Inprofessional wrestling, championships may be unified to consolidate the number of championships in a givenpromotion, or to add legitimacy and prestige to a certain title's lineage. In a title-for-title match, one of three things will happen:
One of the championships is dropped (the remaining championship may also be renamed)
Example: The Undisputed WWF Championship is the result of the unification between the WWF (now WWE) Championship and WCW World Heavyweight Championship, the undisputed championship retained the lineage of the WWF Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was retired.
A brand new championship is created with both/all championships involved in the unification either dropped or held together and represented under the new championship.
Example: The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is the result of the unification between The IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship, the new championship have is own lineage and not retain the lineage of either former titles.
Both/all championships remain active and are defended and lost together under one name, but title changes reflect each individual title's history. This remains until either the titles are split or one or more titles are dropped in favor of the other.
Example: Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is the result of the unification between the WWE Championship and the WWE Universal Championship, both championships were defended together under the same name but keep their lineages separate.
TheOmaha World Heavyweight Championship (a championship belt created by promoters inOmaha, Nebraska) unified with theAWA World Heavyweight Championship when the titles was unified on September 7, 1963, when AWA World Heavyweight Champion Verne Gagne defeated Omaha World Heavyweight ChampionFritz Von Erich in Omaha, Nebraska. The Omaha version was abandoned after absorbed with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.[4]
TheJ-Crown, a combination of eight lightweight championships from various wrestling promotions, was defended mostly in Japan and Mexico. The title has since been abandoned and all championship belts returned to their home promotions.[6]
TheECW FTW Heavyweight Championship (an unrecognized title created byTazz) was unified with theECW World Heavyweight Championship on March 21, 1999, atLiving Dangerously when ECW World Heavyweight Champion Taz defeated ECW FTW Heavyweight ChampionSabu. The FTW title was abandoned when Taz continued to defend the ECW World title.[8] The FTW title, however, was reintroduced in the promotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020 and was defended until its second retirement in September 2024.
TheWCW (World Heavyweight) Championship (rebranded as World Championship) and theWWF Championship were unified to create theUndisputed WWF Championship on December 9, 2001, atVengeance whenChris Jericho defeated WWF ChampionStone Cold Steve Austin and World ChampionThe Rock in the same night. The WWF Championship became the Undisputed WWF Championship while the former WCW Championship was retired, although the championship belts used to represent the two championships would adorn the Undisputed WWF Champion for several months afterwards, up until a single championship belt was introduced toTriple H in April 2002.[9] After the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and after the introduction of thebrand split, where the promotion divided its roster into two brands where wrestlers exclusively performed, the championship was renamed as the WWE Championship in September 2002 when it became exclusive to theSmackDown! brand, resulting in theRaw brand introducing their ownWorld Heavyweight Championship as a counterpart.
TheWWE European Championship was unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship in July 2002, when Intercontinental ChampionRob Van Dam defeated European ChampionJeff Hardy onRaw in a title unification match. The European title was then retired.[10]
TheWWE Hardcore Championship was unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship in August 2002, when Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam pinned Hardcore ChampionTommy Dreamer. The Hardcore Championship was then retired.[11]
The originalWorld Tag Team Championship and originalWWE Tag Team Championship were unified as theUnified WWE Tag Team Championship in adark match beforeWrestleMania XXV, when WWE Tag Team ChampionsThe Colóns (Carlito andPrimo) defeated World Tag Team ChampionsJohn Morrison and The Miz inHouston, Texas, on April 5, 2009, to become the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions. Both titles, however, would remain independently active but defended together until the World Tag Team Championship was formally decommissioned in August 2010 in favor of continuing the WWE Tag Team Championship, which dropped the "unified" moniker (the WWE Tag Team Championship was renamed as Raw Tag Team Championship in 2016 and then World Tag Team Championship in 2024).[18]
The originalWWE Women's Championship was unified with theWWE Divas Championship at theNight of Championspay-per-view in September 2010. Divas ChampionMelina faced self-professed co-WWE Women's ChampionMichelle McCool in alumberjill match. McCool won the match due to interference from real Women's ChampionLayla to unify the two titles.[19] Following the win, the Women's Championship was retired after 54 years and the Divas Championship became briefly known as the "Unified WWE Divas Championship".
