TheWWE European Championship is a formerprofessional wrestlingtitle competed for inWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The title was created on February 26, 1997 under the name of the WWF European Championship.[1] The first champion wasThe British Bulldog who defeatedOwen Hart in a tournament final.[2] The title was retired briefly in April 1999 by then-championShane McMahon, who wanted to retire as an "undefeated champion". McMahon reintroduced the championship two months later and gave it toMideon, who saw the title belt in Shane's travel bag and asked if he could have it.[3][4] The title was finally retired on July 22, 2002, whenWWE Intercontinental ChampionRob Van Dam defeated European ChampionJeff Hardy to unify the European title into the Intercontinental title.[5] Throughout the five year, four month, and 26 day history of the title, there were 27 recognized champions and 37 distinct championship reigns. This is a chronological list of wrestlers that have been WWE European Champion byring name.
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| WWF European Championship | February 26, 1997 – May 6, 2002 |
| WWE European Championship | May 6, 2002 – July 22, 2002 |
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | ||||||
| World Wrestling Federation (WWF) | |||||||||||
| 1 | The British Bulldog | February 26, 1997[1] | Raw | Berlin, Germany | 1 | 206 | 205 | DefeatedOwen Hart in a tournament final to become the first champion. Aired ontape delay on March 3, 1997. | [2][6] | ||
| 2 | Shawn Michaels | September 20, 1997 | One Night Only | Birmingham, England | 1 | 82 | 92 | WWE recognizes Michaels' reign as ending on December 22, 1997, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [7][8][9] | ||
| 3 | Triple H | December 11, 1997 | Raw | Lowell, MA | 1 | 40 | 30 | WWE recognizes Triple H's reign as beginning on December 22, 1997, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [10][11] | ||
| 4 | Owen Hart | January 20, 1998 | Raw | Davis, CA | 1 | 55 | 52 | DefeatedThe Artist Formerly Known As Goldust, who was dressed as Triple H. WWE recognizes Hart's reign as beginning on January 22, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [12][13] | ||
| 5 | Triple H | March 16, 1998 | Raw | Phoenix, AZ | 2 | 120 | 119 | [14][15] | |||
| 6 | D'Lo Brown | July 14, 1998 | Raw | Binghamton, NY | 1 | 63 | 56 | WWE recognizes Brown's reign as beginning on July 20, 1998, when the episode aired ontape delay.[16] | [17][18] | ||
| 7 | X-Pac | September 15, 1998 | Raw | Sacramento, CA | 1 | 14 | 13 | WWE recognizes X-Pac's reign as beginning on September 21, 1998 and as ending on October 5, 1998, when the episodes aired ontape delay. | [19][20] | ||
| 8 | D'Lo Brown | September 29, 1998 | Raw | East Lansing, MI | 2 | 19 | 12 | WWE recognizes Brown's reign as beginning on October 5, 1998, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [21][22] | ||
| 9 | X-Pac | October 18, 1998 | Judgment Day: In Your House | Rosemont, IL | 2 | 120 | 119 | [23][24] | |||
| 10 | Shane McMahon | February 15, 1999 | Raw | Birmingham, AL | 1 | 43 | 47 | DefeatedX-Pac in atag team match with Shane McMahon andKane vs.Triple H and X-Pac. WWE recognizes McMahon's reign as ending on April 4, 1999, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [3][25] | ||
| — | Deactivated | March 30, 1999 | Sunday Night Heat | Uniondale, NY | — | — | — | Shane McMahon "retired as champion." Aired April 4, 1999, when the episode ontape delay. | [3] | ||
| 11 | Mideon | June 21, 1999 | Raw | Memphis, TN | 1 | 34 | 33 | Shane McMahon awarded Mideon the title after he found it in McMahon's travel bag. | [4] | ||
| 12 | D'Lo Brown | July 25, 1999 | Fully Loaded | Buffalo, NY | 3 | 28 | 27 | [26][27] | |||
| 13 | Jeff Jarrett | August 22, 1999 | SummerSlam | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | 1 | <1 | This was also forD'Lo Brown'sIntercontinental Championship. | [28][29] | ||
| 14 | Mark Henry | August 23, 1999 | Raw | Ames, IA | 1 | 34 | 33 | Jeff Jarrett gave the title to Henry as a gift for his assisting Jarrett in defeatingD'Lo Brown atSummerSlam. | [30] | ||
| 15 | D'Lo Brown | September 26, 1999 | Unforgiven | Charlotte, NC | 4 | 30 | 31 | WWE recognizes Brown's reign as ending on October 28, 1999, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [31][32] | ||
| 16 | The British Bulldog | October 26, 1999 | SmackDown! | Springfield, MA | 2 | 47 | 44 | WWE recognizes Bulldog's reign as beginning on October 28, 1999, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [33][34] | ||
| 17 | Val Venis | December 12, 1999 | Armageddon | Sunrise, FL | 1 | 58 | 59 | This was atriple threat match also involvingD'Lo Brown. WWE recognizes Venis' reign as ending on February 10, 2000, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [35][36] | ||
| 18 | Kurt Angle | February 8, 2000 | SmackDown! | Austin, TX | 1 | 54 | 51 | WWE recognizes Angle's reign as beginning on February 10, 2000, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [37][38] | ||
