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15 Greatest World Heavyweight Champs: Photos
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Triple H became the first to hoist the World Heavyweight Title in WWE, on Sept. 2, 2002.1 W$ K8 K& J2 S2 \# ?8 o2 J- N
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+ D+ U4 G# ?; r: ?' yGoldberg managed to stave off constant interference from Evolution to win his only World Heavyweight Championship in WWE.
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( \& M3 X. k5 h4 B5 M( J3 r$ jRandy Orton’s first reign, in 2004, came with jealousy from Triple H, but established The Legend Killer as a future player in WWE.! `2 ] b) [# q% ], W4 Q7 p
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He would not hold the title again until 2011, when he won it from Christian twice.8 E3 V7 s/ H9 x; f u7 X
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, Y: s' G9 \6 z2 A! v1 B# kMany of Triple H’s successful title defenses came with some help from Evolution’s enforcer, Batista, who won the title from The Game at WrestleMania 21.
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The Animal held the title for a record 282 days after taking it from The Game at WrestleMania 21.
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! s5 h; A4 P& m8 p$ r5 w& t( ^The night prior to Rey Mysterio’s WrestleMania 22 victory, his late friend Eddie Guerrero entered the WWE Hall of Fame, making it an even more emotional night.
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- |9 O/ m, y- \" jIn 2006, Booker T — as King Booker — won his only World Title in WWE, starting a reign of terror.
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' F# Y& a b- I& P4 S( BThe Undertaker twice won the title at WrestleMania and invited all challengers to his “yard” during his three total reigns.# s6 G( x4 b" T& Q7 ?
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Edge hoisted the title a record seven times, including a defeat of a weakened Undertaker in Pittsburgh.
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( F4 M2 F$ m `" ZCM Punk used the Money in the Bank contract to propel him to the World Heavyweight Title and the main event scene.8 Z* x$ d1 ]) q; F
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Punk is a three-time World Heavyweight and two-time WWE Champion.5 w" j3 P G0 V5 e, K9 C
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Chris Jericho, the last WCW Champion, won WWE’s incarnation for the first of three times when he took then-reigning champion CM Punk’s spot in a Championship Scramble.
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) {) t9 s7 }& o8 U% S7 cThough commonly tied to the WWE Championship, John Cena won the World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.
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He defeated Edge and Big Show at WrestleMania 25 to win his second World Heavyweight Title.
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Kane’s only reign is best noted for his sheer dominance against his half-brother, The Undertaker.
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% `% Q3 l! n: \+ }7 d! B5 ~& _Despite only holding the WWE Championship for one day, Kane carried the World Heavyweight for an impressive 154 days.1 Y7 M7 }2 C4 T7 r+ J+ o! d) ?
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' Q2 U$ `# \/ n& @: mFifteen years of toiling and hard work resulted in a World Title reign for Mark Henry in 2011 and sparked the “Hall of Pain.”
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Despite a serious size disadvantage, Daniel Bryan managed to defeat Big Show and Mark Henry while World Heavyweight Champ.9 K. E9 d \( x7 \
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Sheamus, current titleholder, welcomes all challengers at all hours, arguably making him the gutsiest champion in WWE history, fella.
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