came into the ring and attacked Booker T, followed by Jericho attacking Michaels with a steel chair. The attack led to the return of Nash, who had been sidelined with an injury, who attacked Jericho and Flair. After the turn of events, Triple H prepared to hit Nash with a sledgehammer, only to retreat the ring soon afterwards. The week later, Nash said that he wanted Shawn and Hunter to be friends again, only for Triple H to tell him that they should side together, as Shawn turned on Nash in 1994. Triple H and Flair fought against Booker T and the Hurricane and lost thanks to Shawn Michaels. Jericho then attacked Shawn and Nash came to the rescue, but accidentally hit Booker with the Sledgehammer. The feud intensified during the week before Backlash, during a main event World Heavyweight Championship match between Booker T, and the reigning champion, Triple H, with Michaels as the special guest referee. During the match, Michaels superkicked Triple H, resulting in Flair and Jericho coming into the ring and attacking Michaels and Booker T. Nash then came down to the ring, where he dispersed Jericho and Flair. He also helped Michaels and Triple H back to their feet, only to receive a low blow by Triple H.
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 Bobby Lashley, who is in his first reign.
The Great Khali
On 23 July 2017, Khali returned to WWE at Battleground as a heel to assist WWE Champion Jinder Mahal in a Punjabi Prison match for the WWE Championship by preventing Randy Orton from escaping the structure, allowing Mahal to escape and retain the title. Khali's profile was briefly listed on WWE's active roster on WWE.com, but was shortly removed and indicated Khali's appearance was a one-time occurrence.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Bobby Lashley is the current champion in his first reign. He won the title by defeating former champion Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match on the January 14 edition of "Raw" in Memphis, Tennessee.
WrestleMania 34
At the Royal Rumble, SmackDown's Shinsuke Nakamura won the men's Royal Rumble match, earning a world championship match of his choosing at WrestleMania. Nakamura chose WWE Champion AJ Styles. At Fastlane, Styles retained the WWE Championship in a six-pack challenge, confirming the Styles-Nakamura match at WrestleMania. On the post-Fastlane episode of SmackDown, Styles and Nakamura expressed respect for each other, but Nakamura promised to deliver a Kinshasa to Styles at WrestleMania and become WWE Champion, and teased a Kinshasa on Styles after saving him from an attack the following week. Styles warned Nakamura to not take him lightly and mentioned their previous encounter in New Japan. Styles then teased a Phenomenal Forearm on Nakamura after the two had won a tag team match on the April 3 episode.
Royal Rumble (2013)
The following night on "Raw", John Cena announced that he would challenge the reigning WWE Champion with his winning the Royal Rumble match. With The Rock retaining the championship, this would set up a rematch between The Rock and Cena from last year's WrestleMania. Cena would go on to win the match and the championship, making him a record 11-time WWE Champion.
List of WWE Cruiserweight Champions
Overall, there have been 11 reigns between 9 champions and one vacancy. Neville and Enzo Amore have the most reigns at two. Neville's first reign is the longest reign at 197 days and he also has the longest combined reign at 232 days (196 days and 231 days, respectively, as recognized by WWE). Akira Tozawa has the shortest reign at 6 days (5 days as recognized by WWE). The oldest champion is The Brian Kendrick, winning the title at 37 years old, while the youngest champion is Rich Swann when he won it at 25.
SmackDown (WWE brand)
On June 6, then WWE Champion John Cena switched brands from SmackDown to Raw as part of the month-long 2005 draft lottery. This effectively left SmackDown without a world title. On the June 23 episode of "SmackDown!", SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long scheduled a six-man elimination match between Big Show, Booker T, Chris Benoit, Christian (replacing Big Show, who was picked by Raw in the lottery), John Bradshaw Layfield, Muhammad Hassan and The Undertaker to crown the first SmackDown Champion. On the June 30 episode of "SmackDown!", Layfield won the match, but Long appeared afterward and stated that even though he had won the match SmackDown did not need a championship anymore, instead revealing that Layfield was the number one contender for the World Heavyweight championship, at which point Batista, then World Heavyweight Champion, entered the ring as SmackDown's final draft lottery pick.
Roman Reigns
Reigns is a four-time world champion in WWE, having held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship three times and the Universal Championship once. He is also a one-time United States Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Rollins), the 2015 Royal Rumble winner, and the 2014 Superstar of the Year. He tied the WWE record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series elimination match with four in the 2013 event and set the then-record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 in the 2014 event. Upon winning the Intercontinental Championship, he became the twenty-eighth Triple Crown Champion and the seventeenth Grand Slam Champion.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The WWE Cruiserweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the 205 Live brand. Unveiled on September 14, 2016, as the award for the Cruiserweight Classic, which was won by T.J. Perkins, it is contested in WWE's cruiserweight division by wrestlers at a maximum weight of , the only active WWE championship with a weight limit. The current champion is Buddy Murphy, who is in his first reign.
