List of ECW World Heavyweight Champions
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 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 NWA-ECW Heavyweight Championship reigns. 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.
Contents
Title history
- Key
# | Order in reign history |
---|---|
Reign | The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed |
Event | The event in which the title was won |
— | Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign |
N/A | The information is not available or is unknown |
+ | Indicates the current reign is changing daily |
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
# | Wrestlers | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jimmy Snuka | 1 | April 25, 1992 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Mount Tabor, Pennsylvania | Live event | Snuka defeated Salvatore Bellomo in a tournament final to become the first ECW Heavyweight Champion. ECW Heavyweight Championship reigns are not recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). | [6] |
2 | Johnny Hotbody | 1 | April 26, 1992 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Live event | ||
3 | Jimmy Snuka | 2 | July 14, 1992 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Live event | ||
4 | Don Muraco | 1 | September 30, 1992 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Live event | ||
5 | The Sandman | 1 | November 16, 1992 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Live event | ||
6 | Don Muraco | 2 | April 3, 1993 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Radnor, Pennsylvania | Live event | ||
7 | Tito Santana | 1 | August 8, 1993 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Live event | ||
8 | Shane Douglas | 1 | September 9, 1993 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Roanoke, Virginia | Live event | Douglas won the championship due to forfeit. ECW Joined the NWA nine days later and it became the NWA-ECW Heavyweight Title. | |
9 | Sabu | 1 | October 2, 1993 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | NWA Bloodfest | ||
10 | Terry Funk | 1 | December 26, 1993 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Holiday Hell 1993 | This was a no disqualification match. | |
11 | Shane Douglas | 2 | March 26, 1994 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Devon, Pennsylvania | Ultimate Jeopardy (1994) | Douglas pinned Funk in an Ultimate Jeopardy match also involving, Mr. Hughes, Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge, Road Warrior Hawk, Kevin Sullivan, and The Tazmaniac. On August 27, 1994, the title was renamed the ECW World Heavyweight Championship when Douglas relinquished the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. ECW leaves the NWA and is renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling. WWE recognizes this as the starting point of the title. | [7] |
12 | The Sandman | 2 | April 15, 1995 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Hostile City Showdown 1995 | ||
13 | Mikey Whipwreck | 1 | October 28, 1995 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Live event | This was a ladder match. | |
14 | The Sandman | 3 | December 9, 1995 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | December to Dismember (1995) | This was a three way dance also involving Steve Austin. | |
15 | Raven | 1 | January 27, 1996 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Live event | ||
16 | The Sandman | 4 | October 5, 1996 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Ultimate Jeopardy (1996) | 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. | |
17 | Raven | 2 | December 7, 1996 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Holiday Hell 1996 | This was a barbed wire match. | |
18 | Terry Funk | 2 | April 13, 1997 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Barely Legal | ||
19 | Sabu | 2 | August 9, 1997 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Born to Be Wired | This was a barbed wire match. | |
20 | Shane Douglas | 3 | August 17, 1997 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Hardcore Heaven (1997) | This was a three way dance also involving Terry Funk. | |
21 | Bam Bam Bigelow | 1 | October 16, 1997 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | New York, New York | Live event | ||
22 | Shane Douglas | 4 | November 30, 1997 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Monaca, Pennsylvania | November to Remember (1997) | ||
23 | Taz | 1 | January 10, 1999 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Kissimmee, Florida | Guilty as Charged (1999) | [8] | |
24 | Mike Awesome | 1 | September 19, 1999 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Villa Park, Illinois | Anarchy Rulz (1999) | This was a three way dance also involving Masato Tanaka | [9] |
25 | Masato Tanaka | 1 | December 17, 1999 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Nashville, Tennessee | ECW on TNN | ||
26 | Mike Awesome | 2 | December 23, 1999 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | White Plains, New York | ECW on TNN | ||
27 | Taz | 2 | April 13, 2000 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Indianapolis, Indiana | ECW on TNN | 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. | [10] |
28 | Tommy Dreamer | 1 | April 22, 2000 | <1 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | CyberSlam (2000) | ||
29 | Justin Credible | 1 | April 22, 2000 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | CyberSlam (2000) | ||
