WCW World Heavyweight Championship

On this page, you find the full Title History for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, with all Championship Info, Statistics, the Belt Design changes through the years, and the full list of Title Reigns, along with dates, events, and reign durations.

The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a World Title contested in World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance, by men wrestlers.

The championship was first established on January 11, 1991, and the inaugural champion was Ric Flair.

The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship was previously unified into this championship.

The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was retired on December 9, 2001, when it was unified into the WWE Championship, with the final champion being Chris Jericho.

A similar championship, the World Heavyweight Championship ('02-'13), has been later introduced, which does not share the lineage with this title.

WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Title History

Promotions / Brands

Promotion	from	to
Promotion WWF	March 26, 2001	December 9, 2001
Promotion WCW	September 6, 1993	March 26, 2001
Promotion WCWNWA	January 11, 1991	September 5, 1993

Championship Names & Belt Designs
- World Championship November 19, 2001 December 9, 2001
- WCW Championship June 24, 2001 November 18, 2001
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship March 14, 1999 June 23, 2001
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship (nWo - Hollywood Hogan) January 4, 1999 March 13, 1999
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship July 6, 1998 January 3, 1999
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship (nWo - Hollywood Hogan) April 20, 1998 July 5, 1998
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship December 18, 1997 April 19, 1998
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship (nWo - Hollywood Hogan) August 9, 1997 December 17, 1997
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship August 5, 1997 August 8, 1997
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship (nWo - Hollywood Hogan) August 12, 1996 August 4, 1997
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship June 24, 1994 August 11, 1996
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship July 15, 1991 June 23, 1994
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship July 14, 1991 July 14, 1991
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship January 11, 1991 July 13, 1991

For the Title History of the newer version of this championship, see the page for the World Heavyweight Championship ('02-'13).

For the Title History of the championship in which this title was unified into, see the page for the WWE Championship.

WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Title Reigns

N.	Image	Champion	Reign
	Unified into the Undisputed WWF Championship December 9, 2001 San Diego, CA 8208+ days After defeating The Rock for the World Championship, Chris Jericho defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to unify the World Championship into the WWF Championship. The World Championship was retired.
63		Chris Jericho 2 December 9, 2001 San Diego, CA \| WWF Vengeance 2001 0 days	0 days
62		The Rock 2 November 5, 2001 Uniondale, NY \| Raw Is War 34 days The title was referred to as World Championship from November 19, 2001, after the demise of The Alliance.	34 days
61		Chris Jericho 1 October 21, 2001 St. Louis, MO \| WWF No Mercy 2001 15 days	15 days
60		The Rock 1 August 19, 2001 San Jose, CA \| WWF SummerSlam 2001 63 days	63 days
59		Booker T 5 July 30, 2001 Philadelphia, PA \| Raw Is War 20 days	20 days
58		Kurt Angle 1 July 26, 2001 Pittsburgh, PA \| SmackDown! 4 days	4 days
57		Booker T 4 March 26, 2001 Panama City, FL \| WCW Nitro 122 days This was the final episode of Nitro, as WCW had been purchased by WWF on March 23, 2001. The title was then defended on WWF programming, where it was referred to as WCW Championship.	122 days
56		Scott Steiner 1 November 26, 2000 Milwaukee, WI \| WCW Mayhem 2000 120 days	120 days
55		Booker T 3 October 2, 2000 San Francisco, CA \| WCW Nitro 55 days Defeated Jeff Jarrett in a San Francisco 49ers match for the vacant title.	55 days
		Vacant October 2, 2000 San Francisco, CA \| WCW Nitro 0 days Vince Russo decided he was not a wrestler and he did not want the title, so he vacated it.	0 days
54		Vince Russo 1 September 25, 2000 Uniondale, NY \| WCW Nitro 7 days	7 days
53		Booker T 2 September 17, 2000 Buffalo, NY \| WCW Fall Brawl 2000 8 days	8 days
52		Kevin Nash 5 August 28, 2000 Las Cruces, NM \| WCW Nitro 20 days	20 days
51		Booker T 1 July 9, 2000 Daytona Beach, FL \| WCW Bash at the Beach 2000 50 days Earlier that night, Hollywood Hulk Hogan faced Jeff Jarrett for the title in a controversial match that ended in a shoot. In reality, Vince Russo wanted Hogan to lose to Jarrett, who would then lose to Booker T. However, Hogan refused to job to Jarrett, so Russo told Jarrett to just lie down and let Hogan win. Jarrett lay down and Russo threw the belt in the ring at a confused Hogan, telling Hogan to take the belt. After Hogan pinned Jarrett and was declared new champion, he called out Russo for his poor booking decisions before walking out of WCW. Russo reversed the decision, declaring that Jarrett was still champion. Jarrett then lost the title to Booker T in an impromptu match.	50 days
50		Jeff Jarrett 4 May 29, 2000 Salt Lake City, UT \| WCW Nitro 41 days	41 days
49		Ric Flair 8 May 29, 2000 Salt Lake City, UT \| WCW Nitro 0 days Kevin Nash / Diesel gave the title to Flair.	0 days
48		Kevin Nash 4 May 24, 2000 Saginaw, MI \| WCW Thunder 5 days	5 days
47		Jeff Jarrett 3 May 22, 2000 Grand Rapids, MI \| WCW Nitro 2 days Vince Russo awarded the vacant title to Jarrett.	2 days
		Vacant May 22, 2000 Grand Rapids, MI \| WCW Nitro 0 days Vince Russo stripped Ric Flair of the title.	0 days
46		Ric Flair 7 May 15, 2000 Biloxi, MS \| WCW Nitro 7 days	7 days
45		Jeff Jarrett 2 May 7, 2000 Kansas City, MO \| WCW Slamboree 2000 8 days	8 days
44		David Arquette 1 April 26, 2000 Syracuse, NY \| WCW Thunder 11 days This was a tag team match pitting Arquette & Diamond Dallas Page against Eric Bischoff & Jeff Jarrett, in which whoever scored the fall would become champion. Arquette pinned Bischoff to win Page's title.	11 days
43		Diamond Dallas Page 3 April 24, 2000 Rochester, NY \| WCW Nitro 2 days	2 days
42		Jeff Jarrett 1 April 16, 2000 Chicago, IL \| WCW Spring Stampede 2000 8 days Defeated Diamond Dallas Page in tournament final for the vacant title.	8 days
		Vacant April 10, 2000 Denver, CO \| WCW Nitro 6 days All WCW titles were declared vacant by Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff after WCW was rebooted.	6 days
