IWE World Heavyweight Championship

From Iwe

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| style="text-align: left;" |'''Current champion(s)'''
| style="text-align: left;" |'''Current champion(s)'''
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| bgcolor="#ffffff" |[[Chris Lopez|Seth Rollins]]
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| bgcolor="#ffffff" |[[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Vacant|Vacant]] <!--
|- valign="top"
|- valign="top"
| style="text-align: left;" |'''Date won'''
| style="text-align: left;" |'''Date won'''
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| bgcolor="#ffffff" |March 29, 2015
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| bgcolor="#ffffff" |November 22, 2015 -->
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| style="text-align: left;" |'''Date established'''
| style="text-align: left;" |'''Date established'''
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:''Not to be confused with [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)]].''
:''Not to be confused with [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)]].''
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The '''IWE World Heavyweight Championship''' is a [[Professional Wrestling|professional wrestling]] [[World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship#World championships|world heavyweight championship]] owned by [[IWE]]. From September 2002 to December 2013, it was one of two main championships in IWE, complementing the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]] until it's [[Undisputed Championship|unification]]. It was established under the then [[International Wide Wrestling Federation|IWWF]] in 1963, and is the oldest championship recognized by the promotion.
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The '''IWE World Heavyweight Championship''' is a [[Championship (professional wrestling)#World championships|world heavyweight championship]] created and promoted by the [[United States of America|American]] [[Professional Wrestling|professional wrestling promotion]] [[IWE]]. The championship was established by the then-[[History of IWE#International Wide Wrestling Federation|International Wide Wrestling Federation]] (IWWF) on April 29, 1963 as the '''IWWF World Heavyweight Championship''', following the promotion seceding from the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA). The title is currently vacant, the last champion being [[Chris Lopez|Seth Rollins]].
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==History==
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It is the oldest championship currently active in the promotion, and is presented as being the most prestigious title in IWE, with many matches for the title having headlined [[Pay-Per-View|pay-per-view]] (PPV) events – including IWE's signature PPV event [[IWE WrestleMania|WrestleMania]].
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[[File:IWE world title lineage.jpeg|200px|thumbnail|left|A diagram showing the evolution of various world heavyweight championships ]]
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===Origin===
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For the period between 2002–2013, the title was one of three world titles in IWE, along with the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]] and [[XCW World Heavyweight Championship|XCW Championship]] (2006−2010). But following the decommissioning of the ECW title, and unification with the World Heavyweight title, it is once again promoted as IWE's sole primary championship.
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The IWE Championship was introduced in 1963 with "Nature Boy" [[Buddy Rogers (wrestler)|Buddy Rogers]] becoming the first champion. However, its origin is attributed to events that began in the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA), which had various territorial member [[Professional Wrestling Promotion|promotions]]. In the 1950s, [[IWE#Capitol Wrestling Corporation|Capitol Wrestling Corporation]] (CWC) was a member of the NWA and by 1963, CWC executives held a controlling stake over NWA operations. During this time, Buddy Rogers held the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]] until January 24, when [[Albert Thesz|Lou Thesz]] defeated Rogers for the championship. Following a dispute over the result, CWC seceded from the NWA and became the [[IWE#International Wide Wrestling Federation|International Wide Wrestling Federation]] (IWWF). The IWWF World Heavyweight Championship was then established as having [[Spin-Off (Media)|spun off]] from the NWA title when the recognition was awarded to Buddy Rogers following an [[Apocrypha|apocrypha]]l tournament in [[Rio de Janeiro]], defeating [[Anthony Rocca|Antonino Rocca]] in the finals. Affiliated with the NWA once again, the IWWF was renamed to [[IWE#International Wrestling Federation|International Wrestling Federation]] (IWF) in 1979, and after conclusively ending its affiliation with the NWA in 1983, the championship became known as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and later simply as the WWF Championship by the 1990s.
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== History ==
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=== Origin ===
===Prominence===
===Prominence===
