ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 OK...just because I felt like it, and the talk about Guerrero holding the belt got me thinking, I decided to do this. Here, is a year by year breakdown of the times the current WWE Championship has changed, going all the way back to the WWWF days. Also, these are only the officially recognized reigns, as I had checked numerous times back on the old WWF Title Histories site. 1963: "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers given the title when WWWF is formed and splits away from the NWA in April. Bruno Sammartino defeats "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers for the title on May 17 1971: Ivan Koloff defeats Bruno Sammartino on January 18. Pedro Morales defeats Ivan Koloff on February 8. 1973: Stan "The Man" Stasiak defeats Pedro Morales on December 1. Bruno Sammartino defeats Stan "The Man" Stasiak on December 10. 1977: "Superstar" Billy Graham defeats Bruno Sammartino on April 30. 1978: Bob Backlund defeats "Superstar" Billy Graham on February 20. 1979: Antonio Inoki defeats Bob Backlund on November 30. Bob Backlund defeats Bobby Duncam for the then-vacent title on December 12. 1983: The Iron Sheik defeats Bob Backlund on December 26. 1984: Hulk Hogan defeats The Iron Sheik on January 23. 1988: Andre the Giant (sorta) defeats Hulk Hogan on February 5, vacates by accident minutes later. "Macho Man" Randy Savage wins a 14-Man Tournament for vacent championship on March 27. 1989: Hulk Hogan defeats "Macho Man" Randy Savage on April 2. 1990: Ultimate Warrior defeats Hulk Hogan on April 1. 1991: Sgt. Slaughter defeats Ultimate Warrior on January 19 Hulk Hogan defeats Sgt. Slaughter on March 24 The Undertaker defeats Hulk Hogan on November 27 Hulk Hogan defeats The Undertaker on December 3, but is stripped of the title the same night due to severe contraversy. 1992: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair wins 30-Man Royal Rumble for vacent championship on January 19. "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeats "Nature Boy" Ric Flair on April 5. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair defeats "Macho Man" Randy Savage on September 1. Bret "Hitman" Hart defeats "Nature Boy" Ric Flair on October 12. 1993: Yokozuna defeats Bret "Hitman" Hart on April 4. Hulk Hogan defeats Yokozuna minutes later. Yokozuna defeats Hulk Hogan on June 13. 1994: Bret "Hitman" Hart defeats Yokozuna on March 20 Bob Backlund defeats Bret "Hitman" Hart on November 23 Diesel defeats Bob Backlund on November 26 1995: Bret "Hitman" Hart defeats Diesel on November 19. 1996: Shawn Michaels defeats Bret "Hitman" Hart on March 31. Sycho Sid defeats Shawn Michaels on November 17. 1997: Shawn Michaels defeats Sycho Sid on January 19 Bret "Hitman" Hart defeats Undertaker, Vader, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in Final Four Match for vacent title on February 16. Sycho Sid defeats Bret "Hitman" Hart on February 17. The Undertaker defeats Sycho Sid on March 23. Bret "Hitman" Hart defeats The Undertaker on August 3. Shawn Michaels (sorta) defeats Bret "Hitman" Hart on November 9. 1998: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeats Shawn Michaels on March 29 Kane defeats "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on June 28 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeats Kane on June 29 The Rock wins a tournament for the vacent title on November 15 Mankind defeats The Rock on December 29. 1999: The Rock defeats Mankind on January 24 Mankind defeats The Rock on January 26 The Rock defeats Mankind on February 15 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeats The Rock on March 28 The Undertaker defeats "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on May 23 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeats The Undertaker on June 28 Mankind defeats "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Triple H in a Triple Threat Match on August 22 Triple H defeats Mankind on August 23 Vince McMahon defeats Triple H on September 14 Triple H wins a 6 Pack Challenge for vacent title over The Rock, Kane, Mankind, Big Show, and British Bulldog on September 26 Big Show defeats Triple H and The Rock in a triple threat match on November 14 2000: Triple H defeats Big Show on January 3 The Rock defeats Triple H on April 30 Triple H defeats The Rock on May 21 The Rock, teaming with Undertaker and Kane, defeats Triple H, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon on June 25 Kurt Angle defeats The Rock on October 22 2001: The Rock defeats Kurt Angle on February 25 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeats The Rock on April 1 Kurt Angle defeats "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on September 23 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeats Kurt Angle on October 8 Chris Jericho defeats "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on December 9 2002: Triple H defeats Chris Jericho on March 17 Hulk Hogan defeats Triple H on April 21 The Undertaker defeats Hulk Hogan on May 19 The Rock defeats The Undertaker and Kurt Angle in a triple threat match on July 21 Brock Lesnar defeats The Rock on August 25 Big Show defeats Brock Lesnar on November 17 Kurt Angle defeats Big Show on December 15 2003: Brock Lesnar defeats Kurt Angle on March 30 Kurt Angle defeats Brock Lesnar and Big Show in a triple threat match on July 27 Brock Lesnar defeats Kurt Angle on September 16 2004: Eddie Guerrero defeats Brock Lesnar on February 15. Whew...long list. But, I felt like getting it out. Good thing it seems like the 6 or more title changes a year trend is starting to go away at last. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Wow, 99 was just ridiculous in terms of title changes.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deancoles 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Wow, 99 was just ridiculous in terms of title changes.. It would have been 12 had HHH won the title a day or 2 earlier from the Big Show. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Wow, 99 was just ridiculous in terms of title changes.. Yes, it was. And I still fear HHH trying to break Bruno's first reign record there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MillenniumMan831 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 I remember JR having a spasm yelling out how Big Show would enter 2000 as the WWF Champion after he beat HHH on the last Raw of 1999. Of course, we all know what happened on the first Raw of 2000. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Perfxion 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 This is kind of sad. They haven't built a company/Brand around a single champion, the last person with a title reign of atleast 10 months was: Kevin Nash. That is just sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clean rob 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 This is kind of sad. They haven't built a company/Brand around a single champion. Yes, yes they have. See Raw/HHH. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldSchoolWrestling 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Wow, 99 was just ridiculous in terms of title changes.. Yes, it was. And I still fear HHH trying to break Bruno's first reign record there. I'm more fearing him going after Flair's record. I was suprised the other night when they said 8 time champ. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nl5xsk1 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Wasn't Russo pushing to have Jarrett break Flair's record for most world title runs towards the end of wcw? Isn't that why the title went Jarrett - someone - Jarrett -someone else - Jarrett - etc. for so many months?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kizzo 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Damn....Russo booked alot of title changes in 99... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth N Asia 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2004 Wasn't near as bad as the WCW title changes from 00-01 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Damn....Russo booked alot of title changes in 99... Russo's theory was apparently the more title changes a year, the better. Glad that thinking is gone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeDirt 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Damn....Russo booked alot of title changes in 99... Russo's theory was apparently the more title changes a year, the better. Glad that thinking is gone. True...though I always liked the Rock/Mankind feud, even if there were too many title changes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Placebo Effect 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Wasn't Russo pushing to have Jarrett break Flair's record for most world title runs towards the end of wcw? Isn't that why the title went Jarrett - someone - Jarrett -someone else - Jarrett - etc. for so many months?? I'd never heard that theory before, but seeing as how the booking went down, I can believe it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuban Linx 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Wasn't Russo pushing to have Jarrett break Flair's record for most world title runs towards the end of wcw? Isn't that why the title went Jarrett - someone - Jarrett -someone else - Jarrett - etc. for so many months?? I'd never heard that theory before, but seeing as how the booking went down, I can believe it. If i remember correctly Russo wanted Jarrett to reach Flair's 16 or whatever title reigns and base a feud between them off it. Of course there's plenty of ways Jarrett and Flair could have feuded without devaluing the title immemsly, but that's Russo for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anglesault Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Wasn't Russo pushing to have Jarrett break Flair's record for most world title runs towards the end of wcw? Isn't that why the title went Jarrett - someone - Jarrett -someone else - Jarrett - etc. for so many months?? Kind of counterproductive booking then, as Flair won two in that whole mess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eiker_ir 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 can someone post the RAW World Title list since HHH got it in 2002? that would be interesting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Metal Maniac 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 No it's not. It's like...HHH-HBK-HHH-Goldberg-HHH-Benoit-HHoops. Scratch that last one. For now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 For 1998, you should add that it was vacated September 27th, and for 1999, September 6th (Not sure on that one) Raw Title 2002 - Given to HHH - Won by Shawn Michaels in November - Won back by HHH in December 2003 - Won by Goldberg in September - Won by HHH in November 2004 - Won by Benoit in March Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth N Asia 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Yeah, the entire 18 months or so the title has been around. HHH had it 14 or 15 of them. I think. