WWE World Heavyweight Championship (2013 to 2016)

Years Active 2013 — 2016

Promotion WWE

Brand N/A

Total Reigns 11

Total Champions 8

Last Champion Jon Moxley

Longest Reign

Brock Lesnar

224 days as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion

Won at SummerSlam 2014 against John Cena on August 17, 2014 and held title until March 29, 2015.

Most Reigns

Longest Reigns

Brock Lesnar (224 days)
Seth Rollins (221 days)
Dean Ambrose (84 days)

About This Championship

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship was the name WWE used for its unified world title from 2013 to 2016. It began at TLC on December 15, 2013, when WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena to unify the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship.

In WWE’s official lineage, this unified championship continued the WWE Championship history, while the World Heavyweight Championship (2002–2013) lineage ended and was treated as retired. At first, the champion carried both physical belts, but WWE later moved to a single redesigned championship to represent the unified title.

During this period, the championship was the company’s top prize and was defended in major main events across Raw, SmackDown, and pay-per-view events. In June 2016, WWE shortened the name back to the WWE Championship, ending the “WWE World Heavyweight Championship” name while keeping the same title lineage active.

For clarity, this belt was not a continuation of the World Heavyweight Championship (2002 to 2013), and it’s also separate from the current World Heavyweight Championship lineage introduced in 2023.

Championship Name History

WWWF World Heavyweight Championship 1963 – 1971

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WWWF Heavyweight Championship 1971 – 1979

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WWF Heavyweight Championship 1979 – 1983

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WWF World Heavyweight Championship 1983 – 1989

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WWF Championship 1989 – 2001

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Undisputed WWF Championship 2001 – 2002

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WWE Undisputed Championship 2002 – 2002

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WWE Championship 2002 – 2013

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WWE World Heavyweight Championship 2013 – 2016

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WWE Championship 2016 – 2024

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Undisputed WWE Championship 2024 – Present