WWE Championship
After the 2016 brand extension where the championship became exclusive to SmackDown, the similarly designed WWE Universal Championship was introduced for the Raw brand. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship was briefly renamed WWE Championship; the digitized belt in the pre-match graphic read "WWE Champion" below the WWE logo. It was then renamed WWE World Championship in July 2016 and the pre-match graphic was updated to read "WWE World Champion". In December 2016, the title was again reverted to WWE Championship; the pre-match graphic no longer includes the title's name. The physical belt, however, retains "World Heavyweight Champion" below the logo.
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship
As of 02, 2022, overall there have been 12 reigns between 8 teams, and 17 individual champions. The team of Heath Slater and Rhyno were the inaugural champions. The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) hold multiple records with the championship: they are tied with The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) for the most reigns at three, they are the longest-reigning champions at 182 days for their third reign, they have the longest combined reign at 329 days (328 days as recognized by WWE), and they are tied with The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Randy Orton) for having the shortest reign at 23 days. The oldest champion is Shane McMahon, winning the title at 49 years old, while the youngest is Jason Jordan when he won it at 28.
WWE Universal Championship
As of 02, 2022, there have been six reigns between five champions and two vacancies. Finn Bálor was the inaugural champion, but he was forced to vacate the title due to suffering a legitimate injury in winning the title, making his reign the shortest at 22 hours. Brock Lesnar holds three records with the championship: he has the most reigns at two, his first reign is the longest reign at 504 days (beginning on April 2, 2017 and ending on August 19, 2018), and he has the longest combined reign at + days. Kevin Owens is the youngest champion when he won it at 32 years old, while Goldberg is the oldest when he won it at 50.
Undisputed championship
Immediately following Summerslam 2011, the brand extension officially ended, meaning that 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 belts of its two predecessors until a singular belt design was commissioned in August 2014. In June 2016, the championship was reverted to being called the WWE Championship before WWE reintroduced the brand extension the following month. The WWE Champion was drafted to SmackDown and it was renamed the WWE World Championship though reverted to WWE Championship in December 2016. In response, Raw created their own world championship, the WWE Universal Championship. With this, WWE no longer has an undisputed world champion as there are two world championships in the promotion again.
TLC: Tables, Ladders &amp; Chairs (2013)
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 McMahon), finally settled his rivalry with Bryan at the Hell in a Cell event, defeating him in a Hell in a Cell match to win the WWE title for the eighth time. However, over time, The Authority started showing doubt over Orton's ability to win matches on his own accord. To prove he still was their chosen "face of the WWE", Orton was made to defend his championship against the anti-Authority Big Show at Survivor Series in November, who Orton defeated to retain his title, but only after Big Show was distracted by Triple H. Concurrently, Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio at Survivor Series to retain his World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch from the Hell in a Cell event, where Cena returned from an elbow injury seemingly before schedule, yet still defeated Del Rio to win the title for the third time. After Orton's victory at Survivor Series, Cena came down to the ring with his title, and celebrated with the crowd as The Authority looked on, much to Orton's chagrin. The next night, on the November 25 episode of "Raw", after another confrontation between the two world champions, Triple H announced that Orton would face Cena in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, with both the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship on the line, at the TLC pay-per-view, with the winner becoming the "Champion of Champions". At the event, it was announced that the unified titles would be called the "WWE World Heavyweight Championship".
List of current champions in WWE
The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship is held by Bobby Roode and Chad Gable who are in their first reign, both as a team and individually. They won the titles by defeating previous champions AOP in a handicap match on the December 10 episode of "Raw" with AOP's manager Drake Maverick also in the match (and was pinned by Roode to cause the title change). The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is held by The Miz and Shane McMahon, who are in their first reign as a team and individually. They won the titles by defeating Cesaro and Sheamus at Royal Rumble.