In 1991, [[World Championship Wrestling (WCW)|World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW), a member of the NWA, established the [[WCW World Heavyweight Championship]] to complement the NWA's world title. WCW then seceded from the NWA and grew to become a rival promotion to the IWF. Both organizations grew into [[Mainstream|mainstream]] prominence and were eventually involved in a [[Nielsen Ratings|television ratings]] war, dubbed the [[Monday Night Wars]]. Near the end of the ratings war, WCW began a [[History of World Championship Wrestling#Signs of a decline|financial decline]], which culminated in March 2001 with the WWF's [[History of World Championship Wrestling#Acquisition by the World Wrestling Federation|purchase of WCW]]. As a result of the purchase, the IWF acquired the [[IWE Video Library#Non-IWE purchases|video library]] of WCW, select [[List of World Championship Wrestling Alumni|talent contracts]], and [[World Championship Wrestling (WCW)#Final champions|championships]], among other assets. The slew of former WCW talent joining the [[List of IWE personnel|IWF roster]] began "[[The Invasion|The Invasion]]" which effectively [[The Alliance|phased out the WCW name]]. Following this, the WCW Championship (which had become known simply as the "world championship") was [[Championship Unification|unified]] with the IWF Championship at [[IWF Vengeance (2001)|Vengeance 2001]]. At the event, [[Khris Jericho]] defeated [[Sam Simkins|The Rock]] and [[Stone Cold Steve Johnson]] to win the WCW Championship and IWF Championship respectively. Jericho, recognised by IWE as the final WCW champion, went on to hold both the Big Gold belt (representing the "world championship") and the IWF title belt (representing the IWF championship) under the single Undisputed banner. IWE recognised these belts as representing separate championships until the introduction of a single belt by Triple K in 2002
In 1991, [[World Championship Wrestling (WCW)|World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW), a member of the NWA, established the [[WCW World Heavyweight Championship]] to complement the NWA's world title. WCW then seceded from the NWA and grew to become a rival promotion to the IWF. Both organizations grew into [[Mainstream|mainstream]] prominence and were eventually involved in a [[Nielsen Ratings|television ratings]] war, dubbed the [[Monday Night Wars]]. Near the end of the ratings war, WCW began a [[History of World Championship Wrestling#Signs of a decline|financial decline]], which culminated in March 2001 with the WWF's [[History of World Championship Wrestling#Acquisition by the World Wrestling Federation|purchase of WCW]]. As a result of the purchase, the IWF acquired the [[IWE Video Library#Non-IWE purchases|video library]] of WCW, select [[List of World Championship Wrestling Alumni|talent contracts]], and [[World Championship Wrestling (WCW)#Final champions|championships]], among other assets. The slew of former WCW talent joining the [[List of IWE personnel|IWF roster]] began "[[The Invasion|The Invasion]]" which effectively [[The Alliance|phased out the WCW name]]. Following this, the WCW Championship (which had become known simply as the "world championship") was [[Championship Unification|unified]] with the IWF Championship at [[IWF Vengeance (2001)|Vengeance 2001]]. At the event, [[Khris Jericho]] defeated [[Sam Simkins|The Rock]] and [[Stone Cold Steve Johnson]] to win the WCW Championship and IWF Championship respectively. Jericho, recognised by IWE as the final WCW champion, went on to hold both the Big Gold belt (representing the "world championship") and the IWF title belt (representing the IWF championship) under the single Undisputed banner. IWE recognised these belts as representing separate championships until the introduction of a single belt by Triple K in 2002
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===Undisputed Championship===
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=== Championship disputes ===
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In 2001, after Team IWF beat Team Alliance (WCW/XCW) at the Survivor Series of that year, the superstars of The Alliance would become an essential part of IWF programing. There were two world champions, with The Rock holding the WCW Championship, and Stone Cold Steve Johnson holding the IWF Championship. It was announced that the PPV following Survivor Series of that year would be a vengeance that would carry the slogan "One Undisputed Champion". It was announced that there would be three matches to unify the WCW and IWF Championships. It was announced that Matt Borske would challenge Johnson for the IWF Championship, and Khris Jericho would face The Rock for the WCW Championship. Johnson would win against Borske, thus retaining the IWF Championship, and Jericho would beat The Rock to become the new WCW Champion. Following his win, Jericho would face Johnson and won, thus unifying the IWF and WCW Championships. Jericho would hold the championship for four months until he would lose it at Wrestlemania X8 against Triple K. Ric Flair awarded the IWF Undisputed Championship on the first Raw after the draft to Triple K, Triple K would go on to hold the title for a month until he would lose it at Backlash 2002 against Hulk Hogan. Many would hold it afterwords, superstars such The IWE Champion Was Changed hands on 2005 when Dustin Simpson as drafted to Monday Night Raw [[IWE Programs|main television programs]], ''[[IWE Monday Night Raw|Raw]]'' and ''[[IWE Friday Night SmackDown|SmackDown!]]'', assigning championships and appointing [[Figurehead|figurehead]]s to each brand. This expansion became known as the [[IWE Brand Extension|Brand Extension]].
