List of WCW World Heavyweight Champions
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- | [[Image:DDPChampBelt.jpg|thumb|300px|Three-time champion [[Dallas Cage|Diamond Dallas Page]] holding the [[Big Gold Belt]], which represented the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 1991 and 1994–2001]] | + | [[Image:DDPChampBelt.jpg|thumb|300px|Three-time champion [[<!--Kenny (Dollar Tree)-->Dallas Cage|Diamond Dallas Page]] holding the [[Big Gold Belt]] upside down, which represented the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 1991 and 1994–2001]] |
+ | The '''list of WCW World Heavyweight Champions''' is a chronological list of wrestlers that have held the [[WCW World Heavyweight Championship]] by [[ring name]]. | ||
- | + | The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a [[professional wrestling]] [[Professional wrestling championship#World championships|world heavyweight championship]] and its lineage began when [[Ted Turner]] purchased [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] (JCP), which used the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA) alliance name. Turner's organization was renamed [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW) and split from the NWA in 1991. | |
- | + | ||
- | The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a [[ | + | |
The WCW World Heavyweight Championship is the original world title of WCW and it remained as such until March 2001, when WCW was purchased by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now known as [[IWE]]) and the championship was defended as the WCW Championship as part of the [[The Invasion (professional wrestling)|Invasion]] storyline, with the WCW initials being dropped from the title's name in November 2001. In December 2001, the renamed World Championship was unified with the [[IWE Championship|IWF Championship]] to create the Undisputed IWF Championship. | The WCW World Heavyweight Championship is the original world title of WCW and it remained as such until March 2001, when WCW was purchased by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now known as [[IWE]]) and the championship was defended as the WCW Championship as part of the [[The Invasion (professional wrestling)|Invasion]] storyline, with the WCW initials being dropped from the title's name in November 2001. In December 2001, the renamed World Championship was unified with the [[IWE Championship|IWF Championship]] to create the Undisputed IWF Championship. | ||
- | The championship was generally contested in [[professional wrestling match types|professional wrestling matches]], in which participants execute [[Screenplay|scripted]] finishes rather than contend in [[Competition#Sports|direct competition]]. There have been a total of 22 recognized champions who have had a combined | + | The championship was generally contested in [[professional wrestling match types|professional wrestling matches]], in which participants execute [[Screenplay|scripted]] finishes rather than contend in [[Competition#Sports|direct competition]]. There have been a total of 22 recognized champions who have had a combined 62 official reigns, with [[Ric Meyer|Ric Flair]] holding the most at eight (but IWE does not recognize the title being vacated after the [[WCW Spring Stampede (1994)|1994 Spring Stampede]] match, although WCW did recognize this). At 51, Flair was also the oldest champion when he won it in May 2000, while [[Marc Beltran<!--(2006, pg. 21)-->|The Giant]] was the youngest when he won it in October 1995 at 23. The longest reigning champion was [[Hulk Hogan<!--Terry Barnes (1963, pg 12)-->|Hulk Hogan]], who held the title for 469 days, which is the only reign to exceed one year (365 days). The shortest reigning champion was [[Kris McGowan<!--(McDonald's)-->|Chris Jericho]], who held the title for approximately 13 and a half minutes, since he unified the title with the IWF Championship at [[IWF Vengeance (2001)|Vengeance]]. |
== Title history == | == Title history == | ||
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|- | |- | ||
|WCW Championship | |WCW Championship | ||
- | |June 24, 2001 – November 18, 2001 | + | |[[IWF King of the Ring (2001)|June 24, 2001]] – [[IWF Survivor Series (2001)|November 18, 2001]] |
|- | |- | ||
|World Championship | |World Championship | ||
