WWEWWE
World Heavyweight Championship (2002-2013) History
Complete list of every World Heavyweight Championship (2002-2013) reign — who held it, when they won it, and how long they kept it. Established Sep 2, 2002.
Final Champion
55
Total Reigns
25
Champions
285
Longest (days)
Batista
Batista
7×
Most Reigns
Edge
Edge
Full Title Lineage
| # | Champion | Won | Reign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | Randy Orton4th reign His fourth reign, lasting about one minute, the shortest in the title history. As WWE Champion he defeated John Cena to unify the titles, retiring the World Heavyweight Championship. | Dec 15, 2013WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2013Houston, TX | <1 day |
| 54 | John Cena3rd reign His third reign. | Oct 27, 2013WWE Hell in a Cell 2013Miami, FL | 49 days |
| 53 | Alberto Del Rio2nd reign His second reign, lasting 133 days. | Jun 16, 2013WWE Payback 2013Rosemont, IL | 133 days |
| 52 | Dolph Ziggler2nd reign Cashed in the Money in the Bank contract. His second reign. | Apr 8, 2013RawEast Rutherford, NJ | 69 days |
| 51 | Alberto Del Rio1st reign | Jan 11, 2013SmackDownMiami, FL | 87 days |
| 50 | Big Show2nd reign His second reign. | Oct 28, 2012WWE Hell in a Cell 2012Atlanta, GA | 75 days |
| 49 | Sheamus A 210-day reign. | Apr 1, 2012WWE WrestleMania 28Miami, FL | 210 days |
| 48 | Daniel Bryan Cashed in the Money in the Bank contract. A 105-day reign. | Dec 18, 2011WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2011Baltimore, MD | 105 days |
| 47 | Big Show1st reign A same-night reign before Daniel Bryan cashed in. | Dec 18, 2011WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2011Baltimore, MD | <1 day |
| 46 | Mark Henry A 91-day reign. | Sep 18, 2011WWE Night of Champions 2011Buffalo, NY | 91 days |
| 45 | Randy Orton3rd reign His third reign; the brand split ended during this reign, making the title defendable on both Raw and SmackDown. | Aug 14, 2011WWE SummerSlam 2011Los Angeles, CA | 35 days |
| 44 | Christian2nd reign His second reign. | Jul 17, 2011WWE Money in the Bank 2011Rosemont, IL | 28 days |
| 43 | Randy Orton2nd reign His second reign. | May 6, 2011SmackDownOrlando, FL | 72 days |
| 42 | Christian1st reign Defeated Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match for the vacant title. | May 1, 2011WWE Extreme Rules 2011Tampa, FL | 5 days |
| 41 | Edge7th reign His record seventh reign. ↳ Relinquished when he announced his immediate retirement after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis. | Feb 18, 2011SmackDownSan Diego, CA | 56 days |
| 40 | Dolph Ziggler1st reign Awarded the vacant title by SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero; a same-day reign. | Feb 18, 2011SmackDownSan Diego, CA | <1 day |
| 39 | Edge6th reign His sixth reign. ↳ Stripped of the title by SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero after the spear was banned. | Dec 19, 2010WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2010Houston, TX | 61 days |
| 38 | Kane Cashed in the Money in the Bank contract. A 154-day reign. | Jul 18, 2010WWE Money in the Bank 2010Kansas City, MO | 154 days |
| 37 | Rey Mysterio2nd reign His second reign; again referred to as the World Championship. | Jun 20, 2010WWE Fatal 4-WayUniondale, NY | 28 days |
| 36 | Jack Swagger Cashed in the Money in the Bank contract. | Apr 2, 2010SmackDownLas Vegas, NV | 79 days |
| 35 | Chris Jericho3rd reign His third reign. | Feb 21, 2010WWE Elimination Chamber 2010St. Louis, MO | 40 days |
| 34 | The Undertaker3rd reign His third reign, lasting 140 days. | Oct 4, 2009WWE Hell in a Cell 2009Newark, NJ | 140 days |
| 33 | CM Punk3rd reign His third reign. | Aug 23, 2009WWE SummerSlam 2009Los Angeles, CA | 42 days |
| 32 | Jeff Hardy2nd reign His second reign. | Jul 26, 2009WWE Night of Champions 2009Philadelphia, PA | 28 days |
| 31 | CM Punk2nd reign Cashed in the Money in the Bank contract. His second reign. | Jun 7, 2009WWE Extreme Rules 2009New Orleans, LA | 49 days |
| 30 | Jeff Hardy1st reign A same-night reign before CM Punk cashed in. | Jun 7, 2009WWE Extreme Rules 2009New Orleans, LA | <1 day |
| 29 | Edge5th reign His fifth reign; the title returned to SmackDown with Edge's brand status. | Apr 26, 2009WWE Backlash 2009Providence, RI | 42 days |
| 28 | John Cena2nd reign His second reign; the title moved to Raw with Cena's brand status. | Apr 5, 2009WWE WrestleMania XXVHouston, TX | 21 days |
| 27 | Edge4th reign His fourth reign. | Feb 15, 2009WWE No Way Out 2009Seattle, WA | 49 days |
| 26 | John Cena1st reign | Nov 23, 2008WWE Survivor Series 2008Boston, MA | 84 days |
| 25 | Chris Jericho2nd reign His second reign. | Nov 3, 2008RawTampa, FL | 20 days |
| 24 | Batista4th reign His fourth reign, lasting 8 days. | Oct 26, 2008WWE Cyber Sunday 2008Phoenix, AZ | 8 days |