+
In 2001, after Team IWF beat [[Team Alliance (professional wrestling)|Team Alliance]] (WCW/XCW) at the [[IWF Survivor Series (2001)|Survivor Series of that year]], the superstars of The Alliance would become an essential part of IWF programing. There were two world champions, with The Rock holding the WCW Championship, and Stone Cold Steve Austin holding the IWF Championship. It was announced that the PPV following Survivor Series of that year would be a [[IWF Vengeance (2001)|IWF Vengeance]] that would carry the slogan "One Undisputed Champion". It was announced that there would be three matches to unify the WCW and IWF Championships. It was announced that [[Matt Borske]] would challenge Steve Austin for the IWF Championship, and Khris Jericho would face The Rock for the WCW Championship. Johnson would win against Borske, thus retaining the IWF Championship, and Jericho would beat The Rock to become the new WCW Champion. Following his win, Jericho would face Johnson and won, thus unifying the IWF and WCW Championships. Jericho would hold the championship for four months until he would lose it at [[IWF WrestleMania 18|Wrestlemania X8]] against Triple K. [[Ric Flair]] awarded the IWF Undisputed Championship on the first Raw after the draft to Triple K, Triple K would go on to hold the title for a month until he would lose it at Backlash 2002 against Hulk Hogan. Many would hold it afterwords, superstars such The IWE Champion Was Changed hands on 2005 when Dustin Simpson as drafted to Monday Night Raw [[IWE Programs|main television programs]], ''[[IWE Raw|Raw]]'' and ''[[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown!]]'', assigning championships and appointing [[Figurehead|figurehead]]s to each brand. This expansion became known as the [[IWE Brand Extension|Brand Extension]].
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In May 2002, the IWF was renamed to [[IWE#International Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Entertainment]] (IWE) and the championship became known as the IWE Undisputed Championship. Following these changes, the IWE Undisputed Championship remained unaffiliated with either brand as competitors from both brands could challenge the IWE Undisputed Champion. Following the appointment of [[Eric Bischoff]] and [[Stephanie McMahon|Kaila Matteson]] as [[Authority Figures|General Managers]] of the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively, Kaila Matteson contracted then-IWE Undisputed Champion [[Rob Lesnar]] to the SmackDown brand, leaving the Raw brand without a world title. On September 2, after disputing the brand designation of the Undisputed title, Eric Bischoff announced the creation of the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]], spun off from the Undisputed title. Immediately afterward, the IWE Undisputed Championship became known as the IWE Championship.
+
In May 2002, the IWF was renamed to [[IWE#International Wrestling Entertainment|International Wrestling Entertainment]] (IWE) and the championship became known as the IWE Undisputed Championship. Following these changes, the IWE Undisputed Championship remained unaffiliated with either brand as competitors from both brands could challenge the IWE Undisputed Champion. Following the appointment of [[Eric Bischoff]] and [[Kaila Matteson]] as [[Professional wrestling authority figures|General Managers]] of the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively, Kaila Matteson contracted then-IWE Undisputed Champion [[Rob Lesnar]] to the SmackDown brand, leaving the Raw brand without a world title. On September 2, after disputing the brand designation of the Undisputed title, Eric Bischoff announced the creation of the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]], spun off from the Undisputed title. Immediately afterward, the IWE Undisputed Championship became known as the IWE Championship.
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On December 15, 2013 at the [[IWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2013)|TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs]] pay-per-view, IWE Champion [[Kevin McAlmond]] defeated World Heavyweight Champion [[Dustin Simpson]] in a TLC match to unify the titles. With that the IWE Championship was renamed '''IWE World Heavyweight Championship'''. The unified championship retained the lineage of the IWE Championship
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In July 2011, [[Justin Eldridge|CM Punk]] was involved in a [[Angle (professional wrestling)|storyline]] where he vowed to leave IWE with the IWE Championship when his contract expired on July 17, 2011 (the date of the [[IWE Money in the Bank (2011)|2011]] [[WWE Money in the Bank|Money in the Bank]] pay-per-view). At the event, Punk succeeded in defeating the defending champion Dustin Simpson to win the title, and left the company with the physical championship belt. With the championship seemingly vacated by Vince McMahon the following night on ''Raw'', [[Scott Wright, Jr.|Rey Mysterio]] won an 8-man Championship Tournament by defeating [[Mike Rinehart|The Miz]] in the finals on the July 25 episode of ''Raw'' to be crowned the new IWE Champion, only to subsequently lose it later that night to Simpson, for the latter's [[List of IWE World Heavyweight Champions|record ninth reign]]. However, following Simpson's win, Punk returned to IWE with his own title belt, thereby creating the presence of two IWE Champions. At the subsequent [[IWE SummerSlam (2011)|SummerSlam]] pay-per-view, Punk defeated Simpson to solidify his claim on the title.