41		Sid Vicious 2 January 26, 2000 Las Vegas, NV \| WCW Thunder 75 days	75 days
40		Kevin Nash 3 January 26, 2000 Las Vegas, NV \| WCW Thunder 0 days As Commissioner, Nash awarded himself the title.	0 days
		Vacant January 26, 2000 Las Vegas, NV \| WCW Thunder 0 days Sid Vicious was stripped of the title by Commissioner Kevin Nash / Diesel due to Sid pinning the wrong Harris Brother.	0 days
39		Sid Vicious 1 January 24, 2000 Los Angeles, CA \| WCW Nitro 2 days Defeated The Harris Brothers for the right to face Kevin Nash / Diesel, then defeated Nash for the vacant title.	2 days
		Vacant January 17, 2000 Cincinnati, OH \| WCW Nitro 7 days In storyline, Chris Benoit was stripped of the title because he won the match although Sid Vicious' foot was under the rope during the submission. In reality, Benoit forfeited the title and left for WWF after dispute with management.	7 days
38		Chris Benoit 1 January 16, 2000 Cincinnati, OH \| WCW Souled Out 2000 1 day Defeated Sid Vicious for the vacant title.	1 day
		Vacant January 16, 2000 Cincinnati, OH \| WCW Souled Out 2000 0 days Hart vacated the title due to a legitimate injury that eventually forced him to retire nine months later.	0 days
37		Bret Hart 2 December 20, 1999 Baltimore, MD \| WCW Nitro 27 days Defeated Goldberg in a rematch for the vacant title.	27 days
		Vacant December 20, 1999 Baltimore, MD \| WCW Nitro 0 days Hart vacated the title due to the controversial end to a match with Goldberg at Starrcade.	0 days
36		Bret Hart 1 November 21, 1999 Toronto, Ontario, Canada \| WCW Mayhem 1999 29 days Defeated Chris Benoit in a tournament final for the vacant title.	29 days
		Vacant October 25, 1999 Phoenix, AZ \| WCW Nitro 27 days Sting was stripped of the title after losing an unsanctioned match against Goldberg and attacking referee Charles Robinson at Halloween Havoc.	27 days
35		Sting 6 September 12, 1999 Winston-Salem, NC \| WCW Fall Brawl 1999 43 days	43 days
34		Hulk Hogan 6 July 12, 1999 Jacksonville, FL \| WCW Nitro 62 days	62 days
33		Randy Savage 4 July 11, 1999 Ft. Lauderdale, FL \| WCW Bash at the Beach 1999 1 day	1 day
32		Kevin Nash 2 May 9, 1999 St. Louis, MO \| WCW Slamboree 1999 63 days	63 days
31		Diamond Dallas Page 2 April 26, 1999 Fargo, ND \| WCW Nitro 13 days	13 days
30		Sting 5 April 26, 1999 Fargo, ND \| WCW Nitro 0 days	0 days
29		Diamond Dallas Page 1 April 11, 1999 Tacoma, WA \| WCW Spring Stampede 1999 15 days	15 days
28		Ric Flair 6 March 14, 1999 Loiusville, KY \| WCW/nWo Uncensored 1999 28 days	28 days
27		Hollywood Hogan 5 January 4, 1999 Atlanta, GA \| WCW Nitro 69 days This was The Fingerpoke of Doom: Hogan (leader of nWo) poke Nash in the chest with his index finger, prompting Nash to theatrically throw himself onto the mat and allow Hogan to pin him.	69 days
26		Kevin Nash 1 December 27, 1998 Washington, D.C. \| WCW/nWo Starrcade 1998 8 days	8 days
25		Goldberg 1 July 6, 1998 Atlanta, GA \| WCW Nitro 174 days	174 days
24		Hollywood Hogan 4 April 20, 1998 Colorado Springs, CO \| WCW Nitro 77 days	77 days
23		Randy Savage 3 April 19, 1998 Denver, CO \| WCW/nWo Spring Stampede 1998 1 day	1 day
22		Sting 4 February 22, 1998 San Francisco, CA \| WCW/nWo SuperBrawl VIII 56 days Defeated Hollywood Hogan in a rematch for the vacant title.	56 days
		Vacant January 8, 1998 Daytona Beach, FL \| WCW Thunder 45 days Sting was stripped of the title due to the controversy over the finishes of the Starrcade match and the rematch which took place the following night.	45 days
21		Sting 3 December 28, 1997 Washington, D.C. \| WCW Starrcade 1997 11 days	11 days
20		Hollywood Hogan 3 August 9, 1997 Sturgis, SD \| WCW Road Wild 1997 141 days	141 days
19		Lex Luger 2 August 4, 1997 Auburn Hills, MI \| WCW Nitro 5 days	5 days
18		Hollywood Hogan 2 August 10, 1996 Sturgis, SD \| WCW Hog Wild 1996 359 days During this reign, the title was often announced as the nWo/WCW World Heavyweight Championship, though never officially renamed.	359 days