The originalWorld Heavyweight Championship andWWE Championship were unified as theWWE World Heavyweight Championship atTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December 2013—two years after the end of the first brand split. WWE ChampionRandy Orton defeated World Heavyweight ChampionJohn Cena in aTables, Ladders, and Chairs match to unify both championships. The WWE Championship subsequently became known as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, while the World Heavyweight Championship was retired, although the championship belts used to represent the two championships would adorn the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for several months afterwards, up until a single championship belt was introduced to Brock Lesnar in August 2014 on theRaw afterSummerSlam.[20] The WWE World Heavyweight Championship reverted to being called the WWE Championship (and for a brief time, the WWE World Championship) in mid-2016 after the promotion reintroduced the brand split and the title became exclusive to SmackDown, resulting in Raw establishing theWWE Universal Championship as a counterpart.
TheGFW Global Championship was unified with theImpact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship (former TNA World Heavyweight Championship) to create the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship atSlammiversary XV in July 2017. GFW Global ChampionAlberto El Patron defeated Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight ChampionLashley to unify both championships and become the Unified World Heavyweight Champion. The new championship retained the lineage of the TNA/Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship and the GFW Global Championship was retired, although the championship belts used to represent the two championships would adorn the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Champion until a single belt was eventually produced, and the championship was eventually renamed to Impact World Championship in 2018.[21]
TheGFW Women's Championship was unified with theImpact Wrestling Knockouts Championship (former TNA Knockouts Championship) to create the Unified GFW Knockouts Championship atSlammiversary XV in July 2017. GFW Women's ChampionSienna defeated Impact Wrestling Knockouts ChampionRosemary to unify both championships. The new championship retained the lineage of the TNA/Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship and the GFW Women's Championship was retired.[21]
TheTNA World Heavyweight Championship andImpact World Championship were unified as the Impact Unified World Championship atSacrifice on March 13, 2021. The Impact World Championship was originally known as the TNA World Heavyweight Championship before the company was renamed from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) to Impact Wrestling in 2017. As part of a storyline in April 2020,Moose began to refer to himself as the TNA World Heavyweight Champion and carried the belt that last represented the title before it became known as the Impact World Championship. Impact did not recognize this until February 2021 and officially sanctioned Moose's championship. At Sacrifice, Impact World ChampionRich Swann defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose to unify the titles. The TNA World Heavyweight Championship was deactivated while the Impact World Championship became briefly known as the Impact Unified World Championship but reverted to Impact World Championship. The unified championship was represented by both title belts[23] until August, when the TNA belt was retired.[24] The Impact World Championship would then become the TNA World Championship once again after Impact Wrestling reverted to its original TNA name in January 2024.
TheWWE Universal Championship andWWE Championship were unified as theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship atWrestleMania 38 Night 2 on April 3, 2022. Universal ChampionRoman Reigns defeated WWE ChampionBrock Lesnar in aWinner Takes All match to unify the titles and become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Even though the match was billed as a unification match, both championship lineages remained independently active and the two championship belts would adorn the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion[28] until a single championship belt was introduced to Reigns on the June 2, 2023, episode ofSmackDown.[29] Although the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship became represented by a single belt, both championship lineages remained independently active untilWrestleMania XL Night 2 on April 7, 2024. That night, Reigns lost the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship toCody Rhodes, after which, the title was truncated to Undisputed WWE Championship. WWE's website had listed Rhodes as both the WWE Champion and Universal Champion until he lost the title to John Cena atWrestleMania 41 the following year. The official title history was then amended, removing Rhodes as a former Universal Champion and officially retiring the title at WrestleMania XL with Reigns recognized as its final holder, with the Undisputed WWE Championship only following the lineage of the WWE Championship since WrestleMania XL (which was reportedly the original plan).