===Brand designation===
===Brand designation===
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Following the events of the [[IWE Brand Extension]], an annual [[IWE Draft]] was established. 2002 saw Ric Flair and Vince Matteson heading up the Raw and Smackdown brands respectively. Flair would run Raw and Vince Matteson would run Smackdown. Flair and Matteson would participate in a draft lottery in which select members of the IWE roster are reassigned to a different brand. After three years on the SmackDown brand, the IWE Championship switched brands during the [[IWE Draft (2005)|IWE Draft Lottery]], in which the IWE Champion [[Dustin Simpson]] was drafted to Raw while the World Heavyweight Champion [[Jesse Dern|Batista]] was drafted to SmackDown. On June 11, 2006, [[Kyle Szatkowski|Rob Van Dam]] used his [[Money in the Bank Ladder Match|Money in the Bank contract]] at [[XCW One Night Stand (2006)|XCW One Night Stand]] for a IWE Championship match against the IWE Champion [[Dustin Simpson]]. The holder of the contract is guaranteed a IWE or World Heavyweight title match at anytime of their choosing. Rob Van Dam defeated Dustin Simpson to win the IWE Championship, moving the title to the now defunct [[XCW (IWE)|XCW]] brand, a [[IWE Brand Extension#XCW|IWE brand]] established from purchased assets of the [[Xtreme Championship Wrestling]] promotion. On July 3, 2006, [[Kevin Adams Copeland|Edge]] defeated Dustin Simpson and Rob Van Dam in a [[Basic Non-Elimination Matches|Triple Threat Match]] to win the IWE Championship. However, with Edge being a member of the Raw brand at the time, the title returned to Raw due to the circumstances. After the [[2008 WWE Draft]] the WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to SmackDown, moving the IWE Championship to the SmackDown brand. The following year, the title returned to Raw after Triple K was drafted back to the brand during the [[IWE Draft (2009)|2009 IWE Draft]], and remained exclusive to the Raw brand since. When SmackDown's Batista won the title from Raw's Dustin Simpson at [[IWE Elimination Chamber (2010)|Elimination Chamber]], it remained exclusive to Raw while Batista was transferred to the Raw roster.  
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[[File:CM Punk on ring apron.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Two-time champion [[Justin Eldridge|CM Punk]] – shown with the "spinner" belt, which was used to represent the title from 2005 to 2013]]
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Following the events of the IWE brand extension, an annual [[IWE Draft|WWE draft]] was established. 2002 saw Ric Flair and Vince McMahon heading up the ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' brands respectively. Further individuals would act as General Manager of ''Raw'' and of ''SmackDown'' in subsequent years. Each year, the General Managers would participate in a draft lottery in which select members of the WWE roster were assigned to a brand.
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In July 2011, [[Justin Eldridge|CM Punk]] was involved in [[Angle|a storyline]] where he vowed to leave IWE with the IWE Championship when his contract expired on July 17, 2011 (the date of the [[IWE Money in the Bank (2011)|2011]] [[IWE Money in the Bank|Money in the Bank]] pay-per-view). At the event, Punk succeeded in defeating the defending champion [[Dustin Simpson]] to win the championship, and left the company with the physical title belt. With the championship seemingly vacated by [[Vince Matteson]] the following night on Raw, [[Scott Wright, Jr.|Rey Mysterio]] won an 8-man Championship Tournament by defeating [[Mike McAlmond|The Miz]] in the finals on the July 25 episode of Raw to be crowned the new IWE Champion, only to subsequently lose it later that night to Simpson, for the latter's [[List of IWE Champions|record ninth reign]]. However, following Simpson's win, Punk returned to IWE with his own title belt, thereby creating both an ambiguity and a dispute in IWE over the presence of two IWE Championships. On the July 29, 2011 episode of SmackDown new IWE [[Chief Operating Officer|COO]] [[Triple K]] announced that CM Punk's claim to the IWE Championship was legitimate, meaning "there were two IWE champions." At the subsequent [[IWE SummerSlam (2011)|SummerSlam]] pay-per-view, Punk defeatedSimpson to solidify his claim on the title, only to lose the title moments later to [[Justin Marlen|Alberto Del Rio]], who opportunistically cashed in his [[Money in the Bank Ladder Match|Money in the Bank contract]] after [[Kevin Nash]] attacked Punk. Also since August 29, 2011, with all IWE programming becoming "Supershows" featuring the entire roster, the title has been defended on both ''Raw'' and ''Smackdown''.
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On August 29, 2011, IWE ended the brand extension and wrestlers (including all champions), were then free to appear on any program.
