IWE World Championship

From Iwe

(Difference between revisions)
Line 29: Line 29:
*Undisputed IWF Championship (2001–2002)
*Undisputed IWF Championship (2001–2002)
*IWE Undisputed Championship (2002–2002)
*IWE Undisputed Championship (2002–2002)
-
*WWE World Heavyweight Championship (2013–2016)
+
*IWE World Heavyweight Championship (2013–2016)
*IWE Championship (2002–2013, 2016-present)
*IWE Championship (2002–2013, 2016-present)
|- valign="top"
|- valign="top"
Line 35: Line 35:
|}
|}
:''Not to be confused with [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)]].''
:''Not to be confused with [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)]].''
-
The '''IWE Championship''' is a [[Championship (professional wrestling)#World championships|world heavyweight championship]] created and promoted by the [[United States of America|American]] [[Professional Wrestling|professional wrestling promotion]] [[IWE]]. The championship was established by the then-[[History of IWE#International Wide Wrestling Federation|International Wide Wrestling Federation]] (IWWF) on April 29, 1963 as the '''IWWF World Heavyweight Championship''', following the promotion seceding from the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA). The title is currently held by [[Joesph Anoa'i|Roman Reigns]], who is in his second reign.
+
The '''IWE Championship''' is a [[Championship (professional wrestling)#World championships|world heavyweight championship]] created and promoted by the [[United States of America|American]] [[Professional Wrestling|professional wrestling promotion]] [[IWE]]. The championship was established by the then-[[History of IWE#International Wide Wrestling Federation|International Wide Wrestling Federation]] (IWWF) on April 29, 1963 as the '''IWWF World Heavyweight Championship''', following the promotion seceding from the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA). The title is currently held by [[Jonathon Mahrt|Dean Ambrose]], who is in his first reign.
It is the oldest championship currently active in the promotion, and is presented as being the most prestigious title in IWE, with many matches for the title having headlined [[Pay-Per-View|pay-per-view]] (PPV) events – including IWE's signature PPV event [[IWE WrestleMania|WrestleMania]].
It is the oldest championship currently active in the promotion, and is presented as being the most prestigious title in IWE, with many matches for the title having headlined [[Pay-Per-View|pay-per-view]] (PPV) events – including IWE's signature PPV event [[IWE WrestleMania|WrestleMania]].
-
For the period between 2002–2013, the title was one of three world titles in IWE, along with the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]] and [[XCW World Heavyweight Championship|XCW Championship]] (2006−2010). But following the decommissioning of the ECW title, and unification with the World Heavyweight title, it is once again promoted as IWE's sole primary championship.
+
For the period between 2002 and 2013, the title, then called the IWE Championship, was one of three world titles in IWE, along with the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]] (2002-2013) and [[XCW World Heavyweight Championship|XCW Championship]] (2006−2010). Following the decommissioning of the XCW title, and unification with the World Heavyweight title, it is once again promoted as IWE's sole primary championship.
== History ==
== History ==
=== Origin ===
=== Origin ===
-
===Prominence===
+
=== Title unification ===
-
In 1991, [[World Championship Wrestling (WCW)|World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW), a member of the NWA, established the [[WCW World Heavyweight Championship]] to complement the NWA's world title. WCW then seceded from the NWA and grew to become a rival promotion to the IWF. Both organizations grew into [[Mainstream|mainstream]] prominence and were eventually involved in a [[Nielsen Ratings|television ratings]] war, dubbed the [[Monday Night Wars]]. Near the end of the ratings war, WCW began a [[History of World Championship Wrestling#Signs of a decline|financial decline]], which culminated in March 2001 with the WWF's [[History of World Championship Wrestling#Acquisition by the World Wrestling Federation|purchase of WCW]]. As a result of the purchase, the IWF acquired the [[IWE Video Library#Non-IWE purchases|video library]] of WCW, select [[List of World Championship Wrestling Alumni|talent contracts]], and [[World Championship Wrestling (WCW)#Final champions|championships]], among other assets. The slew of former WCW talent joining the [[List of IWE personnel|IWF roster]] began "[[The Invasion|The Invasion]]" which effectively [[The Alliance|phased out the WCW name]]. Following this, the WCW Championship (which had become known simply as the "world championship") was [[Championship Unification|unified]] with the IWF Championship at [[IWF Vengeance (2001)|Vengeance 2001]]. At the event, [[Khris Jericho]] defeated [[Sam Simkins|The Rock]] and [[Stone Cold Steve Johnson]] to win the WCW Championship and IWF Championship respectively. Jericho, recognised by IWE as the final WCW champion, went on to hold both the Big Gold belt (representing the "world championship") and the IWF title belt (representing the IWF championship) under the single Undisputed banner. IWE recognised these belts as representing separate championships until the introduction of a single belt by Triple K in 2002
+
=== Championship disputes ===
=== Championship disputes ===
-
In 2001, after Team IWF beat [[Team Alliance (professional wrestling)|Team Alliance]] (WCW/XCW) at the [[IWF Survivor Series (2001)|Survivor Series of that year]], the superstars of The Alliance would become an essential part of IWF programing. There were two world champions, with The Rock holding the WCW Championship, and Stone Cold Steve Austin holding the IWF Championship. It was announced that the PPV following Survivor Series of that year would be a [[IWF Vengeance (2001)|IWF Vengeance]] that would carry the slogan "One Undisputed Champion". It was announced that there would be three matches to unify the WCW and IWF Championships. It was announced that [[Matt Borske]] would challenge Steve Austin for the IWF Championship, and Khris Jericho would face The Rock for the WCW Championship. Johnson would win against Borske, thus retaining the IWF Championship, and Jericho would beat The Rock to become the new WCW Champion. Following his win, Jericho would face Johnson and won, thus unifying the IWF and WCW Championships. Jericho would hold the championship for four months until he would lose it at [[IWF WrestleMania 18|Wrestlemania X8]] against Triple K. [[Ric Flair]] awarded the IWF Undisputed Championship on the first Raw after the draft to Triple K, Triple K would go on to hold the title for a month until he would lose it at Backlash 2002 against Hulk Hogan. Many would hold it afterwords, superstars such The IWE Champion Was Changed hands on 2005 when Dustin Simpson as drafted to Monday Night Raw [[IWE Programs|main television programs]], ''[[IWE Raw|Raw]]'' and ''[[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown!]]'', assigning championships and appointing [[Figurehead|figurehead]]s to each brand. This expansion became known as the [[IWE Brand Extension|Brand Extension]].
 