WWE World Heavyweight Championship (2013 to 2016) Complete Reign History

= Reign Distinction = Includes Reign Notes

# Click to sort	Wrestler Click to sort	Date Won Click to sort	Opponent(s) Click to sort	Event Click to sort	Match Type Click to sort	Partner(s) Click to sort	Days Held Click to sort
129	Dean Ambrose	Jun 19, 2016	Seth Rollins	Money in the Bank 2016	Money in the Bank Cash-In Match		84
128	Seth Rollins	Jun 19, 2016	Roman Reigns	Money in the Bank 2016	Singles Match		<1
127	Roman Reigns	Apr 3, 2016	Triple H	WrestleMania 32	Singles Match		77
126	Triple H	Jan 24, 2016	Dean Ambrose	Royal Rumble 2016	Royal Rumble		70
Triple H won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on January 24, 2016 by winning the Royal Rumble match as the #30 entrant. Roman Reigns entered first and had to defend the title against every entrant. Triple H eliminated Reigns, making him the 28th wrestler eliminated in the match, then last eliminated Dean Ambrose to win the championship.
125	Roman Reigns	Dec 14, 2015	Sheamus	Raw	Career vs. Title Match		41
124	Sheamus	Nov 22, 2015	Roman Reigns	Survivor Series 2015	Money in the Bank Cash-In Match		22
123	Roman Reigns	Nov 22, 2015	Dean Ambrose	Survivor Series 2015	Tournament Final Match		<1
This was the tournament final match to decide who would take the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship title after Seth Rollins was stripped of the belt due to tearing his ACL, MCL, and damaging his meniscus.
—	Title Vacated from November 5, 2015 to November 22, 2015 (17 days)
122	Seth Rollins	Mar 29, 2015	Brock Lesnar & Roman Reigns	WrestleMania 31	Triple Threat Match		221
This was initially a match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, however Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract in the middle of the match, making it a triple threat match.
121	Brock Lesnar	Aug 17, 2014	John Cena	SummerSlam 2014	Singles Match		224
120	John Cena	Jun 29, 2014	Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro, Sheamus, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Kane, and Randy Orton	Money in the Bank 2014	Ladder Match		49
—	Title Vacated from June 9, 2014 to June 29, 2014 (20 days)
119	Daniel Bryan	Apr 6, 2014	Randy Orton & Batista	WrestleMania XXX	Triple Threat Match		64
Championship renamed to WWE World Heavyweight Championship on December 15, 2013
118	Randy Orton	Oct 27, 2013	Daniel Bryan	Hell in a Cell 2013	Hell in a Cell Match		161
Randy Orton would go on to beat John Cena at TLC on December 15, 2013 in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match to unify the World Heavyweight Championship with the WWE Championship. After the unification, WWE retired the World Heavyweight Championship, and the title continued under the WWE World Heavyweight Championship name.
—	Title Vacated from September 16, 2013 to October 27, 2013 (41 days)
117	Daniel Bryan	Sep 15, 2013	Randy Orton	Night of Champions 2013	Singles Match		1
After Daniel Bryan pinned Randy Orton at Night of Champions on September 15, 2013, the finish came off a controversial fast count by referee Scott Armstrong. The next night on Raw, Triple H refused to recognize the title change and stripped Bryan, so WWE treated the WWE Championship as vacant.
116	Randy Orton	Aug 18, 2013	Daniel Bryan	SummerSlam 2013	Money in the Bank Cash-In Match		28
115	Daniel Bryan	Aug 18, 2013	John Cena	SummerSlam 2013	Singles Match		<1
114	John Cena	Apr 7, 2013	The Rock	WrestleMania 29	Singles Match		164
113	The Rock	Jan 27, 2013	CM Punk	Royal Rumble 2013	Singles Match		70
112	CM Punk	Nov 20, 2011	Alberto Del Rio	Survivor Series 2011	Singles Match		434
111	Alberto Del Rio	Oct 2, 2011	John Cena & CM Punk	Hell in a Cell 2011	Triple Threat Hell in a Cell Match		49
110	John Cena	Sep 18, 2011	Alberto Del Rio	Night of Champions 2011	Singles Match		14
109	Alberto Del Rio	Aug 14, 2011	CM Punk	SummerSlam 2011	Money in the Bank Cash-In Match		35
CM Punk beat John Cena at SummerSlam in a match meant to settle the disputed title situation and crown one undisputed WWE Champion. WWE treats this as a continuation of Punk’s first reign that began on July 17, 2011, not a brand-new reign starting on this date. Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank contract right after the Punk vs Cena match and won the WWE Championship the same night.