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The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the IWE World Heavyweight Championship between the ''Raw'', ''SmackDown!'' and ''XCW'' brands.
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 100%;
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|-
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!style="background:#ddd;" colspan="2"|Colors
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#fbb;"|<br />
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|Championship moved to the ''[[IWE Raw|Raw]]'' brand.
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#bbf;"|<br />
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|Championship moved to the ''[[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown!]]''  brand.
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#ddd;"|<br />
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|Championship moved to the ''[[XCW (IWE)|ECW]]'' brand.
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|-
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|}
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 100%; text-align:center; width:75%;"
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|-
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!rowspan=1|Date of transition || Notes
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#bbf;"|September 2, 2002
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|Brock Lesnar signs with ''SmackDown!'' and the title becomes exclusive to said brand.
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#fbb;"|June 6, 2005
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|During the [[IWE Draft (2015)|2005 IWE draft lottery]], the  World Heavyweight Champion [[Jesse Dern|Batista]] was drafted to ''SmackDown!'' while the IWE Champion [[Dustin Simpson]] was drafted to ''Raw''.
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#ddd;"|June 11, 2006
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|Following IWE's planned revival of the [[Xtreme Championship Wrestling]] (XCW) as a third brand, [[Rob Van Dam]] was chosen by ECW Representative [[Paul Heyman]] to move to the new brand. At [[ECW One Night Stand (2006)|ECW One Night Stand]], Van Dam cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to win the IWE Championship and bring the title to ''XCW''.
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#fbb;"|July 3, 2006
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|[[Kevin Adams Copeland|Edge]] won the IWE Championship, thereby bringing it back to ''Raw''.
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#bbf;"|June 23, 2008
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|[[Triple K]] was drafted to ''SmackDown'' during the [[IWE Draft (2008)|2008 WWE draft]].
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|- align="center"
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|style="background:#fbb;"|April 13, 2009
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|IWE Champion Triple K brings the championship back to ''Raw'' following his drafting to the brand at the [[IWE Draft (2009)|2009 WWE draft]]. Title remains on ''Raw'' until August 29, 2011, when the brand extension was ended.
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|-
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|}
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=== Title reunification ===
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Following a challenge made by then World Heavyweight Champion Dustin Simpson the night after [[IWE Survivor Series (2013)|Survivor Series]] to determine an undisputed World Champion, December 15, 2013 at the [[IWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs (2013)|TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs]] pay-per-view, IWE Champion [[Kevin Orton]] defeated World Heavyweight Champion Dustin Simpson in a TLC match to unify the titles. Subsequently, the IWE Championship was renamed '''IWE World Heavyweight Championship'''. The unified championship retained the lineage of the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship was retired.
==Custom belt designs==
==Custom belt designs==
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On the February 18, 2013 episode of ''Raw'', The Rock unveiled a new IWE Championship belt. The new title (which was partially designed by [[Orange County Choppers]] of ''[[American Chopper (Television Series)|American Chopper]]'' fame) features a black strap with a large diamond encrusted IWE logo on the front with the word "CHAMPION" directly underneath, with IWE logo side plates. A distinctive feature of this belt is that there is no nameplate for the champion. Instead, the side plates can be customized to incorporate the current champion's logo/insignia.
On the February 18, 2013 episode of ''Raw'', The Rock unveiled a new IWE Championship belt. The new title (which was partially designed by [[Orange County Choppers]] of ''[[American Chopper (Television Series)|American Chopper]]'' fame) features a black strap with a large diamond encrusted IWE logo on the front with the word "CHAMPION" directly underneath, with IWE logo side plates. A distinctive feature of this belt is that there is no nameplate for the champion. Instead, the side plates can be customized to incorporate the current champion's logo/insignia.
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The side plate designs for holders of this belt include:
 