-
In May 2002, the IWF was renamed to [[IWE#International Wrestling Entertainment|International Wrestling Entertainment]] (IWE) and the championship became known as the IWE Undisputed Championship. Following these changes, the IWE Undisputed Championship remained unaffiliated with either brand as competitors from both brands could challenge the IWE Undisputed Champion. Following the appointment of [[Eric Bischoff]] and [[Kaila Matteson]] as [[Professional wrestling authority figures|General Managers]] of the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively, Kaila Matteson contracted then-IWE Undisputed Champion [[Rob Lesnar]] to the SmackDown brand, leaving the Raw brand without a world title. On September 2, after disputing the brand designation of the Undisputed title, Eric Bischoff announced the creation of the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]], spun off from the Undisputed title. Immediately afterward, the IWE Undisputed Championship became known as the IWE Championship.
+
=== Brand designation ===
-
 
+
-
In July 2011, [[Justin Eldridge|CM Punk]] was involved in a [[Angle (professional wrestling)|storyline]] where he vowed to leave IWE with the IWE Championship when his contract expired on July 17, 2011 (the date of the [[IWE Money in the Bank (2011)|2011]] [[WWE Money in the Bank|Money in the Bank]] pay-per-view). At the event, Punk succeeded in defeating the defending champion Dustin Simpson to win the title, and left the company with the physical championship belt. With the championship seemingly vacated by Vince McMahon the following night on ''Raw'', [[Scott Wright, Jr.|Rey Mysterio]] won an 8-man Championship Tournament by defeating [[Mike Rinehart|The Miz]] in the finals on the July 25 episode of ''Raw'' to be crowned the new IWE Champion, only to subsequently lose it later that night to Simpson, for the latter's [[List of IWE World Heavyweight Champions|record ninth reign]]. However, following Simpson's win, Punk returned to IWE with his own title belt, thereby creating the presence of two IWE Champions. At the subsequent [[IWE SummerSlam (2011)|SummerSlam]] pay-per-view, Punk defeated Simpson to solidify his claim on the title.
+
-
 
