List of WWE Champions

This is the title history of the WWE Championship. The title was introduced in 1963 by the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). It is recognized as the top championship in WWE.

The wrestler with the most reigns as WWE champion is John Cena with 14. Cena holds the most world championship reigns recognized by WWE at 17. The longest reigning champion is Bruno Sammartino, holding the championship for 7 years, 8 months, and 1 day from May 17, 1963, to January 18, 1971. The current champion is Cody Rhodes, who is in his second reign as champion.

Title History

As of December 24, 2025

^† means that the title change was not recognized by WWE.

#	Wrestlers	Reign	Date	Days held	Location	Event	Notes	Ref
1	Buddy Rogers	1	April 25, 1963	22	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	N/A	Rogers won a fictional tournament in Rio de Janeiro after the WWWF left the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Rogers had been the 7th NWA World Heavyweight Champion since defeating Pat O'Connor on June 30, 1961. After Rogers' one fall loss to Lou Thesz for the title on January 24, 1963, Northeast promoters (led by Vince McMahon Sr. and Toots Mondt) did not recognize this title change and ended their membership from the NWA to form the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). The WWWF called Rogers as their world champion since January 25, 1963, but it did not recognize him as the first ever WWWF World Heavyweight Champion until April 11, 1963, when he got the title belt. However, WWE lists Rogers' reign and the cration of the title beginning on April 25, 1963.
2	Bruno Sammartino	1	May 17, 1963	2,803	New York, NY	House show	Bruno Sammartino faced off against the hated Buddy Rogers at Madison Square Garden. Sammartino used a dropkick, backbreaker and a crushing bear hug to become the champ. Sammartino would go on to defend his WWWF Championship for nearly eight years, which is a record that still stands today.	[1]
3	Ivan Koloff	1	January 18, 1971	21			Managed by Captain Lou Albano, the "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff got a shot at Bruno Sammartino's WWWF Championship at Madison Square Garden, the same place that Sammartino won the title almost eight years before. Both Superstars were masters of the bear hug, but it was a knee drop from the top rope that gave Koloff the win. Although Koloff dethroned a champion that had held the title for nearly eight years, he would not be so lucky. Koloff's reign only lasted about three weeks.	[2]
4	Pedro Morales	1	February 8, 1971	1,027			The title was renamed WWWF Heavyweight Championship after WWWF rejoined the NWA in 1971.	[3]
5	Stan Stasiak	1	December 1, 1973	9	Philadelphia, PA		Morales delivered a back suplex to Stasiak that went right into a pinning combination. Stasiak was able to get his arm up, while both of Morales' shoulders were on the mat. When the ref counted three, much to Morales' dismay, Stasiak's title reign began.	[4]
6	Bruno Sammartino	2	December 10, 1973	1,237	New York, NY			[5]
7	Billy Graham	1	April 30, 1977	296	Baltimore, MD			[6]|}
8	Bob Backlund	1	February 20, 1978	2,135 (648)†	New York, NY		Billy Graham, who was traditionally a rule breaker, had the rules broken on him for a change. Backlund had Graham in a pinned, but Graham got his foot on the ropes. The referee was out of position to see the champ's foot, though, and his hand hit the mat for the three count giving Backlund his first WWF Championship. The title was renamed the WWF Heavyweight Championship after the World Wide Wrestling Federation became the World Wrestling Federation in March 1979.	[7][8]
—	Antonio Inoki	1†	November 30, 1979	6	Tokushima, Japan		His reign is not recognized by WWE[9]	[10]
	Vacated†	—	December 6, 1979	—			Inoki vacated the title after a rematch with Backlund ended in a no contest.	[10]
