List of ECW World Heavyweight Champions

Ezekiel Jackson was the final ECW Champion.

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 August 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 ECW Heavyweight Championship reigns from April 1992 through August 1994. 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

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

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
<1 Reign lasted less than a day
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling
1 Jimmy Snuka April 25, 1992 Live event Mount Tabor, Pennsylvania 1 1 Snuka defeated Salvatore Bellomo in a tournament final to become the first ECW Heavyweight Champion. [6]
2 Johnny Hotbody April 26, 1992 Live event Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 79
3 Jimmy Snuka July 14, 1992 Live event Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 78 [7]
4 Don Muraco September 30, 1992 Live event Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 47
5 The Sandman November 16, 1992 Live event Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 138
6 Don Muraco April 3, 1993 Hardcore TV Radnor, Pennsylvania 2 127 The episode aired on June 1, 1993 via tape delay. [8]
7 Tito Santana August 8, 1993 Hardcore TV Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 32 The episode aired on August 24, 1993 via tape delay.
8 Shane Douglas September 9, 1993 Hardcore TV Roanoke, Virginia 1 23 The episode aired on September 14, 1993 via tape delay.
9 Sabu October 2, 1993 NWA Bloodfest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 85 The title change aired on November 2, 1993 episode of Hardcore TV via tape delay.
10 Terry Funk December 26, 1993 Holiday Hell Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 90 The title change aired on December 28, 1993 episode of Hardcore TV via tape delay.
11 Shane Douglas March 26, 1994 Ultimate Jeopardy Devon, Pennsylvania 2 385 This was an Ultimate Jeopardy match also involving, Mr. Hughes, Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge, Road Warrior Hawk, Kevin Sullivan, and The Tazmaniac. The title change aired on the March 29, 1994 episode of Hardcore TV via tape delay. On August 27, 1994, the title was renamed the ECW World Heavyweight Championship when Douglas relinquished the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. ECW left the NWA and was renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling. WWE recognizes this as the starting point of the title. [9]
12 The Sandman April 15, 1995 Hostile City Showdown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 196 The title change aired on the April 18, 1995 episode of Hardcore TV via tape delay.
13 Mikey Whipwreck October 28, 1995 Hardcore TV Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 42 This was a ladder match. The episode aired on October 31, 1995 via tape delay.
14 The Sandman December 9, 1995 December to Dismember Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 3 49 This was a three-way dance also involving Steve Austin. The title change aired on the December 12, 1995 episode of Hardcore TV via tape delay.
15 Raven January 27, 1996 Hardcore TV Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 252 The episode aired on January 30, 1996 via tape delay.
16 The Sandman October 5, 1996 Ultimate Jeopardy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4 63 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. The title change aired on the October 8, 1996 episode of Hardcore TV via tape delay.
17 Raven December 7, 1996 Holiday Hell Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 127 This was a barbed wire match. The title change aired on the December 10, 1996 episode of Hardcore TV via tape delay.
18 Terry Funk April 13, 1997 Barely Legal Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 118
19 Sabu August 9, 1997 Born to Be Wired Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 8 This was a barbed wire match. The title change aired on the August 11, 1997 episode of Hardcore TV via tape delay.
20 Shane Douglas August 17, 1997 Hardcore Heaven Fort Lauderdale, Florida 3 60 This was a three-way dance also involving Terry Funk.
21 Bam Bam Bigelow October 16, 1997 Hardcore TV New York, New York 1 45 The episode aired on October 20, 1997 via tape delay.
22 Shane Douglas November 30, 1997 November to Remember Monaca, Pennsylvania 4 406
23 Taz January 10, 1999 Guilty as Charged Kissimmee, Florida 1 252 [10]
24 Mike Awesome September 19, 1999 Anarchy Rulz Villa Park, Illinois 1 89 This was a three-way dance also involving Masato Tanaka [11]
25 Masato Tanaka December 17, 1999 ECW on TNN Nashville, Tennessee 1 6 The episode aired on December 24, 1999 via tape delay.