WrestleMania XXVIII
WrestleMania consisted of professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds or storylines that played out on WWE's primary television programs. Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main event of WrestleMania XXVIII pitted The Rock wrestling against John Cena. On the February 14, 2011 episode of "Raw", The Rock was revealed as the host of WrestleMania XXVII, and upon his return to WWE, began a feud with John Cena (and Cena's opponent at that WrestleMania, then-WWE Champion, The Miz), which continued for weeks in terms of verbal insults, until the March 28 episode of "Raw", where Cena delivered the Attitude Adjustment to the Rock after he fended off attacks from the Miz and Alex Riley. At WrestleMania XXVII, the Rock got involved in the main event WWE Championship match between The Miz and John Cena, which initially ended in a double count-out. After the match was restarted under no disqualifications, no count-outs rules, the Rock delivered a Rock Bottom to Cena, thus enabling the Miz to win the match. The next night on "Raw", Cena challenged the Rock to a one-on-one match; Rock accepted and proposed that it be held at WrestleMania XXVIII. After winning the championship from The Miz at Extreme Rules, Cena interrupted The Rock's birthday celebrations during the May 2 episode of "Raw" to announce his intention to defend the WWE Championship against The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII. Such intentions were however thwarted by Cena losing the title against CM Punk at Money in the Bank in July. At Survivor Series in November, Cena teamed with the Rock (who wrestled his first WWE match in almost eight years, last competing at WrestleMania XX), and billed as "the most charismatic tag team", and defeated the Miz and R-Truth. After the match, The Rock gave a Rock Bottom to Cena.
A second main event, billed as the "end of an era", saw the Undertaker face Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. The previous year at WrestleMania XXVII, in a No Holds Barred match, The Undertaker defeated Triple H via submission, in their second encounter at a WrestleMania (the first being at WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001, where the Undertaker won as well). However, in the post-match events, due to the harsh physicality suffered during the bout, the Undertaker, for the first time in his career, was carted away from the Georgia Dome by the medical staff on a stretcher. After a near ten-month long hiatus, The Undertaker returned on the January 30, 2012 episode of "Raw", confronting and challenging Triple H to a rematch at WrestleMania XXVIII. The Undertaker, having been dissatisfied of his post-WrestleMania match scenario the previous year, stated that he "did not want 'that scene' to be a lasting memory" of him and was willing to give Triple H "another chance at immortality". After Triple H refused to accept the challenge the next week on "Raw", his close friend and WWE Hall of Famer, Shawn Michaels appeared on the February 13 episode of "Raw" to instigate him in accepting The Undertaker's challenge, which was in vain as Triple H stated he was willing to put his ego and personal agendas aside for the future of WWE, and viewed The Undertaker's 19–0 undefeated WrestleMania streak as a "brand" to cash-in for the company, finally ending the argument saying he would not be the one to end it. Then, on the February 20 episode of "Raw", The Undertaker still remained adamant in getting a WrestleMania rematch with Triple H, going so far as to label Triple H as a "coward", and comparing his abilities and career to that of Shawn Michaels. Enraged by these comments, Triple H finally accepted The Undertaker's challenge at WrestleMania XXVIII, saying that if "he [Undertaker] wanted an end, they would go all the way", and proposed that they would compete in a Hell in a Cell match. On the March 5 episode of "Raw", Michaels confronted Triple H again; Michaels expressed his views on who was better than the other, predicted Triple H's chances of defeating The Undertaker and revealed himself as the special guest referee in their Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania.
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.
A.J. Styles
On February 12 at Elimination Chamber, Styles competed in an Elimination Chamber match against Cena, Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt, Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and The Miz for the WWE Championship, where he lasted until the final two before being eliminated by Wyatt, who became the new champion. On the following episode of "SmackDown Live", Styles failed to regain the title from Wyatt in a triple threat match also involving Cena. On the February 21 episode of "SmackDown Live", following Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton's unwillingness to challenge Wyatt at WrestleMania 33 for the WWE Championship, Styles competed in a 10-man battle royal to determine Orton's replacement and lasted until the final two, where the match ended in a draw after he and Luke Harper eliminated each other simultaneously. The following week, he defeated Harper to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, but Orton betrayed Wyatt and reclaimed his right to face him at WrestleMania 33, leading to a match between Styles and Orton on the March 7 episode of "SmackDown Live", where Styles lost his number one contendership. On the March 14 episode of "SmackDown Live", Styles ambushed SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon (who Styles blamed for him not challenging for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania) when he arrived at the arena and slammed his head into the window of a parked car. Afterwards, his boss Daniel Bryan spoke to Styles and—in storyline—fired him for his actions along with having security escort Styles out of the building. However, later that night, McMahon returned to the arena and announced that he would face Styles at WrestleMania 33, where Styles defeated McMahon. On the following episode of "SmackDown Live", Styles shook hands with McMahon, thus turning face in the process.