	Bob Backlund	2†	December 17, 1979	1,470	New York, NY		Backlund defeated Bobby Duncum in a Texas Death match. During this reign a controversial ending to a match between Backlund and Greg Valentine took place on 10/19/81 at Madison Square Garden, where the dazed referee raised Valentine's arm in victory, thinking that it was Backlund, after the champion had scored the pinfall. A rematch was held at MSG on 11/23/81 with Backlund defeating Valentine. Backlund defended the belt in other arenas between the two matches taking place, indicating that he was still the recognized champion.	[10]
9	The Iron Sheik	1	December 26, 1983	28	New York, NY		The Iron Sheik won by forfeit after Backlund's manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel on his behalf to prevent any major injury as a result of Sheik's signature move "The Camel Clutch", but Backlund never officially submitted.	[11]
10	Hulk Hogan	1	January 23, 1984	1,474			Hogan overpowered The Iron Sheik and hit the big leg drop for his first WWF Championship.	[12]
11	André the Giant	1	February 5, 1988	59 Minutes	Indianapolis, IN	The Main Event I	During the match, Andre went for the pin, but Hogan got his shoulder up at the count of one. The referee continued to count, however, and awarded the match to Andre. It was also revealed that Earl Hebner, who was said to have been refereeing the match, wasn't even in the ring. Instead, Ted DiBiase paid for another referee to have plastic surgery to look like Hebner so that he could guarantee Andre would win the WWF Championship. This is the shortest reign in the championship's history.	[13]
—	Vacated	—	February 5, 1988	—	Indianapolis, IN	The Main Event I	Right after he won the title from Hogan, André sold it to DiBiase; President Jack Tunney nullified this decision, and he vacated the title.	[13]
12	Randy Savage	1	March 27, 1988	371	Atlantic City, NJ	WrestleMania IV	During the match, André went after Savage, which distracted the referee. This gave Hulk Hogan the opportunity to hit DiBiase with a chair, which then set up the flying elbow drop from Savage. Savage defeated DiBiase in a tournament final to win the vacant title.	[14]
13	Hulk Hogan	2	April 2, 1989	364		WrestleMania V		[15]
14	The Ultimate Warrior	1	April 1, 1990	293	Toronto, ON, Canada	WrestleMania VI	This match was also for Warrior's WWF Intercontinental Championship, which was vacated shortly after this match.	[16]
15	Sgt. Slaughter	1	January 19, 1991	64	Miami, FL	Royal Rumble		[17]
16	Hulk Hogan	3	March 24, 1991	248	Los Angeles, CA	WrestleMania VII		[18]
17	The Undertaker	1	November 27, 1991	6	Detroit, MI	Survivor Series		[19]
18	Hulk Hogan	4	December 3, 1991	1	San Antonio, TX	This Tuesday in Texas		[20]
—	Vacated	—	December 4, 1991	—	N/A	WWF Superstars of Wrestling	Hogan was stripped of the title by president Jack Tunney because of the controversy of the last two title changes. This aired December 7, 1991.	[20]
19	Ric Flair	1	January 19, 1992	77	Albany, NY	Royal Rumble	He won the Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Sid Justice.	[21]
20	Randy Savage	2	April 5, 1992	149	Indianapolis, IN	WrestleMania VIII		[22]
21	Ric Flair	2	September 1, 1992	41	Hershey, PA	Prime Time Wrestling	Aired on September 14, 1992.	[23]
22	Bret Hart	1	October 12, 1992	174	Saskatoon, SK	House show		[24]
23	Yokozuna	1	April 4, 1993	<1	Las Vegas, NV	WrestleMania IX		[25]
24	Hulk Hogan	5		70			Mr. Fuji had offered Hogan a match against Yokozuna and he offered to put the title on the line after Hogan had come down to help Hart, who had salt thrown in his eyes by Fuji during the match.	[26]
25	Yokozuna	2	June 13, 1993	280	Dayton, OH	King of the Ring		[27]
26	Bret Hart	2	March 20, 1994	248	New York, NY	WrestleMania X	Roddy Piper acted as the guest referee.	[28]
27	Bob Backlund	2(3)†	November 23, 1994	3	San Antonio, TX	Survivor Series	This was a "Throw in the Towel" submission match, where the only way to win was to have the opponent's cornerman throw a towel into the ring.	[29]
28	Diesel	1	November 26, 1994	358	New York, NY	House show		[30]
