List of ECW World Heavyweight Champions

Christian with the ECW Championship during his second reign.

The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion, later used in WWE as the world title of the ECW brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship. It was introduced as the ECW Heavyweight Championship on April 25, 1992. Originally a part of the Eastern Championship Wrestling promotion, which joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) on September 18, 1993.^[1] It was established as a world heavyweight championship in 1994 following the promotion's secession from the NWA.^[2] The promotion became Extreme Championship Wrestling and the title became the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. It remained active until April 11, 2001 when ECW was closed and WWE subsequently purchased its assets. WWE relaunched ECW as a WWE brand in June 2006 with the title being recommissioned and designated as the ECW brand's world title.^[3][4] The brand dissolved February 16, 2010, rendering the title inactive.^[5]

The championship was contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. All title changes occurred at ECW or WWE shows. The inaugural champion was Jimmy Snuka, who defeated Salvatore Bellomo in a tournament final on April 25, 1992 to become the first ECW Heavyweight Champion. WWE, however, does not recognize NWA-ECW Heavyweight Championship reigns. Instead they recognize Shane Douglas' second reign, which originally began on March 26, 1994, but is recognized as starting on August 27, 1994—the same day the championship was renamed the ECW World Heavyweight Championship—as the inception of the title's history. The Sandman holds the record for most reigns, with five. At 406 days, Douglas' fourth reign is the longest in the title's history. Ezekiel Jackson's only reign was the shortest in the history of the title as it was retired as soon as he won it. He defeated the previous champion, Christian, on February 16, 2010 at an ECW television taping event. Overall, there have been 49 reigns shared between 32 wrestlers, with one vacancy, and 2 deactivations.

Title history

Key

#	Order in reign history
Reign	The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed
Event	The event in which the title was won
—	Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
N/A	The information is not available or is unknown
+	Indicates the current reign is changing daily

Names

Name	Years
ECW Heavyweight Championship	1992 – 1993
NWA-ECW Heavyweight Championship	1993 – 1994
ECW World Heavyweight Championship	1994 – 2001, 2006
ECW World Championship	2006 – 2007
ECW Championship	2007 – 2010