Kane (wrestler)
Within WWE, Kane is a three-time world champion (having held the WWF Championship, ECW Championship and World Heavyweight Championship once each) and a 12-time world tag team champion (having held the World Tag Team Championship, WCW Tag Team Championship and WWE Tag Team Championships with various partners). He is also a two-time Intercontinental Champion and a Money in the Bank winner, as well as the third man to complete WWE's Grand Slam. Kane holds the record for cumulative Royal Rumble match eliminations at 44. In a 2015 interview, veteran wrestler Ric Flair described Kane as "the best in the world".
Survivor Series (2018)
At Crown Jewel, AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe to retain the WWE Championship, while Brock Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman to win the vacant Universal Championship, setting up a rematch between Styles and Lesnar from the previous year's event. However, on the final "SmackDown" before Survivor Series, Daniel Bryan defeated Styles to become the WWE Champion, thus replacing Styles as Lesnar's opponent. After the match, Bryan attacked Styles, turning into a villain in the process.
John Cena
On the February 21 episode of "Raw", Cena replied in rap form to comments made by The Rock the previous week, as The Rock returned as the announced guest host of WrestleMania. That night, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match, with him teaming with The Miz, where they defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to become WWE Tag Team Champions. However, their rematch clause was immediately invoked and they won the title back after The Miz attacked Cena. After weeks of insults, Cena and Rock finally met, where, after a verbal confrontation, and brief attack by The Miz and Alex Riley, Cena attacked The Rock with the "Attitude Adjustment". At WrestleMania XXVII, Cena and Miz fought to a double countout, but The Rock restarted the match and performed a "Rock Bottom" on Cena, allowing The Miz to retain the title. The next night on "Raw", Cena, in response to The Rock "screwing" him out of the title, agreed to face him in the main event of WrestleMania XXVIII, making it the first match to be set up for WrestleMania one year in advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena defeated The Miz and John Morrison to become WWE Champion. Cena went on to successfully defend the title against The Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match and R-Truth at Capitol Punishment. Cena then began a feud with CM Punk, who was leaving the company at Money in the Bank, where he defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship, and left the company with the title. After Rey Mysterio won the WWE Championship in a tournament, Cena challenged and defeated him later that night to become WWE Champion for a record-breaking ninth time, only to be interrupted by CM Punk, who also claimed to be champion. Punk again defeated Cena at SummerSlam in a championship unification match. After Alberto Del Rio became WWE Champion by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, Cena became number one contender and beat Del Rio at Night of Champions to win the WWE Championship for the tenth time. He lost it back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell, in a triple threat Hell in a Cell match also involving CM Punk. Cena lost his rematch to Alberto Del Rio at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match, due to interference by The Miz and R-Truth. After a few weeks of Miz and Truth attacking Cena and other employees, Cena was allowed to choose his partner to challenge Miz and Truth at Survivor Series and Cena chose The Rock as his partner. Despite exchanging insults in the following weeks, they defeated Miz and Truth, though Rock closed the show by giving Cena a "Rock Bottom".
List of WWE Cruiserweight Champions (1991–2007)
The WWE Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was originally a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 225lbs. During the WWE brand extension, it was the only title to be exclusive to the SmackDown! brand during its entire tenure. There were a total of 40 recognized champions who had a combined 79 official reigns. This is a chronological list of wrestlers that held the original WWE Cruiserweight Championship, listed by ring name, with the longest reign being 385 days by Gregory Helms, and the most reigns by Rey Mysterio with 8.
List of WWE Cruiserweight Champions
The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. The inaugural champion was T.J. Perkins, who was awarded the title for winning the Cruiserweight Classic on September 14, 2016. The title is currently held by Buddy Murphy, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Cedric Alexander at Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia on October 6, 2018.
WWE Championship
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 single championship belt. It has a slightly updated design from the belt introduced by The Rock in 2013 as a result of WWE adapting a new corporate logo originally used for the WWE Network. It includes a large center plate dominated by a cut out of the new WWE logo inside an irregular heptagon with the capital words "World Heavyweight Champion" along the bottom edges, in very small print. The large side plates, like the previous design, include removable round sections, allowing the holder's personal logo to be added to the championship belt; the default sections show gold and red world maps with the WWE logo over them, though they lack the crown placed on top of the plates in the previous design. The Big Gold Belt was retired with the unveiling of the new championship belt.
Clash of Champions (2017)
On the November 7 episode of "SmackDown", AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win the WWE Championship for the second time. This resulted in Styles taking Mahal's place in the Universal Champion versus WWE Champion match at Survivor Series against Raw's Brock Lesnar, which Styles lost. Mahal cut a promo during Survivor Series stating that he hoped that Styles would win for SmackDown, but he wanted Lesnar to weaken Styles so that he could easily win back the WWE Championship. The following "SmackDown", Styles came out and addressed the WWE fans. Mahal appeared on the TitanTron and challenged Styles to a rematch for the championship at Clash of Champions, which Styles accepted.
