Inprofessional wrestling,championships are competed for inscriptedstorylines by apromotion's roster of contracted wrestlers.[1]WWE is an American-based company and is the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. The company's origins begin in 1953 as theCapitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), a Northeastern territory of theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In 1963, CWC left the NWA to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which was renamed to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979 and then World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002 — since 2011, the company has promoted itself solely under thetrade name of WWE.[2] In the company's 60-year history, over 40 different unique championships have been operated and contended for. These titles consisted of divisional, special stipulations, and weight-class championships. Of these titles, over 28 have been retired and succeeded through replacement titles ortitle unifications. The first championship retirement occurred in June 1961 with theNortheast version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship (created in February 1957). The most recent retirement is officially recognized to have occurred was in April 2024 with theWWE Universal Championship (which was created in July 2016 and whose retirement was actually not officially implemented until April 2025). The following is a compilation of the company's former championships that were once active and contended for by itsroster.
In 1953,Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) became a member of theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA). During this time, CWC wrestlers could compete for championships operated by the NWA.[3] In 1957, the CWC created theNWA United States Television Championship, its first overall men's singles championship, withJohnny Valentine being the inaugural holder of the championship. The following year, the CWC created theNWA United States Tag Team Championship, which inaugural championsMark Lewin andDon Curtis won in April of that year.[4] In 1963, CWC ended its partnership with the NWA and established itself as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).[5] To reflect the changes, the WWWF introduced its world heavyweight championship (WWE's third overall male singles championship and the currentWWE Championship),[6] while the WWWF acronym was added to the United States Tag Team title. Without a formal explanation by the WWWF, although newly crowned co-holderBruno Sammartino was also the company's World Heavyweight champion at the time, the Tag Team title was disbanded in 1967, the first championship to be retired during the WWWF years.[4] Ten years later, the company retired its first individually contested WWWF-branded title, theWWWF United States Heavyweight Championship, also without a formal explanation.[7]
The WWWF/WWF formed partnerships withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW),Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), andUniversal Wrestling Association (UWA) between the 1970s and 1980s, and as a result, created and lent titles to these promotions.[8][9][10] In 1979, the promotion renamed itself to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and six years later ended its partnerships with NJPW and UWF.[2][11] This resulted in the retirement of one UWF and three NJPW lent titles: theWWF International Heavyweight Championship (UWF),[8]WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship,[12]WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship,[a][13] andWWF International Tag Team Championship (NJPW).[10] The company also ceased operations of three short-lived titles: theWWF North American Heavyweight Championship (1979–1981),[14]WWF Canadian Championship (1985–1986),[15] andWWF Women's Tag Team Championship (1983–1989).[16] Despite their names, the geographic-name-based titles were not restricted to wrestlers from that location.[14][15] During the 1990s, the WWF ended its relationship with the UWA; as a result, theWWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship[17] was abandoned, while theWWF Light Heavyweight Championship (which UWA possessed) was reactivated in the United States for use by the WWF.[9] In 1996, theMillion Dollar Championship, a title created byTed DiBiase, was retired, although it was never sanctioned by the WWF, but was reintroduced briefly in 2010 by Ted DiBiase Jr., and again in 2021 as part of a storyline in NXT.[18]
In March 2001, the WWF acquired all assets ofWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), including its championships.[19] Of these titles, the WWF operated theWCW World Heavyweight,[20]World Tag Team,[21] andCruiserweight championships.[22] In late 2001, the WWF discontinued the WCW World Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships (which were unified with WWF's world and tag team championships, respectively),[20][21] while the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was retired in favor of the Cruiserweight, which would also be retired in 2007. In 2002, WWF wasrenamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE),[23] and during this year, WWE discontinued theWWE Hardcore andEuropean Championships after they wereunified with theWWE Intercontinental Championship.[24][25]
WWE also acquired all assets ofExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 2003, and implemented theECWbrand in 2006, along with the reactivatedECW World Heavyweight Championship;[26] however, when the brand closed in 2010, the title was retired afterEzekiel Jackson became the last champion on the final episode of theECW on Syfy series.[27] TheWorld Tag Team Championship, established in 1971, andWWE Tag Team Championship, introduced in 2002, were unified on April 9, 2009, maintaining separate title histories as the "Unified WWE Tag Team Championship". However, on August 16, 2010, the older title was retired in favor of keeping the newer title as the sole tag team championship contended for in WWE. The champions,The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith andTyson Kidd) were awarded a new set of belts that represented the 2002 championship, and were thus recognized as the final holders of the original World Tag Team Championship.[28][29]
Theoriginal WWE Women's Championship, established in 1956, and theWWE Divas Championship, introduced in 2008, were unified on September 19, 2010, maintaining the title history of the Divas Championship. The older title was retired in favor of keeping the newer title as the sole championship contended for in WWE by theDivas. The self-professed co-Women's ChampionMichelle McCool defeated Divas ChampionMelina atNight of Champions to become the unified champion, thus makingLayla the final holder of the Women's Championship.[30][31] On April 3, 2016, atWrestleMania 32, Divas ChampionCharlotte was originally scheduled to defend her title in a triple-threat match. At the event, however, the Divas Championship was replaced with a newWWE Women's Championship, with the winner of the triple-threat match becoming the inaugural champion, thus Charlotte was the final holder of the Divas Championship.
