WWE Championship (Wrestling Era)

The WWE Championship is the top Championship on the Smackdown Brand. The current WWE Champion is Samoa Joe, who defeated Kurt Angle at the Summerslam PPV in August Week 4.
=== History ===
The WWE Championship was introduced in 1963 with Buddy Rogers becoming the inaugural champion on April 29. However, its origin is attributed to events that began in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), a promotionwith various subsidiaries. In the 1950s, Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was a subsidiary to the NWA and by 1963, CWC executives held a controlling stake over NWA operations. During this time, Buddy Rogers held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the world title of the NWA and its subsidiaries, until January 24, when Lou Thesz defeated Rogers for the championship. Following a dispute over the result, CWC seceded from the NWA and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). The WWWF World Heavyweight Championship was then established as having spun off from the NWA title when the recognition was awarded to Buddy Rogers following an apocryphal tournament in Rio de Janeiro, defeating Antonino Rocca in the finals. Affiliated with the NWA once again, the WWWF was renamed to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979, and after conclusively ending its affiliation with the NWA in 1983, the championship became known as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and later simply as the WWF Championship by the 1990s
At the start of The Wrestling Era, Jinder Mahal was the WWE Champion. Jinder lost the title to Kurt Angle in May Week 4, at the Backlash PPV. Kurt Angle then lost the WWE Championship to Samoa Joe in August Week 4 at the Summerslam PPV.
Category:Championships
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