Reigns

#	Wrestlers	Reign	Date	Days held	Location	Event	Notes	Ref
1	Jimmy Snuka	1	April 25, 1992	1	Mount Tabor, Pennsylvania	Live event	Snuka defeated Salvatore Bellomo in a tournament final to become the first ECW Heavyweight Champion. ECW Heavyweight Championship reigns are not recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).	[6]
2	Johnny Hotbody	1	April 26, 1992	79	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Live event
3	Jimmy Snuka	2	July 14, 1992	78	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Live event
4	Don Muraco	1	September 30, 1992	47	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Live event
5	The Sandman	1	November 16, 1992	138	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Live event
6	Don Muraco	2	April 3, 1993	127	Radnor, Pennsylvania	Live event
7	Tito Santana	1	August 8, 1993	32	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Live event
8	Shane Douglas	1	September 9, 1993	23	Roanoke, Virginia	Live event	Douglas won the championship due to forfeit. ECW Joined the NWA nine days later and it became the NWA-ECW Heavyweight Title.
9	Sabu	1	October 2, 1993	85	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	NWA Bloodfest
10	Terry Funk	1	December 26, 1993	90	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Holiday Hell 1993	This was a no disqualification match.
11	Shane Douglas	2	March 26, 1994	385	Devon, Pennsylvania	Ultimate Jeopardy (1994)	Douglas pinned Funk in an Ultimate Jeopardy match also involving, Mr. Hughes, Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge, Road Warrior Hawk, Kevin Sullivan, and The Tazmaniac. On August 27, 1994, the title was renamed the ECW World Heavyweight Championship when Douglas relinquished the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. ECW leaves the NWA and is renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling. WWE recognizes this as the starting point of the title.	[7]
12	The Sandman	2	April 15, 1995	196	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Hostile City Showdown 1995
13	Mikey Whipwreck	1	October 28, 1995	42	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Live event	This was a ladder match.
14	The Sandman	3	December 9, 1995	49	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	December to Dismember (1995)	This was a three way dance also involving Steve Austin.
15	Raven	1	January 27, 1996	252	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Live event
16	The Sandman	4	October 5, 1996	63	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Ultimate Jeopardy (1996)	The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer defeated Stevie Richards and Brian Lee in a tag team match. The Sandman gained the pinfall to win the championship after Raven failed to show for the event.
17	Raven	2	December 7, 1996	127	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Holiday Hell 1996	This was a barbed wire match.
18	Terry Funk	2	April 13, 1997	118	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Barely Legal
19	Sabu	2	August 9, 1997	8	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Born to Be Wired	This was a barbed wire match.
20	Shane Douglas	3	August 17, 1997	60	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Hardcore Heaven (1997)	This was a three way dance also involving Terry Funk.
21	Bam Bam Bigelow	1	October 16, 1997	45	New York, New York	Live event
22	Shane Douglas	4	November 30, 1997	406	Monaca, Pennsylvania	November to Remember (1997)
23	Taz	1	January 10, 1999	252	Kissimmee, Florida	Guilty as Charged (1999)		[8]
24	Mike Awesome	1	September 19, 1999	89	Villa Park, Illinois	Anarchy Rulz (1999)	This was a three way dance also involving Masato Tanaka	[9]
25	Masato Tanaka	1	December 17, 1999	6	Nashville, Tennessee	ECW on TNN
26	Mike Awesome	2	December 23, 1999	112	White Plains, New York	ECW on TNN
27	Taz	2	April 13, 2000	9	Indianapolis, Indiana	ECW on TNN	Taz had signed with the World Wrestling Federation following his title loss to Mike Awesome on September 19, 1999. However, Awesome unexpectedly signed with World Championship Wrestling in 2000 while still being champion and threatened to bring the title onto WCW TV. As a result, Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon arranged for Taz to return to ECW and defeat Awesome for the title.	[10]
28	Tommy Dreamer	1	April 22, 2000	<1	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	CyberSlam (2000)
29	Justin Credible	1	April 22, 2000	162	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	CyberSlam (2000)
30	Jerry Lynn	1	October 1, 2000	35	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Anarchy Rulz (2000)		[11]
31	Steve Corino	1	November 5, 2000	63	Villa Park, Illinois	November to Remember (2000)	This was a Double Jeopardy match also involving Justin Credible and The Sandman.	[12]
32	The Sandman	5	January 7, 2001	<1	New York, New York	Guilty as Charged (2001)	This was a Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes match also involving Justin Credible.	[13]
33	Rhino	1	January 7, 2001	94	New York, New York	Guilty as Charged (2001)		[13]
—	Deactivated	—	April 11, 2001	—	N/A	N/A	ECW closed on April 4, 2001, and World Wrestling Entertainment purchased its assets in 2003.
34	Rob Van Dam	1	June 13, 2006	21	Trenton, New Jersey	ECW	The title was revived by WWE for the ECW brand. Van Dam was awarded the title by Paul Heyman for winning the WWE Championship.	[14][15]
35	Big Show	1	July 4, 2006	152	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	ECW	This was an Extreme Rules match.	[16][17]
36	Bobby Lashley	1	December 3, 2006	147	Augusta, Georgia	December to Dismember (2006)	This was an Extreme Elimination Chamber match also involving Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Holly, Test and CM Punk.	[18][19]
37	Mr. McMahon	1	April 29, 2007	35	Atlanta, Georgia	Backlash (2007)	McMahon pinned Lashley in a handicap match, which also involved McMahon's teammates Shane McMahon and Umaga, to win the championship.	[20][21]
38	Bobby Lashley	2	June 3, 2007	8	Jacksonville, Florida	One Night Stand (2007)	This was a Street Fight.	[22][23]
—	Vacated	—	June 11, 2007	—	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	Raw	The championship is vacated due to Lashley being drafted to the Raw brand.	[22][24]
39	Johnny Nitro/John Morrison	1	June 24, 2007	69	Houston, Texas	Vengeance: Night of Champions	Nitro, who substituted for Chris Benoit due to his death (unknown at the time), defeated CM Punk to win the vacant championship. His ring name was changed to "John Morrison" during his reign on the July 17, 2007 episode of ECW.[25]	[26][27]
40	CM Punk	1	September 1, 2007	143	Cincinnati, Ohio	ECW	This was a Last Chance match which aired on tape delay on September 4, 2007.	[28][29]
41	Chavo Guerrero	1	January 22, 2008	68	Charlottesville, Virginia	ECW	This was a No Disqualification match. With Chavo being a member of the SmackDown roster, the title becomes shared between SmackDown and ECW.	[30][31]
42	Kane	1	March 30, 2008	91	Orlando, Florida	WrestleMania XXIV	Kane was a member of the SmackDown! brand at the time he won the title, thus making the title exclusive to SmackDown!. The title is returned to ECW when Kane defected to the ECW brand two days later. Title becomes exclusive to the Raw brand when Kane is drafted to Raw on June 23rd, 2008. This gives Kane the distinction of being the only wrestler to carry one championship across all three brands.	[32][33]
43	Mark Henry	1	June 29, 2008	70	Dallas, Texas	Night of Champions (2008)	This was a triple threat match also involving the SmackDown brand's Big Show. Title is once again exclusive to ECW due to Mark Henry being a member of the ECW roster.	[34][35]
44	Matt Hardy	1	September 7, 2008	127	Cleveland, Ohio	Unforgiven (2008)	This was a Scramble match that also involved Finlay, The Miz, and Chavo Guerrero.	[36][37]
45	Jack Swagger	1	January 12, 2009	104	Sioux City, Iowa	ECW	This episode of ECW aired on tape delay on January 13, 2009.	[38][39]
46	Christian	1	April 26, 2009	42	Providence, Rhode Island	Backlash (2009)		[40][41]
47	Tommy Dreamer	2	June 7, 2009	49	New Orleans, Louisiana	Extreme Rules (2009)	This was a triple threat hardcore match also involving Jack Swagger. Becomes the only wrestler to win the title both in the original ECW, and in the WWE sponsored revival.	[42][43]
48	Christian	2	July 26, 2009	205	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Night of Champions (2009)		[44][45]
49	Ezekiel Jackson	1	February 16, 2010	<1	Kansas City, Missouri	ECW	This was an Extreme Rules match.	[46]
—	Deactivated	—	February 16, 2010	—	Kansas City, Missouri	ECW	The title was retired once again immediately after Jackson won it due to the ECW brand being discontinued.	[5]