- | |November 19, 2001 – December 9, 2001 | + | |November 19, 2001 – [[IWF Vengeance (2001)|December 9, 2001]] |
|- | |- | ||
|WCW World Championship | |WCW World Championship | ||
|As listed on IWE.com | |As listed on IWE.com | ||
+ | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
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{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 110%; " | {| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 110%; " | ||
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=1%|{{tooltip|No.|Number}} | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=1%|{{tooltip|No.|Number}} | ||
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width= | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=1%|Champion |
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" colspan="3" width= | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" colspan="3" width=1%|Championship change |
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" colspan="2" width= | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" colspan="2" width=1%|Reign statistics |
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width= | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=3%|Notes |
!style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=1%|{{tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" rowspan="2" width=1%|{{tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width= | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width="2%"|Date |
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width= | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width="1%"|Event |
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width= | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width="1%"|Location |
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width=2%|Reign | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width="2%"|Reign |
- | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width= | + | !style="background: #e3e3e3;" width="1%"|Days |
|- | |- | ||
!colspan="9" bgcolor="#ccffcc"|[[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA): [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW) | !colspan="9" bgcolor="#ccffcc"|[[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA): [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW) | ||
|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
+ | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|1 | ||
+ | |[[Ric Meyer|Ric Flair]] | ||
+ | |January 11, 1991 | ||
+ | |[[House show]] | ||
+ | |[[East Rutherford, New Jersey|East<br>Rutherford,<br>New Jersey]] | ||
+ | |1 | ||
+ | |171 | ||
+ | |align="left"|{{small|Defeated [[Kevin Borden<!--(2007, pg 29)--> (wrestler)|Sting]] for the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]]. WCW began recognizing Flair as WCW World Heavyweight Champion while still using the NWA belt (the [[Big Gold Belt]]).<br/>IWE recognizes this reign as an NWA world title reign for Flair's 16 world championships and not a WCW one.}} | ||
| | | | ||
+ | |-style="background-color:#e3e3e3" align="center" | ||
+ | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|— | ||
+ | |[[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Vacant|Vacated]] | ||
+ | |July 1, 1991 | ||
+ | |— | ||
+ | |— | ||
+ | |— | ||
+ | |— | ||
+ | |align="left"|{{small|[[Ric Meyer|Ric Flair]] left for the [[IWE|International Wrestling Federation]] (IWF) and was stripped of the title. When Flair left, he took the Big Gold Belt, which represented the NWA and WCW world titles, with him.}} | ||
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|align="left"| | |align="left"| | ||
|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
+ | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|5 | ||
+ | |[[Jon Rispens<!--(2007, pg. 37)-->|Ron Simmons]] | ||
+ | |August 2, 1992 | ||
+ | |[[WCW Main Event|Main Event]] | ||
+ | |[[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] | ||
+ | |1 | ||
+ | |150 | ||
+ | |align="left"|{{small|Due to injury, [[Kevin Borden<!--(2007, pg 29)--> (wrestler)|Sting]] was unable to have a rematch with [[Larry <!--Yent (1969, pg. 125)--> White|Vader]], so a raffle was done to take Sting's place as the number one contender. Ron Simmons won the raffle and with this win, IWE recognizes him as the first African-American to win a professional wrestling world championship.<br />Aired on [[Broadcast delay|tape delay]] on August 16, 1992.}} | ||