List of WWE Cruiserweight Champions
The WWE Cruiserweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the 205 Live brand. It is defended on the cruiserweight-exclusive "205 Live" by wrestlers with a maximum weight of , the only active WWE championship with a weight limit. The title was previously defended on both "Monday Night Raw" and "205 Live" until WrestleMania 34.
Daniel Bryan
On the July 15 episode of "Raw", WWE Champion John Cena picked Bryan to be his opponent for the WWE title match at SummerSlam. This led to Bryan being embroiled (in storyline) in the McMahon family's internal feud, with WWE chairman Vince McMahon against Bryan due to Bryan's image not fitting of McMahon's vision of a typical WWE wrestler, while WWE chief operating officer Triple H was in support of Bryan. On the July 22 episode of "Raw", Bryan ran a gauntlet match to prove his worth as number one contender, defeating Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro in succession while his third opponent Ryback was disqualified after performing a powerbomb on Bryan through a table. The following week on "Raw", Bryan was forced to face Kane and emerged victorious, but Kane attacked him after the match. On August 18 at SummerSlam, Bryan defeated Cena to win his first WWE Championship, but after the match special referee Triple H performed his Pedigree finishing move on Bryan, leading to Randy Orton cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to win the title from Bryan.
WWE brand extension
After five years, a new brand extension was introduced on July 19, 2016. Raw drafted the WWE Women's Champion, the United States Champion, and the WWE Tag Team Champions, while SmackDown drafted the WWE Champion and the Intercontinental Champion; NXT champions were ineligible to be drafted. This distribution of championships remained unchanged at the Battleground pay-per-view, which took place the Sunday immediately following the draft. With the WWE Championship being defended exclusively on SmackDown, Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon and general manager Mick Foley introduced the WWE Universal Championship to be Raw's world title. As SmackDown was lacking a tag team championship and a women's championship, Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon and general manager Daniel Bryan introduced the SmackDown Tag Team Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship. Subsequently, the WWE Women's Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship were renamed as the Raw Women's Championship and the Raw Tag Team Championship, respectively. With this, each brand had a world championship, a secondary championship, a tag team championship, and a women's championship: the Universal, United States, Raw Tag Team, and Raw Women's on Raw, and the World, Intercontinental, SmackDown Tag Team, and SmackDown Women's on SmackDown. However, since Raw became the exclusive home of WWE's revived cruiserweight division, they also created a new WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Beginning November 29, 2016, in addition to "Raw", the Cruiserweight Championship is defended on the cruiserweight-exclusive show, "205 Live". The WWE United Kingdom Championship was unveiled in December 2016 with its inaugural holder determined in January 2017. The title is the major championship for the United Kingdom-based NXT spinoff, NXT UK.
List of current champions in WWE
The top title of NXT is the NXT Championship, which is held by Tommaso Ciampa, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Aleister Black on the July 18, 2018 tapings of "NXT" (aired July 25). The secondary title of NXT is the NXT North American Championship, which is held by Johnny Gargano, who defeated Ricochet at on January 26 2019. The NXT Women's Championship is held by record two-time champion Shayna Baszler. She won the title by defeating Kairi Sane at Evolution on October 28, 2018. The NXT Tag Team Championship is held by one-time title holders The War Raiders (Raymond Rowe and Hanson). They won the titles by defeating Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) on the January 26,2019 at NXT Phoenix Takeover.
Royal Rumble (2016)
Traditionally, the winner of the 30-man Royal Rumble match is awarded a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. However, as a culmination of his attempts to deprive the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns for attacking his son-in-law Triple H and overall disrespecting the McMahon family, WWE chairman Vince McMahon decided on the January 4, 2016 episode of "Raw", that Reigns would have to defend his title in the Rumble match.
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship was the first world championship introduced into the promotion in 1963. The inaugural champion was Buddy Rogers, and there have been 50 different official champions overall and 11 vacancies. The longest reigning champion is Bruno Sammartino, who held the title from May 17, 1963 to January 18, 1971, for a total of 2,803 days (7 years, 8 months, and 1 day); Sammartino also holds the record for longest combined reign at 4,040 days. André the Giant is the shortest reigning champion, officially holding the title for 1 minute, 48 seconds. The youngest champion is Brock Lesnar, who won the title at the age of 25, while the oldest champion is Vince McMahon, who won it at the age of 54. John Cena holds the record for most reigns with 13.