TheWorld Heavyweight Championship was established in 2002 as a second world championship in WWE during the time of thefirst brand extension. During this period, the World Heavyweight Championship would be the primary championship for either the Raw or SmackDown brand, with theWWE Championship on the other. The brand extension ended in 2011, allowing both championships to appear on both shows. On December 15, 2013, World Heavyweight ChampionJohn Cena faced WWE ChampionRandy Orton in a match atTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, where the World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship as Orton defeated Cena. At the event, it was announced that the unified titles would be called the "WWE World Heavyweight Championship", retaining the lineage of the WWE Championship. WWE officially recognized Orton as the final World Heavyweight Champion and retired the title.
In 2016, WWE reintroduced the brand extension. Shortly after, the cruiserweight division was revived and a newWWE Cruiserweight Championship was established. This newer title did not carry the lineage of the original Cruiserweight Championship that was retired in 2007. The title was originally exclusive to the Raw brand before it became exclusive to the205 Live brand in 2018. It then also became part ofNXT after 205 Live merged under NXT in October 2019. It was subsequently renamed the NXT Cruiserweight Championship and was then extended to theNXT UK brand in January 2020. However, in January 2022, the championship was retired. At theNew Year's Evil special episode ofNXT 2.0 on January 4, 2022, the title was unified into theNXT North American Championship. North American ChampionCarmelo Hayes defeated Cruiserweight ChampionRoderick Strong, with Hayes recognized as the final Cruiserweight Champion and going forward as North American Champion.
In December 2016, WWE announced that they would be establishing a new United Kingdom-based brand and the first championship created for the brand was theWWE United Kingdom Championship. In June 2018, the brand was formally established as NXT UK, and theNXT UK Women's Championship andNXT UK Tag Team Championship were created at that time. In early 2020, the WWE United Kingdom Championship was renamed as the NXT United Kingdom Championship, and later that year, theNXT UK Heritage Cup was established. In August 2022, WWE announced that the NXT UK brand would be going on hiatus following theWorlds Collide event on September 4, 2022, and the brand would relaunch as NXT Europe in 2023. As such, all of NXT UK's championships were unified into their respective NXT championship counterparts, except for the NXT UK Heritage Cup, which was later transferred to NXT in 2023. The NXT United Kingdom Championship, NXT UK Women's Championship, and NXT UK Tag Team Championship were unified into theNXT Championship,NXT Women's Championship, andNXT Tag Team Championship, respectively, withTyler Bate,Meiko Satomura, and the team ofBrooks Jensen andJosh Briggs recognized as the final champions of each.
In May 2019, WWE introduced theWWE 24/7 Championship, a title similar to the company's former Hardcore Championship. The title had a "24/7" rule in which it could be defended anytime, anywhere, as long as a WWE referee was present. Due to this rule, it was available to all of WWE's brands and could be won by both men and women as well as non-WWE employees. AfterNikki Cross won the championship on the November 7, 2022, episode ofRaw, she discarded the title as trash backstage and two days later, the championship was listed as inactive on WWE.com.
In March 2021, WWE introduced theNXT Women's Tag Team Championship for the NXT brand following a controversy over theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Prior to this, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was available to Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, but ceased appearing on NXT after the brand established its own tag team championship. After two years, on the June 23, 2023, episode ofSmackDown, the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was unified into the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, retiring the former with the latter becoming available to NXT again.[32]
On July 25, 2016, WWE introduced theWWE Universal Championship for the Raw brand as the counterpart to SmackDown's WWE Championship, and on August 21, 2016, atSummerSlam,Finn Bálor was crowned the inaugural champion. From April 2022 to April 2024, both the WWE and Universal titles were held together as theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship, with both titles maintaining their individual lineages, after which, it was truncated to Undisputed WWE Championship. On April 21, 2025, it was revealed that the Universal Championship was retired, with the title history amended to show that it was retired on April 7, 2024, listingRoman Reigns as the last champion with the title's retirement coming with his loss on Night 2 ofWrestleMania XL, therefore leavingCody Rhodes's reign as unrecognized as the title history from April 7, 2024, until it was updated on April 21, 2025, had listed Rhodes as champion.[33]
World championship recognition inbold.