17		The Giant 2 April 29, 1996 Albany, GA \| WCW Nitro 103 days	103 days
16		Ric Flair 5 February 11, 1996 St. Petersburg, FL \| WCW SuperBrawl VI 78 days	78 days
15		Randy Savage 2 January 22, 1996 Las Vegas, NV \| WCW Nitro 20 days	20 days
14		Ric Flair 4 December 27, 1995 Nashville, TN \| WCW Starrcade 1995: World Cup of Wrestling 26 days	26 days
13		Randy Savage 1 November 26, 1995 Norfolk, VA \| WCW World War 3 1995 31 days Won the first-ever World War 3 match to win the vacant title.	31 days
		Vacant November 6, 1995 Jacksonville, FL \| WCW Nitro 20 days The Giant was stripped of the title due to the controversial finish of the Halloween Havoc match (he won the title via DQ due to a contract clause, after some interferences).	20 days
12		The Giant 1 October 29, 1995 Detroit, MI \| WCW Halloween Havoc 1995 8 days	8 days
11		Hulk Hogan 1 July 17, 1994 Orlando, FL \| WCW Bash at the Beach 1994 469 days	469 days
10		Ric Flair 3 May 14, 1994 Atlanta, GA \| WCW Saturday Night 64 days Defeated Ricky Steamboat in a rematch for the vacant title. During this reign in June 1994, Flair unified the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship into this title.	64 days
		Vacant April 17, 1994 Chicago, IL \| WCW Spring Stampede 1994 27 days A title match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat ended in a double pin, which resulted in the title being vacated.	27 days
9		Ric Flair 2 December 27, 1993 Charlotte, NC \| WCW Starrcade 1993: 10th Anniversary 111 days	111 days
8		Vader 3 March 17, 1993 Dublin, Ireland \| House show 285 days During this reign, in September 1, 1993, WCW conclusively left NWA.	285 days
7		Sting 2 March 11, 1993 London, England \| House show 6 days	6 days
6		Vader 2 December 30, 1992 Baltimore, MD \| House show 71 days	71 days
5		Ron Simmons 1 August 16, 1992 Baltimore, MD \| Main Event 136 days Due to injury, Sting was unable to have a rematch with Vader, so a raffle was done to take Sting's place as the number one contender; Ron Simmons won the raffle.	136 days
4		Vader 1 July 12, 1992 Albany, GA \| WCW The Great American Bash 1992 35 days	35 days
3		Sting 1 February 29, 1992 Milwaukee, MI \| WCW SuperBrawl II 134 days	134 days
2		Lex Luger 1 July 14, 1991 Baltimore, MD \| WCW The Great American Bash 1991 230 days Luger was originally the number one contender to face Ric Flair, but after Flair left WCW for WWF and the title declared vacant, Barry Windham was named the number two contender. Luger defeated Windham in a steel cage match for the vacant title.	230 days
		Vacant July 1, 1991 13 days Flair left for WWF and was stripped of the title.	13 days
1		Ric Flair 1 January 11, 1991 East Rutherford, NJ \| House show 171 days Defeated Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and WCW began recognizing Flair as WCW World Heavyweight Champion while still using the NWA belt (the Big Gold Belt).	171 days

WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Statistics

Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Gender Male
Title Type Primary Title
Date Established January 11, 1991
Date Retired December 9, 2001
Unified With WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
Unified Into Undisputed WWF Championship
Followed By World Heavyweight Championship ('02-'13)

First ChampionRic Flair
Final ChampionChris Jericho

Most Number of Reigns

Rank	Wrestler	Reigns
1	Ric Flair	8
2	Sting	6
3	Hulk Hogan	6
4	Booker T	5
5	Kevin Nash	5

Most Combined Days

Rank	Wrestler	Days
1	Hulk Hogan	1177
2	Ric Flair	485
3	Vader	391
4	Booker T	255
5	Sting	250

Longest Reigns

Rank	Wrestler	Reign	Days
1	Hulk Hogan	July 17, 1994 - October 29, 1995	469
2	Hollywood Hogan	August 10, 1996 - August 4, 1997	359
3	Vader	March 17, 1993 - December 27, 1993	285
4	Lex Luger	July 14, 1991 - February 29, 1992	230
5	Goldberg	July 6, 1998 - December 27, 1998	174