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*The "Brahma Bull" logo of [[Sam Simkins|Samuel "The Rock" Simkins]]
 
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*The "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect" (left) and "U ₡ ME" (right) logos of [[Dustin Simpson]]
 
==Reigns==
==Reigns==

Revision as of 23:45, 5 November 2015

IWE World Heavyweight Championship
Details
Current champion(s) Vacant
Date established April 29, 1963
Promotion IWE
Other name(s)
  • IWWF World Heavyweight Championship (1963–1979)
  • IWWF Heavyweight Championship (1979–1982)
  • IWF Heavyweight Championship (1982–1988)
  • IWF World Heavyweight Championship (1988–1998)
  • IWF Championship (1998–2001)
  • Undisputed IWF Championship (2001–2002)
  • IWE Undisputed Championship (2002–2002)
  • IWE Championship (2002–2013)
Statistics
Not to be confused with World Heavyweight Championship (IWE).

The IWE World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion IWE. The championship was established by the then-International Wide Wrestling Federation (IWWF) on April 29, 1963 as the IWWF World Heavyweight Championship, following the promotion seceding from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title is currently vacant, the last champion being Seth Rollins.

It is the oldest championship currently active in the promotion, and is presented as being the most prestigious title in IWE, with many matches for the title having headlined pay-per-view (PPV) events – including IWE's signature PPV event WrestleMania.