| Championship | Date of entry | First champion | Date retired | Final champion | Years active | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWA United States Television Championship | 1957 or 1958 | Johnny Valentine | July 25, 1962 | Johnny Valentine | 5 or 6 | The title was retired without a formal announcement. |
| WWF International Heavyweight Championship | July 1959 | Antonino Rocca | October 31, 1985 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 26[a] | The title was retired after NJPW and WWF ended their partnership.[8] |
| WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship | April 20, 1960 | Buddy Rogers | March 1, 1976 | Bobo Brazil | 15 | The title was retired without a formal announcement.[7] |
| WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship | September 1965 | Paul DeGalles | October 31, 1985 | The Cobra | 20[b] | The title was retired after NJPW and the WWF ended their partnership.[12] |
| WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship | December 18, 1978 | Antonio Inoki | December 31, 1989 | Antonio Inoki | 11 | The title was retired after NJPW and the WWF ended their partnership.[a][13] |
| WWF North American Heavyweight Championship | February 13, 1979 | Ted DiBiase | March 20, 1981 | Seiji Sakaguchi | 2 | The title was retired without a formal announcement.[14] |
| WWF Canadian Championship | August 18, 1985 | Dino Bravo | January 22, 1986 | Dino Bravo | <1 | Bravo was the only champion as a result of the WWF abandoning the title without a formal announcement.[15] |
| Million Dollar Championship | February 15, 1989 | Ted DiBiase | August 23, 2021 | Cameron Grimes | 32[c] | Instoryline,"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase created the title and it was never officially sanctioned by WWF/WWE. The title was retired without a formal announcement.[34] |
| WWE European Championship | February 26, 1997 | The British Bulldog | July 22, 2002 | Jeff Hardy | 5 | The title was retired after it was unified into theWWE Intercontinental Championship.[24][35] |
| WWF Light Heavyweight Championship | December 7, 1997[d] | Taka Michinoku[d] | March 8, 2002 | X-Pac | 4 | The title was replaced by theWCW Cruiserweight Championship (renamed WWF Cruiserweight Championship) without a formal announcement.[a][9] |
| WWE Cruiserweight Championship | March 23, 2001[b] | Shane Helms[c] | September 28, 2007 | Hornswoggle | 7 | The title was retired without a formal announcement by WWE. This is not the same title as theWWE Cruiserweight Championship introduced at theCruiserweight Classic in 2016, later renamed the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.[22] |
| WCW Championship | March 23, 2001[b] | Booker T[c] | December 9, 2001 | Chris Jericho | <1 | The title was retired after it was unified into theWWF Championship.[20] |
| World Heavyweight Championship (original version) | September 2, 2002 | Triple H | December 16, 2013 | Randy Orton | 11 | The title was retired after it was unified into theWWE Championship.[36] This is not the same title as theWorld Heavyweight Championship introduced in 2023. |
| ECW Championship | June 13, 2006[e] | Rob Van Dam[e] | February 16, 2010 | Ezekiel Jackson | 3 | The title was retired on the final episode ofECW with the closure of theECW brand.[27] |
| NXT Cruiserweight Championship | September 14, 2016 | T. J. Perkins | January 4, 2022 | Carmelo Hayes | 5 | The title was retired after it was unified into theNXT North American Championship.[37] |
| NXT United Kingdom Championship | December 15, 2016 | Tyler Bate | September 4, 2022 | Tyler Bate | 5 | The title was retired after it was unified into theNXT Championship. |
| WWE Universal Championship | August 21, 2016 | Finn Bálor | April 7, 2024 | Roman Reigns | 8 | The title was decommissioned in favor of continuing theWWE Championship lineage, as from April 2022 until April 2024, both titles were held together as theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship. Following Reigns's loss, the official title history had originally recognizedCody Rhodes as champion, with the title referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship, up until Rhodes lost the title atWrestleMania 41 in April 2025. Upon his loss, the official title history was amended, removing Rhodes and instead recognizing Reigns as the final champion with the title retired the night he lost it atWrestleMania XL in April 2024.[33] |
| Championship | Date of entry | First champions (Tag team name) | Date retired | Final champions (Tag team name) | Years active | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWA World Tag Team Championship (Northeast version) | February 26, 1957 | Don Stevens andJackie Fargo[f] | June 1961 | Antonino Rocca andMiguel Pérez | 4 | The title was retired without a formal announcement. |