30 | Jerry Lynn | 1 | October 1, 2000 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Anarchy Rulz (2000) | [11] | |
31 | Steve Corino | 1 | November 5, 2000 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Villa Park, Illinois | November to Remember (2000) | This was a Double Jeopardy match also involving Justin Credible and The Sandman. | [12] |
32 | The Sandman | 5 | January 7, 2001 | <1 | New York, New York | Guilty as Charged (2001) | This was a Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes match also involving Justin Credible. | [13] |
33 | Rhino | 1 | January 7, 2001 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | New York, New York | Guilty as Charged (2001) | [13] | |
— | Deactivated | — | April 11, 2001 | — | N/A | N/A | ECW closed on April 4, 2001, and World Wrestling Entertainment purchased its assets in 2003. | |
34 | Rob Van Dam | 1 | June 13, 2006 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Trenton, New Jersey | ECW | The title was revived by WWE for the ECW brand. Van Dam was awarded the title by Paul Heyman for winning the WWE Championship. | [14][15] |
35 | Big Show | 1 | July 4, 2006 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ECW | This was an Extreme Rules match. | [16][17] |
36 | Bobby Lashley | 1 | December 3, 2006 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Augusta, Georgia | December to Dismember (2006) | This was an Extreme Elimination Chamber match also involving Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Holly, Test and CM Punk. | [18][19] |
37 | Mr. McMahon | 1 | April 29, 2007 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Atlanta, Georgia | Backlash (2007) | McMahon pinned Lashley in a handicap match, which also involved McMahon's teammates Shane McMahon and Umaga, to win the championship. | [20][21] |
38 | Bobby Lashley | 2 | June 3, 2007 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Jacksonville, Florida | One Night Stand (2007) | This was a Street Fight. | [22][23] |
— | Vacated | — | June 11, 2007 | — | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | Raw | The championship is vacated due to Lashley being drafted to the Raw brand. | [22][24] |
39 | Johnny Nitro/John Morrison | 1 | June 24, 2007 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Houston, Texas | Vengeance: Night of Champions | 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.[25] | [26][27] |
40 | CM Punk | 1 | September 1, 2007 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Cincinnati, Ohio | ECW | This was a Last Chance match which aired on tape delay on September 4, 2007. | [28][29] |
41 | Chavo Guerrero | 1 | January 22, 2008 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Charlottesville, Virginia | ECW | This was a No Disqualification match. With Chavo being a member of the SmackDown roster, the title becomes shared between SmackDown and ECW. | [30][31] |
42 | Kane | 1 | March 30, 2008 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Orlando, Florida | WrestleMania XXIV | Kane was a member of the SmackDown! brand at the time he won the title, thus making the title exclusive to SmackDown!. The title is returned to ECW when Kane defected to the ECW brand two days later. Title becomes exclusive to the Raw brand when Kane is drafted to Raw on June 23rd, 2008. This gives Kane the distinction of being the only wrestler to carry one championship across all three brands. | [32][33] |
43 | Mark Henry | 1 | June 29, 2008 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Dallas, Texas | Night of Champions (2008) | 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. | [34][35] |
44 | Matt Hardy | 1 | September 7, 2008 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Cleveland, Ohio | Unforgiven (2008) | This was a Scramble match that also involved Finlay, The Miz, and Chavo Guerrero. | [36][37] |
45 | Jack Swagger | 1 | January 12, 2009 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Sioux City, Iowa | ECW | This episode of ECW aired on tape delay on January 13, 2009. | [38][39] |
46 | Christian | 1 | April 26, 2009 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Providence, Rhode Island | Backlash (2009) | [40][41] | |
47 | Tommy Dreamer | 2 | June 7, 2009 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | New Orleans, Louisiana | Extreme Rules (2009) | 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. |
[42][43] |
48 | Christian | 2 | July 26, 2009 | Lua error in Module:Age at line 846: attempt to call method 'subtract' (a nil value). | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Night of Champions (2009) | [44][45] | |
49 | Ezekiel Jackson | 1 | February 16, 2010 | <1 | Kansas City, Missouri | ECW | This was an Extreme Rules match. | [46] |
— | Deactivated | — | February 16, 2010 | — | Kansas City, Missouri | ECW | The title was retired once again immediately after Jackson won it due to the ECW brand being discontinued. | [5] |
List of combined reigns

Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
<1 | The reign is shorter than one day. |
Rank [1] | 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 | Sabu | 2 | 93 |
Rhino | 1 | 93 | |
17 | Kane | 1 | 91 |
18 | Jimmy Snuka | 2 | 79 |
Johnny Hotbody | 1 | 79 | |
20 | Mark Henry | 1 | 70 |
21 | 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
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- Specific
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External links
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