WCW World Heavyweight Championship

WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt (1994-2001)

The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was the primary championship in the World Championship Wrestling professional wrestling organization. It was created in January 1991, and a variation of the physical belt continues to be used in WWE as the World Heavyweight Championship. It has been held by many successful professional wrestlers, including Ric Flair, Sting, Hulk Hogan, Booker T, Chris Benoit, Bret Hart, and Goldberg.

History

Origin

In December 1988, Ted Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions, which had promoted under the name "NWA World Championship Wrestling". While the promotion remained a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the use of the NWA name was gradually reduced on televised programming, in favor of the name "World Championship Wrestling", or "WCW".

On January 11, 1991, Ric Flair defeated Sting to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and was recognized as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. The new championship was not initially represented by its own title belt, and WCW continued to use the NWA World Heavyweight Championship title belt. Because of this, WCW regularly claimed the NWA World Championship lineage for its own championship.

The interim WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt (taken from the 1991 Great American Bash)

On July 1 1991, a creative disagreement with WCW Executive Vice President Jim Herd led to Flair leaving WCW for Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation. When Herd refused to return his $25,000 deposit (that was left with the NWA), Flair kept the "Big Gold Belt" that had represented the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. WCW was forced to create its own title belt (rumored to have been the long-retired NWA Western States Heritage Championship with a gold plate tacked on its faceplate with the words "WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION"), which was awarded to Lex Luger after he defeated Barry Windham in a cage match for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship at the 1991 WCW Great American Bash. Shortly after the Bash, an original WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt was created.

In late 1991, WCW sued Flair for using the Big Gold Belt on WWF television, but later settled out of court, paying Flair $38,000 for the amount of the NWA deposit, plus interest. Flair returned the Big Gold Belt to WCW. The Big Gold Belt was used for the revived NWA World Heavyweight Championship, a co-promotional gimmick between WCW and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

The WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt (1991-1994)

In September 1993, WCW left the NWA over a dispute regarding the other NWA members demanding that NWA World champion be available for booking, and due to the use of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on syndicated programming recorded months in advance. By fall 1993, Rick Rude was appearing at the "Disney Tapings" as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, despite the fact that in regards to the storyline, Flair was still champion. After leaving the NWA, WCW kept the Big Gold Belt, and it was re-named the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship.

Unification

At StarrCade 93, Flair won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, by defeating Vader. WCW decided to unify the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (represented by the new belt) and International Championship (represented by the "Big Gold Belt"), by having Flair wrestle Sting in June 1994. Flair won and the International Title belt replaced the old World Heavyweight belt while the International Championship itself was dropped. Hulk Hogan entered WCW and won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (now represented by the "Big Gold Belt") from Flair. Holding the title off and on until 2000, Hogan helped WCW become the top wrestling company in the United States. However, by 2001, it had suffered a succession of failures.

WWF/WWE

In March 2001, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. purchased the assets of WCW from AOL-Time Warner for $7,000,000. Initially, Vince McMahon claimed that he wanted to revive the company in his own image, and a two-hour timeslot for WCW programming was proposed to TNN. Instead (due to contract obligations), McMahon orchestrated the infamous "Invasion" storyline of 2001, in which both WCW and ECW were ultimately dismantled. McMahon then decided to unify the WCW and WWF World Titles. The WCW Championship was then renamed the "World Championship" after the WWF storyline which eliminated WCW as an active entity. Some regard this as McMahon simply stroking his own ego, due to the fact that WCW nearly put the WWF out of business.

Chris Jericho unified the titles by pinning The Rock (World Champion) and Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF Champion) at the WWF Vengeance 2001 Pay-Per-View. The belts stayed unified as the WWE Undisputed Championship until won by Brock Lesnar. When Lesnar decided to wrestle only for the SmackDown! brand, RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H, represented by the old "Big Gold Belt". It should be noted that, despite appearances, it is now a different title belt, as the current design features a subtle WWE trademark logo above the words "World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion."). Since May, 2006, the new belt was renamed the "World Championship" again when Rey Mysterio was champion as he is not a "heavyweight".

Currently, only 6 former WCW Champions are currently under contract with a WWE brand as wrestlers: Ric Flair & Hulk Hogan (special appearances only) on Raw, Booker T & Chris Benoit on Smackdown!, and The Big Show & Kurt Angle on ECW.

Facts

*Big Show is the only wrestler to have held the WCW world title, the WWE world title, and ECW world title.
*Ric Flair is the only wrestler that has held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, WCW International World Heavyweight Championship, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship.
*Five wrestlers have won both the WCW World Heavyweight Championship while in WCW, and the WWE Championship: Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Kevin Nash (as Diesel in the WWF), and Sid Vicious (as Sycho Sid in WWF). Kurt Angle, The Rock, and Chris Jericho won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship between WCW's purchase by the WWF and the unification of the WCW and WWF Championships in late 2001.
*Three other different wrestlers have won both the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair, Sting and Jeff Jarrett.
*David Arquette and Vince Russo are the only non-wrestlers to hold the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
*The oldest WCW Champion was Ric Flair, who started his eighth title reign at age 51.
*The youngest WCW Champion was The Giant (Big Show), who started his first title reign at age 23.
*Kurt Angle is the only professional wrestler to have won the WWE Championship (4), WCW World Heavyweight Championship (1),and the World Heavyweight Championship (1).
*Kurt Angle is the first credited WWE wrestler to have won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (1).
*Kurt Angle, Goldberg, Booker T, and Chris Benoit are the only professional wrestlers to have won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship (in the WWE), though for Benoit, he forfeited the title upon leaving WCW.
*Ron Simmons is considered to be the first ever African-American to win a recognized world title (the WCW World Heavyweight Championship). Booker T is second, and The Rock is third.
*Only 3 former WCW Champions have never wrestled in the WWE: Sting, David Arquette, and Vince Russo.
*Hogan had stated on radio (98Rock in Tampa) that he did not give the WCW World title belt back to WCW before leaving and to this day, he still has the belt hanging on a wall at home.
*According to the original WCW records there have been only 23 wrestlers who have held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship individually. After WWE bought out WCW in 2001, WWE officially state that there have been 26 wrestlers who have held the title. The three extra wrestlers are Kurt Angle, The Rock and Chris Jericho.
*From March to July 2003, the WWE had 12 former WCW Champions contracted as wrestlers (Flair, Simmons, Hogan, The Giant, Goldberg, Nash, Benoit, Booker T, Steiner, Angle, The Rock, and Jericho). The WWE have never had more former champs employed before or since.
**On the flipside, the WWE had no former WCW Champions on the roster only twice during WCW's life: From WCW's inception in 1991 until Ric Flair signed with the WWF that same year, and from September 1995 to January 1996, between Lex Luger's defection and Vader's signing.

External links

*Wrestling-Titles.com: WCW World Heavyweight Title History
*Wrestling Information Archive - WCW Championship history (unofficial)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Encyclopedia BETA

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