List of WWE European Champions

Kurt Angle, seen here with both the WWF European Championship and WWF Intercontinental Championship, in 2000. Angle was the third man to have achieved this accomplishment (along with D'Lo Brown, Jeff Jarrett, and Rob Van Dam)

The WWE European Championship is a former professional wrestling title competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The title was created on February 26, 1997.[1] The first champion was The British Bulldog who defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final.[2] The title was retired briefly in April 1999 by then-champion Shane McMahon, who wanted to retire as an "undefeated champion". McMahon reintroduced the championship two months later and gave it to Mideon, who saw the title belt in Shane's travel bag and asked if he could have it.[3][4] The title was finally retired on July 22, 2002 when WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy to unify the European title into the Intercontinental title.[5] There have been a total of 27 recognized champions who have had a combined 37 official reigns. This is a chronological list of wrestlers that have been WWE European Champion by ring name.

WWE.com does not list Van Dam's win over Jeff Hardy for the European Championship in their title history; however, it is acknowledged in RVD's profile and is listed as a title reign in WWE's official encyclopedia.[6][7]

Title history

Names

Name Years
WWF European Championship February 1997 – May 2002
WWE European Championship May 2002 – July 2002

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
1 The British Bulldog February 26, 1997[1] Raw Berlin, Germany 1 206 Defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final to become the first champion. Aired March 3. [2]
2 Shawn Michaels September 20, 1997 One Night Only Birmingham, England 1 82 WWE recognizes Michaels' reign as lasting 93 days. [8][9]
3 Triple H December 11, 1997 Raw is War Lowell, MA 1 40 Michaels was ordered to defend the title against Helmsley by WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Michaels intentionally lost the match, because he also held the WWF World Heavyweight Championship having won that title on November 9, 1997. Aired December 22. WWE recognizes Triple H's reign as lasting 31 days. [10]
4 Owen Hart January 20, 1998 Raw is War Davis, CA 1 55 Defeated The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust, who was dressed as Triple H. Commissioner Slaughter awards the title to Hart considering Goldust as a substitution for Triple H. Aired January 26.
WWE recognizes Hart's reign as lasting 53 days.		 [11]
5 Triple H March 16, 1998 Raw is War Phoenix, AZ 2 120 [12]
6 D'Lo Brown July 14, 1998 Raw is War Binghamton, NY 1 63 Aired July 20.[13]
WWE recognizes Brown's reigns as lasting 57 days.		 [14]
7 X-Pac September 15, 1998 Raw is War Sacramento, CA 1 14 Aired September 21. [15]
8 D'Lo Brown September 29, 1998 Raw is War East Lansing, MI 2 19 Aired October 5.
WWE recognizes Brown's reign as lasting 13 days.		 [16]
9 X-Pac October 18, 1998 Judgment Day: In Your House Rosemont, IL 2 120 [17]
10 Shane McMahon February 15, 1999 Raw is War Birmingham, AL 1 43 Defeated X-Pac in a tag team match with Shane McMahon and Kane vs. Triple H and X-Pac.
WWE recognizes McMahon's reign as lasting 48 days.		 [3]
— Deactivated March 30, 1999 Sunday Night Heat Uniondale, NY — — McMahon "retired as champion." Aired April 4. [3]
11 Mideon June 21, 1999 Raw is War Memphis, TN 1 34 Shane McMahon awarded Mideon. [4]
12 D'Lo Brown July 25, 1999 Fully Loaded Buffalo, NY 3 28 [18]
13 Jeff Jarrett August 22, 1999 SummerSlam Minneapolis, MN 1 1 Also for Brown's Intercontinental Championship. [19]
14 Mark Henry August 23, 1999 Raw is War Ames, IA 1 34 Jarrett gave the title to Henry as a gift for his assisting Jarrett in defeating Brown at SummerSlam. [20]
15 D'Lo Brown September 26, 1999 Unforgiven Charlotte, NC 4 30 WWE recognizes Brown's reign as lasting 32 days. [21]
16 The British Bulldog October 26, 1999 SmackDown! Springfield, MA 2 47 Aired October 28.
WWE recognizes The British Bulldog's reign as lasting 45 days.		 [22]
17 Val Venis December 12, 1999 Armageddon Sunrise, FL 1 58 This was a Triple Threat match also involving D'Lo Brown.
WWE recognizes Venis's reign as lasting 60 days.		 [23]
18 Kurt Angle February 8, 2000 SmackDown! Austin, TX 1 54 Aired February 10.
WWE recognizes Angle's reign as lasting 52 days.		 [24]
19 Chris Jericho April 2, 2000 WrestleMania 2000 Anaheim, CA 1 1 Won second fall of two fall Triple Threat Match against Angle and Chris Benoit (first fall was for Intercontinental Championship); pinned Benoit to claim championship. [25]
20 Eddie Guerrero April 3, 2000 Raw is War Los Angeles, CA 1 111 [26]
21 Perry Saturn July 23, 2000 Fully Loaded Dallas, TX 1 37 WWE recognizes Saturn's reign as lasting 39 days. [27]
22 Al Snow August 29, 2000 SmackDown! Fayetteville, NC 1 48 Aired August 31.
WWE recognizes Snow's reign as lasting 46 days.		 [28]
23 William Regal October 16, 2000 Raw is War Detroit, MI 1 47 [29]
24 Crash Holly December 2, 2000 Rebellion Sheffield, England 1 2 [30]
25 William Regal December 4, 2000 Raw is War East Rutherford, NJ 2 49 [31]
26 Test January 22, 2001 Raw is War Lafayette, LA 1 69 [32]
27 Eddie Guerrero April 1, 2001 WrestleMania X-Seven Houston, TX 2 23 WWE recognizes Guerrero's reign as lasting 25 days. [33]
28 Matt Hardy April 24, 2001 SmackDown! Denver, CO 1 125 Aired April 26.
WWE recognizes Hardy's reign as lasting 123 days.		 [34]
29 The Hurricane August 27, 2001 Raw is War Grand Rapids, MI 1 56 [35]
30 Bradshaw October 22, 2001 Raw Kansas City, MO 1 8 WWE recognizes Bradshaw's reign as lasting 10 days. [36]
31 Christian October 30, 2001 SmackDown! Cincinnati, OH 1 91 Aired November 1. [37]
32 Diamond Dallas Page January 29, 2002 SmackDown! Norfolk, VA 1 49 Aired January 31. [38]
33 William Regal March 19, 2002 SmackDown! Ottawa, ON 3 20 Aired March 21. Title became exclusive to Raw when Regal was drafted to the Raw brand on March 26, 2002.
WWE recognizes Regal's reign as lasting 18 days.		 [39]
34 Spike Dudley April 8, 2002 Raw Phoenix, AZ 1 28 Renamed the WWE European Championship on May 5, 2002 [40][41]
35 William Regal May 6, 2002 Raw Hartford, CT 4 63 [42]
36 Jeff Hardy July 8, 2002 Raw Philadelphia, PA 1 14 WWE recognizes Hardy's reign as lasting 13 days and mistakenly recognizes it as ending on July 21. [5]
37 Rob Van Dam July 22, 2002 Raw Grand Rapids, MI 1 <1 This was also for Van Dam's WWE Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder match. [43]
— Unified July 22, 2002 Raw Grand Rapids, MI — — Unified with the Intercontinental Championship.