| 23 | Chris Jericho1st reign Replaced an injured CM Punk in a Championship Scramble match to win the title. | Sep 7, 2008WWE Unforgiven 2008Cleveland, OH | 49 days |
| 22 | CM Punk1st reign Cashed in the Money in the Bank contract; the title moved to Raw with Punk's brand status. | Jun 30, 2008RawOklahoma City, OK | 69 days |
| 21 | Edge3rd reign Defeated The Undertaker in a TLC match for the vacant title. His third reign. | Jun 1, 2008WWE One Night Stand 2008San Diego, CA | 29 days |
| 20 | The Undertaker2nd reign His second reign. ↳ Stripped of the title by SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero for using the Hell's Gate submission, which she deemed dangerous. | Mar 30, 2008WWE WrestleMania XXIVOrlando, FL | 33 days |
| 19 | Edge2nd reign His second reign, lasting 105 days. | Dec 16, 2007WWE Armageddon 2007Pittsburgh, PA | 105 days |
| 18 | Batista3rd reign His third reign. | Sep 16, 2007WWE Unforgiven 2007Memphis, TN | 91 days |
| 17 | The Great Khali Won a 20-man battle royal for the vacant title. | Jul 20, 2007SmackDown!Laredo, TX | 58 days |
| 16 | Edge1st reign Cashed in the Money in the Bank contract; he then transferred to SmackDown. ↳ Vacated after Edge was sidelined with a pectoral injury. | May 11, 2007SmackDown!Pittsburgh, PA | 70 days |
| 15 | The Undertaker1st reign | Apr 1, 2007WWE WrestleMania 23Detroit, MI | 40 days |
| 14 | Batista2nd reign His second reign, lasting 126 days. | Nov 26, 2006WWE Survivor Series 2006Philadelphia, PA | 126 days |
| 13 | King Booker A 126-day reign. | Jul 23, 2006WWE The Great American Bash 2006Indianapolis, IN | 126 days |
| 12 | Rey Mysterio1st reign A 112-day reign; briefly referred to as the World Championship as Mysterio was not a heavyweight. | Apr 2, 2006WWE WrestleMania 22Rosemont, IL | 112 days |
| 11 | Kurt Angle Won a 20-man battle royal for the vacant title. | Jan 13, 2006SmackDown!Philadelphia, PA | 79 days |
| 10 | Batista1st reign The title moved to SmackDown via the 2005 draft. The longest reign in the title history. ↳ Vacated after Batista was sidelined with a triceps injury. | Apr 3, 2005WWE WrestleMania 21Los Angeles, CA | 285 days |
| 9 | Triple H5th reign Defeated Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Batista and Edge in an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant title. His record-tying fifth reign. | Jan 9, 2005WWE New Year's Revolution 2005San Juan, PR | 84 days |
| 8 | Triple H4th reign His fourth reign. ↳ Vacated after a double fall in a triple threat title match. | Sep 12, 2004WWE Unforgiven 2004Portland, OR | 85 days |
| 7 | Randy Orton1st reign At 24, he became the youngest world champion in company history. | Aug 15, 2004WWE SummerSlam 2004Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 28 days |
| 6 | Chris Benoit A 154-day reign. | Mar 14, 2004WWE WrestleMania XXNew York, NY | 154 days |
| 5 | Triple H3rd reign His third reign. | Dec 14, 2003WWE Armageddon 2003Orlando, FL | 91 days |
| 4 | Goldberg | Sep 21, 2003WWE Unforgiven 2003Hershey, PA | 84 days |
| 3 | Triple H2nd reign His second reign, lasting 280 days. | Dec 15, 2002WWE Armageddon 2002Sunrise, FL | 280 days |
| 2 | Shawn Michaels | Nov 17, 2002WWE Survivor Series 2002New York, NY | 28 days |
| 1 | Triple H1st reign After the Undisputed WWE Title became exclusive to SmackDown, Raw GM Eric Bischoff created the World Heavyweight Championship and awarded it to Triple H as the inaugural champion. | Sep 2, 2002RawMilwaukee, WI | 76 days |
WWE's World Heavyweight Championship, established in September 2002 when Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff created a world title for the Raw brand after the Undisputed WWE Championship became exclusive to SmackDown. Triple H was the inaugural champion. Edge is a record seven-time champion, Triple H held it five times, and Batista's first reign was the longest. Represented by the Big Gold Belt associated with WCW's world title, it was retired in December 2013 when unified into the WWE Championship, with Randy Orton as the final champion.
World Heavyweight Championship (2002-2013) — FAQ
The World Heavyweight Championship (2002-2013) is no longer active. Retired on December 15, 2013 when WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena at TLC to unify it into the WWE Championship; Orton is recognized as the final champion. This Big Gold Belt lineage is distinct from the WCW World Heavyweight Championship whose belt design it inherited, and from the World Heavyweight Championship WWE revived in 2023. The final champion was Randy Orton.
Triple H was the inaugural World Heavyweight Championship (2002-2013), winning it on Sep 2, 2002 at Raw.
Edge has the most reigns with 7.
Batista's reign beginning Apr 3, 2005 is the longest at 285 days.
There have been 55 reigns across 25 different champions since the title was established.