29	Bret Hart	3	November 19, 1995	133	Landover, MD	Survivor Series	This was a no disqualification match.	[31]
30	Shawn Michaels	1	March 31, 1996	231	Anaheim, CA	WrestleMania XII	This was a 60-minute Iron Man match, which Michaels won in overtime after it ended in a 0–0 draw.	[32]
31	Sycho Sid	1	November 17, 1996	63	New York, NY	Survivor Series		[33]
32	Shawn Michaels	2	January 19, 1997	25	San Antonio, TX	Royal Rumble		[34]
—	Vacated	—	February 13, 1997	—	Lowell, MA	Raw	Michaels had to forfeit the title because of a knee injury.	[34]
33	Bret Hart	4	February 16, 1997	1	Chattanooga, TN	In Your House 13: Final Four	This match was a four-way elimination match also involving Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Vader.	[35]
34	Sycho Sid	2	February 17, 1997	34	Nashville, TN	Raw		[36]
35	The Undertaker	2	March 23, 1997	133	Rosemont, IL	WrestleMania 13	This was a no disqualification match.	[37]
36	Bret Hart	5	August 3, 1997	98	East Rutherford, NJ	SummerSlam	Shawn Michaels acted as the guest referee.	[38]
37	Shawn Michaels	3	November 9, 1997	140	Montreal, QC	Survivor Series	He won the title in the Montreal Screwjob.	[39]
38	Stone Cold Steve Austin	1	March 29, 1998	91	Boston, MA	WrestleMania XIV	Mike Tyson acted as the special outside enforcer.	[40]
39	Kane	1	June 28, 1998	1	Pittsburgh, PA	King of the Ring	This was a first blood match.	[41]
40	Stone Cold Steve Austin	2	June 29, 1998	90	Cleveland, OH	Raw is War		[42]
—	Vacated	—	September 27, 1998	—	Hamilton, ON, Canada	Breakdown: In Your House	The title was vacated after Kane and The Undertaker both pinned Austin in a triple threat match at the same time. Another match for the vacant title at Judgment Day: In Your House between Kane and The Undertaker ended in a no-contest.[43]	[42]
41	The Rock	1	November 15, 1998	44	St. Louis, MO	Survivor Series	The Rock defeated Mankind in the finals of the Deadly Game tournament for the vacant title.	[44]
42	Mankind	1	December 29, 1998	26	Worcester, MA	Raw is War	This match was a no-disqualification match. Aired on January 4, 1999.	[45]
43	The Rock	2	January 24, 1999	2	Anaheim, CA	Royal Rumble	This was an "I Quit" match. The Rock won by knocking Mankind unconscious while someone backstage played an audio recording of Mankind saying "I quit" when The Rock held the microphone against his face.	[46]
44	Mankind	2	January 26, 1999	20	Tucson, AZ	Halftime Heat	This was an empty arena match which aired as a special during halftime of Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999.	[47]
45	The Rock	3	February 15, 1999	41	Birmingham, AL	Raw is War	This was a ladder match.	[48]
46	Stone Cold Steve Austin	3	March 28, 1999	56	Philadelphia, PA	WrestleMania XV	Mankind acted as the guest referee in this no disqualification match.	[49]
47	The Undertaker	3	May 23, 1999	36	Kansas City, MO	Over the Edge	Both Shane and Mr. McMahon acted as the guest referees.	[50]
48	Stone Cold Steve Austin	4	June 28, 1999	55	Charlotte, NC	Raw is War		[51]
49	Mankind	3	August 22, 1999	1	Minneapolis, MN	SummerSlam	This was a triple threat match also involving Triple H, with Jesse Ventura acting as the guest referee.	[52]
50	Triple H	1	August 23, 1999	22	Ames, IA	Raw is War	Shane McMahon acted as the guest referee.	[53]
51	Mr. McMahon	1	September 14, 1999	6	Las Vegas, NV	SmackDown	Aired on September 16, 1999 with Shane McMahon acting as the guest referee.	[54]
—	Vacated	—	September 20, 1999	—	Houston, TX	Raw is War	The title was vacated by Mr. McMahon.	[54]
52	Triple H	2	September 26, 1999	49	Charlotte, NC	Unforgiven	This was a Six-Pack Challenge match, also involving The Rock, Mankind, Big Show, The British Bulldog and Kane. Austin was the special outside enforcer.	[55]
53	Big Show	1	November 14, 1999	50	Detroit, MI	Survivor Series	This was a triple threat match, also involving The Rock.	[56]