108	John Cena	Jul 25, 2011	Rey Mysterio	Raw	Singles Match		20
After Rey Mysterio won the tournament to crown a new champion, Triple H granted Cena an immediate title match against Mysterio on the same night. Cena won and became the WWE Champion, but CM Punk also returned that night with his championship from Money in the Bank. That left WWE with two men presented as the WWE Champion at once. Cena carried the title into SummerSlam, where Punk beat him to unify the claims and end the disputed period.
107	Rey Mysterio	Jul 25, 2011	The Miz	Raw	Tournament Final Match		<1
WWE held a tournament on Raw to crown a new champion after the company vacated the title the night after Money in the Bank. Rey Mysterio won the tournament final by defeating The Miz. Later that same night, John Cena got a title match and beat Mysterio, so Rey’s reign lasted less than one day. At the same time, WWE also recognized CM Punk as champion after he returned the same night, which created two “WWE Champions” until SummerSlam.
106	CM Punk	Jul 17, 2011	John Cena	Money in the Bank 2011	Singles Match		28
CM Punk beat John Cena at Money in the Bank and left through the crowd with the WWE Championship. On the next night’s Raw, WWE treated the title as vacant because Punk had “left” the company. A week later, Punk returned on the July 25, 2011 episode of Raw and WWE said his reign never actually ended. That same night, WWE also ran a tournament to crown a new champion, which created a short period where Punk and the Raw tournament winner were both presented as WWE Champion.
105	John Cena	May 1, 2011	John Morrison & The Miz	Extreme Rules 2011	Triple Threat Steel Cage Match		77
104	The Miz	Nov 22, 2010	Randy Orton	Raw	Money in the Bank Cash-In Match		160
103	Randy Orton	Sep 19, 2010	Edge, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, John Cena, and Wade Barrett	Night of Champions 2010	Six-Pack Elimination Challenge		64
102	Sheamus	Jun 20, 2010	Edge, John Cena, and Randy Orton	Fatal 4-Way	Fatal Four-Way Match		91
101	Batista	Feb 21, 2010	John Cena	Elimination Chamber 2010	Singles Match		35
100	John Cena	Feb 21, 2010	Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase Jr., and Triple H	Elimination Chamber 2010	Elimination Chamber Match		<1
99	Sheamus	Dec 13, 2009	John Cena	TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2009	Tables Match		70
98	John Cena	Oct 25, 2009	Randy Orton	Bragging Rights 2009	Iron Man Match		49
97	Randy Orton	Oct 4, 2009	John Cena	Hell in a Cell 2009	Hell in a Cell Match		21
96	John Cena	Sep 13, 2009	Randy Orton	Breaking Point 2009	I Quit Match		21
95	Randy Orton	Jun 15, 2009	Big Show, John Cena, and Triple H	Raw	Fatal Four-Way Match		90
—	Title Vacated from June 9, 2009 to June 15, 2009 (6 days)
94	Batista	Jun 7, 2009	Randy Orton	Extreme Rules 2009	Steel Cage Match		2
93	Randy Orton	Apr 26, 2009	Triple H, Batista, and Shane McMahon	Backlash 2009	Six-Man Tag Team Match	Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase Jr.	42
92	Triple H	Feb 15, 2009	Edge, Big Show, Jeff Hardy, The Undertaker, and Vladimir Kozlov	No Way Out 2009	Elimination Chamber Match		70
91	Edge	Jan 25, 2009	Jeff Hardy	Royal Rumble 2009	No Disqualification Match		21
90	Jeff Hardy	Dec 14, 2008	Edge & Triple H	Armageddon 2008	Triple Threat Match		42
89	Edge	Nov 23, 2008	Triple H & Vladimir Kozlov	Survivor Series 2008	Triple Threat Match		21
88	Triple H	Apr 27, 2008	John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Randy Orton, and John Cena	Backlash 2008	Four-Way Elimination Match		210
87	Randy Orton	Oct 7, 2007	Triple H	No Mercy 2007	Last Man Standing		203
86	Triple H	Oct 7, 2007	Randy Orton	No Mercy 2007	Singles Match		<1
85	Randy Orton	Oct 7, 2007		No Mercy 2007			<1
—	Title Vacated from October 2, 2007 to October 7, 2007 (5 days)
84	John Cena	Sep 17, 2006	Edge	Unforgiven 2006	TLC Match		380
83	Edge	Jul 3, 2006	Rob Van Dam & John Cena	Raw	Triple Threat Match		76
82	Rob Van Dam	Jun 11, 2006	John Cena	ECW One Night Stand 2006	Extreme Rules Match		22