Combined reigns

Record tying 4-time WWE European Champion D'Lo Brown
Rank Champion No. of reigns Combined days Combined days
recognized by WWE
1 The British Bulldog2253251
2 William Regal4179177
3 Triple H2160151
4 D'Lo Brown4140130
5 Eddie Guerrero2134136
X-Pac2134
7 Matt Hardy1125123
8 Christian191
9 Shawn Michaels18293
10 Test16993
11 Val Venis158
12 The Hurricane156
13 Owen Hart15553
14 Kurt Angle15452
15 Diamond Dallas Page149
16 Al Snow14846
17 Shane McMahon14348
18 Perry Saturn13739
19 Mideon134
Mark Henry134
21 Spike Dudley128
22 Jeff Hardy11413
23 Bradshaw1810
24 Crash Holly12
25 Jeff Jarrett11
Chris Jericho11
27 Rob Van Dam1<1

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "History of the European Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  2. 1 2 "The British Bulldog's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  3. 1 2 3 "Shane McMahon's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  4. 1 2 "Mideon's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  5. 1 2 "Jeff Hardy's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  6. ↑ "Rob Van Dam's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  7. ↑ Brian Shields, Kevin Sullivan, WWE Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to World Wrestling Entertainment, (Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Incorporated, 2009), ISBN 0-7566-4190-X
  8. ↑ "Shawn Michaels' first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  9. ↑ Hoops, Brian (September 20, 2015). "On this date in pro wrestling history (9/20): Flair defeats McDaniel, Gagne beats Von Raschke". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Triple H's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  11. ↑ "Owen Hart's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  12. ↑ "Triple H's second reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  13. ↑ Hoops, Brian (July 20, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history: Brisco beats Race for NWA title, Gagne beats Crusher for AWA title, Robinson vs. Gagen". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  14. ↑ "D'Lo Brown's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  15. ↑ "X-Pac's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  16. ↑ "D'Lo Brown's second reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  17. ↑ "X-Pac's second reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  18. ↑ "D'Lo Brown's third reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  19. ↑ "Jeff Jarrett's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  20. ↑ "Mark Henry's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  21. ↑ "D'Lo Brown's fourth reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  22. ↑ "The British Bulldog's second reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  23. ↑ "Val Venis' first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  24. ↑ "Kurt Angle's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  25. ↑ "Chris Jericho's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  26. ↑ "Eddie Guerrero's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  27. ↑ "Perry Saturn's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  28. ↑ "Al Snow's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  29. ↑ "William Regal's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  30. ↑ "Crash Holly's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  31. ↑ "William Regal's second reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  32. ↑ "Test's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  33. ↑ "Eddie Guerrero's second reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  34. ↑ "Matt Hardy's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  35. ↑ "The Hurricane's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  36. ↑ "Bradshaw's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  37. ↑ "Christian's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  38. ↑ "Diamond Dallas Page's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  39. ↑ "William Regal's third reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  40. ↑ "European Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  41. ↑ "Spike Dudley's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  42. ↑ "William Regal's fourth reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  43. ↑ "Rob Van Dam profile". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2010-09-02.

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