Royal Rumble (2018)
On the following episode of "SmackDown", Shinsuke Nakamura celebrated his win at the Royal Rumble, and said he would become the new WWE Champion at WrestleMania 34. He was interrupted by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who said that they should be the co-WWE Champions, but the referee failed at his job at the Royal Rumble. WWE Champion AJ Styles came out and said that Owens and Zayn could complain all they want, but there would be a dream match at WrestleMania between him and Nakamura. Styles then suggested to have a dream team that night with him and Nakamura facing Owens and Zayn, which SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan made official for later that night in which Styles and Nakamura won. During the match, there were tensions between Owens and Zayn as Bryan had also scheduled them to face each other the following week to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship at Fastlane. The championship match at Fastlane then became a fatal five-way also involving Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler and finally a six-pack challenge when free agent John Cena qualified by defeating Styles in a non-title match.
Royal Rumble match
Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble match is traditionally awarded a title match for WWE's top championship at WrestleMania—as the WWE's main roster is currently divided into two brands, there are two top championships for men, the Universal Championship on the Raw brand and the WWE Championship on SmackDown, and the winner can choose which title to challenge for, regardless of the brand they belong to. Similarly, the winner of the women's Royal Rumble match (first contested in 2018) is awarded a match at WrestleMania for their choice of either of WWE's top two women's championships, the Raw Women's Championship or the SmackDown Women's Championship.
SummerSlam (2011)
The main event from the Raw brand for SummerSlam would pit John Cena against CM Punk for the WWE Championship. In the weeks leading to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July on "Raw", Punk announced the expiry of his WWE contract on the night of the July 17, 2011 event, en route lambasting WWE for failing to promote him as the "best wrestler in the world", and threatened some high authority figures like WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, of defeating Cena and leaving WWE with the championship. At Money in the Bank, Punk pinned Cena to win the title, and even after McMahon tried to have Alberto Del Rio – who had won the Raw Money in the Bank briefcase earlier that night – cash in his contract against Punk. The latter nevertheless left the arena with the championship. The following night on "Raw", McMahon dismissed Punk's claim to the title, and announced an 8-man tournament to decide the new WWE Champion. Also, on the same night, Triple H relieved McMahon of his duties, and assumed control over WWE as the Chief Operating Officer. On the edition of July 25, 2011 of "Raw", Rey Mysterio defeated The Miz in the finals to become the WWE Champion but lost it later on the same night against Cena. After the match, Punk returned to WWE with the title belt he had won at Money in the Bank. As they were now two wrestlers with a claim to the WWE Championship, a one-on-one match between Punk and Cena was scheduled for SummerSlam to determine the undisputed WWE Champion. On August 8, 2011 episode of "Raw", Triple H made himself the special guest referee for the Undisputed WWE Championship match.
WWE Raw 1000
CM Punk's reign as WWE Champion continued for the remainder of the year. He allied with Paul Heyman and defended his championship against John Cena and Big Show at SummerSlam, Cena at Night of Champions, Ryback at Hell in a Cell, and Cena and Ryback at Survivor Series. On December 5, Punk became the longest-reigning WWE Champion in the past 25 years, surpassing John Cena's 380-day reign. In January 2013, Punk and The Rock continued their rivalry after their confrontation at "Raw 1000". At the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2013, The Rock defeated Punk for the WWE Championship, ending Punk's reign at 434 days.
NXT UK (WWE brand)
In a press conference at The O2 Arena on December 15, 2016, Paul "Triple H" Levesque revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. The tournament was held over a two-day period, January 14 and 15, 2017, and aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The championship was intended as the top championship of a new WWE Network show, produced in the United Kingdom (the show and its premiere date had yet to be revealed by the WWE at the time). Tyler Bate won the inaugural tournament to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
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 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.
List of WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions
The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. The inaugural champions were Heath Slater and Rhyno, who won the title in a tournament final at Backlash on September 11, 2016. Shane McMahon and The Miz are the current champions in their first reign. They won the titles by defeating The Bar at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona.
List of WWE European Champions
The WWE European Championship is a former professional wrestling title competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The title was created on February 26, 1997. The first champion was The British Bulldog who defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final. The title was retired briefly in April 1999 by then-champion Shane McMahon, who wanted to retire as an "undefeated champion". McMahon reintroduced the championship two months later and gave it to Mideon, who saw the title belt in Shane's travel bag and asked if he could have it. The title was finally retired on July 22, 2002 when WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy to unify the European title into the Intercontinental title. There have been a total of 27 recognized champions who have had a combined 37 official reigns. This is a chronological list of wrestlers that have been WWE European Champion by ring name.
WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
The WWE SmackDown Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE on the SmackDown brand. It is one of two women's championships for WWE's main roster, along with the Raw Women's Championship on the Raw brand. The current champion is Asuka, who is in her first reign.
