WWE Championship
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- This article is about the current Raw brand championship, for SmackDown!'s top championship, see World Heavyweight Championship (WWE).
| WWE Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The WWE Championship belt (April 11, 2005 – present) | |||
| Details | |||
| Current champion(s) | Triple H | ||
| Date won | April 27, 2008 | ||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand | Raw | ||
| Date created | April 29, 1963 | ||
| Other name(s) |
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| Past design(s) |   | ||
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The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is the original world title of WWE. Currently, it is the highest ranked championship on the Raw brand.
Contents[hide] |
History
The WWE Championship was originally known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Heavyweight Championship. Following the title's introduction in 1963, Buddy Rogers became the inaugural champion on April 29. The World Wide Wrestling Federation joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1971 and was renamed the World Wrestling Federation in 1979. During this time, the title was referred to as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Heavyweight Championship. It became known as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship when the promotion left the NWA in 1983. The title began to be referred to as the WWF Championship in 1998.
In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling. Soon after, "The Invasion" took place in which the WCW/ECW Alliance was ultimately dismantled. Following this, it was agreed to unify the title with the WCW Championship at Vengeance 2001. At the event Chris Jericho defeated The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WCW/World Championship and the WWF Championship respectively. As a result, Chris Jericho was named the last WCW World Champion[1] and became the first Undisputed Champion in the World Wrestling Federation.[2]
Following the WWF/WWE name change and the WWE Brand Extension, the Undisputed title was defended on the Raw and SmackDown! brands simultaneously while other titles became exclusive to either brand. However, when Brock Lesnar won the Undisputed Championship he was signed to appear and defend the title on the SmackDown! brand only, leaving the Raw brand without a top title. As a result, Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff, commissioned the World Heavyweight Championship to be the main title for the Raw brand, stating that the Undisputed title was disputed for being defended only on one brand. Immediately afterwards, the title returned to being the WWE Championship.
The WWE Championship remained exclusive to the SmackDown! brand from August 26, 2002 until June 6, 2005, when the WWE Champion, John Cena, was drafted to the Raw brand during the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery. This left the Raw brand with the two top titles in WWE until the World Heavyweight Champion, Batista, was drafted to the SmackDown! brand on June 30, 2005.
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