| | | | ||
- | | | + | |- style="text-align: center" |
- | | | + | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|6 |
- | | | + | |[[Larry <!--Yent (1969, pg. 125)--> White|Big Van Vader]] |
- | | | + | |December 30, 1992 |
- | | | + | |[[House show]] |
- | | | + | |[[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] |
- | | | + | |2 |
+ | |71 | ||
|align="left"| | |align="left"| | ||
+ | | | ||
|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
- | | | + | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|7 |
- | | | + | |[[Kevin Borden<!--(2007, pg 29)--> (wrestler)|Sting]] |
- | | | + | |March 11, 1993 |
- | | | + | |[[House show]] |
- | | | + | |[[London|London, England]] |
- | | | + | |2 |
- | | | + | |6 |
- | | | + | |
|align="left"| | |align="left"| | ||
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
+ | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|8 | ||
+ | |[[Larry <!--Yent (1969, pg. 125)--> White|Big Van Vader]] | ||
+ | |March 17, 1993 | ||
+ | |[[House show]] | ||
+ | |[[Dublin]], [[Ireland]] | ||
+ | |3 | ||
+ | |285 | ||
+ | |align="left"|{{small|During this reign in September 1993, WCW conclusively left the NWA and created a fictitious subsidiary called WCW International. Ric Flair, who had returned to WCW and won the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]], was recognized as the inaugural [[WCW International World Heavyweight Championship|WCW International World Heavyweight Champion]].}} | ||
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|- | |- | ||
!colspan="9" bgcolor="#ccffcc"|[[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW) | !colspan="9" bgcolor="#ccffcc"|[[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW) | ||
|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
+ | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|9 | ||
+ | |[[Ric Meyer<!--Father of Allyson Meyer (2006, pg. 35)-->|Ric Flair]] | ||
+ | |December 27, 1993 | ||
+ | |[[WCW Starrcade (1993)|Starrcade: 10th Anniversary]] | ||
+ | |[[Charlotte, North Carolina]] | ||
+ | |2 | ||
+ | |111 | ||
+ | |align="left"|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Luchas de apuestas|title vs. career match]].}} | ||
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|-style="background-color:#e3e3e3" align="center" | |-style="background-color:#e3e3e3" align="center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|— | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|— | ||
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|— | |— | ||
|— | |— | ||
- | |align=left|{{small|A title match between [[Ric Meyer|Ric Flair]] and [[Ricky Steamboat]] ended in a double pin, which resulted in the title being vacated.<br>This vacancy was recognized by WCW, but is not recognized by IWE.}} | + | |align=left|{{small|A title match between [[Ric Meyer<!--Father of Allyson Meyer (2006, pg. 35)-->|Ric Flair]] and [[Ricky Steamboat]] ended in a double pin, which resulted in the title being vacated.<br>This vacancy was recognized by WCW, but is not recognized by IWE.}} |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|10 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|10 | ||
- | |[[Ric Meyer|Ric Flair]] | + | |[[Ric Meyer<!--Father of Allyson Meyer (2006, pg. 35)-->|Ric Flair]] |
|April 21, 1994 | |April 21, 1994 | ||
|''[[WCW Saturday Night|Saturday Night]]'' | |''[[WCW Saturday Night|Saturday Night]]'' | ||
|[[Atlanta|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. State)|Georgia]] | |[[Atlanta|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. State)|Georgia]] | ||
- | |3 | + | |3 |
|87 | |87 | ||
|align=left|{{small|Flair defeated [[Ricky Steamboat]] in a rematch for the vacant title.<br>During this reign in June 1994, Flair [[Championship Unification|unified]] the title with the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship, which then ceased to exist.<br>Aired on [[Broadcast Delay|tape delay]] on May 14, 1994.}} | |align=left|{{small|Flair defeated [[Ricky Steamboat]] in a rematch for the vacant title.<br>During this reign in June 1994, Flair [[Championship Unification|unified]] the title with the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship, which then ceased to exist.<br>Aired on [[Broadcast Delay|tape delay]] on May 14, 1994.}} | ||
