Origin of every present World Championship in WWE
WWE Superstars climb the ladder in their careers to reach the top of the company. The prize at the top is the world title, which is deemed to be the most coveted prize in professional wrestling.
These titles are given utmost significance and are usually defended at the main event of WWE shows. As Vince McMahon's company has three brands (RAW, SmackDown, and NXT 2.0), it has a top championship exclusively for its brands for both men and women divisions.
In the article, we will discuss the history and origin of these top titles in the chronological order of their lineage.
#6. WWE Championship - April 1963
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The #WWEChampionship belongs to #TheBeast!!! @BrockLesnar
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The WWE Championship is the oldest title in the promotion. It was introduced on the 11th of April, 1963, and was awarded to Buddy Rogers. There is a reason behind Rogers being chosen as the inaugural champion.
WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation, now WWE) was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. Buddy Rogers was the NWA World Champion when Vince McMahon's promotion ended their affiliation with NWA.
Rogers was pinned in a title match for one fall. However, titles only changed hands in the two out of three fall matches back then. Thus, WWWF objected to this title change.
WWWF then awarded Rogers the inaugural world championship. It was announced that he defeated Antonio Rocca in the tournament final at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. However, the tournament was reportedly entirely fictional and never happened.
The same title was renamed the WWF Championship.
After the promotion acquired its arch-rival WCW, a unification match for the world titles of two companies was held. Chris Jericho defeated both The Rock and Steve Austin on the same night to unify the WCW Championship into the WWF Championship, thus becoming the Undisputed Champion.
The Undisputed title was renamed WWE Championship as it carried the same lineage. It was again unified with the World Heavyweight Championship in 2013. At TLC, Randy Orton defeated John Cena to unify the belts. The lineage of the original championship prevailed yet again.
#5. NXT Championship - July 2012
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The promotion replaced Florida Championship Wrestling with NXT in 2012. It saw huge potential in the division, and an exclusive NXT Championship was introduced for the brand.
NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes announced an eight-man knockout tournament called the Gold Rush to crown the inaugural champion. Four superstars from NXT and four from the main roster competed for the title.
Seth Rollins defeated Jinder Mahal in the final and became the first-ever NXT Champion. Bron Breakker is the current champion.