List of combined reigns

Record five-time ECW Champion The Sandman

Symbol	Meaning
<1	The reign is shorter than one day.

Rank	Wrestler	No. of reigns	Combined days
1	Shane Douglas	4	874
2	The Sandman	5	446
3	Raven	2	379
4	Taz	2	261
5	Christian	2	247
6	Terry Funk	2	208
7	Mike Awesome	2	201
8	Don Muraco	2	174
9	Justin Credible	1	162
10	Bobby Lashley	2	155
11	Big Show	1	152
12	CM Punk	1	143
13	Matt Hardy	1	127
14	Jack Swagger	1	104
15	Sabu	2	93
	Rhino	1	93
17	Kane	1	91
18	Jimmy Snuka	2	79
	Johnny Hotbody	1	79
20	Mark Henry	1	70
21	John Morrison	1	69
22	Chavo Guerrero	1	68
23	Steve Corino	1	63
24	Tommy Dreamer	2	49
25	Bam Bam Bigelow	1	45
26	Mikey Whipwreck	1	42
27	Jerry Lynn	1	35
	Mr. McMahon	1	35
29	Tito Santana	1	32
30	Rob Van Dam	1	21
31	Masato Tanaka	1	6
32	Ezekiel Jackson	1	<1

See also

• List of former championships in WWE

References

General

• "History of the ECW Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
• Benaka, Matt; Westcott, Brian; Roelfsema, Eric; Dean, Joe; Fitzgerald, Jason. "ECW World Heavyweight Title History". Wrestling Title Histories by Gary Will and Royal Duncan. Solie.org.
• Gary Will and Royal Duncan (2006). "(United States: 19th Century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IW, ECW, NWA) NWA/WCW TV Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
• Thom Loverro (2007). The Rise & Fall of ECW. Simon & Schuster Adult. ISBN 1-4165-1312-4.