| WWWF United States Tag Team Championship | July 1958 | Don Curtis andMark Lewin | July 29, 1967 | Spiros Arion andBruno Sammartino | 9 | The title was retired without a formal announcement.[4] (Sammartino was alsoWWWF World Heavyweight champion at the time). |
| WWF International Tag Team Championship | June 1, 1969 | Toru Tanaka andMitsu Arakawa (Rising Suns) | October 31, 1985 | Tatsumi Fujinami andKengo Kimura | 16[g] | The title was retired after NJPW and the WWF ended their partnership.[10] |
| World Tag Team Championship (original version) | June 3, 1971 | Luke Graham andTarzan Tyler | August 16, 2010[f] | David Hart Smith andTyson Kidd (The Hart Dynasty) | 39 | The title was retired in favor of theWWE Tag Team Championship (now called the World Tag Team Championship) in April 2010, following a year of the two titles being defended together under the umbrella title of "Unified WWE Tag Team Championship".[28][29] |
| WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship | January 7, 1991 | Perro Aguayo andGran Hamada | July 1991 | Perro Aguayo andGran Hamada | <1 | Aguayo and Hamada were the only champions as a result of the WWF retiring the title without a formal announcement.[17] |
| WCW Tag Team Championship | March 23, 2001[b] | Sean O' Haire andChuck Palumbo[c] | November 18, 2001 | Bubba Ray andD-Von Dudley (The Dudley Boyz) | <1 | The title was retired after it was unified into theWWF Tag Team Championship.[21] |
| NXT UK Tag Team Championship | June 18, 2018 | James Drake andZack Gibson | September 4, 2022 | Brooks Jensen andJosh Briggs | 4 | The title was retired after it was unified into theNXT Tag Team Championship. |
| Championship | Date of entry | First champion | Date retired | Final champion | Years active | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WWE Women's Championship (original version) | September 18, 1956 | The Fabulous Moolah | September 19, 2010 | Layla | 54[h] | The title was retired after it was unified into theWWE Divas Championship.[38][39] This is not the same title as theWWE Women's Championship introduced atWrestleMania 32 in April 2016, which was called the Raw Women's Championship from September 2016 to June 2023. |
| WWE Divas Championship | June 6, 2008 | Michelle McCool | April 3, 2016 | Charlotte | 7 | On theWrestleMania 32 pre-show, former WWE wrestler andWWE Hall of FamerLita announced that the Divas Championship triple threat match withCharlotte,Becky Lynch, andSasha Banks would instead be for the newWWE Women's Championship. The Divas Championship was subsequently retired.[40] |
| NXT UK Women's Championship | June 18, 2018 | Rhea Ripley | September 4, 2022 | Meiko Satomura | 4 | The title was retired after it was unified into theNXT Women's Championship. |
| Championship | Date of entry | First champion(s) (Tag team name) | Date retired | Final champion(s) (Tag team name) | Years active | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WWF Women's Tag Team Championship | May 13, 1983 | Velvet McIntyre andPrincess Victoria | February 14, 1989 | Leilani Kai andJudy Martin (The Glamour Girls) | 5 | The title was abandoned by the WWF without a formal announcement.[16] This is not the same title as theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship announced on the December 24, 2018, episode ofRaw. |
| NXT Women's Tag Team Championship | March 10, 2021 | Dakota Kai andRaquel González | June 23, 2023 | Alba Fyre andIsla Dawn | 2 | The title was retired after it was unified into theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship. |
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| Championship | Date of entry | First champion | Date retired | Final champion | Years active | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WWE Hardcore Championship | November 2, 1998 | Mankind | August 26, 2002 | Rob Van Dam | 3 | The title was retired after it was unified into theWWE Intercontinental Championship.[41] |
| WWE 24/7 Championship | May 20, 2019 | Titus O'Neil | November 9, 2022 | Nikki Cross | 3 | After winning the title on the November 7, 2022, episode ofRaw, Nikki Cross discarded the belt in a trash can backstage. Two days later, the title was listed as inactive on WWE.com. |
Before it was ever known as WWE, the World Wrestling Federation, or even the World Wide Wrestling Federation, Antonino Rocca was the top Superstar in the company.
If he couldn't win the WWE Championship and he couldn't buy the WWE Championship, Dibiase decided to purchase his own championship, introducing "the Million Dollar Belt" to the WWE. The title was never official and rarely did Dibiase even bother "defending" the title.
Layla is the last-ever Women's Champion.