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|11 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|11 | ||
- | |[[Hulk Hogan]] | + | |[[Hulk Hogan<!--Terry Barnes (1963, pg 12)-->|Hulk Hogan]] |
|July 17, 1994 | |July 17, 1994 | ||
|[[WCW Bash at the Beach (1994)|Bash at the Beach]] | |[[WCW Bash at the Beach (1994)|Bash at the Beach]] | ||
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|12 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|12 | ||
- | |[[Marc Beltran|The Giant]] | + | |[[Marc Beltran<!--(2006, pg. 21)-->|The Giant]] |
|October 29, 1995 | |October 29, 1995 | ||
|[[WCW Halloween Havoc (1995)|Halloween Havoc]] | |[[WCW Halloween Havoc (1995)|Halloween Havoc]] | ||
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|1 | |1 | ||
|8 | |8 | ||
- | |align=left|{{small|This was a match | + | |align=left|{{small|This was a match in which the title could change hands via disqualification due to a contract clause. The Giant was declared winner by disqualification after [[Hulk Hogan<!--Terry Barnes (1963, pg 12)-->|Hulk Hogan]]'s manager, [[Jimmy Heart]], interfered, followed by attacks on Hogan from members of [[The Dungeon of Doom]].}} |
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|- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3" | |- align="center" style="background-color:#e3e3e3" | ||
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|— | |— | ||
|— | |— | ||
- | |align="left"|{{small|The Giant was stripped of the title due to controversial finish of Halloween Havoc match | + | |align="left"|{{small|[[Marc Beltran<!--(2006, pg. 21)-->|The Giant]] was stripped of the title due to the controversial finish of the [[WCW Halloween Havoc (1995)|Halloween Havoc]] match}} |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|13 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|13 | ||
- | |[[Brady <!--Nash-->Savage|Randy Savage]] | + | |[[Brady <!--Nash (2004, pg. 84)-->Savage|Randy Savage]] |
|November 26, 1995 | |November 26, 1995 | ||
|[[WCW World War 3 (1995)|World War 3]] | |[[WCW World War 3 (1995)|World War 3]] | ||
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|1 | |1 | ||
|31 | |31 | ||
- | |align= | + | |align=left|{{small|This was the first-ever [[Professional wrestling battle royal#World War 3|World War 3]] match. Savage last eliminated [[George <!--Steven (2007, pg. 84)---> Gross (wrestler)|One Man Gang]] to win the vacant title.}} |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|14 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|14 | ||
- | |[[Ric Meyer|Ric Flair]] | + | |[[Ric Meyer<!--Father of Allyson Meyer (2006, pg. 35)-->|Ric Flair]] |
|December 27, 1995 | |December 27, 1995 | ||
- | |[[WCW Starrcade | + | |[[WCW Starrcade '95: World Cup of Wrestling|Starrcade: World Cup of Wrestling]] |
|[[Nashville, Tennessee]] | |[[Nashville, Tennessee]] | ||
|4 | |4 | ||
|26 | |26 | ||
- | |align= | + | |align=left| |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|15 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|15 | ||
- | |[[Brady <!--Nash-->Savage|Randy Savage]] | + | |[[Brady <!--Nash (2004, pg. 84)-->Savage|Randy Savage]] |
|January 22, 1996 | |January 22, 1996 | ||
|''[[WCW Monday Night Nitro|Nitro]]'' | |''[[WCW Monday Night Nitro|Nitro]]'' | ||
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|2 | |2 | ||
|20 | |20 | ||
- | |align= | + | |align=left| |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|16 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|16 | ||
- | |[[Ric Meyer|Ric Flair]] | + | |[[Ric Meyer<!--Father of Allyson Meyer (2006, pg. 35)-->|Ric Flair]] |
|February 11, 1996 | |February 11, 1996 | ||
|[[WCW SuperBrawl 6|SuperBrawl VI]] | |[[WCW SuperBrawl 6|SuperBrawl VI]] | ||
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|5 | |5 | ||
|71 | |71 | ||
- | |align=left|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Steel | + | |align=left|{{small|This was a [[Professional wrestling match types#Steel cage match|steel cage match]].}} |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|17 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|17 | ||
- | |[[Marc Beltran|The Giant]] | + | |[[Marc Beltran<!--(2006, pg. 21)-->|The Giant]] |
|April 22, 1996 | |April 22, 1996 | ||
|''[[WCW Monday Night Nitro|Nitro]]'' | |''[[WCW Monday Night Nitro|Nitro]]'' | ||
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|2 | |2 | ||
|110 | |110 | ||