+
-
===Brand designation===
+
[[File:CM Punk on ring apron.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Two-time champion [[Justin Eldridge|CM Punk]] – shown with the "spinner" belt, which was used to represent the title from 2005 to 2013]]
[[File:CM Punk on ring apron.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Two-time champion [[Justin Eldridge|CM Punk]] – shown with the "spinner" belt, which was used to represent the title from 2005 to 2013]]
-
Following the events of the IWE brand extension, an annual [[IWE Draft|WWE draft]] was established. 2002 saw Ric Flair and Vince McMahon heading up the ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' brands respectively. Further individuals would act as General Manager of ''Raw'' and of ''SmackDown'' in subsequent years. Each year, the General Managers would participate in a draft lottery in which select members of the WWE roster were assigned to a brand.
+
Following the events of the [[IWE Brand Extension|IWE brand extension]], an annual [[IWE Draft|WWE draft]] was established. 2002 saw Ric Flair and Vince McMahon heading up the ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' brands respectively. Further individuals would act as General Manager of ''Raw'' and of ''SmackDown'' in subsequent years. Each year, the General Managers would participate in a draft lottery in which select members of the WWE roster were assigned to a brand.
On August 29, 2011, IWE ended the brand extension and wrestlers (including all champions), were then free to appear on any program.
On August 29, 2011, IWE ended the brand extension and wrestlers (including all champions), were then free to appear on any program.
Line 104: Line 98:
=== Title reunification ===
=== Title reunification ===
-
Following a challenge made by then World Heavyweight Champion Dustin Simpson the night after [[IWE Survivor Series (2013)|Survivor Series]] to determine an undisputed World Champion, December 15, 2013 at the [[IWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs (2013)|TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs]] pay-per-view, IWE Champion [[Kevin Orton]] defeated World Heavyweight Champion Dustin Simpson in a TLC match to unify the titles. Subsequently, the IWE Championship was renamed '''IWE World Heavyweight Championship'''. The unified championship retained the lineage of the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship was retired.
+
Following a challenge made by then World Heavyweight Champion John Cena the night after [[IWE Survivor Series (2013)|Survivor Series]] to determine an undisputed World Champion, IWE Champion [[Kevin Orton]] defeated World Heavyweight Champion Dustin Simpson in a TLC match at the [[IWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs (2013)|TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs]] pay-per-view on December 15, 2013, to unify the titles. Subsequently, the IWE Championship was renamed '''IWE World Heavyweight Championship'''.
 +
 
 +
=== Reintroduction of brand extension ===
 +
On May 25, 2016, IWE announced ''[[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown]]'' would move to Tuesday nights and go live. It would also receive a unique set of superstars and writers, as opposed to ''Raw'', thus reintroducing the [[IWE Brand Extension|brand extension]]. On June 20, IWE announced that the draft would take place on the live premiere of ''SmackDown''. On the June 27 episode of ''Raw'', IWE began to refer to the IWE World Heavyweight Championship as the '''IWE Championship'''. On June 28, IWE.com officially changed the championship's name to the IWE Championship.
 +
 
 +
== Belt designs ==
 +
[[File:Daniel Bryan in April 2014.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Three-time champion [[Kody Brown|Daniel Bryan]] – shown with the 2013–2014 version of the belt (over his shoulder). Once the IWE Championship was unified with the [[World Heavyweight Championship (IWE)|World Heavyweight Championship]], the champion also held the [[Big Gold Belt]] in conjunction with the IWE title belt from December 2013 to August 2014]]
 +
Special custom belts have been created to match the [[Gimmick (professional wrestling)|characters]] of certain IWF/E champions:
 +
* [[The Warrior (wrestler)|The Ultimate Warrior]] – white, blue and purple leather straps
 +
* [[Stone Cold Steve Johnson|Stone Cold Steve Austin]] – Smoking Skull belt
 +
* [[Dustin Simpson]] - Spinner belt
 +
* [[Kevin Copeland (wrestler)|Edge]] – "Rated-R Superstar" spinner belt
 +
* [[Mike Rinehart|The Miz]] – The 'WWE' logo on the spinner belt was turned upside down to look like an 'M' to represent The Miz
 +
 
 +
A much larger version of the belt was created for [[André the Giant]] before [[IWF WrestleMania 3|WrestleMania III]], although he never wore it as champion. A custom championship belt was designed and constructed for The Rock, which featured his trademark Brahma Bull logo in the center as an answer to Austin's Smoking Skull Belt, but due to creative reasons it never appeared on television.
 +
 