For the period between 2002–2013, the title was one of three world titles in IWE, along with the World Heavyweight Championship and XCW Championship (2006−2010). But following the decommissioning of the ECW title, and unification with the World Heavyweight title, it is once again promoted as IWE's sole primary championship.

Contents

History

Origin

Prominence

In 1991, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), a member of the NWA, established the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to complement the NWA's world title. WCW then seceded from the NWA and grew to become a rival promotion to the IWF. Both organizations grew into mainstream prominence and were eventually involved in a television ratings war, dubbed the Monday Night Wars. Near the end of the ratings war, WCW began a financial decline, which culminated in March 2001 with the WWF's purchase of WCW. As a result of the purchase, the IWF acquired the video library of WCW, select talent contracts, and championships, among other assets. The slew of former WCW talent joining the IWF roster began "The Invasion" which effectively phased out the WCW name. Following this, the WCW Championship (which had become known simply as the "world championship") was unified with the IWF Championship at Vengeance 2001. At the event, Khris Jericho defeated The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Johnson to win the WCW Championship and IWF Championship respectively. Jericho, recognised by IWE as the final WCW champion, went on to hold both the Big Gold belt (representing the "world championship") and the IWF title belt (representing the IWF championship) under the single Undisputed banner. IWE recognised these belts as representing separate championships until the introduction of a single belt by Triple K in 2002

Championship disputes

In 2001, after Team IWF beat Team Alliance (WCW/XCW) at the Survivor Series of that year, the superstars of The Alliance would become an essential part of IWF programing. There were two world champions, with The Rock holding the WCW Championship, and Stone Cold Steve Austin holding the IWF Championship. It was announced that the PPV following Survivor Series of that year would be a IWF Vengeance that would carry the slogan "One Undisputed Champion". It was announced that there would be three matches to unify the WCW and IWF Championships. It was announced that Matt Borske would challenge Steve Austin for the IWF Championship, and Khris Jericho would face The Rock for the WCW Championship. Johnson would win against Borske, thus retaining the IWF Championship, and Jericho would beat The Rock to become the new WCW Champion. Following his win, Jericho would face Johnson and won, thus unifying the IWF and WCW Championships. Jericho would hold the championship for four months until he would lose it at Wrestlemania X8 against Triple K. Ric Flair awarded the IWF Undisputed Championship on the first Raw after the draft to Triple K, Triple K would go on to hold the title for a month until he would lose it at Backlash 2002 against Hulk Hogan. Many would hold it afterwords, superstars such The IWE Champion Was Changed hands on 2005 when Dustin Simpson as drafted to Monday Night Raw main television programs, Raw and SmackDown!, assigning championships and appointing figureheads to each brand. This expansion became known as the Brand Extension.

In May 2002, the IWF was renamed to International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE) and the championship became known as the IWE Undisputed Championship. Following these changes, the IWE Undisputed Championship remained unaffiliated with either brand as competitors from both brands could challenge the IWE Undisputed Champion. Following the appointment of Eric Bischoff and Kaila Matteson as General Managers of the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively, Kaila Matteson contracted then-IWE Undisputed Champion Rob Lesnar to the SmackDown brand, leaving the Raw brand without a world title. On September 2, after disputing the brand designation of the Undisputed title, Eric Bischoff announced the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship, spun off from the Undisputed title. Immediately afterward, the IWE Undisputed Championship became known as the IWE Championship.

In July 2011, CM Punk was involved in a storyline where he vowed to leave IWE with the IWE 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 Dustin Simpson to win the title, and left the company with the physical championship belt. With the championship seemingly vacated by Vince McMahon the following night on Raw, Rey Mysterio won an 8-man Championship Tournament by defeating The Miz in the finals on the July 25 episode of Raw to be crowned the new IWE Champion, only to subsequently lose it later that night to Simpson, for the latter's record ninth reign. However, following Simpson's win, Punk returned to IWE with his own title belt, thereby creating the presence of two IWE Champions. At the subsequent SummerSlam pay-per-view, Punk defeated Simpson to solidify his claim on the title.