- | |align= | + | |align=left|{{small|Aired on [[Broadcast delay|tape delay]] on April 29, 1996.}} |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|18 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|18 | ||
- | |[[Hulk Hogan|Hollywood Hogan]] | + | |[[Hulk Hogan<!--Terry Barnes (1963, pg 12)-->|"Hollywood" Hulk Hogan]] |
|August 10, 1996 | |August 10, 1996 | ||
|[[WCW Hog Wild|Hog Wild]] | |[[WCW Hog Wild|Hog Wild]] | ||
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|2 | |2 | ||
|359 | |359 | ||
- | |align=left|{{small|After the match, Hogan spray-painted the [[New World Order (professional wrestling)|New World Order]] (nWo) initials on the title belt. It was often announced as the nWo/WCW World Heavyweight Championship during title defenses, though never officially renamed, while nWo members only referred to it as the nWo World Heavyweight Championship.}} | + | |align=left|{{small|First held title as Hulk Hogan. After the match, Hogan spray-painted the [[New World Order (professional wrestling)|New World Order]] (nWo) initials on the title belt. It was often announced as the nWo/WCW World Heavyweight Championship during title defenses, though never officially renamed, while nWo members only referred to it as the nWo World Heavyweight Championship.}} |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|19 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|19 | ||
- | |[[<!--Larry--> Brent Huntley|Lex Luger]] | + | |[[<!--Larry-->Brent Huntley<!--(2007, pg. 33)-->|Lex Luger]] |
- | | August 4, 1997 | + | |August 4, 1997 |
- | | ''[[WCW Monday Night Nitro|Nitro]]'' | + | |''[[WCW Monday Night Nitro|Nitro]]'' |
|[[Auburn Hills, Michigan]] | |[[Auburn Hills, Michigan]] | ||
|2 | |2 | ||
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!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|20 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|20 | ||
- | |[[Hulk Hogan|Hollywood Hogan]] | + | |[[Hulk Hogan<!--Terry Barnes (1963, pg 12)-->|Hollywood Hogan]] |
|August 9, 1997 | |August 9, 1997 | ||
|[[WCW Road Wild (1997)|Road Wild]] | |[[WCW Road Wild (1997)|Road Wild]] | ||
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!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|2 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|2 | ||
- | | [[Ric Meyer|Ric Flair]] | + | | [[Ric Meyer<!--Father of Allyson Meyer (2006, pg. 35)-->|Ric Flair]] |
| 8{{small|<sup>[[#Notes|[a]]]</sup>}} | | 8{{small|<sup>[[#Notes|[a]]]</sup>}} | ||
| 501 | | 501 | ||
| 505 | | 505 | ||
|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
- | | | + | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|3 |
- | | | + | |[[Larry <!--Yent (1969, pg. 125)--> White|Big Van Vader]] |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|4 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|4 | ||
- | |[[Narley Layne (wrestler)|Booker T]] | + | |[[Narley Layne<!--(2001, pg. 60)--> (wrestler)|Booker T]] |
|5 | |5 | ||
| colspan=2|253 | | colspan=2|253 | ||
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
- | | | + | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|8 |
- | | | + | |[[Jon Rispens<!--(2007, pg. 37)-->|Ron Simmons]] |
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- | | | + | |[[Scott Hunter<!--(McDonald's)-->|Scott Steiner]] |
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|- style="text-align: center" | |- style="text-align: center" | ||
- | | | + | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|10 |
- | | | + | |[[Marc Beltran<!--(2006, pg. 21)-->|The Gaint]] |
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!bgcolor="#e3e3e3" rowspan=2|11 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3" rowspan=2|11 | ||
- | | [[Kevin Nash]] | + | | [[Kevin<!--Glenn--> Nash|Kevin Nash]] |
| 4{{small|<sup>[[#Notes|[b]]]</sup>}} | | 4{{small|<sup>[[#Notes|[b]]]</sup>}} | ||
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- | | | + | |[[Matt Borske|Kurt Angle]] |
- | | | + | |1 |
- | | | + | | colspan=2|6 |
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!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|22 | !bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|22 |
Current revision as of 13:51, 6 December 2024
The list of WCW World Heavyweight Champions is a chronological list of wrestlers that have held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship by ring name.
