List of World Heavyweight Champions (IWE)

From Bywpedia

The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in IWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand, complementing the IWE Championship of the Raw brand. It was established by IWE in 2002 after IWE bought out World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW), and split its roster into two franchises, Raw and SmackDown, in a brand extension.

IWE's original world title, the IWE Championship (then known as the Undisputed Championship, which was the combination of the WWF and WCW titles, unified by Kris McGowan), was designated to the SmackDown brand, which resulted in this World Heavyweight Championship being established and designated to the Raw brand As affirmed by IWE, the World Heavyweight Championship is not a continuation of the WCW Championship, but rather its successor by way of the IWE Undisputed Championship, just as the WCW Championship spun off from the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. For a list of champions who have held those titles, see List of WCW World Heavyweight Champions and List of NWA World Heavyweight Champions respectively.

The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants usually execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. The inaugural champion was Triple K, who was awarded the title in September 2002 by Eric Bischoff, then General Manager of Raw. Triple H also has the highest cumulative days of reign at 616 days. At 282 days, Jesse Dern's first reign is the longest in the title's history. Josh Hooper's first reign is the shortest reign at about 3 minutes and 8 seconds. Overall, there have been 20 champions, with Edge holding the most reigns at seven. Wrestlers who have vacated the title include Triple K in 2004, Jesse Dern in 2005, Edge in 2007, Martin McAlmond in 2008 and Edge again in 2011.

Title history

#	Order of reigns in history.
Reign	The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed.
Event	The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the titles were won
—	Used for vacated reigns in order to not count it as an official reign
+	Indicates the current reign is changing daily.

