World championships in WWE
The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has maintained several men's world championships since Capitol Wrestling Corporation seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation, which was later subjected to various name changes, including World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment —in April 2011, the company ceased using its full name and has since just been referred to as WWE. The company's first world championship was the WWE Championship, which was established along with the promotion's creation in 1963 as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship; it is still active today as the Undisputed WWE Championship and is WWE's oldest active title. Whenever the WWE brand extension has been implemented, separate world championships have been created or allocated for each brand.
As of 2025, WWE promotes two men's world championships, with the Undisputed WWE Championship on the SmackDown brand and the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw. The NXT Championship, was the world championship for the NXT brand from 2019 until 2021 when it was viewed a third major brand, though it reverted to its status as a developmental championship in 2021.
Overview
World Championships
Summary of championships
WWE Championship (1963–present)
The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is the original world heavyweight championship of WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand. It was established by the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation on April 25, 1963, as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship, after Capitol Wrestling Corporation seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance to become the WWWF 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. The WWWF was renamed to World Wrestling Federation in 1979 and then World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002—since April 2011, the company has operated under the trade name of WWE, although the legal name is still the full unabbreviated name.The WWE Championship is the oldest championship currently active in WWE and is presented as being the promotion's most prestigious title. Aside from company name changes that resulted in the championship being renamed accordingly, the most notable name changes were from championship unifications. These included the WWE Undisputed Championship, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. After the retirement of the Universal Championship in April 2024, the WWE Championship has been referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship.
WWE Undisputed Championship (2001–2002)
The WWE Undisputed Championship was the result of a unification of the then-WWF Championship and the World Championship in December 2001. Earlier that year in March, the WWF acquired World Championship Wrestling, which shortly after began The Invasion storyline, a war between the WWF and the combined faction of former WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling wrestlers called The Alliance. This culminated at Survivor Series in November where the WWF won The Invasion war, disbanding The Alliance. The WCW Championship was subsequently renamed World Championship. As there was not a need for two world championships, a unification match was scheduled for Vengeance the following month. At the event, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeated Kurt Angle to retain the WWF Championship, while Chris Jericho defeated The Rock for the World Championship. After this, Jericho defeated Austin, unifying the WWF and World Championships, and becoming the first Undisputed WWF Champion; the Undisputed Championship retained the lineage of the WWF Championship while the World Championship was retired.After the company was renamed to WWE, the championship was renamed Undisputed WWE Championship and then WWE Undisputed Championship. With the introduction of the WWE brand extension in March 2002, the company split its roster into two brands, Raw and SmackDown, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. The holder of the Undisputed Championship was the only male wrestler allowed to appear on both brands, as the champion defended the title against challengers from both brands. However, in September 2002, after reigning champion Brock Lesnar signed an exclusive deal to only defend the title on SmackDown, the title dropped the "undisputed" moniker, becoming the WWE Championship, while Raw established the original World Heavyweight Championship as its counterpart, spun off from the Undisputed WWE Championship as the successor to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship (2013–2016)
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship was the result of a unification of the WWE Championship and the original World Heavyweight Championship in December 2013. Following the end of the first brand extension in August 2011, both the WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion could appear on both Raw and SmackDown. After two years, as there was no longer a need for two world championships in the company, reigning World Heavyweight Champion John Cena made a challenge to reigning WWE Champion Randy Orton to determine WWE's undisputed world champion. Orton subsequently defeated Cena in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view on December 15, 2013, to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship retained the lineage of the WWE Championship while the World Heavyweight Championship was retired.After Dean Ambrose won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank on June 19, 2016, one week later on June 27, the title's name reverted to WWE Championship. After the reintroduction of the brand extension the following month, the title became exclusive to SmackDown and was renamed to WWE World Championship, although it reverted to WWE Championship in December 2016.
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (2022–2024)
The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship was the term used by WWE to refer to both the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship being held and defended simultaneously by the same individual. This recognition came as a result of a Winner Takes All match at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022. WWE billed the match as a championship unification match though both titles maintained their individual lineages.At WrestleMania 38, SmackDown's Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Raw's WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to win the latter's title and become recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. As the undisputed champion, Reigns was allowed to appear on both brands; as a result of the 2023 WWE Draft, however, he was drafted to SmackDown, thus making both championships under the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship banner exclusive to the brand. A new world title, the World Heavyweight Championship, was created and subsequently designated to Raw.
On the June 2, 2023, episode of SmackDown, in celebration of Reigns reaching 1,000 days as Universal Champion, he was presented with a single belt, which features the same "Network Logo" design of the individual titles, but with notable differences. It is on a black strap, the WWE logo is encrusted with black gem stones, the background behind the logo is gold with nugget texturing, and the text at the bottom of the plate says "Undisputed Champion", while the side plates featured Reigns' logo. His manager Paul Heyman had continued to carry around the standard WWE and Universal Championship belts until the end of July. Cody Rhodes would defeat Reigns at WrestleMania XL Night 2 on April 7, 2024, to win the title. Following Rhodes's victory, WWE truncated the name to Undisputed WWE Championship. Up until April 20, 2025, WWE had also recognized Rhodes as Universal Champion, but upon his loss at WrestleMania 41, the Universal Championship's history was amended, removing Rhodes, with its lineage to have ended upon Reigns's defeat at WrestleMania XL and Reigns recognized as the final Universal Champion.
WCW Championship (1991–2001)
The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was originally the world championship of World Championship Wrestling, and later, defended on the then-WWF's programs. The title was established in 1991 when WCW, a member of the NWA, created the title to replace the NWA's world championship and claimed reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair as the inaugural WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Flair's Big Gold Belt simultaneously represented the world championships of both the NWA and WCW until the NWA dropped its recognition of Flair as their champion when Flair left WCW with the Big Gold Belt and joined the WWF. Flair subsequently began appearing on WWF television with the Big Gold Belt, calling himself "The Real World Champion"; however, this was never officially recognized as a world championship in WWF.In 1993, WCW seceded from the NWA and grew to become a rival promotion to the WWF. Both organizations grew into mainstream prominence and were eventually involved in a television ratings war, dubbed the Monday Night Wars. Near the end of the ratings war, WCW began a financial decline, which culminated in WWF purchasing WCW in March 2001. As a result of the purchase, the WWF acquired, among other assets, WCW's championships. Thus, there were two world championships in the WWF: the original WWF Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which was shortened to WCW Championship upon WWF's acquisition and was eventually renamed the "World Championship" in November. The World Championship was then retired when it was unified into the WWF Championship at Vengeance in December 2001, with the WWF Championship becoming the Undisputed WWF Championship. Chris Jericho was the final WCW Champion.