26 Mike Awesome December 23, 1999 ECW on TNN White Plains, New York 2 112 The episode aired on December 31, 1999 via tape delay.
27 Taz April 13, 2000 ECW on TNN Indianapolis, Indiana 2 9 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. The episode aired on April 14, 2000 via tape delay. [12]
28 Tommy Dreamer April 22, 2000 CyberSlam Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 <1
29 Justin Credible April 22, 2000 CyberSlam Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 162
30 Jerry Lynn October 1, 2000 Anarchy Rulz Saint Paul, Minnesota 1 35 [13]
31 Steve Corino November 5, 2000 November to Remember Villa Park, Illinois 1 63 This was a Double Jeopardy match also involving Justin Credible and The Sandman. [14]
32 The Sandman January 7, 2001 Guilty as Charged New York, New York 5 <1 This was a Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes match also involving Justin Credible. [15]
33 Rhino January 7, 2001 Guilty as Charged New York, New York 1 94 [15]
— Deactivated April 11, 2001 — — — — ECW closed on April 4, 2001, and World Wrestling Entertainment purchased its assets in 2003.
World Wrestling Entertainment
34 Rob Van Dam June 13, 2006 ECW Trenton, New Jersey 1 21 The title was revived by WWE for the ECW brand. Van Dam was awarded the title by Paul Heyman for winning the WWE Championship. [16][17]
35 Big Show July 4, 2006 ECW Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 152 This was an Extreme Rules match. [18][19]
36 Bobby Lashley December 3, 2006 December to Dismember Augusta, Georgia 1 147 This was an Extreme Elimination Chamber match also involving Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Holly, Test, and CM Punk. [20][21]
37 Mr. McMahon April 29, 2007 Backlash Atlanta, Georgia 1 35 McMahon pinned Lashley in a handicap match, which also involved McMahon's teammates Shane McMahon and Umaga, to win the championship. [22][23]
38 Bobby Lashley June 3, 2007 One Night Stand Jacksonville, Florida 2 8 This was a Street Fight. [24][25]
— Vacated June 11, 2007 Raw Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania — — The championship was vacated due to Lashley being drafted to the Raw brand. [24][26]
39 Johnny Nitro June 24, 2007 Vengeance: Night of Champions Houston, Texas 1 69 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. Beginning in August 2007, the title would be referred to simply as the ECW Championship.[27] [28][29]
40 CM Punk September 1, 2007 ECW Cincinnati, Ohio 1 143 This was a Last Chance match which aired on tape delay on September 4, 2007. [30][31]
41 Chavo Guerrero January 22, 2008 ECW Charlottesville, Virginia 1 68 This was a No Disqualification match. With Chavo being a member of the SmackDown! roster, the title becomes shared between SmackDown and ECW. [32][33]
42 Kane March 30, 2008 WrestleMania XXIV Orlando, Florida 1 91 Kane was a member of the SmackDown! brand at the time he won the title, thus making the title exclusive to SmackDown!. The title was returned to ECW when Kane defected to the ECW brand two days later. Then the title was exclusive to the Raw brand when Kane was drafted to Raw on June 23, 2008. This gives Kane the distinction of being the only wrestler to carry one championship across all three brands. [34][35]
43 Mark Henry June 29, 2008 Night of Champions Dallas, Texas 1 70 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. [36][37]
44 Matt Hardy September 7, 2008 Unforgiven Cleveland, Ohio 1 127 This was a Scramble match that also involved Finlay, The Miz, and Chavo Guerrero. [38][39]
45 Jack Swagger January 12, 2009 ECW Sioux City, Iowa 1 104 This episode of ECW aired on tape delay on January 13, 2009. [40][41]
46 Christian April 26, 2009 Backlash Providence, Rhode Island 1 42 [42][43]
47 Tommy Dreamer June 7, 2009 Extreme Rules New Orleans, Louisiana 2 49 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.		 [44][45]
48 Christian July 26, 2009 Night of Champions Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 205 [46][47]
49 Ezekiel Jackson February 16, 2010 ECW Kansas City, Missouri 1 <1 This was an Extreme Rules match. [48]
— Deactivated February 16, 2010 ECW Kansas City, Missouri — — 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 World Heavyweight Champion The Sandman
Shane Douglas, who reigned for a combined 874 days as champion. His fourth reign at 406 days is the longest single reign in the title's history.
Christian is the longest reigning champion under the WWE banner, with a record of 205 days
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 Rhino 1 94
16 Sabu 2 93
17 Kane 1 91
18 Jimmy Snuka 2 79
Johnny Hotbody 1 79
20 Mark Henry 1 70
21 Johnny Nitro/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

