Swerve Strickland is the current champion in his first reign.
Title history[]
| Reign | The reign number for the specific champion |
|---|---|
| Location | The city in which the title was won |
| Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won |
| No. | Champion | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triple H | 1 | September 2, 2002 | 76 | Milwaukee, WI | Raw | Awarded the championship by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, making him the inaugural champion. He made the first defense that night against Ric Flair. Triple H defeated Intercontinental Champion Kane on October 20, 2002 at No Mercy to unify the Intercontinental Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship. |
| 2 | Shawn Michaels | 1 | November 17, 2002 | 28 | New York City, NY | Survivor Series | This was an elimination chamber match that also included Chris Jericho, Booker T, Kane and Rob Van Dam. |
| 3 | Triple H | 2 | December 15, 2002 | 280 | Sunrise, FL | Armageddon | This was three stages of hell match. |
| 4 | Goldberg | 1 | September 21, 2003 | 84 | Hershey, PA | Unforgiven | This was a title vs. career match. |
| 5 | James Harrison | 1 | December 14, 2003 | 273 | Orlando, FL | Armageddon | This was a triple threat match that also included Triple H. |
| 6 | Triple H | 3 | September 12, 2004 | 85 | Portland, OR | Unforgiven | |
| — | Vacated | – | December 6, 2004 | – | Baltimore, MD | Raw | The championship was vacated after a double fall occurred during a triple threat match that included Chris Benoit and Edge. |
| 7 | James Harrison | 2 | January 9, 2005 | 366 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | New Year's Revolution | Defeated Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Batista and Edge in an elimination chamber match. |
| — | Vacated | – | January 10, 2006 | – | Philadelphia, PA | SmackDown | Harrison vacated the championship after suffering a hamstring tear. |
| 8 | Matthew Harrison | 1 | January 10, 2006 | 82 | Philadelphia, PA | SmackDown | Harrison won a 20-man battle royal for the vacant title. |
| 9 | Rey Mysterio | 1 | April 2, 2006 | 112 | Rosemont, IL | WrestleMania 22 | This was a triple threat match that also included Randy Orton. |
| 10 | James Harrison | 3 | July 23, 2006 | 126 | Indianapolis, IN | The Great American Bash | Harrison won the title via technical knockout |
| 11 | Batista | 1 | November 26, 2006 | 126 | Philadelphia, PA | Survivor Series | This was a last chance match. |
| 12 | The Undertaker | 1 | April 1, 2007 | 37 | Detroit, MI | WrestleMania 23 | |
| 13 | James Harrison | 4 | May 8, 2007 | 70 | Pittsburgh, PA | SmackDown | |
| — | Vacated | – | July 17, 2007 | – | Laredo, TX | SmackDown | Harrison vacated the title after suffering a knee ligament tear. |
| 14 | Matthew Harrison | 2 | July 17, 2007 | 61 | Laredo, TX | SmackDown | Harrison won the vacant title in a 20-man battle royal. |
| 15 | Batista | 2 | September 16, 2007 | 91 | Memphis, TN | Unforgiven | This was a triple threat match that also included Rey Mysterio. |
| 16 | Edge | 1 | December 16, 2007 | 105 | Pittsburgh, PA | Armageddon | This was a triple threat match that also included The Undertaker. |
| 17 | The Undertaker | 2 | March 30, 2008 | 30 | Orlando, FL | WrestleMania XXIV | |
| — | Vacated | – | April 29, 2008 | – | Atlantic City, NJ | SmackDown | SmackDown general manager Vickie Guerrero stripped The Undertaker of the title after he used a banned move (Hell's Gate). |
| 18 | James Harrison | 5 | June 1, 2008 | 29 | San Diego, CA | One Night Stand | Defeated The Undertaker in a tables, ladders and chairs match for the vacant championship. |
| 19 | CM Punk | 1 | June 30, 2008 | 69 | Oklahoma City, OK | Raw | Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. |
