The Triple Crown Championship is an accomplishment in professional wrestling. It is a distinction made to a professional wrestler who has won three specific championships in World Wrestling Entertainment. The three titles typically feature two levels of singles championships and a tag team championship.
World Wrestling Entertainment[]
In World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the World Wrestling Federation) the term Triple Crown Champion has traditionally been used to describe a wrestler who has won the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the World Tag Team Championship.[1] For a span of nearly eighteen years, from 1979 up through 1997, these were the three championships of the company, and a competitor who had won all three championships (not necessarily concurrently) was considered a "Triple Crown Champion."[1][2]
On January 19, 2009, CM Punk defeated William Regal for the Intercontinental Championship in Chicago, Illinois on WWE Raw.[3] When CM Punk defeated Regal, Punk became a Triple Crown Champion, having won the World Heavyweight Championship on June 30, 2008[4] and the World Tag Team Championship on October 27, 2008.[5] CM Punk broke the record for completing the Triple Crown Championship (203 days), breaking Kevin Nash's (then known as Diesel) previous record of 227 days.[6][7]
Following the brand extension in 2002, the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship became alternate titles that can compose part of the Triple Crown. WWE has yet to declare the WWE United States Championship to be an acceptable substitute for secondary championships in order to complete the Grand Slam or Triple Crown Championships.
List of WWE Triple Crown Champions[]
The following is a list of WWE Triple Crown Champions with dates indicating the wrestler's first reign with the respective championship.
Text | |
---|---|
Championships in italics | Indicates the title is an alternate title from the original definition of a Triple Crown Championship. |
Dates in italics | The wrestler has won that title, but does not contribute to their Triple Crown because they had already won the Triple Crown or they had already won a title at that the same level. |
Dates in bold | The date the wrestler became a Triple Crown Champion. |
Names in bold | Indicates the wrestler is also a Grand Slam Champion. |
no future reign possible | The wrestler cannot have a reign with this championship belt. |
Name colors | |
Won the Triple Crown under the original definition. | |
Won the Triple Crown with an alternate title. | |
Won the Triple Crown with an alternate title, but has since won it under the original definition. | |
Date colors | |
Won title as a member of the Raw brand. | |
Won title as a member of the ECW brand. | |
Won title as a member of the SmackDown brand. | |
Won title before the WWE Brand Extension. | |
Notes | |
1 ^ The wrestler is no longer employed by World Wrestling Entertainment or retired from professional wrestling, so future reigns are not possible. | |
2 ^ The wrestler is deceased, so future reigns are not possible. | |
3 ^ The World Tag Team Championship was unified with the WWE Tag Team Championship on April 5, 2009, so future reigns with this title are not possible. |
Champion | Primary Championships | Tag Team Championships | Secondary Championships | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WWE | World Heavyweight |
World Tag Team |
WWE Tag Team |
Intercontinental | ||
Pedro Morales[1][8] | February 8, 1971 | no future reign possible1 | August 9, 1980 (with Bob Backlund) |
no future reign possible1 | December 8, 1980 | |
Bret Hart | October 12, 1992 | January 26, 1987 (with Jim Neidhart) |
August 26, 1991 | |||
Diesel[6] | November 26, 1994 | no future reign possible1 | August 28, 1994 (with Shawn Michaels) |
April 13, 1994 | ||
Shawn Michaels | March 31, 1996 | November 17, 2002 | August 28, 1994 (with Diesel) |
December 13, 2009 (with Triple H) |
October 27, 1992 | |
Stone Cold Steve Austin[9] | March 29, 1998 | no future reign possible1 | May 26, 1997 (with Shawn Michaels) |
no future reign possible1 | August 3, 1997 | |
The Rock | November 15, 1998 | no future reign possible1 | August 30, 1999 (with Mankind) |
no future reign possible1 | February 13, 1997 | |
Triple H | August 23, 1999 | September 2, 2002 | April 29, 2001 (with Stone Cold Steve Austin) |
December 13, 2009 (with Shawn Michaels) |
October 21, 1996 | |
Kane | June 28, 1998 | July 18, 2010 | July 13, 1998 (with Mankind) |
May 20, 2001 | ||
Chris Jericho | December 9, 2001 | September 7, 2008 | May 21, 2001 (with Chris Benoit) |
June 28, 2009 (with Edge) |
December 12, 1999 | |
Kurt Angle | October 22, 2000 | January 10, 2006 | no future reign possible1 | October 20, 2002 (with Chris Benoit) |
February 27, 2000 | |
Eddie Guerrero | February 15, 2004 | no future reign possible2 | no future reign possible2 | November 17, 2002 (with Chavo Guerrero) |
September 5, 2000 | |
Chris Benoit | no future reign possible2 | March 14, 2004 | May 21, 2001 (with Chris Jericho) |
October 20, 2002 (with Kurt Angle) |
April 2, 2000 | |
Ric Flair | January 19, 1992 | no future reign possible1 | December 14, 2003 (with Batista) |
no future reign possible1 | September 18, 2005 | |
Edge | January 8, 2006 | May 8, 2007 | April 2, 2000 (with Christian) |
November 5, 2002 (with Rey Mysterio) |
July 24, 1999 | |
Rob Van Dam | June 11, 2006 | no future reign possible1 | March 31, 2003 (with Kane) |
December 7, 2004 (with Rey Mysterio) |
March 17, 2002 | |
Booker T | no future reign possible1 | July 23, 2006 | November 1, 2001 (with Test) |
no future reign possible1 | July 7, 2003 | |
Randy Orton | October 7, 2007 | August 15, 2004 | November 13, 2006 (with Edge) |
December 14, 2003 | ||
Jeff Hardy | December 14, 2008 | June 7, 2009 | June 29, 1999 (with Matt Hardy) |
no future reign possible1 | April 10, 2001 | |
CM Punk[6][7] | June 30, 2008 | October 27, 2008 (with Kofi Kingston) |
January 19, 2009 | |||
John "Bradshaw" Layfield | June 27, 2004 | no future reign possible 1 | May 25, 1999 (with Faarooq) |
no future reign possible 1 | March 9, 2009 | |
Rey Mysterio | April 2, 2006 | no future reign possible3 | November 5, 2002 (with Edge) |
April 5, 2009 |
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Brian Shields (4th Edition 2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Pocket Books. p. 199. ISBN 9781416532576.
- ↑ "Pedro Morales". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/wwechampionship/30445418. Retrieved 2007-06-03. "Pedro Morales [defeated] Ivan Koloff for the [WWF] Championship...Morales would also go on to become the first Triple Crown winner [upon winning] the Intercontinental Championship and World Tag Team Championship."
- ↑ "Official Intercontinental Championship title history". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/intercontinental/9155998. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
- ↑ "CM Punk's first reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldheavyweight/200806011. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ↑ "Punk and Kingston's first reign". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldtagteam/20081027WorldTagChamps. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Punk rocks! C.M. is WWE's triple threat". Daily News. 2009-01-22. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/01/22/2009-01-22_punk_rocks_cm_is_wwes_triple_threat.html. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Baines, Tim (2009-01-24). "Rey's ready to Rumble again". Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2009/01/24/8133176.html. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ↑ "Pedro Morales Hall of Fame biography". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/halloffame/pedromorales/bio/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. [dead link]
- ↑ "WWE Legends: Skysports.com looks back at Stone Cold Steve Austin's distinguished career in the first of a series of superstar reviews". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,14204_3851751,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
World Wrestling Entertainment championships and accomplishments
| |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grand Slam and Triple Crown Champions
| ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|