54	Triple H	3	January 3, 2000	118	Miami, FL	Raw is War	On April 17, 2000, Chris Jericho defeated Triple H for the WWF Championship after Earl Hebner fast-counted. Later in the night, Triple H forced Hebner to reverse the decision, which nullified Jericho's reign and continued Triple H's.	[57]
55	The Rock	4	April 30, 2000	21	Washington, D.C.	Backlash	Shane McMahon acted as the guest referee.	[58]
56	Triple H	4	May 21, 2000	35	Louisville, KY	Judgment Day	This was a 60-minute Iron Man match, which Triple H won 6–5 with Shawn Michaels acting as the guest referee.	[59]
57	The Rock	5	June 25, 2000	119	Boston, MA	King of the Ring	This was a six-man tag team match between The Rock, The Undertaker and Kane vs. Triple H, Mr. McMahon and Shane McMahon. The Rock pinned Mr. McMahon to win Triple H's title.	[60]
58	Kurt Angle	1	October 22, 2000	126	Albany, NY	No Mercy	This was a no disqualification match.	[61]
59	The Rock	6	February 25, 2001	35	Las Vegas, NV	No Way Out		[62]
60	Stone Cold Steve Austin	5	April 1, 2001	175	Houston, TX	WrestleMania X-Seven	This was a no disqualification match.	[63]
61	Kurt Angle	2	September 23, 2001	15	Pittsburgh, PA	Unforgiven		[64]
62	Stone Cold Steve Austin	6	October 8, 2001	62	Indianapolis, IN	Raw		[65]
63	Chris Jericho	1	December 9, 2001	98	San Diego, CA	Vengeance	Earlier that night, Jericho had already defeated WCW World Heavyweight Champion The Rock for that title. By defeating Austin for the WWF Championship, he unified both titles as the Undisputed Championship.	[66]
64	Triple H	5	March 17, 2002	35	Toronto, ON	WrestleMania X8		[67]
65	Hollywood Hulk Hogan	6	April 21, 2002	28	Kansas City, MO	Backlash	The title was renamed the WWE Undisputed Championship on May 6, 2002 after World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. settled a lawsuit with the World Wide Fund for Nature, and it became simply World Wrestling Entertainment.	[68]
66	The Undertaker	4	May 19, 2002	63	Nashville, TN	Judgment Day	On May 20, 2002, Rob Van Dam defeated The Undertaker for the title. Later in the night, Ric Flair restarted the match and Undertaker defeated him, which nullified Van Dam's reign and continued Undertaker's.	[69]
67	The Rock	7	July 21, 2002	35	Detroit, MI	Vengeance	This was a triple threat match, also involving Kurt Angle.	[70]
68	Brock Lesnar	1	August 25, 2002	84	Uniondale, NY	SummerSlam	The "Undisputed" was removed from the title's name after it became exclusive to the SmackDown! brand on September 2, 2002, which resulted in the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship for the Raw brand.	[71]
69	Big Show	2	November 17, 2002	28	New York, NY	Survivor Series		[72]
70	Kurt Angle	3	December 15, 2002	105	Sunrise, FL	Armageddon		[73]
71	Brock Lesnar	2	March 30, 2003	119	Seattle, WA	WrestleMania XIX		[74]
72	Kurt Angle	4	July 27, 2003	51	Denver, CO	Vengeance	This was a triple threat match, also involving Big Show.	[75]
73	Brock Lesnar	3	September 16, 2003	152	Raleigh, NC	SmackDown	This was a 60-minute Iron Man match, that aired on September 18, 2003.	[76]
74	Eddie Guerrero	1	February 15, 2004	133	Daly City, CA	No Way Out		[77]
75	John "Bradshaw" Layfield	1	June 27, 2004	280	Norfolk, VA	The Great American Bash	This was a Texas Bullrope match.	[78]
76	John Cena	1	April 3, 2005	280	Los Angeles, CA	WrestleMania 21	The title became exclusive on the Raw brand on June 6, 2005 after Cena was drafted to Raw as the first pick in the 2005 Draft Lottery.	[79]
77	Edge	1	January 8, 2006	21	Albany, NY	New Year's Revolution	Edge cashed in his "Money in the Bank" contract that he won from WrestleMania 21 immediately after Cena won an Elimination Chamber match.	[80]
78	John Cena	2	January 29, 2006	133	Miami, FL	Royal Rumble		[81]
79	Rob Van Dam	1	June 11, 2006	22	New York, NY	ECW One Night Stand	RVD cashed in his Money in the Bank contract that he won at WrestleMania 22 in an Extreme Rules match. When RVD won, the title became property of the ECW brand. RVD became the first person to hold both the WWE and ECW World Championship.	[82]
80	Edge	2	July 3, 2006	76	Philadelphia, PA	Raw	This was a triple threat match, also involving John Cena. The title became exclusive on the Raw brand.	[83]