Specific

1. "ECW World Championship official title history". WWE. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
2. "History of the ECW World Title". WWE. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
3. Sitterson, Aubrey (2008-06-25). "Tangled Titles". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
4. Rote, Andrew (2008-06-29). "Worlds Strongest Extreme Champion". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
5. Medalis, Kara A. (2009-07-26). "Results:Dominant farewell". WWE.com. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
6. Oliver, Greg (1999-10-09). "The highs and lows of Superfly". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
7. "Shane Douglas, August 27, 1994 - April 15, 1995". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
8. Ritchie, Sean (1999-01-11). "ECW PPV delivers". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
9. Oliver, Greg (1999-09-20). "ECW PPV delivers". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
10. Molinaro, John F. (2000-04-14). "Tazz wins ECW World title". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
11. Powell, John (2000-10-02). "Jerry Lynn new ECW champ". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
12. Powell, John (2000-11-06). "ECW has an Old School champ". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
13. Powell, John (2001-01-08). "Confusion reigns at Guilty As Charged". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
14. Keller, Wade (2006-06-13). "Keller's ECW on Sci-Fi report 6/13: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of program". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
15. "Rob Van Dam, June 13, 2006 - July 4, 2006". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
16. Keller, Wade (2006-07-07). "Keller's ECW on Sci-Fi report 7/4: Show vs. RVD, Punk's debut, Test returns". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
17. "Big Show, July 4, 2006 - December 3, 2006". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
18. "Bobby Lashley, Dec. 3, 2006 - April 29, 2007". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
19. Mackinder, Matt (2006-12-04). "Lashley has a December to remember". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
20. "Mr. McMahon, Apr. 29, 2007 - June 3, 2007". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
21. Elliott, Brian (2007-04-30). "No filler makes for a consistent Backlash". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
22. "Bobby Lashley, June 3, 2007 - June 11, 2007". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
23. Mackinder, Matt (2007-06-04). "One Night Stand a PPV gong show". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
24. Golden, Hunter (2007-06-11). "Raw results - 6/11/07 - Wilkes Barre, PA (2007 WWE Draft & more)". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
25. Golden, Hunter (2007-07-18). "ECW on Sci Fi results - 7/17/07 - Laredo, TX ('Nitro's announcement')". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
26. "John Morrison, June 24, 2007 - September 1, 2007". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
27. Powell, John; Powell, Justin (2007-06-25). "Vengeance banal and badly booked". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
28. "CM Punk, September 1, 2007 - January 22, 2008". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
29. Combs, Jason (2009-09-05). "8/21 ECW on Sci-Fi: Combs's in-depth report - Punk captures ECW Title over Morrison". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
30. "Chavo Guerrero, January 22, 2008 - March 30, 2008". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
31. Medalis, Kara A. (2008-01-23). "ECW on Sci Fi Results - 1/22/08 - Charlottesville (New ECW Champion)". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
32. "Kane, March 30, 2008 - June 29, 2008". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
33. Plummer, Dale (2008-03-31). "Mayweather, Orton survive Mania; Edge, Flair don't". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
34. "Mark Henry, June 29, 2008 - September 7, 2008". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
35. Bishop, Matt (2008-06-30). "Big names still on top after Night of Champions". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
36. "Matt Hardy, Sept. 7, 2008 - January 13, 2009". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
37. Bishop, Matt (2008-09-11). "Scramble matches make for wild Unforgiven". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
38. "Jack Swagger, Jan. 13, 2009 - April 26, 2009". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
39. Stephens, David (2008-01-14). "ECW on Sci Fi Results - 1/13/09 - Sioux City, IA". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
40. "Christian, April 26, 2009 - June 7, 2009". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
41. Bishop, Matt (2009-04-27). "Backlash: All 3 world titles change hands". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
42. "Tommy Dreamer, June 7, 2009 - July 26, 2009". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
43. Mackinder, Matt (2009-06-07). "Extreme Rules sees many title changes, but fails to live up to its name". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
44. "Christian, July 26, 2009 -". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
45. Elliott, Brian (2009-08-01). "Night of Champions: Punk loses title, but keeps star performer tag". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
46. "Ezekiel Jackson, February 16, 2010". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-02-16.

External links

• WWE.com