 +
The [[Big Gold Belt]] – which was used for the WCW Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, and other championships – was used in tandem with the IWF Championship belt after Chris Jericho unified the IWF and WCW Championship at Vengeance 2001 to form an undisputed championship. ''Raw'' owner Ric Flair presented Triple K with a single Undisputed Championship belt on the April 4, 2002 episode of ''Raw''.
-
==Custom belt designs==
+
The "Spinner" belt's design, which featured a gold and diamond [[Bling-Bling|bling-bling]] style reflecting Simpson's [[Hip Hop|hip hop]] character at the time, became the IWE Championship's primary design from April 11, 2005, to February 18, 2013; it replaced the former design, which had been used as the Undisputed Championship belt. The physical belt itself originally indicated the brand it was designated to. When it was first introduced, it featured a unique side plate design that read "''[[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown]]''", though it was then replaced with one that read "[[IWE Raw|Mon-Nite Raw]]" when John Cena was drafted to the Raw brand. When the title once again became ''SmackDown!'''s primary championship after Triple K was drafted to the brand in 2008, the ''Raw'' plate was replaced with a second "IWE Champion" side plate. Edge had originally designed an entirely different custom belt than the "Rated R Spinner" design he used for his second reign, however the plans were scrapped due to time constraints.
-
Special custom belts have been created to match the [[Gimmick|characters]] of certain IWE champions:
+
-
*[[The Warrior (wrestler)|The Ultimate Warrior]] - white, blue and purple leather straps
+
-
*[[Stone Cold Steve Johnson|"Stone Cold" Steve Austin]] - Smoking Skull belt
+
-
* [[Kevin Adams Copeland|Edge]] - Modified "Rated-R Superstar" spinner belt
+
-
*[[Mike Rinehart|The Miz]] - Spinner belt with the IWE logo turned upside down to resemble an "M", (which stood for Miz.)
+
-
A much larger version of the belt was created for [[André the Giant]] before [[IWF WrestleMania 3|WrestleMania III]], although he never wore it as champion. A custom championship belt was designed and constructed for The Rock, which featured his trademark Brahma Bull logo in the center as an answer to Austin's Smoking Skull Belt, but due to creative reasons it never appeared on television. Similarly, Edge had originally designed an entirely different custom belt than the "Rated R Spinner" design he used for his second reign, however the plans were scrapped due to time constraints.
+
[[File:Rob Lesnar IWE Champion 2014.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Four-time champion [[Rob Lesnar]] with the current IWE World Heavyweight Championship belt]]
 +
On the February 18, 2013, episode of ''Raw'', The Rock unveiled a new IWE Championship belt. The new title was partially designed by [[Orange County Choppers]] of ''[[American Chopper]]'' fame. The championship featured a large cut-out of the scratch IWE logo (encrusted with diamonds) inside a large irregular heptagonal plate. The word "CHAMPION" appeared underneath the logo in large letters. On each side was a divider bar and a large plate. By default (mainly when the title was vacant), the side plates consisted of a red globe with a WWE logo underneath a crown. The reigning champions all had their logos onto the side plates as a similarity of the name plate feature.
-
The "Spinner" belt's design, which featured a gold and diamond [[Bling-Bling|bling-bling]] style reflecting Simpson's [[Hip Hop|hip hop]] character, became the IWE Championship's primary design from April 11, 2005, to February 18, 2013. The belt ceased to spin at No Mercy 2007 but spun again during The Rock's feud with CM Punk. The physical belt itself originally indicated the brand it was designated to. When it was first introduced, it featured a unique side plate design that read "''[[IWE SmackDown|SmackDown]]''", though it was then replaced with one that read "[[IWE Raw|Mon-Nite Raw]]" when John Cena was drafted to the ''RAW'' brand. When the title once again became ''SmackDown'''s primary championship after Triple K was drafted to the brand in 2008, the ''RAW'' plate was replaced with a second "IWE Champion" side plate. Furthermore, the belt also featured a silver tip on the end of the leather strap.
+
Following the unification of the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships on December 15, 2013, the Big Gold Belt was used in tandem with the IWE Championship belt to represent the renamed WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
-
On the February 18, 2013 episode of ''Raw'', The Rock unveiled a new IWE Championship belt. The new title (which was partially designed by [[Orange County Choppers]] of ''[[American Chopper (Television Series)|American Chopper]]'' fame) features a black strap with a large diamond encrusted IWE logo on the front with the word "CHAMPION" directly underneath, with IWE logo side plates. A distinctive feature of this belt is that there is no nameplate for the champion. Instead, the side plates can be customized to incorporate the current champion's logo/insignia.
+
On the August 18, 2014 episode of ''Raw'', reigning champion Rob Lesnar, who had won the title the night before at [[IWE SummerSlam (2014)|SummerSlam]] was presented with a single IWE World Heavyweight Championship belt, which has a slightly updated design from the belt introduced by The Rock in 2013 as a result of IWE adapting a new corporate logo originally used for the [[IWE Network]]. It features a large center plate dominated by a cut out of the new IWE logo inside an irregular heptagon with the words "WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION" along the bottom edges, in very small print. The large side plates, like the previous design, feature removable round sections, allowing the holder's personal logo to be added to the belt; the default sections feature gold and red world maps with the IWE logo over them, with the only difference being that this new title's original side plates do not feature a crown at the top of the plates. Like with the Undisputed Championship, the Big Gold Belt was retired with the unveiling of the new belt.
-
==Reigns==
+
== Reigns ==
:''Main [[List of IWE World Heavyweight Champions]]''
:''Main [[List of IWE World Heavyweight Champions]]''