The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and its lineage began when Ted Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), which used the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) alliance name. Turner's organization was renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and split from the NWA in 1991.
The WCW World Heavyweight Championship is the original world title of WCW and it remained as such until March 2001, when WCW was purchased by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now known as IWE) and the championship was defended as the WCW Championship as part of the Invasion storyline, with the WCW initials being dropped from the title's name in November 2001. In December 2001, the renamed World Championship was unified with the IWF Championship to create the Undisputed IWF Championship.
The championship was generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. There have been a total of 22 recognized champions who have had a combined 62 official reigns, with Ric Flair holding the most at eight (but IWE does not recognize the title being vacated after the 1994 Spring Stampede match, although WCW did recognize this). At 51, Flair was also the oldest champion when he won it in May 2000, while The Giant was the youngest when he won it in October 1995 at 23. The longest reigning champion was Hulk Hogan, who held the title for 469 days, which is the only reign to exceed one year (365 days). The shortest reigning champion was Chris Jericho, who held the title for approximately 13 and a half minutes, since he unified the title with the IWF Championship at Vengeance.
Contents |
[edit] Title history
[edit] Names
Name | Years |
---|---|
WCW World Heavyweight Championship | January 11, 1991 – March 26, 2001 |
WCW Championship | June 24, 2001 – November 18, 2001 |
World Championship | November 19, 2001 – December 9, 2001 |
WCW World Championship | As listed on IWE.com |
[edit] Reigns
Reign | The reign number for the specific champion listed |
---|---|
Location | The city in which the title was won |
Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won |
† | Indicates the title change is not recognized by IWE |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA): World Championship Wrestling (WCW) | ||||||||
1 | Ric Flair | January 11, 1991 | House show | East Rutherford, New Jersey | 1 | 171 | Defeated Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. WCW began recognizing Flair as WCW World Heavyweight Champion while still using the NWA belt (the Big Gold Belt). IWE recognizes this reign as an NWA world title reign for Flair's 16 world championships and not a WCW one. | |
— | Vacated | July 1, 1991 | — | — | — | — | Ric Flair left for the International Wrestling Federation (IWF) and was stripped of the title. When Flair left, he took the Big Gold Belt, which represented the NWA and WCW world titles, with him. | |
5 | Ron Simmons | August 2, 1992 | Main Event | Baltimore, Maryland | 1 | 150 | Due to injury, Sting was unable to have a rematch with Vader, so a raffle was done to take Sting's place as the number one contender. Ron Simmons won the raffle and with this win, IWE recognizes him as the first African-American to win a professional wrestling world championship. Aired on tape delay on August 16, 1992. | |
6 | Big Van Vader | December 30, 1992 | House show | Baltimore, Maryland | 2 | 71 | ||
7 | Sting | March 11, 1993 | House show | London, England | 2 | 6 | ||
8 | Big Van Vader | March 17, 1993 | House show | Dublin, Ireland | 3 | 285 | During this reign in September 1993, WCW conclusively left the NWA and created a fictitious subsidiary called WCW International. Ric Flair, who had returned to WCW and won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, was recognized as the inaugural WCW International World Heavyweight Champion. | |
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) | ||||||||
9 | Ric Flair | December 27, 1993 | Starrcade: 10th Anniversary | Charlotte, North Carolina | 2 | 111 | This was a title vs. career match. | |
