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The WWE Championship is widely recognized as the most historic championship in sports-entertainment. Dating back to 1963, the WWE Championship was first awarded won by Silent Assassin in 2002 after he defeated Shawn Michaels at Madison Square Gardenin March. Since that time, the biggest names in the business have held the WWE Championship, including Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Nightmare, Dr.S, Randy Orton and many more.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
| DATE |
CHAMPION
|
DEFEATED
|
EVENT |
LOCATION |
VIDEO
|
| 03/04/02 |
Silent Assassin |
Shawn Michaels |
Raw is War |
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY (1) |
Watch |
| 03/31/02 |
Shawn Michaels |
Steve Austin, Kane and Triple H |
WrestleMania X8 |
Skydome, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2) |
|
| 04/10/02 |
Kane |
´Stone Cold´ Steve Austin, Triple H and Ringmaster |
SmackDown! |
Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, AZ (3) |
|
| 04/28/02 |
Hollywood Nitro |
Kane |
Backlash 2002 |
Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO |
|
| 05/16/02 |
Kane [2] |
Hollywood Nitro |
SmackDown! |
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY |
|
| 05/26/02 |
Steve Austin |
Kane |
Judgment Day 2002 |
Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, TN |
Watch
|
| 07/15/02 |
Shawn Michaels [2] |
N/A |
Raw is War |
Ice Palace, Tampa, FL (4) |
Watch
|
| 07/18/02 |
Rob Van Dam |
Shawn Michaels |
SmackDown! |
Richmond Colliseum, Richmond, VA |
Watch
|
| 08/18/02 |
Hulk Hogan |
Rob Van Dam |
InsurreXtion |
Wembley Arena, London, England |
Watch
|
| 09/29/02 |
Silent Assassin [2] |
Hulk Hogan |
Unforgiven |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA (5) |
Watch
|
| 10/14/02 |
Steve Austin [2] |
Nightmare, Hulk Hogan and Rob Van Dam |
Raw is War |
Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (6) |
Watch
|
| 10/28/02 |
Cactus Jack |
Steve Austin |
No Mercy 2002 |
Alltel Arena, Little Rock, AR (7) |
Watch
|
| 12/01/02 |
Undertaker |
Cactus Jack |
Survivor Series 2002 |
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY |
Watch
|
| 12/30/02 |
Kane [3] |
Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and Nightmare |
Armageddon |
Office Depot Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL |
Watch
|
| 01/26/03 |
Nightmare |
Kane |
Royal Rumble 2003 |
Fleetcenter, Boston, MA |
Watch |
| 05/04/03 |
Dr.S |
Nightmare |
Backlash 2003 |
Centium Center, Worcester, MA |
Watch
|
| 05/22/03 |
Nightmare [2] |
Dr.S |
SmackDown! |
Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC |
Watch
|
| 06/12/03 |
Dr.S [2] |
Nightmare, Goldberg, Sphere, Nitro, Brock Lesnar |
SmackDown! |
TD Waterhouse Center, Orlando, FL |
Watch
|
| 08/31/03 |
Undertaker [2] |
Dr.S |
SummerSlam 2003 |
America West Arena, Pheonix, AZ |
Watch
|
| 03/14/04 |
Kane [4] |
Undertaker |
WrestleMania XX |
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY |
Watch
|
| 05/13/04 |
Nightmare [3] |
Kane |
SmackDown! |
Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, VA |
|
| 02/20/05 |
Hulk Hogan [2] |
Nightmare |
Royal Rumble 2005 |
Savemart Center, Freshno, CA |
Watch
|
| 03/07/05 |
Nightmare [4] |
Hulk Hogan |
Raw |
Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, VA (8) |
Watch
|
| 12/13/05 |
Nightmare [5] |
Kane |
Taboo Tuesday 2005 |
iPAYONE Center, San Diego, CA |
Watch
|
| 04/01/06 |
Batista |
Nightmare |
Saturday Nights Main Event |
Cabo Arena, Detroit, MI |
Watch
|
| 05/14/06 |
Nightmare [6] |
Batista |
Royal Rumble 2006 |
American Airlines Arena Miami, FL |
Watch
|
| 05/14/06 |
Showtime |
Nightmare |
Royal Rumble 2006 |
American Airlines Arena Miami, FL |
Watch |
| 08/20/06 |
Nightmare [7] |
Showtime |
WrestleMania 22 |
Allstate Arena, Chicago, IL
|
Watch
|
| 11/19/06 |
Randy Orton |
Nightmare |
SummerSlam 2006 |
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA
|
Watch
|
| 02/05/07 |
Forxx
|
Randy Orton
|
Raw
|
Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
|
Watch
|
| 05/06/07 |
Randy Orton [2]
|
Forxx
|
No Way Out 2007
|
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
|
Watch
|
| 07/29/07 |
Hulk Hogan [3] |
Randy Orton
|
WrestleMania 23 |
Ford Field, Detroit, MI |
Watch
|
10/28/07
|
Triple H
|
Hulk Hogan
|
No Mercy 2007
|
Allstate Arena, Chicago, IL
|
Watch
|
| 03/16/08 |
Randy Orton [3] |
Triple H and Nightmare
|
Royal Rumble 2008 |
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY |
Watch
|
| 06/22/08 |
John Cena
|
Randy Orton
|
WrestleMania XXIV |
Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL
|
Watch
|
11/23/08
|
Nightmare[8] |
John Cena
|
Cyber Sunday 2008
|
US Airways Center, Pheonix, AZ
|
Watch |
11/23/08
|
John Cena [2]
|
Nightmare
|
Cyber Sunday 2008
|
US Airways Center, Pheonix, AZ |
Watch
|
(1) This match was to crown the very first WWF Undisputed Champion, SA was stripped of the title on 03/27/02 when he left the company
(2) After SA was stripped of the title it was decided that there would be a Fatal-4-Way elimination match at WrestleMania X-8. Shawn Michaels, through injury was forced to vacate the WWF title soon after but retained the World Heavyweight Title
(3) Following Shawn Michaels stripping of the title a fatal-4-way elimination match was arranced for the vacent title between the four top contenders
(4) The Commishioner of WWE Nightmare stripped Austin of the title and awarded it to Michaels
(5) SA vacated the title prior to the 10/14/02 edition of RAW due to injury
(6) After SAs vacating of the title a match between the top four contenders was decided upon
(7) Soon after Cactus Jack became Undisputed Champion he became a SmackDown! exclusive, prompting RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff to reintroduce The World Heavyweight Championship. The Undisputed Championship again became known as The WWE Championship
(8) the title was declared vacant in August following the suspension of WWEs TV deal
(9) The participants of this match were choosen by fan vote
|
WWE Championship History