Global InformationWWE Championship information
| WWE Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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 The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship belt, which represents both the WWE Championship and Universal Championship (2023–present). | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brand | SmackDown | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | April 25, 1963 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Cody Rhodes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | April 7, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||
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The WWE Championship is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand division. Since April 2022, the title has been jointly held and defended with the WWE Universal Championship as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but both titles have maintained their individual lineages. It is one of three world titles in WWE, alongside its companion Universal Championship on SmackDown, and the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw. The current champion is Cody Rhodes, who is in his first reign. He won the undisputed title by defeating previous champion Roman Reigns in a Bloodline Rules match at WrestleMania XL Night 2 on April 7, 2024.
The original world championship of the promotion, it was established by the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) on April 25, 1963, as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship, after the promotion seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) following a dispute over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The inaugural champion was Buddy Rogers. Since its inception, the title has undergone many name changes due to company name changes and title unifications. It is the oldest championship currently active in WWE, and is presented as being the promotion's most prestigious title, with many matches for the title having headlined pay-per-view and livestreaming events—including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania. In professional wrestling in general, it is considered to be one of the most prestigious championships of all time.[3]
From its inception until 2001, it was promoted as WWE's sole primary championship. An additional world title, the WCW Championship, was added after the then-World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) purchase of World Championship Wrestling in early 2001. The titles were later unified as the Undisputed WWF Championship. After the first brand split in 2002 and the promotion being renamed to WWE, the championship became exclusive to SmackDown, dropping the "undisputed" moniker, while the World Heavyweight Championship (2002–2013 version) was created for Raw. ECW became a third brand in 2006, adding the ECW Championship. That title was deactivated in 2010, and the World Heavyweight Championship was unified into the WWE Championship in 2013. The championship was again the sole world title of WWE until the introduction of the Universal Championship with the 2016 brand split and then a new World Heavyweight Championship in 2023. During both brand splits, the WWE Championship has switched brands, usually as a result of the WWE Draft; the 2023 draft moved it back to SmackDown.
- ^ Nemer, Paul (September 2, 2002). "Full WWE Raw Results – 9/2/02". WrestleView. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
- ^ "The 5 shortest WWE Title reigns in history". Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ Chin, Mike (October 4, 2014). "The Magnificent Seven: The Top 7 Most Prestigious American Wrestling Championships of All Time". 411Mania. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
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