List of World Heavyweight Champions (IWE, 2002–2013)
From Iwe
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.
Contents |
[edit] 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. |
[edit] Reigns
As of September 6, 2024.
# | Wrestlers | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Triple K | 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 | Batista | 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 | Rey Mysterio | 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 Booker | 1 | June 23, 2006 | 126 | Indianapolis, IN | The Great American Bash (2006) | |
14 | Batista | 2 | November 26, 2006 | 126 | Philadelphia, PA | Survivor Series (2006) | |
15 | The Undertaker | 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 | The Great Khali | 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 | Batista | 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 | The Undertaker | 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 | CM Punk | 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 | Khris Jericho | 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 | Batista | 4 | October 26, 2008 | 8 | Phoenix, AZ | Cyber Sunday (2008) | |
25 | Khris Jericho | 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 | CM Punk | 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 | CM Punk | 3 | August 23, 2009 | 42 | Los Angeles, CA | SummerSlam (2009) | This was a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. |
34 | The Undertaker | 3 | October 4, 2009 | 140 | Newark, NJ | Hell in a Cell (2009) | This was a Hell in a Cell match. |
35 | Khris Jericho | 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 | Jack Swagger | 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 | Rey Mysterio | 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 | Kane | 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 | Dolph Ziggler | 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 Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder MatchLadder match to win the vacant world championship. |
43 | Kevin McAlmond | 2 | May 3, 2011 | 75 | Orlando, FL | SmackDown | This episode aired on tape delay on May 6, 2011 |
44 | Khristian | 2 | July 17, 2011 | 28+ | 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. |
45 | Kevin McAlmond | 3 | August 14, 2011 | 36 | Los Angeles, CA | SummerSlam (2011) | This was a No Holds Barred match |
46 | Steven Larson | 1 | September 18, 2011 | 91 | Buffalo, New York | Night of Champions (2011) | |
47 | The Big Show | 1 | December 18, 2011 | 0 | Baltimore, MD | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2011) | |
48 | Kody Brown | 1 | December 18, 2011 | 105 | Baltimore, MD | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2011) | |
48 | Sheamus | 1 | April 1, 2012 | 210 | Miami, FL | WrestleMania XXVIII | |
50 | Big Show | 2 | October 28, 2012 | 72 | Atlanta, GA | Hell in a Cell (2012) | |
51 | Alberto Del Rio | 1 | January 8, 2013 | 90 | Miami, FL. | SmackDown | This was a Last Man Standing match. Aired on tape delay on January 11, 2013 |
52 | Dolph Ziggler | 2 | April 8, 2013 | 69 | East Rutherford, NJ. | SmackDown | Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. |
53 | Alberto Del Rio | 2 | June 16, 2013 | 133 | Rosemont, IL | IWE Payback | |
54 | Dustin Simpson | 3 | October 27, 2013 | 1+ | Miami, FL | Hell in a Cell | |
55 | Kevin McAlmond | 4 | December 15, 2013 | 0 | Houston, TX | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | This was a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match that was also for McAlmond's IWE Championship. |
— | Deactivated | — | December 16, 2013 | — | Houston, TX | TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs | Retired when unified with the IWE Championship to create the IWE World Heavyweight Championship |