| — | Vacated | – | September 7, 2008 | – | Cleveland, OH | Unforgiven | Punk vacated the title after being kayfabe injured by Legacy. |
| 20 | James Harrison | 6 | September 7, 2008 | 77 | Cleveland, OH | Unforgiven | This was a Championship Scramble match, also involving John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Batista, Rey Mysterio, and Kane. |
| 21 | Matthew Harrison | 3 | November 23, 2008 | 84 | Boston, MA | Survivor Series | |
| 22 | Edge | 2 | February 15, 2009 | 49 | Seattle, WA | No Way Out | This was an elimination chamber match that also included Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, Mike Knox and Kane. |
| 23 | Matthew Harrison | 4 | April 5, 2009 | 21 | Houston, TX | WrestleMania XXV | This was a triple threat match that also included Big Show. |
| 24 | Edge | 3 | April 26, 2009 | 42 | Providence, RI | Backlash | This was a last man standing match. |
| 25 | Matthew Harrison | 5 | June 7, 2009 | <1 | New Orleans, LA | Extreme Rules | This was a ladder match. |
| 26 | CM Punk | 2 | 49 | Punk cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract. | |||
| 27 | Jeff Hardy | 1 | July 26, 2009 | 28 | Philadelphia, PA | Night of Champions | |
| 28 | CM Punk | 3 | August 23, 2009 | 42 | Los Angeles, CA | SummerSlam | This was a tables, ladders and chairs match. |
| 29 | The Undertaker | 3 | October 4, 2009 | 140 | Newark, NJ | Hell in a Cell | This was a hell in a cell match. |
| 30 | James Harrison | 7 | February 21, 2010 | 119 | St. Louis, MO | Elimination Chamber | This was an elimination chamber that also included John Morrison, R-Truth, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. |
| 31 | Jack Swagger | 1 | June 20, 2010 | 28 | Uniondale, NY | Fatal 4-Way | This was Swagger's Money in the Bank cash in match. |
| 32 | Kane | 1 | July 18, 2010 | 154 | Kansas City, MO | Money in the Bank | Kane cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract. |
| 33 | Edge | 4 | December 19, 2010 | 58 | Houston, TX | TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs | This was a fatal four-way tables, ladders and chairs match that also included Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio. |
| 34 | Dolph Ziggler | 1 | February 15, 2011 | <1 | San Diego, CA | SmackDown | Edge was stripped of the title after using a banned move (spear). Vickie Guerrero awarded the title to Ziggler. |
| 35 | Edge | 5 | 56 | Edge was awarded a rematch by returning General Manager Theodore Long. | |||
| — | Vacated | – | April 12, 2011 | – | Albany, NY | SmackDown | Title was declared vacant due to Edge's retirement. |
| 36 | Christian | 1 | May 1, 2011 | 2 | Tampa, FL | Extreme Rules | Defeated Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match for the vacant title. |
| 37 | Randy Orton | 1 | May 3, 2011 | 75 | Orlando, FL | SmackDown | |
| 38 | Christian | 2 | July 17, 2011 | 28 | Rosemont, IL | Money in the Bank | Christian won the title via disqualification per a pre-match stipulation. |
| 39 | Randy Orton | 2 | August 14, 2011 | 35 | Los Angeles, CA | SummerSlam | This was a no holds barred match. |
| 40 | Mark Henry | 1 | September 18, 2011 | 91 | Buffalo, NY | Night of Champions | |
| 41 | Matthew Harrison | 6 | December 18, 2011 | <1 | Baltimore, MD | TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs | This was a chairs match. |
| 42 | Daniel Bryan | 1 | 105 | Bryan cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. | |||
| 43 | James Harrison | 8 | April 1, 2012 | 574 | Miami, FL | WrestleMania XXVIII | |
| 44 | John Cena | 1 | October 27, 2013 | 49 | Miami, FL | Hell in a Cell | |