The Ultimate Warrior
Although Warrior's relationship with WWE was strained at times, more recently WWE has recognized him as one of the legends of the company. WWE described him as being "As devastating and intense as any Superstar who stepped through the ropes...", further saying that "The Ultimate Warrior may be the most enigmatic man to ever hold the WWE Championship." In 2011, WWE called him "one of the most recognizable" wrestlers in WWE history, praising his ability to draw power from "the WWE Universe", and further spoke of his impact as having "brought Hulkamania to its knees" at WrestleMania VI, "retired the Madness at WrestleMania VII and press slammed a slew of the greatest legends of his era".
Royal Rumble (2011)
In addition to the Royal Rumble match, the main rivalry from the Raw brand involved the WWE Champion The Miz defending his title against Randy Orton. The night after Survivor Series, The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Orton to become the WWE Champion before successfully defending it against Orton a month later at . After defeating Wade Barrett and Sheamus, in a steel cage match on an episode of "Raw", Orton received another opportunity at the title in a match against The Miz.
WWE Raw Women's Championship
Ronda Rousey is the current champion, in her first reign. She defeated Alexa Bliss for the title at SummerSlam in Brooklyn, New York on August 19, 2018.
Vengeance (2002)
After winning the WWE Undisputed Championship, The Rock then entered a feud with the number one contender Brock Lesnar for the upcoming SummerSlam event. Lesnar went on to win the match and become the youngest champion in the title's history. It was also the last match for The Rock as an active WWE wrestler, and his final reign as WWE Champion until winning the title at the Royal Rumble in 2013, prior to being a full-time actor in Hollywood.
List of WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions
Overall there have been 12 reigns between 8 teams, and 17 individual champions. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) hold multiple records with the championship: they are tied with The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) for the most reigns at three (as a team and individually), they are the longest-reigning champions at 182 days for their third reign, they have the longest combined reign at 329 days (328 days as recognized by WWE), and they are tied with The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Randy Orton) for having the shortest reign at 23 days. The oldest champion is Shane McMahon, winning the title at 49 years old, while the youngest is Jason Jordan when he won it at 28.
List of WWE Intercontinental Champions
The Intercontinental Championship has been called the second most important championship in the company, after the WWE Championship. It has been active in WWE for the second longest period, but is the third oldest active title, behind the WWE Championship (1963) and the United States Championship (1975), the latter of which was acquired from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2001. In 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and the championship was renamed accordingly. As a result of the 2017 WWE Superstar Shake-up, it is exclusively contested on the Raw brand.
Hell in a Cell (2013)
The main feud heading into Hell in a Cell was between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton over the vacant WWE Championship. After defeating John Cena to win the WWE title at SummerSlam in August, Bryan was betrayed by the special referee of that match, Triple H, which allowed Orton to cash-in his Money in the Bank contract and win the championship. In their rematch at Night of Champions in September, Bryan defeated Orton to win back the title, albeit with the referee Scott Armstrong deciding the pinfall with a very fast count. This controversial ending to the match resulted in Armstrong's (kayfabe) firing and Bryan being stripped of the WWE Championship by Triple H the next night on "Raw". Bryan and Orton's next scheduled encounter for the now-vacant title on pay-per-view at Battleground on October 6 ended in a no contest after Big Show interfered and attacked both wrestlers and the referees, including a returning Scott Armstrong. With still no WWE Champion yet, on the October 7 edition of "Raw", general manager Brad Maddox announced that Bryan and Orton would again compete against each other for the vacant WWE title in Hell in a Cell and with a special referee for the audience to choose from amongst WWE Hall of Famers Booker T, Bob Backlund and Shawn Michaels; Michaels won the vote.
Daniel Bryan
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 winner, the 2013 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner and the SmackDown General Manager from July 2016 to April 2018. Bryan is the 26th Triple Crown Champion and the 6th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history and headlined several major pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania XXX.
John Cena
On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" – or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and the ECW World Champion Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a triple threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line. At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on "Raw" with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on "Raw", Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship. 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship, while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first "Raw" of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an "FU" on him. At the pay-per-view event, New Year's Revolution, Cena defeated Umaga to end his undefeated streak and retain the WWE Championship. At the Royal Rumble, Cena defeated Umaga in a Last Man Standing match to retain the title after Umaga was unable to get to his feet before the referee's ten count.
