WWE Championship

Current Champion Aleister Black

The **WWE Championship** is a WWE championship currently defended on the Raw Brand. It is a successor to the WWE World Championship, which was retired at SummerSlam (2012). The current champion is Aleister Black, who is currently in his second reign after winning the title from Drew McIntyre at Clash of Champions (2020).

## Overview

In 2012, WWE decided to undergo an evolution after facing pressure to allow their female performers (then referred to as "Divas") a chance to perform on the same level as their male counterparts. At SummerSlam (2012), all titles were retired and new championships were revealed, ushering in "The New Era" of WWE. The WWE Championship was created as a successor to the WWE World Championship. CM Punk became the inaugural champion by defeating Chris Jericho. The title has been defended on the Raw brand ever since, while its counterpart, the Universal Championship, has been exclusive to SmackDown.

## Title History

CM Punk became the inaugural title holder at SummerSlam when he defeated Chris Jericho to win the championship. Punk would go on to the hold title for nearly a year, defending the title against Jericho, Sheamus, Big Show, John Morrison, Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler before dropping the title to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Lesnar defended the title against Punk and Cody Rhodes before he was defeated by Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 30.

Reigns began a heated feud with John Cena, as the two top superstars clashed on multiple occasions, before Cena finally came out on top at Battleground. His reign, however, was short-lived as Lesnar returned and reclaimed the title. The two would have a rematch at Night of Champions where Cena claimed the gold for a second time. Cena then defended the title against Reigns, Randy Orton, Rhodes, Ziggler and Wade Barrett before dropping the title to The Miz at WrestleMania 31. The Miz would defend the title against Zack Ryder before entering into a heated rivalry with Roman Reigns, where the title would trade hands to Reigns at SummerSlam and then back to The Miz at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs). Seth Rollins was later interjected into the mix, winning the title at WrestleMania 32 in a Triple Threat Match.

The title then changed hands several times over the course of the year, from Rollins to AJ Styles, to Cesaro and then to Bray Wyatt. Cedric Alexander was won the Royal Rumble, successfully challenged for the title at WrestleMania 33, but dropped the title shortly after to Bobby Lashley. John Cena would get what was then a record-breaking third reign as champion, winning the title at Great Balls of Fire. Cena entered into a feud with Kevin Owens, with the title changing hands between them (giving Cena the record for the shortest reign at 8 days) before Owens won the feud and the title on Raw. He was later defeated by Reigns, who tied Cena's third-reign record before he was defeated by the seemingly-unbeatable Samoa Joe at WrestleMania 34. Joe would suffer his first Pinfall loss since arriving on Raw to Finn Bálor at SummerSlam.

Bálor's reign as champion entered with the return of the Beast, Brock Lesnar. Lesnar defended his title against Reigns and Bálor before being challenged by Royal Rumble winner Seth Rollins. Rollins was able to slay the Beast at WrestleMania 35, but lost the title at Extreme Rules when Lesnar cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to claim the title for a record-breaking fourth time. Rollins got his rematch at SummerSlam, where he was successful at regaining the title. The title was then won by the undefeated Aleister Black, before it went back to Lesnar for his fifth reign. After winning the Royal Rumble, McIntyre successfully challenged for the championship at WrestleMania 36. He later lost the title at Clash of Champions (2020), when Aleister Black cashed in his Money in the Bank Contract.

## Trivia

* CM Punk was the only champion to successfully defend the title at WrestleMania.
* Drew McIntyre was the first champion to successfully defend the title at SummerSlam.
* Despite having the most reigns as champion, Brock Lesnar has (by far) has had the least title defenses.