TheRaw Tag Team Championship andSmackDown Tag Team Championship were unified as theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on the May 20, 2022, episode ofWWE SmackDown. SmackDown Tag Team ChampionsThe Usos (Jey Uso andJimmy Uso) defeated Raw Tag Team ChampionsRK-Bro (Randy Orton andRiddle) in aWinners Take All match to unify the titles and become the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. Even though the match was billed as a unification match, both championships remained independently active although the championship belts used to represent the two championships would adorn the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. AtWrestleMania XL, both championships that made up the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship were split up as a result of a ladder match where both sets of tag team titles were hanging above the ring and were retrieved by two different teams, withAwesome Truth (The Miz andR-Truth) winning the Raw Tag Team Championship andA-Town Down Under (Austin Theory andGrayson Waller) winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. A few weeks later, the Raw Tag Team Championship was renamed as the World Tag Team Championship and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship was renamed as the WWE Tag Team Championship.
TheNXT United Kingdom Championship was unified with theNXT Championship atWorlds Collide on September 4, 2022. NXT ChampionBron Breakker defeated NXT United Kingdom ChampionTyler Bate to unify the titles and become the unified NXT Champion. The NXT United Kingdom Championship was then retired with Bate recognized as the final champion.
TheNXT Women's Tag Team Championship was unified with theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship on the June 23, 2023, episode ofSmackDown. WWE Women's Tag Team ChampionsRonda Rousey andShayna Baszler defeated NXT Women's Tag Team ChampionsAlba Fyre andIsla Dawn to unify the titles and become the unified WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was then retired with Fyre and Dawn recognized as the final champions.
TheNWA World Women's Television Championship was unified with theNWA World Television Championship, its male counterpart, at NWA's Paranoia event on January 13, 2024, which later aired on an episode ofNWA Powerrr on February 13, 2024. NWA World Women's Television ChampionMax the Impaler defeated NWA World Television Champion Mims to unify the men's and women's Television titles. This match was possible due to Max the Impaler identifying as non-binary and was allowed to face Mims. However, the unification of the titles would end atNWA Back to the Territories when Max the Impaler vacated the women's Television title as part of NWA's "Lucky Seven Rule" to challenge for theNWA World Women's Championship and would later lose the men's Television title as well.
TheAEW World Trios Championship was unified with theROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship on April 21, 2024, atDynasty:Zero Hour. ROH World Six-Man Tag Team ChampionsBullet Club Gold (Jay White,Austin Gunn, andColton Gunn) defeated AEW World Trios ChampionsThe Acclaimed (Max Caster,Anthony Bowens, andBilly Gunn) in aWinners Take All match to unify the titles as the AEW Unified World Trios Championship. Even though the match was billed as a unification match, both championships remained independently active although the championship belts used to represent the two championships would adorn the AEW Unified World Trios Champions. However, on July 10, 2024, Bullet Club Gold, now going by the name Bang Bang Gang, were stripped of both sets of titles due to an injury suffered by Jay White, thus ending the unification of the championships.
TheAEW International Championship and theAEW Continental Championship were unified into theAEW Unified Championship atAll In on July 12, 2025. Continental ChampionKazuchika Okada defeated International ChampionKenny Omega in a Winner Takes All match to unify the titles and become the inaugural Unified Champion. However, both the International and Continental titles remain independently active with the Unified Championship representing both titles, despite the Unified title having its own lineage.
^"411MANIA".Going Old School: Starrcade '87. Retrieved7 February 2019.
^Emelett, Ed (September 1995). "Japan's Triple Crown: "It's the Most Important Title in the World!"".Pro Wrestling Illustrated. London Publishing Co.: 28.ISSN1043-7576.
^Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title".Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