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 2002 HHH named champion September 2, 2002 Milwaukee, Wisconsin HBK wins Elimination Chamber November 17, 2002 New York City, New York HHH beats HBK December 15, 2002 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 2003 Bill Goldberg beats HHH September 21, 2003 Hershey, Pennsylvania HHH beats Goldberg and Kane December 14, 2003 Orlando, Florida 2004 Chris Benoit beats HHH and HBK March 14, 2004 New York City, New York 2 of the 3 times HHH lost his belt, he lost it at MSG and 2 times he's won it back at an event in Florida. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest I Got Banned for Sucking Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Yes, that's pretty coincidental... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hektik 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 2002 HHH named champion September 2, 2002 Milwaukee, Wisconsin HBK wins Elimination Chamber November 17, 2002 New York City, New York HHH beats HBK December 15, 2002 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 2003 Bill Goldberg beats HHH September 21, 2003 Hershey, Pennsylvania HHH beats Goldberg and Kane December 14, 2003 Orlando, Florida 2004 Chris Benoit beats HHH and HBK March 14, 2004 New York City, New York 2 of the 3 times HHH lost his belt, he lost it at MSG and 2 times he's won it back at an event in Florida. I have done research before on wrestling world titles in the past and technically the WCW title was renamed the World Heavyweight Championship in November 2001. The Rock was champion and he lost it to Chris Jericho before unifying it with the WWE title. Since the title was renamed before unification it also holds the history of the WCW championship. But that only goes back to September 1991. People will say that since it was unified the history goes in the WWE title and can not be pulled out. To people who say that I point out Boxing titles were they are constantly being unified and pulled apart if a boxer does not fight a certain boxer. In this case Lesnar did not face HHH who was the #1 contender, so the world title is pulled out of his undisputed title. Since HHH is the #1 contender he automaticaly becomes champion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cbacon 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 The World title is not the same title as the title unified with the WWE title of the same name. The WWE recognizes the old WCW title and the RAW title as seperate belts. The RAW title is merely and 'extension' of the WWE title. I think Obsessed with Wrestling has the best grasp on the lineage: here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slickster 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 The World title is not the same title as the title unified with the WWE title of the same name. The WWE recognizes the old WCW title and the RAW title as seperate belts. The RAW title is merely and 'extension' of the WWE title. I think Obsessed with Wrestling has the best grasp on the lineage: here The WWE's stance on this has flip-flopped; they have sometimes said it's a new title, but they also did a Confidential feature in 9/02 about 'great World Heavyweight Champions' and profiled Sting, DDP, Flair, and Hogan. At the wrestling-titles.com forums, this has been a 20-month debate, but title history god Dan Poutsma has described it like this: 1) Bischoff never said he was "stripping" Lesnar of any particular championship [on the 9/2/02 RAW]. He just said that RAW was "disputing" the Undisputed title after Brock became exclusive to SmackDown! and that they were gonna recognize their own world champ in Triple H, who had earned the number one contender spot to the Undisputed title prior. 2) It was said later on that Triple H was awarded a "resurrected" title, which insinuates that there was a period where it laid dormant and was inactive. 3) Bischoff went out of his way to mention when he was awarding Big Goldy to Triple H that he was also the last person to wear/hold it. Based on these three premises, that leads me to conclude that as far as they're concerned, the World title was retired when Big Goldy was retired shortly after Wrestlemania 18, meaning that the Undisputed title only contained both titles during the reigns of Jericho and Triple H until they got rid of Big Goldy and the old WWF championship belt in favor of a new one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slickster 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 I have done research before on wrestling world titles in the past and technically the WCW title was renamed the World Heavyweight Championship in November 2001. The Rock was champion and he lost it to Chris Jericho before unifying it with the WWE title. Since the title was renamed before unification it also holds the history of the WCW championship. Actually, it was just called the "World Championship" when Rock/Jericho held it and that's generally considered to be a different phase in the title's history than the 'HHH and after' era. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slickster 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 To compare, here's the WCW Title history broken down by year (until Vengeance '01). 