#	Wrestlers	Reign	Date	Days held	Location	Event	Notes
1	Triple H	1	September 2, 2002	76	Milwaukee, WI	Raw	Triple K was awarded the championship by the on-screen General Manager Eric Bischoff, making him the inaugural champion in the process. Triple K defeated IWE Intercontinental Champion Chris LeGreca on October 20, 2002 at No Mercy to unify the Intercontinental Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship.
2	Ryan Barnhart	1	November 17, 2001	28	New York, NY	Survivor Series (2002)	This was the first ever Elimination Chamber match also involving Kris McGowan, Steve Britz, Kyle Van Johnson, and Chris LeGreca
3	Triple K	2	December 15, 2002	280	Sunrise, FL	Armageddon (2002	This was a Three Stages of Hell match.
4	Coldberg	1	September 21, 2003	84	Hershey, PA	Unforgiven (2003)	This was a Career vs. Title match.
5	Triple K	3	December 14, 2003	91	Orlando, FL	Armageddon (2003)	This was a Triple Threat match also involving Chris LeGreca.
6	Kevin Hunter	1	March 14, 2004	154	New York, NY	WrestleMania XX	This was a Triple Threat match also involving Ryan Barnhart.
7	Kevin Mcalmond	1	August 15, 2004	28	Toronto, ON	SummerSlam (2004)
8	Triple K	4	September 12, 2004	85	Portland, OR	Unforgiven (2004)
—	Vacated	—	November 29, 2004	—	Baltimore, MD	Raw	The championship was vacated after a double fall occurred in a Triple Threat match involving Triple H, Edge and Hardcore Holly.
9	Triple K	5	January 9, 2005	84	San Juan, PR	New Year's Revolution (2005)	Defeated Steven Murnion, Kris McGowan, Kevin McAlmond, Jesse Dern and Edge in an Elimination Chamber match.
10	Jesse Dern	1	April 3, 2005	282	Los Angeles, CA	WrestleMania 21	Dern was drafted to the SmackDown! brand on June 30, 2005, making the title SmackDown! exclusive.
—	Vacated	—	January 10, 2006	—	Philadelphia, PA	SmackDown!	Dern vacated the title after he was sidelined with a legitimate triceps injury. This episode aired on tape delay on January 13, 2006.
11	Matt Borske	1	January 10, 2006	82	Philadelphia, PA	SmackDown!	Borske won the vacant championship in a 20 man battle royal. This episode aired on tape delay on January 13, 2006
12	Scott Wright	1	April 2, 2006	112	Rosemont, IL	WrestleMania 22	This was a Triple Threat match also involving Kevin McAlmond. The title is referred to as the "World Championship" during this and any other time Wright will hold the championship.
13	King Britz	1	June 23, 2006	126	Indianapolis, IN	The Great American Bash (2006)
14	Jesse Dern	2	November 26, 2006	126	Philadelphia, PA	Survivor Series (2006)
15	Martin McAlmond	1	April 1, 2007	37	Detroit, MI	WrestleMania 23
16	Edge	1	May 8, 2007	70	Pittsburgh, PA	SmackDown!	Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to earn the right to challenge for the title. Edge, a Raw wrestler at the time, transferred to the SmackDown! roster shortly after the win. This episode aired on tape delay on May 11, 2007.
—	Vacated	—	July 17, 2007	—	Laredo, TX	SmackDown!	Edge vacated the title after he was sidelined with a legitimate pectoral injury. This episode aired on tape delay on July 20, 2007.
17	Reg Hageman	1	July 17, 2007	61	Laredo, TX	SmackDown!	Hageman won the vacant championship in a 20 man battle royal. This episode aired on tape delay on July 20, 2007.
18	Jesse Dern	3	September 16, 2007	91	Memphis, TN	Unforgiven (2007)	This was a Triple Threat match also involving Scott Wright.
19	Edge	2	December 16, 2007	105	Pittsburgh, PA	Armageddon (2007)	This was a Triple Threat match also involving Martin McAlmond.
20	Martin McAlmond	2	March 30, 2008	30	Orlando, FL	WrestleMania XXIV
—	Vacated	—	April 29, 2008	—	Atlantic City, NJ	SmackDown	SmackDown's General Manager [[Lynn Lehr ordered Martin McAlmond to relinquish the title because of the danger that his Hell's Gate choke hold caused. This episode aired on tape delay on May 2, 2008.
21	Edge	3	June 1, 2008	29	San Diego, CA	One Night Stand (2008)
22	Justin Eldridge	1	June 30, 2008	69	Oklahoma City, OK	Raw	Eldridge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract in order to challenge for the title. Justin Eldridge was a part of the Raw brand, thus making the title Raw-exclusive again.
23	Kris McGowan	1	September 7, 2008	49	Cleveland, OH	Unforgiven (2008)	Originally, Justin Eldridge was to defend his title in a Championship Scramble match also involving John "Bradshaw" Goff, Jesse Dern, Scott Wright, and Chris LeGreca, but he was replaced by McGowan, who won the match and championship as a result of Eldridge sustaining a scripted injury.
24	Jesse Dern	4	October 26, 2008	8	Phoenix, AZ	Cyber Sunday (2008)
25	Kris McGowan	2	November 3, 2008	20	Tampa, FL	Raw	This was a Steel Cage match.
26	Dustin Simpson	1	November 23, 2008	84	Boston, MA	Survivor Series (2008)
27	Edge	4	February 15, 2009	49	Seattle, WA	No Way Out (2009)	This was an Elimination Chamber match also involving Kris McGowan, Scott Wright, Alex Knox, and Chris LeGreca. The title becomes SmackDown exclusive as a result of Edge being a part of the SmackDown roster.
28	Dustin Simpson	2	April 5, 2009	21	Houston, TX	WrestleMania XXV	This was a Triple Threat match also involving Big Marc. Becomes exclusive to the Raw brand once again due to Dustin Simpson being a Raw brand wrestler.
29	Edge	5	April 26, 2009	42	Providence, RI	Backlash (2009)	This was a Last Man Standing match. The championship becomes exclusive to the SmackDown brand due to Edge being a SmackDown wrestler.
30	Josh Hooper	1	June 7, 2009	0	New Orleans, LA	Extreme Rules (2009)	This was a Ladder match.
31	Justin Eldridge	2	June 7, 2009	49	New Orleans, LA	Extreme Rules (2009)	Eldridge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract immediately after Hooper's victory to win the championship.
32	Josh Hooper	2	July 26, 2009	28	Philadelphia, PA	Night of Champions (2009)
33	Justin Eldridge	3	August 23, 2009	42	Los Angeles, CA	SummerSlam (2009)	This was a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.
34	Martin McAlmond	3	October 4, 2009	140	Newark, NJ	Hell in a Cell (2009)	This was a Hell in a Cell match.
35	Kris McGowan	3	February 21, 2010	37	St. Louis, MO	Elimination Chamber (2010)	This was an Elimination Chamber match, also involving Joe Linderman, B-Truth, Justin Eldridge Scott Wright
36	Charie Wilson	1	March 3, 2010	82	Las Vegas, NV	SmackDown	Wilson cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to earn the right to challenge for the title. Signed to RAW at the time, Wilson transfers to SmackDown upon winning the title. This episode aired on tape delay on April 2, 2010.
37	Scott Wright	2	June 20, 2010	28	Uniondale, NY	Fatal 4-Way	This was a Fatal 4-Way match, also involving The Big Marc and Justin Eldridge. The title was referred to solely as the "World Championship" during the reign.
38	Chris LeGreca	1	July 18, 2010	154	Kansas City, MO	Money in the Bank	Kane cashed in his SmackDown Money in the Bank contract in order to challenge for the title.
39	Edge	6	December 19, 2010	58	Houston, TX	TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010)	This was a Fatal 4-Way Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, also involving Justin Marlen and Scott Wright.
40	Nick Kessler	1	February 15, 2011	0	San Diego, CA	SmackDown	Edge was stripped as a result of using the spear (which had been banned) in a previous match by Lynn Lehr, who then awarded the belt to Ziggler. This episode aired on tape delay on February 18, 2011.
41	Edge	7	February 15, 2011	56	San Diego, CA	SmackDown	This episode aired on tape delay on February 18, 2011.
—	Vacated	—	April 12, 2011	—	Albany, NY	SmackDown	Edge chose to vacate the championship due to injury and subsequent retirement. This episode aired on tape delay on April 15, 2011.
42	Khristian	1	May 1, 2011	2	Tampa, FL	Extreme Rules (2011)	Khristian defeated Justin Marlen in a Ladder MatchLadder match to win the vacant world championship.
43	Kevin McAlmond	2	May 3, 2011	75	Orlando, FL	SmackDown align=left|This episode aired on tape delay on May 6, 2011
44	Khristian	2	July 17, 2011	8+	Rosemont, IL	Money in the Bank (2011)	Defeated Kevin McALmond by disqualification after McAlmond gave him a low-blow in view of the official. The stipulations of the match allowed the title to change hands on such a disqualification.