The WWE Championship is widely recognized as the most historic championship in sports-entertainment. Dating back to 1963, the WWE Championship was first awarded to Buddy Rogers after he defeated Antonino Rocca in the finals of a tournament in April. Since that time, the biggest names in the business have held the WWE Championship, including Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant, Bret Hart, The Rock, Stone Col

CHAMPION	DEFEATED	LOCATION	DATE	VIDEO*
Buddy Rogers	Antonino Rocca	Rio de Janeiro	04-29-63
Bruno Sammartino	Buddy Rogers	New York, NY	05-17-63
Ivan Koloff	Bruno Sammartino	New York, NY	01-18-71
Pedro Morales	Ivan Koloff	New York, NY	02-08-71
Stan Stasiak	Pedro Morales	Philadelphia, PA	12-01-73
Bruno Sammartino	Stan Stasiak	New York, NY	12-10-73
Superstar Billy Graham	Bruno Sammartino	Baltimore, MD	04-30-77
Bob Backlund	Superstar Billy Graham	New York, NY	02-20-78
The Iron Sheik	Bob Backlund	New York, NY	12-26-83
Hulk Hogan	The Iron Sheik	New York, NY	01-23-84
Andre the Giant	Hulk Hogan	Indianapolis, IN	02-05-88
Randy Savage	Ted DiBiase	Atlantic City, NJ	03-27-88
Hulk Hogan	Randy Savage	Atlantic City, NJ	04-02-89
Ultimate Warrior	Hulk Hogan	Toronto, Ontario	04-01-90
Sgt. Slaughter	Ultimate Warrior	Miami, FL	01-19-91
Hulk Hogan	Sgt. Slaughter	Los Angeles, CA	03-24-91
Undertaker	Hulk Hogan	Detroit, MI	11-27-91	Watch
Hulk Hogan	Undertaker	San Antonio, TX	12-03-91	Watch
Ric Flair	n/a	Albany, NY	01-19-92
Randy Savage	Ric Flair	Indianapolis, IN	04-05-92	Watch
Ric Flair	Randy Savage	Hershey, PA	09-01-92
Bret Hart	Ric Flair	Saskatoon	10-12-92
Hulk Hogan	Yokozuna	Las Vegas, NV	04-04-93
Yokozuna	Bret Hart	Las Vegas, NV	04-04-93	Watch
Yokozuna	Hulk Hogan	Dayton, OH	06-13-93	Watch
Bret Hart	Yokozuna	New York, NY	03-20-94
Bob Backlund	Bret Hart	San Antonio, TX	11-23-94
Diesel	Bob Backlund	New York, NY	11-26-94
Bret Hart	Diesel	Landover, MD	11-19-95
Shawn Michaels	Bret Hart	Anaheim, CA	03-31-96
Sid	Shawn Michaels	New York, NY	11-17-96
Shawn Michaels	Sid	San Antonio, TX	01-19-97	Watch
Bret Hart	Undertaker	Chattanooga, TN	02-16-97
Sid	Bret Hart	Nashville, TN	02-17-97
Undertaker	Sid	Chicago, IL	03-23-97	Watch
Bret Hart	Undertaker	East Rutherford, NJ	08-03-97
Shawn Michaels	Bret Hart	Montreal, Quebec	11-09-97	Watch
Stone Cold	Shawn Michaels	Boston, MA	03-29-98
Kane	Stone Cold	Pittsburgh, PA	06-28-98
Stone Cold	Kane	Cleveland, OH	06-29-98
The Rock	Mankind	St. Louis, MO	11-15-98
Mankind	The Rock	Worcester, MA	01-04-99
The Rock	Mankind	Anaheim, CA	01-24-99
Mankind	The Rock	Tucson, AZ	01-31-99
The Rock	Mankind	Birmingham, AL	02-15-99
Stone Cold	The Rock	Philadelphia, PA	03-28-99
Undertaker	Stone Cold	Kansas City, MO	05-23-99
Stone Cold	Undertaker	Charlotte, NC	06-28-99
Mankind	Stone Cold	Minneapolis, MN	08-22-99
Triple H	Mankind	Ames, IA	08-23-99
Mr. McMahon	Triple H	Las Vegas, NV	09-16-99
Triple H	n/a	Charlotte, NC	09-26-99
Big Show	Triple H	Detroit, MI	11-14-99
Triple H	Big Show	Miami, FL	01-03-00
The Rock	Triple H	Washington, DC	04-30-00
Triple H	The Rock	Louisville, KY	05-21-00
The Rock	Triple H	Boston, MA	06-25-00
Kurt Angle	The Rock	Albany, NY	10-22-00
The Rock	Kurt Angle	Las Vegas, NV	02-25-01
Stone Cold	The Rock	Houston, TX	04-01-01
Kurt Angle	Stone Cold	Pittsburgh, PA	09-23-01
Stone Cold	Kurt Angle	Inianapolis, IN	10-08-01
Chris Jericho	Stone Cold	San Diego, CA	12-09-01
Triple H	Chris Jericho	Toronto, Ontario	03-17-02
Hulk Hogan	Triple H	Kansas City, MO	04-21-02
Undertaker	Hulk Hogan	Nashville, TN	05-19-02	Watch
The Rock	Undertaker	Detroit, MI	07-21-02	Watch
Brock Lesnar	The Rock	Uniondale, NY	08-25-02
Big Show	Brock Lesnar	New York, NY	11-17-02
Kurt Angle	Big Show	Fort Lauderdale, FL	12-15-02
Brock Lesnar	Kurt Angle	Seattle, WA	03-30-03
Kurt Angle	Brock Lesnar	Denver, CO	07-27-03
Brock Lesnar	Kurt Angle	Raleigh, NC	09-18-03	Watch
Eddie Guerrero	Brock Lesnar	San Francisco, CA	02-15-04
JBL	Eddie Guerrero	Norfolk, VA	06-27-04
John Cena	JBL	Los Angeles, CA	04-03-05