Wrestling Championships: A History of the Big Belts
A wrestling championship is a storytelling tool: the belt marks who the promotion wants at the top. Some titles are more than 70 years old and carry long lineages of champions.
Here is where the most famous ones began. Current champions change often, so check each promotion's official site for who holds what today.
The Undertaker around 2009: jorgebueno, CC BY-SA 2.0
The major world titles
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Created when the National Wrestling Alliance formed in 1948 to unite regional promoters behind one touring champion. Lou Thesz, Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair all held it. It is still defended today.
WWE Championship
Began as the WWWF title when the Northeast promotion split from the NWA in 1963, with Buddy Rogers as first champion. Bruno Sammartino held it for nearly eight years. Today the top men's title on SmackDown is the Undisputed WWE Championship.
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
WWE revived a World Heavyweight Championship in 2023 as Raw's top title, with Seth Rollins the first champion of the new version.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
New Japan's top prize, first won by Antonio Inoki in 1987. In 2021 it was unified with the Intercontinental title into the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
AEW World Championship
Chris Jericho became the first champion in August 2019. Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, MJF and others have held it.
CMLL World Heavyweight Championship
The top heavyweight prize of Mexico's oldest promotion, alongside many weight-class titles, since lucha libre traditionally has divisions by weight.
Women's titles
WWE Women's Championship (1956 to 2010)
Its lineage traces back to The Fabulous Moolah in the 1950s. It was unified with the Divas title in 2010, and in 2016 WWE introduced the current women's title lineup.
Women's World Championship
Created in 2023 from the SmackDown Women's title. Rhea Ripley was its first holder under the new name.
AEW Women's World Championship
Riho became the first champion in October 2019.
How titles change hands
| Way | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pinfall or submission | The standard way: beat the champion in a title match. |
| Disqualification or count-out | Usually the title does NOT change hands; the champion keeps it. |
| Cash-in | A Money in the Bank winner can start a surprise title match at any time. |
| Tournament | Used to crown a new or vacant title's champion. |
| Vacated | The champion is injured or leaves, and the title is declared vacant. |
| Unification | Two titles are merged and one champion holds both. |
The Entertainment Wrestling World collection
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Facts on this page were checked against these sources (updated Oct 12, 2026). Spot an error? Email hello@fireempireshop.com.