Mikk

The Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship title. It was the highest ranked title in the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion from its start in 1992 up until the promotion's bankruptcy in 2001. It was revived in 2006 and is now the only title on the ECW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment.

History

The belt was known as the NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Championship from 1992 to 1994. On August 27, 1994, after severing ties with the NWA and claiming world status on their heavyweight championship, the belt became known as Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship.
In the ensuing years, the title became widely recognized as a true world title and was defended internationally and against challengers from around the world.
Mike Awesome was still into his second reign as the ECW World Heavyweight Champion when he unexpectedly showed up in World Championship WrestlingPaul Heyman was forced to sign a match with Awesome and Tazz (who at the time was signed to the World Wrestling Federation) to defend his title, which Tazz eventually won. This was the only time that a WWF contracted wrestler faced a WCW contracted wrestler in an ECW ring. (WCW). It was due to this fiasco that
ECW declared bankruptcy on April 11, 2001, with the then-champion, Rhino, joining the WWF. During his WWF tenure, Rhino was recognized as the final ECW World Heavyweight Champion, and notably at the 2005 One Night Stand event he was heralded as the final champion as well; however, he did not appear with the title at the event, and was not referred to as the "current" champion.
The title was reactivated on June 13, 2006 when Paul Heyman presented it to Rob Van Dam, by virtue of his holding of the WWE Championship. Van Dam was originally awarded with an ECW replica title belt on June 13, 2006, but eventually got a brand new (leather and plates) ECW World Heavyweight Championship title belt. The title was then renamed the ECW World Championship around the start of The Big Show's reign to avoid confusion with SmackDown!'s World Heavyweight Championship.

Statistics

<table style="margin: 0pt 0pt 1em 1em; font-family: verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; background-color: rgb(247, 248, 255);" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td>Record:</td> <td>Record holder:</td> <td>Record number:</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Most reigns</td> <td>The Sandman</td> <td>Five</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Longest reign</td> <td>Shane Douglas</td> <td>406 days</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Shortest reign</td> <td>The Sandman</td> <td>c. 15 minutes</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Oldest champion</td> <td>Terry Funk</td> <td>52 years 287 days</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Youngest champion</td> <td>Mikey Whipwreck</td> <td>23 years 146 days</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Heaviest champion</td> <td>The Big Show</td> <td>507 lbs.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lightest champion</td> <td>Jerry Lynn</td> <td>185 lbs.</td> </tr></tbody></table>
Trivia

• As of early 2007, only two ECW World Champions have ever won the WWE Championship: Rob Van Dam and The Big Show. Van Dam defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship at One Night Stand 2006 on June 11, 2006, and was awarded the ECW World Heavyweight Championship by Paul Heyman on June 13, 2006, while still the WWE Champion (making him the first wrestler to hold both titles, and the only one to hold them simultaneously). On July 4, 2006, The Big Show defeated him for the title, making Show the first person to ever win the WCW, ECW, and WWE Championships.
• 6 former ECW World Champions, Sabu, Steve Corino, Raven, Rhino, Shane Douglas and Terry Funk, have also held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Rollcall Of Champions

<table><tbody><tr class="even"><td width="30%">CHAMPION</td> <td width="25%">DEFEATED</td> <td width="20%">LOCATION</td> <td width="15%">DATE</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Shane Douglas </td> <td width="25%">n/a</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">08-27-94</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td width="30%"> The Sandman </td> <td width="25%">Shane Douglas</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">04-15-95</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Mikey Whipwreck </td> <td width="25%">The Sandman</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">10-28-95</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td width="30%"> The Sandman </td> <td width="25%">Steve Austin</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">12-09-95</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Raven </td> <td width="25%">The Sandman</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">01-27-96</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td width="30%"> The Sandman </td> <td width="25%">Raven</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">10-05-96</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Raven </td> <td width="25%">The Sandman</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">12-07-96</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td width="30%"> Terry Funk </td> <td width="25%">Raven</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">04-13-97</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Sabu </td> <td width="25%">Terry Funk</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">08-09-97</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td width="30%"> Shane Douglas </td> <td width="25%">Sabu</td> <td width="20%">F. Lauderdale, FL</td> <td width="15%">08-17-97</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Bam Bam Bigelow </td> <td width="25%">Shane Douglas</td> <td width="20%">Elmhurst, NY</td> <td width="15%">10-16-97</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td width="30%"> Shane Douglas </td> <td width="25%">Bam Bam Bigelow</td> <td width="20%">Pittsburgh, PA</td> <td width="15%">11-30-97</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Tazz </td> <td width="25%">Shane Douglas</td> <td width="20%">Kissimmee, FL</td> <td width="15%">01-10-99</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td width="30%"> Mike Awesome </td> <td width="25%">Tazz</td> <td width="20%">Villa Park, IL</td> <td width="15%">09-19-99</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Masato Tanaka </td> <td width="25%">Mike Awesome</td> <td width="20%">Nashville, TN</td> <td width="15%">12-17-99</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <td width="30%"> Mike Awesome </td> <td width="25%">Masato Tanaka</td> <td width="20%">White Plains, NY</td> <td width="15%">12-23-99</td> </tr> <tr class="odd"> <td width="30%"> Tazz </td> <td width="25%">Mike Awesome</td> <td width="20%">Indianapolis, IN</td> <td width="15%">04-13-00</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> Tommy Dreamer </td> <td width="25%">Tazz</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">04-22-00</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> Justin Credible </td> <td width="25%">Tommy Dreamer</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia, PA</td> <td width="15%">04-22-00</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> Jerry Lynn </td> <td width="25%">Justin Credible</td> <td width="20%">St. Paul, MN</td> <td width="15%">10-01-00</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> Steve Corino </td> <td width="25%">Jerry Lynn</td> <td width="20%">Villa Park, IL</td> <td width="15%">11-05-00</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> The Sandman </td> <td width="25%">Steve Corino</td> <td width="20%">New York, NY</td> <td width="15%">01-07-01</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> Rhyno </td> <td width="25%">The Sandman</td> <td width="20%">New York, NY</td> <td width="15%">01-07-01</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> Rob Van Dam </td> <td width="25%">n/a</td> <td width="20%">Trenton, NJ</td> <td width="15%">06-13-06</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> Big Show </td> <td width="25%">Rob Van Dam</td> <td width="20%">Philadelphia</td> <td width="15%">07-04-06</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30%"> Lashley </td> <td width="25%">Big Show</td> <td width="20%">Augusta, Ga.</td> <td width="15%">12-03-06</td></tr></tbody></table>

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