1991 Ric Flair January 11, 1991 East Rutherford, New Jersey Lex Luger July 14, 1991 Baltimore, Maryland 1992 Sting February 29, 1992 Milwaukee, Winsconsin Big Van Vader July 12, 1992 Albany, Georgia Ron Simmons August 2, 1992 Baltimore, Maryland Big Van Vader (2) December 20, 1992 Baltimore, Maryland 1993 Sting (2) March 11, 1993 London, England Big Van Vader (3) March 17, 1993 Dublin, Ireland Ric Flair (2) December 27, 1993 Charlotte, North Carolina 1994 Ric Flair (3) April 24, 1994 Atlanta, Georgia Hulk Hogan July 17, 1994 Orlando, Florida 1995 The Giant October 29, 1995 Detroit, Michigan Randy Savage November 26, 1995 Norfolk, Virginia Ric Flair (4) December 27, 1995 Nashville, Tennessee 1996 Randy Savage (2) January 22, 1996 Las Vegas, Nevada Ric Flair (5) February 11, 1996 Saint Petersburg, Florida The Giant (2) April 22, 1996 Albany, Georgia Hulk Hogan (2) August 10, 1996 Sturgis, South Dakota 1997 Lex Luger (2) August 4, 1997 Auburn Hills, Michigan Hulk Hogan (3) August 9, 1997 Sturgis, South Dakota Sting (3) December 28, 1997 Washington, D.C. 1998 Sting (4) February 22, 1998 San Francisco, California Randy Savage (3) April 19, 1998 Denver, Colorado Hulk Hogan (4) April 20, 1998 Colorado Springs, Colorado Bill Goldberg July 6, 1998 Atlanta, Georgia Kevin Nash December 27, 1998 Washington, D.C. 1999 Hulk Hogan (5) January 4, 1999 Atlanta, Georgia Ric Flair (6) March 14, 1999 Louisville, Kentucky Diamond Dallas Page April 11, 1999 Tacoma, Washington Sting (5) April 26, 1999 Fargo, North Dakota Diamond Dallas Page (2) April 26, 1999 Fargo, North Dakota Kevin Nash (2) May 9, 1999 Saint Louis, Missouri Randy Savage (4) July 11, 1999 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Hulk Hogan (6) July 12, 1999 Jacksonville, Florida Sting (7) September 12, 1999 Winston-Salem, North Carolina Bret Hart November 21, 1999 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Bret Hart (2) December 19, 1999 Baltimore, Maryland 2000 Chris Benoit January 16, 2000 Cincinatti, Ohio Sid Vicious January 24, 2000 Los Angeles, California Kevin Nash (3) January 25, 2000 Las Vegas, Nevada Sid Vicious (2) January 25, 2000 Las Vegas, Nevada Jeff Jarrett April 16, 2000 Chicago, Illinois Diamond Dallas Page (3) April 24, 2000 Rochester, New York David Arquette April 25, 2000 Syracuse, New York Jeff Jarrett (2) May 7, 2000 Kansas City, Missouri Ric Flair (7) May 15, 2000 Biloxi, Mississippi Jeff Jarrett (3) May 22, 2000 Grand Rapids, Michigan Kevin Nash (4) May 23, 2000 Saginaw, Michigan Ric Flair (8) May 29, 2000 Salt Lake City, Utah Jeff Jarrett (4) May 29, 2000 Salt Lake City, Utah Booker T. July 9, 2000 Daytona Beach, Florida Kevin Nash (5) August 28, 2000 Las Cruces, New Mexico Booker T. (2) September 17, 2000 Buffalo, New York Vince Russo September 25, 2000 Uniondale, New York Booker T. (3) October 2, 2000 San Francisco, California Scott Steiner November 26, 2000 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 2001 Booker T. (4) March 26, 2001 Panama City, Florida Kurt Angle July 24, 2001 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Booker T. (5) July 30, 2001 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Rock August 19, 2001 San Jose, California Chris Jericho October 21, 2001 Saint Louis, Missouri The Rock (2) November 5, 2001 Uniondale, New York Chris Jericho (2) December 9, 2001 San Diego, California Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cbacon 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 The World title is not the same title as the title unified with the WWE title of the same name. The WWE recognizes the old WCW title and the RAW title as seperate belts. The RAW title is merely and 'extension' of the WWE title. I think Obsessed with Wrestling has the best grasp on the lineage: here The WWE's stance on this has flip-flopped; they have sometimes said it's a new title, but they also did a Confidential feature in 9/02 about 'great World Heavyweight Champions' and profiled Sting, DDP, Flair, and Hogan. At the wrestling-titles.com forums, this has been a 20-month debate, but title history god Dan Poutsma has described it like this: 1) Bischoff never said he was "stripping" Lesnar of any particular championship [on the 9/2/02 RAW]. He just said that RAW was "disputing" the Undisputed title after Brock became exclusive to SmackDown! and that they were gonna recognize their own world champ in Triple H, who had earned the number one contender spot to the Undisputed title prior. 2) It was said later on that Triple H was awarded a "resurrected" title, which insinuates that there was a period where it laid dormant and was inactive. 3) Bischoff went out of his way to mention when he was awarding Big Goldy to Triple H that he was also the last person to wear/hold it. Based on these three premises, that leads me to conclude that as far as they're concerned, the World title was retired when Big Goldy was retired shortly after Wrestlemania 18, meaning that the Undisputed title only contained both titles during the reigns of Jericho and Triple H until they got rid of Big Goldy and the old WWF championship belt in favor of a new one. All good points. Another point of reference is the superstars page on WWE.com. If you check Goldbergs profile you'll notice he's listed as a WCW champion and a World champion In terms of the confidential peice, i think it was implying World Champions in general, much like how the RAW and Smackdown! titles are both considered World Titles. Although I could be wrong, i haven't actually seen the piece. Either way, the WWE need to come out and clear this all up with a title lineage site like they used to have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Hollywood Fashion Plate: FYI...IIRC, WCW's website listed WCW's title history with the NWA Title history. http://www.asu.pstu.ac.ru/mirricle/wcw/index-105.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted March 25, 2004 Man 2000 was a really fucked up year for WCW. 19 Title Changes? 20 Champions (if you include Bret Hart's reign till Benoit won the title)? That's just nuts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