| 19 | Chris Jericho | April 2, 2000 | WrestleMania 2000 | Anaheim, CA | 1 | 1 | <1 | Won second fall of two-falltriple threat match also involvingChris Benoit (first fall was forIntercontinental Championship); Jericho pinned Benoit to win the European Championship. | [39][40] | ||
| 20 | Eddie Guerrero | April 3, 2000 | Raw | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | 111 | 110 | [41][42] | |||
| 21 | Perry Saturn | July 23, 2000 | Fully Loaded | Dallas, TX | 1 | 37 | 38 | WWE recognizes Saturn's reign as ending on August 31, 2000, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [43] | ||
| 22 | Al Snow | August 29, 2000 | SmackDown! | Fayetteville, NC | 1 | 48 | 45 | WWE recognizes Snow's reign as beginning on August 31, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [44] | ||
| 23 | William Regal | October 16, 2000 | Raw | Detroit, MI | 1 | 47 | 46 | [45] | |||
| 24 | Crash Holly | December 2, 2000 | Rebellion | Sheffield, England | 1 | 2 | 1 | [46] | |||
| 25 | William Regal | December 4, 2000 | Raw | East Rutherford, NJ | 2 | 49 | 48 | [47] | |||
| 26 | Test | January 22, 2001 | Raw | Lafayette, LA | 1 | 69 | 68 | [48] | |||
| 27 | Eddie Guerrero | April 1, 2001 | WrestleMania X-Seven | Houston, TX | 2 | 23 | 24 | WWE recognizes Guerrero's reign as ending on April 26, 2001, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [49] | ||
| 28 | Matt Hardy | April 24, 2001 | SmackDown! | Denver, CO | 1 | 125 | 122 | WWE recognizes Hardy's reign as beginning on April 26, 2001, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [50] | ||
| 29 | The Hurricane | August 27, 2001 | Raw | Grand Rapids, MI | 1 | 56 | 55 | [51] | |||
| 30 | Bradshaw | October 22, 2001 | Raw | Kansas City, MO | 1 | 8 | 9 | WWE recognizes Bradshwa's reign as ending on November 1, 2001, when the following episode aired ontape delay. | [52] | ||
| 31 | Christian | October 30, 2001 | SmackDown! | Cincinnati, OH | 1 | 91 | 90 | WWE recognizes Christian's reign as beginning on November 1, 2001, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [53] | ||
| 32 | Diamond Dallas Page | January 29, 2002 | SmackDown! | Norfolk, VA | 1 | 49 | 48 | WWE recognizes Page's reign as beginning on January 31, 2002, when the episode aired ontape delay. | [54] | ||
| World Wrestling Federation (WWF):Raw | |||||||||||
| 33 | William Regal | March 19, 2002 | SmackDown! | Ottawa, ON, Canada | 3 | 20 | 17 | WWE recognizes Regal's reign as beginning on March 21, 2002, when the episode aired ontape delay. The championship became exclusive toRaw when Regal wasdrafted to the Raw brand on March 26, 2002. | [55] | ||
| World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE):Raw | |||||||||||
| 34 | Spike Dudley | April 8, 2002 | Raw | Phoenix, AZ | 1 | 28 | 27 | On May 5, 2002, after the World Wrestling Federation was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" due to a lawsuit by theWorld Wide Fund for Nature, the title was subsequently renamed to WWE European Championship. | [56][57] | ||
| 35 | William Regal | May 6, 2002 | Raw | Hartford, CT | 4 | 63 | 62 | [58] | |||
| 36 | Jeff Hardy | July 8, 2002 | Raw | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 14 | 13 | WWE's official title history incorrectly lists Hardy's reign as ending on July 21. | [5] | ||
| 37 | Rob Van Dam | July 22, 2002 | Raw | Grand Rapids, MI | 1 | <1 | — | This was atitle unificationladder match in which Van Dam also defended theIntercontinental Championship. This reign is not listed on WWE's official title history, however his profile on WWE's website lists the European Championship as one of his accomplishments. | [59][60] | ||
| — | Unified | July 22, 2002 | Raw | Grand Rapids, MI | — | — | — | Rob Van Dam defeatedJeff Hardy to unify theWWE European Championship into theWWE Intercontinental Championship. The European Championship was retired with Hardy recognized as the final champion. | |||
| Rank | Champion | No. of reigns | Combined days | Combined days recognized by WWE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The British Bulldog | 2 | 253 | 249 |
| 2 | William Regal | 4 | 179 | 173 |
| 3 | Triple H | 2 | 160 | 149 |
| 4 | D'Lo Brown | 4 | 140 | 126 |
| 5 | Eddie Guerrero | 2 | 134 | 134 |
| X-Pac | 2 | 134 | 132 | |
| 7 | Matt Hardy | 1 | 125 | 122 |
| 8 | Christian | 1 | 91 | 90 |
| 9 | Shawn Michaels | 1 | 82 | 92 |
| 10 | Test | 1 | 69 | 68 |
| 11 | Val Venis | 1 | 58 | 59 |
| 12 | The Hurricane | 1 | 56 | 55 |
| 13 | Owen Hart | 1 | 55 | 52 |
| 14 | Kurt Angle | 1 | 54 | 51 |
| 15 | Diamond Dallas Page | 1 | 49 | 48 |
| 16 | Al Snow | 1 | 48 | 45 |
| 17 | Shane McMahon | 1 | 43 | 47 |
| 18 | Perry Saturn | 1 | 37 | 38 |
| 19 | Mideon | 1 | 34 | 33 |
| Mark Henry | 1 | 34 | 33 | |
| 21 | Spike Dudley | 1 | 28 | 27 |
| 22 | Jeff Hardy | 1 | 14 | 12 |
| 23 | Bradshaw | 1 | 8 | 9 |
| 24 | Crash Holly | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 25 | Jeff Jarrett | 1 | 1 | <1 |
| Chris Jericho | 1 | 1 | <1 | |
| 27 | Rob Van Dam | 1 | <1 | — |