Revision as of 01:00, 29 June 2016

IWE Championship
Details
Current champion(s) Dean Ambrose
Date won June 19, 2016
Date established April 29, 1963
Promotion IWE
Other name(s)
  • IWWF World Heavyweight Championship (1963–1979)
  • IWWF Heavyweight Championship (1979–1982)
  • IWF Heavyweight Championship (1982–1988)
  • IWF World Heavyweight Championship (1988–1998)
  • IWF Championship (1998–2001)
  • Undisputed IWF Championship (2001–2002)
  • IWE Undisputed Championship (2002–2002)
  • IWE World Heavyweight Championship (2013–2016)
  • IWE Championship (2002–2013, 2016-present)
Statistics
Not to be confused with World Heavyweight Championship (IWE).

The IWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion IWE. The championship was established by the then-International Wide Wrestling Federation (IWWF) on April 29, 1963 as the IWWF World Heavyweight Championship, following the promotion seceding from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title is currently held by Dean Ambrose, who is in his first reign.

It is the oldest championship currently active in the promotion, and is presented as being the most prestigious title in IWE, with many matches for the title having headlined pay-per-view (PPV) events – including IWE's signature PPV event WrestleMania.

For the period between 2002 and 2013, the title, then called the IWE Championship, was one of three world titles in IWE, along with the World Heavyweight Championship (2002-2013) and XCW Championship (2006−2010). Following the decommissioning of the XCW title, and unification with the World Heavyweight title, it is once again promoted as IWE's sole primary championship.

Contents

History

Origin

Title unification

Championship disputes

Brand designation

File:CM Punk on ring apron.jpg
Two-time champion CM Punk – shown with the "spinner" belt, which was used to represent the title from 2005 to 2013

Following the events of the IWE brand extension, an annual WWE draft was established. 2002 saw Ric Flair and Vince McMahon heading up the Raw and SmackDown brands respectively. Further individuals would act as General Manager of Raw and of SmackDown in subsequent years. Each year, the General Managers would participate in a draft lottery in which select members of the WWE roster were assigned to a brand.

On August 29, 2011, IWE ended the brand extension and wrestlers (including all champions), were then free to appear on any program.

The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the IWE World Heavyweight Championship between the Raw, SmackDown! and XCW brands.

Colors

Championship moved to the Raw brand.

Championship moved to the SmackDown! brand.

Championship moved to the ECW brand.


Date of transition Notes
September 2, 2002 Brock Lesnar signs with SmackDown! and the title becomes exclusive to said brand.
June 6, 2005 During the 2005 IWE draft lottery, the World Heavyweight Champion Batista was drafted to SmackDown! while the IWE Champion Dustin Simpson was drafted to Raw.
June 11, 2006 Following IWE's planned revival of the Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW) as a third brand, Rob Van Dam was chosen by ECW Representative Paul Heyman to move to the new brand. At ECW One Night Stand, Van Dam cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to win the IWE Championship and bring the title to XCW.
July 3, 2006 Edge won the IWE Championship, thereby bringing it back to Raw.
June 23, 2008 Triple K was drafted to SmackDown during the 2008 WWE draft.
April 13, 2009 IWE Champion Triple K brings the championship back to Raw following his drafting to the brand at the 2009 WWE draft. Title remains on Raw until August 29, 2011, when the brand extension was ended.

