WWE Championship

The World Wrestling Entertainment Championship, also known as the WWE Championship or WWE Heavyweight Championship, is one of the two top championships contested in World Wrestling Entertainment. It was exclusive to the SmackDown! brand between August 26, 2002 and June 6, 2005, while the World Heavyweight Championship was exclusive to WWE RAW; however, when then-WWE Champion John Cena was drafted to RAW during the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery, he took the belt with him to RAW. Since then, the World Heavyweight Championship has moved to SmackDown! due to the draft of then-Champion Batista on June 30, 2005.

History

The WWE Championship was originally known as the WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) World Heavyweight Championship until Vince McMahon, Jr. bought the company from his father, Vincent J. McMahon and renamed it the World Wrestling Federation. After this, the title was referred to as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, often abbreviated to WWF Heavyweight Championship or simply WWF Championship.

Related Topics:
Vince McMahon, Jr. - Vincent J. McMahon

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It was unified with another title, then called the World Championship (though more commonly known through lineage as the WCW World Heavyweight Championship), on December 9, 2001 by Chris Jericho at the WWF Vengeance pay-per-view event in San Diego, California. Whilst unified, both championship belts were used and they were collectively defended as the WWF Undisputed Championship until April 1, 2002 when Ric Flair presented then-champion Triple H with a single belt representing both titles. During the title reign of Hollywood Hulk Hogan, legal matters caused the company to change its name to WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and the championship was likewise renamed. The WWF logo on the belt was replaced with the new WWE logo. The belt style remained in use and the title was known as the WWE Undisputed Championship until August 26, 2002 when the champion at the time, Brock Lesnar, refused to defend the championship against a RAW brand wrestler following a number-one contender's match won by Triple H. Lesnar claimed he would only defend his championship against SmackDown! brand wrestlers, despite previous tradition that the Undisputed Champion would defend their championship against wrestlers from either brand.

Related Topics:
WCW World Heavyweight Championship - December 9 - 2001 - Chris Jericho - WWF Vengeance - Pay-per-view - San Diego, California - Unified - WWF Undisputed Championship - April 1 - 2002 - Ric Flair - Triple H - Hollywood Hulk Hogan - August 26 - Brock Lesnar

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Following Lesnar's actions, the World Heavyweight Championship, formally the WCW title, was created by RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff and it was awarded to Triple H on September 3, 2002, leaving the former Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar as simply the SmackDown! WWE Champion. When John Cena was drafted to RAW, both belts became RAW-exclusive until Batista, who was the World Heavyweight Champion, was drafted to SmackDown! on June 30, 2005.

Related Topics:
World Heavyweight Championship - Eric Bischoff - September 3 - 2002 - WWE Champion - Batista - June 30 - 2005

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