| |
| World Heavyweight Championship | |
| Details | |
| Promotions: | WWE |
| Date established: | September 2, 2002 |
| Date retired: | December 15, 2013 (unified with the WWE Championship to become WWE World Heavyweight Championship and became shortly as WWE Championship) |
| Other name(s) | |
| Other name(s): | World Heavyweight Championship (2002-2013) WWE World Heavyweight Championship (2013-2014) |
| Statistics | |
| First champion(s) | Triple H |
| Most reigns | Edge (7 reigns) |
| Longest reign | Batista (282 days) |
| Shortest reign | Big Show (2 minutes) |
| Oldest champion | The Undertaker (44 years, 334 days) |
| Youngest champion | Randy Orton (24 years, 136 days) |
| Heaviest champion | Big Show (441 lb (200 kg)) |
| Lightest champion | Rey Mysterio (175 lb (79 kg)) |
The World Heavyweight Championship a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by WWE. It was one of two top championships in WWE from 2002 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2013, complementing the WWE Championship, and one of three top championships from 2006 to 2010 with the addition of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.
The title was established under the Raw brand in 2002, after Raw and SmackDown became distinct brands under WWE, and moved between both brands on different occasions (mainly as a result of the WWE draft) until August 29, 2011, when all programming became full roster "supershows". The World Heavyweight Championship was retired at the WWE pay-per-view, TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, on December 15, 2013, when it was unified with the WWE Championship in a TLC Match and became the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H was the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion, with Randy Orton being the last.
The title was one of six to be represented by the historic Big Gold Belt, first introduced in 1986. Its heritage can be traced back to the first world heavyweight championship, thereby giving the belt a legacy over 100 years old, the oldest in the world.