81	John Cena	Jan 29, 2006	Edge	Royal Rumble 2006	Singles Match		133
80	Edge	Jan 8, 2006	John Cena	New Year's Revolution 2006	Money in the Bank Cash-In Match		21
79	John Cena	Apr 3, 2005	John "Bradshaw" Layfield	WrestleMania 21	Singles Match		280
78	John "Bradshaw" Layfield	Jun 27, 2004	Eddie Guerrero	The Great American Bash 2004	Texas Bullrope Match		280
77	Eddie Guerrero	Feb 15, 2004	Brock Lesnar	No Way Out 2004	Singles Match		133
76	Brock Lesnar	Sep 18, 2003	Kurt Angle	SmackDown!	Iron Man Match		150
75	Kurt Angle	Jul 27, 2003	Brock Lesnar & Big Show	Vengeance 2003	Triple Threat Match		53
74	Brock Lesnar	Mar 30, 2003	Kurt Angle	WrestleMania XIX	Singles Match		119
73	Kurt Angle	Dec 15, 2002	Big Show	Armageddon 2002	Singles Match		105
72	Big Show	Nov 17, 2002	Brock Lesnar	Survivor Series 2002	Singles Match		28
Championship renamed to WWE Championship on September 2, 2002
71	Brock Lesnar	Aug 25, 2002	The Rock	SummerSlam 2002	Singles Match		84
70	The Rock	Jul 21, 2002	Kurt Angle & The Undertaker	Vengeance 2002	Triple Threat Match		35
69	The Undertaker	May 19, 2002	Hollywood Hulk Hogan	Judgment Day 2002	Singles Match		63
Championship renamed to WWE Undisputed Championship on May 6, 2002
68	Hollywood Hulk Hogan	Apr 21, 2002	Triple H	Backlash 2002	Singles Match		28
67	Triple H	Mar 17, 2002	Chris Jericho	WrestleMania X8	Singles Match		35
66	Chris Jericho	Dec 9, 2001	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Vengeance 2001	Title Unification Match		98
Championship renamed to Undisputed WWF Championship on December 9, 2001
65	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Oct 8, 2001	Kurt Angle	Raw	Singles Match		62
64	Kurt Angle	Sep 23, 2001	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Unforgiven 2001	Singles Match		15
63	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Apr 1, 2001	The Rock	WrestleMania X-Seven	No Disqualification Match		175
62	The Rock	Feb 25, 2001	Kurt Angle	No Way Out 2001	Singles Match		35
61	Kurt Angle	Oct 22, 2000	The Rock	No Mercy 2000	No Disqualification Match		126
60	The Rock	Jun 25, 2000	Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Triple H	King of the Ring 2000	Six-Man Tag Team Match	Kane, The Undertaker	119
59	Triple H	May 21, 2000	The Rock	Judgment Day 2000	Iron Man Match		35
58	The Rock	Apr 30, 2000	Triple H	Backlash 2000	Singles Match		21
57	Triple H	Jan 3, 2000	Big Show	Raw	Singles Match		118
56	Big Show	Nov 14, 1999	Triple H & The Rock	Survivor Series 1999	Triple Threat Match		50
55	Triple H	Sep 26, 1999	Mankind, The British Bulldog, Big Show, Kane, and The Rock	Unforgiven 1999	Six-Pack Elimination Challenge		49
—	Title Vacated from September 20, 1999 to September 26, 1999 (6 days)
54	Vince McMahon	Sep 16, 1999	Triple H	SmackDown!	Singles Match		4
53	Triple H	Aug 23, 1999	Mankind	Raw	Singles Match		24
52	Mankind	Aug 22, 1999	Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H	SummerSlam 1999	Triple Threat Match		1
51	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Jun 28, 1999	The Undertaker	Raw	Singles Match		55
50	The Undertaker	May 23, 1999	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Over the Edge 1999	Singles Match		36
49	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Mar 28, 1999	The Rock	WrestleMania XV	No Disqualification Match		56
48	The Rock	Feb 15, 1999	Mankind	Raw	Ladder Match		41
47	Mankind	Jan 31, 1999	The Rock	Halftime Heat	Empty Arena Match		15
46	The Rock	Jan 24, 1999	Mankind	Royal Rumble 1999	I Quit Match		7
45	Mankind	Jan 4, 1999	The Rock	Raw	No Disqualification Match		20
44	The Rock	Nov 15, 1998	Mankind	Survivor Series 1998	Tournament Final Match		50
—	Title Vacated from September 27, 1998 to November 15, 1998 (49 days)
43	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Jun 29, 1998	Kane	Raw	Singles Match		90
42	Kane	Jun 28, 1998	Stone Cold Steve Austin	King of the Ring 1998	First Blood Match		1
41	Stone Cold Steve Austin	Mar 29, 1998	Shawn Michaels	WrestleMania XIV	Singles Match		91
40	Shawn Michaels	Nov 9, 1997	Bret Hart	Survivor Series 1997	Singles Match		140
39	Bret Hart	Aug 3, 1997	The Undertaker	SummerSlam 1997	Singles Match		98
38	The Undertaker	Mar 23, 1997	Sycho Sid	WrestleMania 13	No Disqualification Match		133