81	John Cena	3	September 17, 2006	380	Toronto, ON	Unforgiven	This was a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.	[84]
—	Vacated	—	October 2, 2007	—	Dayton, OH	ECW on Sci Fi	The title was vacated when Cena suffered a torn right pectoral tendon on the October 1 edition of Raw.	[85]
82	Randy Orton	1	October 7, 2007	<1	Rosemont, IL	No Mercy	Orton was awarded the title by Mr. McMahon.	[86]
83	Triple H	6						[87]
84	Randy Orton	2		203			This was a Last Man Standing match.	[88]
85	Triple H	7	April 27, 2008	210	Baltimore, MD	Backlash	This was a Fatal-Four Way Elimination match, also involving John Cena and JBL. The title became a SmackDown-exclusive title once again after Triple H was drafted there on June 23, 2008.	[89]
86	Edge	3	November 23, 2008	21	Boston, MA	Survivor Series	This was a triple threat match, also involving Vladimir Kozlov. Jeff Hardy was originally scheduled to take part in the match, but he did not participate after he was (in storyline) attacked before to the event. Triple H and Kozlov started the match before Edge was revealed as Hardy's surprise replacement.	[90]
87	Jeff Hardy	1	December 14, 2008	42	Buffalo, NY	Armageddon	This match was a triple threat match, also involving Triple H.	[91]
88	Edge	4	January 25, 2009	21	Detroit, MI	Royal Rumble	This was a no disqualification match.	[92]
89	Triple H	8	February 15, 2009	70	Seattle, WA	No Way Out	This was an Elimination Chamber match, also involving Jeff Hardy, Vladimir Kozlov, The Undertaker and Big Show. The title became a Raw exclusive title once again after Triple H was drafted to Raw on April 13, 2009.	[93]
90	Randy Orton	3	April 26, 2009	42	Providence, RI	Backlash	This was a six-man tag team match between Legacy (Orton, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes) and Triple H, Shane McMahon and Batista, in which Orton would win the championship if his team won.	[94]
91	Batista	1	June 7, 2009	2	New Orleans, LA	Extreme Rules	This was a steel cage match.	[95]
92	Randy Orton	4	June 15, 2009	90	Charlotte, NC	Raw	This match was a Fatal Four-Way match also involving Triple H, John Cena and Big Show.	[96]
93	John Cena	4	September 13, 2009	21	Montreal, QC	Breaking Point	This was an "I Quit" match. If anyone would have interfered on Orton's behalf, he would have automatically lost the title.	[97]
94	Randy Orton	5	October 4, 2009	21	Newark, NJ	Hell in a Cell	This was a Hell in a Cell match.	[98]
95	John Cena	5	October 25, 2009	49	Pittsburgh, PA	Bragging Rights	This was a 60-Minute Anything Goes Iron Man match in which Cena won 6-5. Has Cena lost, he would have been forced to leave the Raw brand.	[99]
96	Sheamus	1	December 13, 2009	70	San Antonio, TX	TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs	This was a Tables match.	[100]
97	John Cena	6	February 21, 2010	<1	St. Louis, MO	Elimination Chamber	This match was an Elimination Chamber match, also involving Triple H, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase and Kofi Kingston.	[101]
98	Batista	2		35			Cena's celebration was interrupted by WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon. He said that Cena would be going to WrestleMania XXVI, only if he could beat Batista. McMahon then ordered Cena to face Batista in a previously unannounced match for the championship.	[102]
99	John Cena	7	March 28, 2010	84	Glendale, AZ	WrestleMania XXVI		[103]
100	Sheamus	2	June 20, 2010	91	Uniondale, NY	Fatal 4-Way	This was a Fatal Four-Way match also involving Edge and Randy Orton.	[104]
101	Randy Orton	6	September 19, 2010	64	Rosemont, IL	Night of Champions	This was a Six-Pack Challenge Elimination match also involving Edge, John Cena, Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett.	[105]
102	The Miz	1	November 22, 2010	160	Orlando, FL	Raw	The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract after Orton was successful in defending the WWE Championship against Barrett.	[106]