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. 1 2 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. ↑ Hoops, Brian (July 14, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 14): Bruiser & Crusher vs. Stevens & Bockwinkel, Gagne vs. Superstar, Lex Luger wins WCW title, Snuka wins ECW title, Sting wins TNA belt". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ F4W Staff (April 3, 2015). "ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING TITLE CHANGE HISTORY: GOTCH VS. HACKENSCHMIDT, INOKI VS. HANSEN, GUERRERO VS. JERICHO". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Shane Douglas, August 27, 1994 - April 15, 1995". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  10. ↑ Ritchie, Sean (1999-01-11). "ECW PPV delivers". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  11. ↑ Oliver, Greg (1999-09-20). "ECW PPV delivers". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  12. ↑ Molinaro, John F. (2000-04-14). "Tazz wins ECW World title". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  13. ↑ Powell, John (2000-10-02). "Jerry Lynn new ECW champ". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  14. ↑ Powell, John (2000-11-06). "ECW has an Old School champ". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  15. 1 2 Powell, John (2001-01-08). "Confusion reigns at Guilty As Charged". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ "Rob Van Dam, June 13, 2006 - July 4, 2006". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "Big Show, July 4, 2006 - December 3, 2006". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  20. ↑ "Bobby Lashley, Dec. 3, 2006 - April 29, 2007". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  21. ↑ Mackinder, Matt (2006-12-04). "Lashley has a December to remember". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  22. ↑ "Mr. McMahon, Apr. 29, 2007 - June 3, 2007". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  23. ↑ Elliott, Brian (2007-04-30). "No filler makes for a consistent Backlash". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  24. 1 2 "Bobby Lashley, June 3, 2007 - June 11, 2007". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  25. ↑ Mackinder, Matt (2007-06-04). "One Night Stand a PPV gong show". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  26. ↑ Golden, Hunter (2007-06-11). "Raw results - 6/11/07 - Wilkes Barre, PA (2007 WWE Draft & more)". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  27. ↑ Golden, Hunter (2007-07-18). "ECW on Sci Fi results - 7/17/07 - Laredo, TX ('Nitro's announcement')". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  28. ↑ "John Morrison, June 24, 2007 - September 1, 2007". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  29. ↑ Powell, John; Powell, Justin (2007-06-25). "Vengeance banal and badly booked". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  30. ↑ "CM Punk, September 1, 2007 - January 22, 2008". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  31. ↑ 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.
  32. ↑ "Chavo Guerrero, January 22, 2008 - March 30, 2008". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  33. ↑ Medalis, Kara A. (2008-01-23). "ECW on Sci Fi Results - 1/22/08 - Charlottesville (New ECW Champion)". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  34. ↑ "Kane, March 30, 2008 - June 29, 2008". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  35. ↑ Plummer, Dale (2008-03-31). "Mayweather, Orton survive Mania; Edge, Flair don't". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  36. ↑ "Mark Henry, June 29, 2008 - September 7, 2008". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  37. ↑ Bishop, Matt (2008-06-30). "Big names still on top after Night of Champions". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  38. ↑ "Matt Hardy, Sept. 7, 2008 - January 13, 2009". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  39. ↑ Bishop, Matt (2008-09-11). "Scramble matches make for wild Unforgiven". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  40. ↑ "Jack Swagger, Jan. 13, 2009 - April 26, 2009". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  41. ↑ Stephens, David (2008-01-14). "ECW on Sci Fi Results - 1/13/09 - Sioux City, IA". WrestleView.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  42. ↑ "Christian, April 26, 2009 - June 7, 2009". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  43. ↑ Bishop, Matt (2009-04-27). "Backlash: All 3 world titles change hands". SLAM! Sports: Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  44. ↑ "Tommy Dreamer, June 7, 2009 - July 26, 2009". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  45. ↑ 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.
  46. ↑ "Christian, July 26, 2009 -". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
  47. ↑ 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.
  48. ↑ "Ezekiel Jackson, February 16, 2010". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-02-16.

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