| 45 | James Harrison | 9 | December 15, 2013 | <1 | Houston, TX | TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs | This was a TLC match also for Harrison's WWE Championship. |
| — | Unified | – | December 15, 2013 | – | Houston, TX | TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs | Unified with Harrison's WWE Championship creating the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. |
| 46 | Matthew Harrison | 7 | May 1, 2016 | 84 | Rosemont, IL | Payback | Defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, Brock Lesnar, Goldust, Ryback and Finn Bálor in a ladder match to revive the title. |
| 47 | James Harrison | 10 | July 24, 2016 | 63 | Washington, D.C. | Unforgiven | This was a ladder match. |
| 48 | AJ Styles | 1 | September 25, 2016 | 57 | Indianapolis, IN | Starrcade | Styles cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract. |
| 49 | Chad Gable | 1 | November 21, 2016 | 14 | Toronto, Canada | Raw | |
| 50 | AJ Styles | 2 | December 5, 2016 | 55 | Austin, TX | Raw | |
| 51 | Sami Zayn | 1 | January 29, 2016 | 161 | San Antonio, TX | Royal Rumble | |
| 52 | Kevin Owens | 1 | July 9, 2017 | 106 | Hartford, CT | Bad Blood | |
| 53 | Braun Strowman | 1 | October 22, 2017 | 168 | Minneapolis, MN | Vengeance | |
| 54 | AJ Styles | 3 | April 8, 2018 | 175 | London, England | WrestleMania 34 | |
| 55 | Samoa Joe | 1 | September 30, 2018 | 119 | Nashville, TN | Starrcade | This was Joe's Money in the Bank cash-in match. |
| 56 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 1 | January 29, 2019 | 70 | Phoenix, AZ | Royal Rumble | |
| 57 | Velveteen Dream | 1 | April 7, 2019 | 127 | Los Angeles, CA | WrestleMania 35 | |
| 58 | Dean Ambrose | 1 | August 11, 2019 | 168 | Toronto, Canada | SummerSlam | |
| 59 | Adam Cole | 1 | January 26, 2020 | 140 | Houston, TX | Royal Rumble | This was a fatal four-way that also included Kazuchika Okada and AJ Styles and was also for Okada's United States Championship. |
| 60 | Velveteen Dream | 2 | June 14, 2020 | 70 | Orlando, FL | WrestleWar | |
| 61 | Pentagón Jr. | 1 | August 23, 2020 | 301 | Orlando, FL | SummerSlam | This was Pentagón's Money in the Bank cash-in match. |
| 62 | Kazuchika Okada | 1 | June 20, 2021 | 244 | Tampa, FL | WrestleWar | |
| 63 | Tyler Bate | 1 | February 19, 2022 | 78 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Elimination Chamber | This was Bate's Money in the Bank cash-in. |
| 64 | Karrion Kross | 1 | May 8, 2022 | 173 | Providence, RI | One Night Stand | This was a no holds barred match. |
| 65 | Donovan Dijak | 1 | October 28, 2022 | 155 | St. Louis, MO | SmackDown: Fall Brawl |
This was Dijak's Money in the Bank cash-in. |
| 66 | Keith Lee | 1 | April 1, 2023 | 238 | Inglewood, CA | WrestleMania 39 | |
| 67 | Ricochet | 1 | November 25, 2023 | 133 | Rosemont, IL | Survivor Series | This was Ricochet's Money in the Bank cash-in. |
| 68 | Swerve Strickland | 1 | April 6, 2024 | 13+ | Philadelphia, PA | WrestleMania XL |
Combined reigns[]
As of April 19, 2024.
| Rank | Champion | No. of reigns | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Harrison | 10 | 1,697 |
| 2 | Triple H | 3 | 441 |
| 3 | Matthew Harrison | 7 | 332 |
| 4 | Edge | 5 | 310 |
| 5 | 3 | 287 | |
| 6 | Batista | 2 | 217 |
| 7 | The Undertaker | 3 | 207 |
| 8 | Braun Strowman | 1 | 168 |
| 9 | Sami Zayn | 1 | 161 |
| 10 | CM Punk | 3 | 160 |
| 11 | Kane | 1 | 154 |
| 12 | Rey Mysterio | 1 | 112 |
| 13 | Randy Orton | 2 | 110 |
| 14 | Kevin Owens | 1 | 106 |
| 15 | Daniel Bryan | 1 | 105 |
| 16 | Mark Henry | 1 | 91 |
| 17 | Goldberg | 1 | 84 |
| 18 | John Cena | 1 | 49 |
| 19 | Christian | 2 | 30 |
| 20 | Jack Swagger | 1 | 28 |
| Jeff Hardy | 1 | 28 | |
| Shawn Michaels | 1 | 28 | |
| 23 | Chad Gable | 1 | 14 |
| 24 | Samoa Joe † | 1 | 2028+ |
| 25 | Dolph Ziggler | 1 | <1 |