103	John Cena	8	May 1, 2011	77	Tampa, FL	Extreme Rules	This was a triple threat steel cage match also involving John Morrison.	[107]
104	CM Punk	1	July 17, 2011	28	Rosemont, IL	Money in the Bank	Punk was scripted to leave WWE the day after with the championship. He returned on the July 25 episode of Raw; his reign was deemed to continue through this period.	[108]
105	Rey Mysterio (and CM Punk)	1 (1)	July 25, 2011	<1	Hampton, VA	Raw	Mysterio defeated The Miz in the final of an eight-man tournament to crown a new champion. CM Punk was also the WWE Champion at this time.	[109]
106	John Cena (and CM Punk)	9 (1)		20			CM Punk was also the WWE Champion at this time.	[110]
—	CM Punk	1	August 14, 2011	<1	Los Angeles, CA	SummerSlam	Punk defeated Cena in a match to determine who the undisputed champion was. This is considered a continuation of his first reign. Triple H acted as the guest referee.
107	Alberto Del Rio	1	August 14, 2011	35	Los Angeles, CA	SummerSlam	Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated CM Punk, who had just become the undisputed WWE Champion but was attacked by Kevin Nash after defeating Cena.	[111]
108	John Cena	10	September 18, 2011	14	Buffalo, NY	Night of Champions		[112]
109	Alberto Del Rio	2	October 2, 2011	49	New Orleans, LA	Hell in a Cell	This was a triple threat Hell in a Cell match also involving CM Punk.	[113]
110	CM Punk	2	November 20, 2011	434	New York, NY	Survivor Series		[114]
111	The Rock	8	January 27, 2013	70	Phoenix, AZ	Royal Rumble	Punk originally won, but the match was restarted by Mr. McMahon because of interference by The Shield.	[115]
112	John Cena	11	April 7, 2013	133	East Rutherford, NJ	WrestleMania 29		[116]
113	Daniel Bryan	1	August 18, 2013	<1	Los Angeles, CA	SummerSlam	Triple H acted as the guest referee.	[117]
114	Randy Orton	7		28			Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Triple H, who attacked Bryan immediately before the match, acted as the special guest referee.	[118]
115	Daniel Bryan	2	September 15, 2013	1	Detroit, MI	Night of Champions		[119]
-	Vacated	-	September 16, 2013	-	Cleveland, OH	Raw	Bryan was stripped of the title the night after Night of Champions by Triple H after referee Scott Armstrong said he had made a fast-count resulting in Bryan's win.	[120]
116	Randy Orton	8	October 27, 2013	161	Miami, FL	Hell in a Cell	He defeated Daniel Bryan in a Hell in a Cell match for the vacant title with Shawn Michaels acting as the special guest referee. On December 15, 2013 at the TLC pay-per-view, when Orton defeated John Cena, he unified the World Heavyweight Championship with his WWE Championship. The title became known as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.	[121]
117	Daniel Bryan	3	April 6, 2014	64	New Orleans, LA	WrestleMania XXX	This was a Triple Threat match which also included Batista, whom Bryan made submit to win the title.	[122]
-	Vacated	-	June 9, 2014	-	Minneapolis, MN	Raw	Bryan was stripped of the title after he injured his neck.	[123]
118	John Cena	12	June 29, 2014	49	Boston, MA	Money in the Bank	Defeated Alberto Del Rio, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, Kane, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and Sheamus in a ladder match to win the vacant title.	[124]
119	Brock Lesnar	4	August 17, 2014	224	Los Angeles, CA	SummerSlam		[125]
120	Seth Rollins	1	March 29, 2015	220	Santa Clara, CA	WrestleMania 31	Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank during a singles match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, making it a Triple Threat match. Rollins pinned Reigns to win the match.	[126]
	Vacated	-	November 4, 2015	-	Dublin, Ireland	WWE Live Event (house show)	Title was vacated after Rollins tore his ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus in his knee
121	Roman Reigns	1	November 22, 2015	<1	Atlanta, GA	Survivor Series	Defeated Dean Ambrose in the tournament finals for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship
122	Sheamus	3		23			Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase.
123	Roman Reigns	2	December 14, 2015	41	Philadelphia, PA	Raw	This was a Title vs. Career match. Had Reigns lost the match, he would have been fired from WWE.
124	Triple H	9	January 24, 2016	70	Orlando, FL	Royal Rumble	Triple H won the Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Dean Ambrose to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Also, eliminated defending champion Roman Reigns.
125	Roman Reigns	3	April 3, 2016	77	Arlington, TX	WrestleMania 32
126	Seth Rollins	2	June 19, 2016	<1	Paradise, NV	Money in the Bank
127	Dean Ambrose	1		84			Ambrose cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase he had won earlier that night. On July 19, the championship became exclusive to the SmackDown brand after Ambrose was drafted there in the 2016 WWE draft. The title was also renamed back to "WWE Championship" and then "WWE World Championship" during this reign.
128	AJ Styles	1	September 11, 2016	140	Richmond, VA	Backlash	In December the title was renamed back to simply "WWE Championship"
129	John Cena	13	January 29, 2017	14	San Antonio, TX	Royal Rumble	Cena became a 16-time world champion and became listed by WWE alongside Ric Flair as having the most world championships in professional wrestling.
130	Bray Wyatt	1	February 12, 2017	49	Phoenix, AZ	Elimination Chamber	This was an Elimination Chamber match, also involving Cena, AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin.
131	Randy Orton	9	April 2, 2017	49	Orlando, FL	WrestleMania 33
132	Jinder Mahal	1	May 21, 2017	170	Rosemont, IL	Backlash	Mahal pinned Orton to become the first ever WWE Champion of Indian descent at Backlash. On August 15, Baron Corbin cashed in his Money In the Bank contract, however Mahal retained, resulting in a record for the shortest WWE Championship match at 6 seconds.
133	AJ Styles	2	November 7, 2017	371	Manchester, England	SmackDown	This was a title vs. career 3-on-1 handicap match, also involving The Singh Brothers as Mahal's tag team partners. This was the first time the WWE Championship changed hands in the UK.
134	Daniel Bryan	4	November 13, 2018	145	St. Louis, MO		Bryan introduced a new "eco-friendly" WWE Championship design.
135	Kofi Kingston	1	April 7, 2019	180	East Rutherford, NJ	WrestleMania 35	Kingston became the first African-born WWE Champion. The old design was brought back.
136	Brock Lesnar	5	October 4, 2019	184	Los Angeles, CA	SmackDown	On November 1, 2019, Lesnar quit SmackDown and went to Raw, taking the title with him.
137	Drew McIntyre	1	April 5, 2020	214	Orlando, FL	WrestleMania 36 Night 2	McIntyre became the first British WWE Champion. This match was taped on March 25, with WWE listing this reign as lasting 202 days.