Brand designation

File:CM Punk on ring apron.jpg
Two-time champion CM Punk – shown with the "spinner" belt, which was used to represent the title from 2005 to 2013

Following the events of the IWE brand extension, an annual WWE draft was established. 2002 saw Ric Flair and Vince McMahon heading up the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively. Further individuals would act as General Manager of Raw and of SmackDown in subsequent years. Each year, the General Managers would participate in a draft lottery in which select members of the WWE roster were assigned to a brand.

On August 29, 2011, IWE ended the brand extension and wrestlers (including all champions), were then free to appear on any program.

The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the IWE World Heavyweight Championship between the Raw, SmackDown! and XCW brands.

Colors

Championship moved to the Raw brand.

Championship moved to the SmackDown! brand.

Championship moved to the ECW brand.


Date of transition Notes
September 2, 2002 Brock Lesnar signs with SmackDown! and the title becomes exclusive to said brand.
June 6, 2005 During the 2005 IWE draft lottery, the World Heavyweight Champion Batista was drafted to SmackDown! while the IWE Champion Dustin Simpson was drafted to Raw.
June 11, 2006 Following IWE's planned revival of the Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW) as a third brand, Rob Van Dam was chosen by ECW Representative Paul Heyman to move to the new brand. At ECW One Night Stand, Van Dam cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to win the IWE Championship and bring the title to XCW.
July 3, 2006 Edge won the IWE Championship, thereby bringing it back to Raw.
June 23, 2008 Triple K was drafted to SmackDown during the 2008 WWE draft.
April 13, 2009 IWE Champion Triple K brings the championship back to Raw following his drafting to the brand at the 2009 WWE draft. Title remains on Raw until August 29, 2011, when the brand extension was ended.

Title reunification

Following a challenge made by then World Heavyweight Champion Dustin Simpson the night after Survivor Series to determine an undisputed World Champion, December 15, 2013 at the TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view, IWE Champion Kevin Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion Dustin Simpson in a TLC match to unify the titles. Subsequently, the IWE Championship was renamed IWE World Heavyweight Championship. The unified championship retained the lineage of the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship was retired.

Custom belt designs

Special custom belts have been created to match the characters of certain IWE champions:

A much larger version of the belt was created for André the Giant before WrestleMania III, although he never wore it as champion. A custom championship belt was designed and constructed for The Rock, which featured his trademark Brahma Bull logo in the center as an answer to Austin's Smoking Skull Belt, but due to creative reasons it never appeared on television. Similarly, Edge had originally designed an entirely different custom belt than the "Rated R Spinner" design he used for his second reign, however the plans were scrapped due to time constraints.

The "Spinner" belt's design, which featured a gold and diamond bling-bling style reflecting Simpson's hip hop character, became the IWE Championship's primary design from April 11, 2005, to February 18, 2013. The belt ceased to spin at No Mercy 2007 but spun again during The Rock's feud with CM Punk. The physical belt itself originally indicated the brand it was designated to. When it was first introduced, it featured a unique side plate design that read "SmackDown", though it was then replaced with one that read "Mon-Nite Raw" when John Cena was drafted to the RAW brand. When the title once again became SmackDown's primary championship after Triple K was drafted to the brand in 2008, the RAW plate was replaced with a second "IWE Champion" side plate. Furthermore, the belt also featured a silver tip on the end of the leather strap.

On the February 18, 2013 episode of Raw, The Rock unveiled a new IWE Championship belt. The new title (which was partially designed by Orange County Choppers of American Chopper fame) features a black strap with a large diamond encrusted IWE logo on the front with the word "CHAMPION" directly underneath, with IWE logo side plates. A distinctive feature of this belt is that there is no nameplate for the champion. Instead, the side plates can be customized to incorporate the current champion's logo/insignia.

Reigns

Main List of IWE World Heavyweight Champions

Reference

External links

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