WWE Hardcore Championship
The WWE Hardcore Championship was a hardcore wrestling championship in WWE (formerly the World Wrestling Federation), which was contested under "hardcore" rules (no disqualifications, no countouts, and pinfalls count anywhere). In the latter part of the title's history, a rule was implemented allowing anyone to challenge the champion at any place or time, provided a referee was present (dubbed the "24/7 rule"). It was established on November 2, 1998 with Mankind as the inaugural champion. In 2002, it was unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship by Rob Van Dam, the final Hardcore Champion.
SummerSlam (2006)
Edge and John Cena continued to feud over the WWE Championship. On the August 21 episode of "Raw", Lita threw John Cena's "Spinner WWE Championship" belt into the Long Island Sound and Edge unveiled his own "Rated R-Spinner WWE Championship" belt. Jeff Hardy returned to WWE on the Raw brand and defeated Edge in a non-title match by disqualification. After the match, Cena attacked Edge, and threw Edge into the Long Island Sound. On the edition of August 28 of "Raw", Cena challenged Edge for the WWE Championship with the stipulation being that if Cena lost, he would not challenge for the title again and would leave Raw to go back to SmackDown!. Edge accepted the challenge, stating that the match would take place in his hometown and it would be a match that Edge had never lost: a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. Later that night, Cena faced the returning Chris Masters in a match; Masters was disqualified when Edge attacked Cena. At Unforgiven, Cena defeated Edge, winning his third WWE Championship. Cena went on to hold the title for over a year.
List of WWE Champions
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE, currently on the SmackDown brand. It is the first world title established in WWE, having been introduced in 1963 as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Heavyweight Championship. The promotion was renamed World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979 and ended its affiliation with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1983, with the title also renamed to reflect the changes. In 2001, it was unified with the World Championship (formerly the WCW World Heavyweight Championship) following the WWF's buyout of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and became the Undisputed WWF Championship. In 2002, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and split its roster into two brands, Raw and SmackDown. The title, now renamed 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.
WrestleMania XX
The main feud for the SmackDown! brand was between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. In the beginning of 2004, Angle and Guerrero were allies while Guerrero feuded with his nephew Chavo Guerrero. On "SmackDown!" on January 29, Eddie Guerrero last eliminated Angle in a 15-man Royal Rumble style match to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At the prior pay per view, No Way Out, Kurt Angle defeated The Big Show and John Cena in a Triple threat match to earn himself a title shot at WrestleMania on the same event where Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar for the WWE title. On the February 19 episode of "SmackDown!", Angle was the special guest referee in a match between WWE Champion, Eddie Guerrero and WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Chavo Guerrero. As Eddie was about to close in on the victory, Angle stopped the 3 count and would turn on Guerrero.edition of February 17, 2004 of "SmackDown!" On the following week's "SmackDown!", Guerrero was eager to get his revenge on Angle while looking for him but when he finally saw Angle, he shoved SmackDown General Manager, Paul Heyman and his assistant Dawn Marie out of his way only for Heyman to have Guerrero escorted out of the arena by security. Guerrero was scheduled to team with John Cena to take on Chavo Guerrero and the Big Show in a tag team match on that night but due to Guerrero being escorted out of the arena, he was replaced by Rey Mysterio for the tag match, which Mysterio and Cena won. Later that night, Angle appeared and stated that he attacked Guerrero for the SmackDown! fans and for the WWE. He then referred to Guerrero as a former drug addict that shouldn't represent SmackDown! as the WWE Champion and stated that one day people would be thanking him for a champion to be proud of. Guerrero then re-entered the arena and assaulted Angle until he got arrested by orders of Paul Heyman. As Guerrero got taken out of the building in handcuffs, Angle made some insulting comments to him before the officers drove away with Guerrero in the Police car. On the March 4 episode of "SmackDown!", during Guerrero's match with Heyman (while he was handcuffed), Angle interfered and knocked him down a few times until Guerrero defended himself by spitting on Angle. As Guerrero begged Angle to nail him with the WWE Championship belt, Angle did so and raised title the belt overhead to hype their match at Wrestlemania XX.
WWE Universal Championship
The inaugural champion was crowned at SummerSlam in a singles match. Seth Rollins was automatically set for that match as he was Raw's number one draft pick and was not pinned in the WWE Championship match at Battleground. His opponent was determined by two fatal four-way matches on "Raw", with the winners wrestling each other in a singles match. Finn Bálor won the first fatal four-way by defeating Cesaro, Kevin Owens, and Rusev while Roman Reigns won the second by defeating Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, and Sheamus. Bálor then defeated Reigns and was added to the title match. At SummerSlam on August 21, Bálor defeated Rollins to become the inaugural champion. Bálor was the first WWE wrestler to win a world title in his pay-per-view debut as well as winning his first world title in less than a month of his debut on WWE's main roster.