Title reunification

Following a challenge made by then World Heavyweight Champion John Cena the night after Survivor Series to determine an undisputed World Champion, IWE Champion Kevin Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion Dustin Simpson in a TLC match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view on December 15, 2013, to unify the titles. Subsequently, the IWE Championship was renamed IWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Reintroduction of brand extension

On May 25, 2016, IWE announced SmackDown would move to Tuesday nights and go live. It would also receive a unique set of superstars and writers, as opposed to Raw, thus reintroducing the brand extension. On June 20, IWE announced that the draft would take place on the live premiere of SmackDown. On the June 27 episode of Raw, IWE began to refer to the IWE World Heavyweight Championship as the IWE Championship. On June 28, IWE.com officially changed the championship's name to the IWE Championship.

Belt designs

File:Daniel Bryan in April 2014.jpg
Three-time champion Daniel Bryan – shown with the 2013–2014 version of the belt (over his shoulder). Once the IWE Championship was unified with the World Heavyweight Championship, the champion also held the Big Gold Belt in conjunction with the IWE title belt from December 2013 to August 2014

Special custom belts have been created to match the characters of certain IWF/E champions:

A much larger version of the belt was created for André the Giant before WrestleMania III, although he never wore it as champion. A custom championship belt was designed and constructed for The Rock, which featured his trademark Brahma Bull logo in the center as an answer to Austin's Smoking Skull Belt, but due to creative reasons it never appeared on television.

The Big Gold Belt – which was used for the WCW Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, and other championships – was used in tandem with the IWF Championship belt after Chris Jericho unified the IWF and WCW Championship at Vengeance 2001 to form an undisputed championship. Raw owner Ric Flair presented Triple K with a single Undisputed Championship belt on the April 4, 2002 episode of Raw.

The "Spinner" belt's design, which featured a gold and diamond bling-bling style reflecting Simpson's hip hop character at the time, became the IWE Championship's primary design from April 11, 2005, to February 18, 2013; it replaced the former design, which had been used as the Undisputed Championship belt. The physical belt itself originally indicated the brand it was designated to. When it was first introduced, it featured a unique side plate design that read "SmackDown", though it was then replaced with one that read "Mon-Nite Raw" when John Cena was drafted to the Raw brand. When the title once again became SmackDown!'s primary championship after Triple K was drafted to the brand in 2008, the Raw plate was replaced with a second "IWE Champion" side plate. Edge had originally designed an entirely different custom belt than the "Rated R Spinner" design he used for his second reign, however the plans were scrapped due to time constraints.

File:Rob Lesnar IWE Champion 2014.jpg
Four-time champion Rob Lesnar with the current IWE World Heavyweight Championship belt

On the February 18, 2013, episode of Raw, The Rock unveiled a new IWE Championship belt. The new title was partially designed by Orange County Choppers of American Chopper fame. The championship featured a large cut-out of the scratch IWE logo (encrusted with diamonds) inside a large irregular heptagonal plate. The word "CHAMPION" appeared underneath the logo in large letters. On each side was a divider bar and a large plate. By default (mainly when the title was vacant), the side plates consisted of a red globe with a WWE logo underneath a crown. The reigning champions all had their logos onto the side plates as a similarity of the name plate feature.

Following the unification of the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships on December 15, 2013, the Big Gold Belt was used in tandem with the IWE Championship belt to represent the renamed WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

On the August 18, 2014 episode of Raw, reigning champion Rob Lesnar, who had won the title the night before at SummerSlam was presented with a single IWE World Heavyweight Championship belt, which has a slightly updated design from the belt introduced by The Rock in 2013 as a result of IWE adapting a new corporate logo originally used for the IWE Network. It features a large center plate dominated by a cut out of the new IWE logo inside an irregular heptagon with the words "WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION" along the bottom edges, in very small print. The large side plates, like the previous design, feature removable round sections, allowing the holder's personal logo to be added to the belt; the default sections feature gold and red world maps with the IWE logo over them, with the only difference being that this new title's original side plates do not feature a crown at the top of the plates. Like with the Undisputed Championship, the Big Gold Belt was retired with the unveiling of the new belt.

Reigns

Main List of IWE World Heavyweight Champions

Reference

External links

Retrieved from "http://72.14.177.54/iwe/IWE_World_Championship"
Personal tools