Who is the First Ever WWE Champion?
Contents
The first-ever WWE Champion was crowned on April 30, 1963, when Bruno Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers at Madison Square Garden. Sammartino held the title for almost eight years before losing it to Ivan Koloff.
WWE Basics
In order to understand who the first ever WWE champion was, it is important to understand WWE basics. WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment, is a publicly traded, privately controlled American company that deals primarily in professional wrestling. In addition to running WWE, Vince McMahon also sits atop a vast entertainment empire that includes the Montreal Expos baseball team, minority interests in both the Philadelphia Eagles and Boston Red Sox, and various multimedia holdings.
What is WWE?
WWE is an entertainment company that deals primarily in professional wrestling. WWE was founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1952 as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. Inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame include Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Gorilla Monsoon, Bret “Hit Man” Hart and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
What is the WWE Championship?
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE, currently on the SmackDown brand. It is one of two world titles for WWE’s main roster, alongside the WWE Universal Championship that was created for the Raw brand as a result of the 2016 WWE draft. The current champion is Drew McIntyre, who is in his first reign.
The inaugural champion was Buddy Rogers, who won the title on April 25, 1963. Since its inception, the title has undergone many name changes due to company name changes and title unifications. The title was first called the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) World Heavyweight Championship when it was established in 1963. It then underwent several name changes during the company’s plant from World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) to World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In 2001, as a result of the company buying World Championship Wrestling (WCW), it became exclusive to the Raw brand, and WCW’s separate world title was reactivated under the name World Championship. The championship exclusive to SmackDown was then called the WWE Championship. Then In 2002 after Raw and SmackDown ceased to be distinct brands within WWE and were consolidated into a single roster, then-WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to SmackDown while then-WWE Champion Kurt Angle became exclusive to Raw. The title became vacant in August 2002 and remained inactive until December that year when Angle won a tournament at Madison Square Garden to regain control of both titles; he unified them into one by defeating then-World Champion Edge later that night and christened it as “Undisputed” for only a few months before being renamed back just plain “WWE Championship”. In May 2005, Lesnar failed to regain the title in a match against Angle at Judgment Day
It then became exclusive to Raw once again in August 2005 following Savio Vega winning a tournament at SummerSlam to crown a new champion after Lesnar had defected back to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). By 2016, however, with both brands having nearly equal footing in terms of talent as well as having established their own prestigious championships—Raw with Universal and SmackDown with WWE—it was decided that both brands would each have their own top championship once again; with Raw receiving back possession of the original WWE Championship whileSmackDown created its own world championship, which would eventually be named after its television program: WWE World Heavyweight Championship
The First WWE Champion
The first WWE Champion was crowned on April 30, 1963. The title was created after then-World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) owner Vince McMahon Sr. decided to split his company’s roster into two separate divisions, the “World” and the “International” divisions. The champion would be the wrestler who defeated the other division’s champion in a unification match.
Who was the first WWE Champion?
In 1963, the professional wrestling organization now known as WWE was founded as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the company benefited enormously from the popularity of its programming on television. In 1963, the company held its first live professional wrestling event, which featured various matches including one in which Bruno Sammartino defeated “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers to become the inaugural WWE Champion.
How did they become the first WWE Champion?
The first WWE Champion was crowned on April 30, 1963. Bruno Sammartino was the man who emerged victorious in the tournament to become the inaugural champion, defeating “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers in the finals. Bruno would go on to hold the WWE Championship for an unprecedented 2,803 days (over seven years) across two reigns, cementing his place in history as one of WWE’s all-time greats.
The WWE Championship Today
Who is the current WWE Champion?
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, currently name WWE. The title is one of two world titles in the WWE, alongside the WWE Universal Championship that was created for the Raw brand as a result of the 2016 WWE draft. The current champion is Drew McIntyre, who is in his first reign.
How did they become the WWE Champion?
WWE Champions are the best in the business. They have to be strong, athletic, and entertaining. To become WWE Champion, a Superstar must first win a match to become the number one contender. Then, they must defend their title against the other top contenders in the WWE. The WWE Championship is the most prestigious title in all of sports entertainment.
Superstars who have held the WWE Championship have gone on to have legendary careers. Some of the most famous Superstars in WWE history are former WWE Champions. Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and John Cena are just a few of the Superstars who have held the WWE Championship.
Today, the WWE Championship is held by Brock Lesnar. Lesnar won the title by defeating Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35. Lesnar is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is considered one of the most dangerous men in all of sports entertainment. He has held the WWE Championship on two occasions and is currently in his second reign as champion.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, the first ever WWE Champion was Buddy Rogers. He held the title for almost 6 months before losing it to Bruno Sammartino in 1963. Bruno would then go on to become the longest reigning WWE Champion in history, holding the title for over 11 years!