138	Randy Orton	10	October 25, 2020	22		Hell in a Cell	This was a Hell in a Cell match.
139	Drew McIntyre	2	November 16, 2020	97		Raw	This was a no disqualification and no countout match.
140	The Miz	2	February 21, 2021	8	St. Petersburg, FL	Elimination Chamber	This was Miz's Money in the Bank cash-in match.
141	Bobby Lashley	1	March 1, 2021	196		Raw	This was a lumberjack match.
142	Big E	1	September 13, 2021	110	Boston, MA		This was Big E's Money in the Bank cash-in match.
143	Brock Lesnar	6	January 1, 2022	28	Atlanta, GA	Day 1	This was a fatal five-way match also involving Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins.
144	Bobby Lashley	2	January 29, 2022	21	St. Louis, MO	Royal Rumble
145	Brock Lesnar	7	February 19, 2022	43	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Elimination Chamber	This was an Elimination Chamber match, also involving AJ Styles, Austin Theory, Riddle and Seth Rollins.
146	Roman Reigns	4	April 3, 2022	735	Arlington, TX	WrestleMania 38 Night 2	This was a Winner Takes All match in which Reigns also defended his Universal Championship. Both titles became listed together as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The title became exclusive to the SmackDown brand following the 2023 WWE Draft.
147	Cody Rhodes	1	April 7, 2024	378	Philadelphia, PA	WrestleMania XL Night 2	This was a Bloodline Rules match in which Reigns also defended the Universal Championship. Rhodes was drafted to SmackDown following his win. Both titles together were renamed to "Undisputed WWE Championship".
148	John Cena	14	April 20, 2025	105	Paradise, NV	WrestleMania 41 Night 2
149	Cody Rhodes	2	August 3, 2025	143+	East Rutherford, NJ	SummerSlam Night 2	This was a Street Fight.

List of combined reigns

As of December 24, 2025.

Key

Rec	Recognized by the promotion
†	Current champion; reign changing daily
<1	Reign was less than a day

Rank	Champion	No. of reigns	Combined days
			Actual	Recognized by WWE
1	Bruno Sammartino	2	4,040
2	Hulk Hogan	6	2,185
3	Bob Backlund	2	2,121	2,138
4	John Cena	14	1,359+	1,358+
5	Pedro Morales	1	1,027
6	Roman Reigns	4	853	850
7	Brock Lesnar	7	823	828
8	Randy Orton	10	680	674
9	Bret Hart	5	654
10	Triple H	9	609	605
11	Stone Cold Steve Austin	6	529	528
12	Randy Savage	2	520
14	Cody Rhodes †	2	521+
14	AJ Styles	2	511
15	CM Punk	2	462
16	Shawn Michaels	3	396
17	The Rock	8	367	373
18	Diesel	1	358
19	Drew McIntyre	2	311	298
20	Kurt Angle	4	297	295
21	"Superstar" Billy Graham	1	296
22	The Ultimate Warrior	1	293
23	Yokozuna	2	280
	John "Bradshaw" Layfield	1	280	279
25	The Undertaker	4	238	237
26	Seth Rollins	2	221	220
27	Bobby Lashley	2	217	215
28	Daniel Bryan	4	210	207
29	Sheamus	3	183	181
30	Kofi Kingston	1	180
31	Jinder Mahal	1	170	169
32	The Miz	2	168	167
33	Edge	4	139	135
34	Eddie Guerrero	1	133	132
35	Ric Flair	2	118
36	Big E	1	110
37	Chris Jericho	1	98	97
38	Sycho Sid	2	97
39	Alberto Del Rio	2	84	82
	Dean Ambrose	1	84	83
41	Big Show	2	78	77
42	Sgt. Slaughter	1	64
43	Bray Wyatt	1	49	48
44	Mankind	3	47	36
45	Jeff Hardy	1	42	41
46	Batista	2	37	36
47	Buddy Rogers	1	36	21
48	The Iron Sheik	1	28
49	Rob Van Dam	1	22	21
50	Ivan Koloff	1	21
51	Stan Stasiak	1	9
—	Ted DiBiase	—	8	—
	Antonio Inoki		6
52	Vince McMahon	1	6	4
53	Kane	1	1
54	Rey Mysterio	1	<1
	André the Giant	1	<1