37	Sycho Sid	Feb 17, 1997	Bret Hart	Raw	Singles Match		34
36	Bret Hart	Feb 16, 1997	Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Vader	In Your House 13: Final Four	Four Corners Elimination Match		1
—	Title Vacated from February 13, 1997 to February 16, 1997 (3 days)
35	Shawn Michaels	Jan 19, 1997	Sycho Sid	Royal Rumble 1997	Singles Match		25
34	Sycho Sid	Nov 17, 1996	Shawn Michaels	Survivor Series 1996	Singles Match		63
33	Shawn Michaels	Mar 31, 1996	Bret Hart	WrestleMania XII	Iron Man Match		231
32	Bret Hart	Nov 19, 1995	Diesel	Survivor Series 1995	No Disqualification Match		133
31	Diesel	Nov 26, 1994	Bob Backlund	House Show	Singles Match		358
30	Bob Backlund	Nov 23, 1994	Bret Hart	Surivor Series 1994	Throw in the Towel Match		3
29	Bret Hart	Mar 20, 1994	Yokozuna	WrestleMania X	Singles Match		248
28	Yokozuna	Jun 13, 1993	Hulk Hogan	King of the Ring 1993	Singles Match		280
27	Hulk Hogan	Apr 4, 1993	Yokozuna	WrestleMania IX	Singles Match		70
26	Yokozuna	Apr 4, 1993	Bret Hart	WrestleMania IX	Singles Match		<1
25	Bret Hart	Oct 12, 1992	Ric Flair	House Show	Singles Match		173
24	Ric Flair	Sep 1, 1992	Randy Savage	Prime Time Wrestling	Singles Match		41
23	Randy Savage	Apr 5, 1992	Ric Flair	WrestleMania VIII	Title Match		149
22	Ric Flair	Jan 19, 1992	Sid Justice	Royal Rumble 1992	Royal Rumble		77
—	Title Vacated from December 4, 1991 to January 19, 1992 (46 days)
21	Hulk Hogan	Dec 3, 1991	The Undertaker	This Tuesday in Texas	Singles Match		1
20	The Undertaker	Nov 27, 1991	Hulk Hogan	Survivor Series 1991	Singles Match		6
19	Hulk Hogan	Mar 24, 1991	Sgt. Slaughter	WrestleMania VII	Singles Match		248
18	Sgt. Slaughter	Jan 19, 1991	The Ultimate Warrior	Royal Rumble 1991	Singles Match		64
17	The Ultimate Warrior	Apr 1, 1990	Hulk Hogan	WrestleMania VI	Title vs. Title Match		293
Championship renamed to WWF Championship on May 27, 1989
16	Hulk Hogan	Apr 2, 1989	Randy Savage	WrestleMania V			364
15	Randy Savage	Mar 27, 1988	Ted DiBiase	WrestleMania IV	Tournament Final Match		371
—	Title Vacated from February 5, 1988 to March 26, 1988 (50 days)
14	Ted DiBiase	Feb 5, 1988		The Main Event I			<1
Ted DiBiase claimed the WWF World Heavyweight Championship through a storyline purchase. After Andre the Giant “won” the title from Hulk Hogan in the twin-referee finish on The Main Event, Andre immediately handed the belt to DiBiase as part of DiBiase’s scheme. WWF President Jack Tunney later ruled the championship could not be transferred that way, stripped it from DiBiase, and vacated the title, which led to the WrestleMania IV tournament to crown a new champion.
13	André the Giant	Feb 5, 1988	Hulk Hogan	The Main Event I			<1
12	Hulk Hogan	Jan 23, 1984	The Iron Sheik	WWF on MSG Network			1,474
11	The Iron Sheik	Dec 26, 1983	Bob Backlund	WWF on MSG Network			28
Championship renamed to WWF World Heavyweight Championship on December 26, 1983
10	Bob Backlund	Dec 17, 1979	Bobby Duncum	WWF on MSG Network	Texas Deathmatch		1,470
—	Title Vacated from December 6, 1979 to December 17, 1979 (11 days)
9	Antonio Inoki	Nov 30, 1979	Bob Backlund	Toukon Series	Singles Match		6
Championship renamed to WWF Heavyweight Championship on March 1, 1979
8	Bob Backlund	Feb 20, 1978	Superstar Billy Graham	WWF on MSG Network			648
7	Superstar Billy Graham	Apr 30, 1977	Bruno Sammartino	House Show			296
6	Bruno Sammartino	Dec 10, 1973	Stan Stasiak				1,237
5	Stan Stasiak	Dec 1, 1973	Pedro Morales				9
4	Pedro Morales	Feb 18, 1971	Ivan Koloff				1,017
Championship renamed to WWWF Heavyweight Championship on February 8, 1971
3	Ivan Koloff	Jan 18, 1971	Bruno Sammartino				21
2	Bruno Sammartino	May 17, 1963	Buddy Rogers				2,803
1	Buddy Rogers	Apr 25, 1963	Antonino Rocca	Heavyweight Wrestling			22

WWE World Heavyweight Championship (2013 to 2016) Historical Reign Leaders

#	Champion	Reigns	Total Days Held	Longest Reign (Days)	Avg. Reign (Days)	% of Career Title Held
1	Roman Reigns	3	118	77	39	2%
2	Seth Rollins	2	221	221	111	2.7%
3	Brock Lesnar	1	224	224	224	2.3%
3	Dean Ambrose	1	84	84	84	1%
3	Triple H	1	70	70	70	0.62%
3	Daniel Bryan	1	64	64	64	0.64%
3	John Cena	1	49	49	49	0.5%
3	Sheamus	1	22	22	22	0.25%

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