Immediately afterwards, the Undisputed Championship returned to being the WWE Championship as it was no longer undisputed. Bischoff awarded the title to Triple H, who had been designated number-one contender to Lesnar's title the previous week. On September 2, Eric Bischoff announced the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship. Following the appointment of Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon as General Managers of the Raw and SmackDown brands, respectively, Stephanie McMahon contracted then-WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar to the SmackDown brand, leaving the Raw brand without a world title. Following these changes, the Undisputed WWE Championship remained unaffiliated with either brand as competitors from both brands could challenge the Undisputed Champion. In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). This expansion became known as the " Brand Extension". As a result of the increase, WWE divided the roster through its two main television programs, Raw and SmackDown, assigning championships and appointing figureheads to each brand of the same name. Creation Inaugural and five-time World Heavyweight Champion Triple Hīy 2002, WWE's roster had doubled in size due to the overabundance of contracted workers. The WWF title became the undisputed championship in professional wrestling until September 2002 with the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship, spun off from the Undisputed WWE Championship as the successor to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. At the event, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was decommissioned with Chris Jericho becoming the final WCW World Heavyweight Champion and the subsequent Undisputed WWF Champion after defeating The Rock and Steve Austin respectively. Following this, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWF Championship, the WWF's world title, at Vengeance in December. The slew of former WCW talent joining the WWF roster began " The Invasion" that effectively phased out the WCW name. Īs a result of the purchase, the WWF acquired the video library of WCW, select talent contracts, and championships among other assets. Near the end of the ratings war, WCW began a financial decline which culminated in March 2001 with the WWF's purchase of selected assets of WCW. Both organizations grew into mainstream prominence and were eventually involved in a television ratings war dubbed the Monday Night Wars. In 1993, WCW seceded from the NWA and grew to become a rival promotion to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), itself a former member of the NWA. The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was soon established when the recognition was awarded to then- NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair in 1991. During this time, WCW used the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as its world title. In the late 1980s, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was a member of the NWA, having been formed by the purchase of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), which had absorbed many other NWA members, by Turner Broadcasting, which aired WCW's programming. The title's origins lay in the first world heavyweight championship, and then to events that began in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), which had many different territorial promotions as members. Its heritage can be traced back to the first world heavyweight championship, thereby giving the belt a legacy over 100 years old, the oldest in the world. The title was one of five to be represented by the historic Big Gold Belt, introduced in 1986. The World Heavyweight Championship was retired at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 15, 2013, when it was unified with the WWE Championship with Randy Orton recognized as the final champion. The titles moved between the brands on different occasions (usually as a result of the WWE Draft) until August 29, 2011, when all programming became full roster "supershows". Raw then created the World Heavyweight Championship and the title was awarded to Triple H. The title was one of two top championships in the company from 2002 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2013, complementing the WWE Championship, and one of three top championships from 2006 to 2010 with the addition of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.Įstablished in September 2002, its creation came as a result of the WWE Undisputed Championship becoming exclusive to the SmackDown brand, subsequently dropping the "undisputed" moniker, which left Raw without a world title. It was the second world championship to be created by the company, after their original world title, the WWE Championship (1963). The World Heavyweight Championship was a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. The Undertaker (3rd reign) (44 years, 194 days)
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