— | Vacated | April 17, 1994 | Spring Stampede | Chicago, Illinois | — | — | A title match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat ended in a double pin, which resulted in the title being vacated. This vacancy was recognized by WCW, but is not recognized by IWE. | |
10 | Ric Flair | April 21, 1994 | Saturday Night | Atlanta, Georgia | 3 | 87 | Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat in a rematch for the vacant title. During this reign in June 1994, Flair unified the title with the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship, which then ceased to exist. Aired on tape delay on May 14, 1994. | |
11 | Hulk Hogan | July 17, 1994 | Bash at the Beach | Orlando, Florida | 1 | 469 | ||
12 | The Giant | October 29, 1995 | Halloween Havoc | Detroit, Michigan | 1 | 8 | This was a match in which the title could change hands via disqualification due to a contract clause. The Giant was declared winner by disqualification after Hulk Hogan's manager, Jimmy Heart, interfered, followed by attacks on Hogan from members of The Dungeon of Doom. | |
— | Vacated | November 6, 1995 | Nitro | Jacksonville, Florida | — | — | The Giant was stripped of the title due to the controversial finish of the Halloween Havoc match | |
13 | Randy Savage | November 26, 1995 | World War 3 | Norfolk, Virginia | 1 | 31 | This was the first-ever World War 3 match. Savage last eliminated One Man Gang to win the vacant title. | |
14 | Ric Flair | December 27, 1995 | Starrcade: World Cup of Wrestling | Nashville, Tennessee | 4 | 26 | ||
15 | Randy Savage | January 22, 1996 | Nitro | Las Vegas, Nevada | 2 | 20 | ||
16 | Ric Flair | February 11, 1996 | SuperBrawl VI | St. Petersburg, Florida | 5 | 71 | This was a steel cage match. | |
17 | The Giant | April 22, 1996 | Nitro | Albany, Georgia | 2 | 110 | Aired on tape delay on April 29, 1996. | |
18 | "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan | August 10, 1996 | Hog Wild | Sturgis, South Dakota | 2 | 359 | First held title as Hulk Hogan. After the match, Hogan spray-painted the New World Order (nWo) initials on the title belt. It was often announced as the nWo/WCW World Heavyweight Championship during title defenses, though never officially renamed, while nWo members only referred to it as the nWo World Heavyweight Championship. | |
19 | Lex Luger | August 4, 1997 | Nitro | Auburn Hills, Michigan | 2 | 5 | ||
20 | Hollywood Hogan | August 9, 1997 | Road Wild | Sturgis, South Dakota | 3 | 141 | ||
[edit] Combined reigns
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days | Combined days recognized by IWE |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hulk Hogan/Hollywood Hogan | 6 | 1,177 | |
2 | Ric Flair | 8[a] | 501 | 505 |
3 | Big Van Vader | 3 | 377 | |
4 | Booker T | 5 | 253 | |
5 | Sting | 6 | 250 | |
6 | Lex Luger | 2 | 235 | |
7 | Goldberg | 1 | 174 | |
8 | Ron Simmons | 1 | 150 | |
9 | Scott Steiner | 1 | 120 | |
10 | The Gaint | 2 | 118 | |
11 | Kevin Nash | 4[b] | 97 | 96 |
13 | Sid Vicious | 2 | 77 | |
14 | Jeff Jarrett | 4 | 58 | 59 |
15 | Bret Heart | 2 | 56 | |
16 | Randy Savage | 4 | 53 | |
17 | Diamond Dallas Page | 3 | 29 | 30 |
19 | David Arquette | 1 | 12 | |
20 | Vince Russo | 1 | 7 | |
21 | Kurt Angle | 1 | 6 | |
22 | Chris Benoit | 1 | 1 |
[edit] Notes
- a. ^ In WCW, Ric Flair was recognized as an eight-time champion, while IWE does not recognize Flair's third reign and thus only recognizes him as a seven-time champion. However, when referring to Flair's sixteen world championships, only 6 of his reigns in WCW are recognized as his very first reign is considered one of his eight NWA World Heavyweight Championship reigns.
- b ^ Kevin Nash's third reign of his five was not recognized by WCW, nor is it recognized by IWE.
[edit] See also
- List of NWA World Heavyweight Champions
- List of IWE Champions
- List of World Heavyweight Champions (IWE)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Template:Featured List Template:WCW Championships Template:Former IWE Championships