Triple Crown (professional wrestling)

This article deals with the achievement as understood in professional wrestling in the United States. For the Japanese championship, which is counted as a single title, see AJPW Triple Crown Championship.

In professional wrestling, a Triple Crown Champion is a term describing a wrestler who has won the three most prestigious belts of their promotion - typically a heavyweight belt, a tag team belt, and a second-tier belt. It is considered a great accomplishment to have won a triple crown. A "multiple triple crown" distinction also exists, with having won the three constituent titles at least a specified number of times.

WWE Triple Crown

In World Wrestling Entertainment, the term Triple Crown Champion has traditionally been used to describe a wrestler who has won the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the Tag Team Championship within one year. For a span of nearly 18 years, from 1979 up through 1997, these were the three championships of the WWF, and a wrestler who had won all three championships (not necessarily concurrently) was considered a "triple crown champion."

In 1997, a fourth title, the European Championship was introduced. The European Championship, a singles title beneath the world and intercontinental titles, did not count for the purposes of designating triple crown champions, although a wrestler who had won all three primary titles and the European Championship would be recognized as a Grand Slam Champion.

Following the brand extension in 2002 and the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship are alternate titles part of the Triple Crown.

Official List of WWE Triple Crown Champions

The following is a list of WWE Triple Crown Champions, in the most general form. Only the WWE-era World Heavyweight Championship reigns are considered as part of the WWE Triple Crown. Only the date in which the wrestler's first title was won is indicated. Dates in bold indicate the title that was used to complete the Triple Crown. Championships in italics indicate that they are alternate titles, not part of the original definition. Dates in italics indicate that the wrestler has won the title, but does not contribute to their Triple Crown, because they had already won a title at that level. Names in bold are also Grand Slam Champions.

Name	World Championship		Tag Team Championship		Second-Tier Championship
	WWE Championship	World Heavyweight Championship	World Tag Team Championship	WWE Tag Team Championship	Intercontinental Championship
Pedro Morales	February 8, 1971		August 9, 1980 (with Bob Backlund)		December 8, 1980
Bret Hart	October 12, 1992		January 26, 1987 (with Jim Neidhart)		August 26, 1991
Diesel	November 26, 1994		August 28, 1994 (with Shawn Michaels)		April 13, 1994
Shawn Michaels	March 31, 1996	November 17, 2002	August 28, 1994 (with Diesel)		October 27, 1992
Steve Austin	March 29, 1998		May 26, 1997 (with Shawn Michaels)		August 3, 1997
The Rock	November 15, 1998		August 30, 1999 (with Mankind)		February 13, 1997
Triple H	August 23, 1999	September 2, 2002	April 29, 2001 (with Steve Austin)		October 21, 1996
Kane	June 28, 1998		July 13, 1998 (with Mankind)		May 20, 2001
Chris Jericho	December 9, 2001		May 21, 2001 (with Chris Benoit)		December 12, 1999
Kurt Angle	October 22, 2000	January 10, 2006		October 20, 2002 (with Chris Benoit)	February 27, 2000
Eddie Guerrero	February 15, 2004			November 17, 2002 (with Chavo Guerrero)	September 5, 2000
Chris Benoit		March 14, 2004	May 21, 2001 (with Chris Jericho)	October 20, 2002 (with Kurt Angle)	April 2, 2000
Ric Flair	January 19, 1992		December 14, 2003 (with Batista)		September 18, 2005
Edge	January 8, 2006		April 2, 2000 (with Christian)	November 5, 2002 (with Rey Mysterio)	July 24, 1999
Rob Van Dam	June 11, 2006		March 31, 2003 (with Kane)	December 7, 2004 (with Rey Mysterio)	March 17, 2002
King Booker		July 23, 2006	February 16, 2004 (with Rob Van Dam)		July 7, 2003
Randy Orton		August 15, 2004	November 13, 2006 (with Edge)		December 14, 2003

 --won Triple Crown under the original definition

 --won Triple Crown with an alternate title

White indicates Triple Crown was won before brand extension

 --Won title as a member of the RAW brand.

 --Won title as a member of the SmackDown! brand.

 --Won title as a member of the ECW brand.

United States Championship

After the brand extension, the WWE Intercontinental Championship was re-introduced on to RAW as the second tier championship exclusive to that brand, while the WWE United States Championship was introduced SmackDown as the midcard championship belonging to that brand. Despite the fact that it is a midcard championship, its status as a substitute in the Triple Crown Championship is heavily disputed due to the fact that neither the WWE nor PWI have ever explicitly stated that it is equal to the Intercontinental Championship. The list of WWE Superstars who would be considered Triple Crown Champions if the United States Championship was considered a second tier title that can be used to complete the Triple Crown Championship is as follows:

JBL, Big Show,Rey Mysterio and John Cena. (All 3 have held the WWE, U.S., and World/WWE Tag Team Championships).

Potential Champions

As of November 13, 2006, the following active (or semi-active) wrestlers are potential Triple Crown Champions. Those who would be considered potential Triple Crown Champions if the United States Championship is considered an equivalent to the Intercontinental Championship are not included in this list:

Wrestlers currently working for or making appearances in WWE:

• Shelton Benjamin, Test, Johnny Nitro, Val Venis, Jeff Hardy, Roddy Piper, and William Regal all need a world title reign.
• The Undertaker, Batista, Mick Foley and Rey Mysterio all need an Intercontinental title reign.

ECW Triple Crown

The Extreme Championship Wrestling version of the Triple Crown consists of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, ECW Tag Team Championship, and the ECW World Television Championship.

List of ECW Triple Crown Champions

The following is a list of ECW Triple Crown Champions. Only the date in which the wrestler's first title was won is indicated. Dates in bold indicate the title that was used to complete the Triple Crown.

Name	ECW World Heavyweight Championship	ECW Tag Team Championship	ECW World Television Championship
Johnny Hotbody	April 26, 1992	April 3, 1993 (with Chris Candido and Chris Michaels)	August 12, 1992
Sabu	October 2, 1993	February 4, 1995 (with The Tazmaniac)	November 13, 1993
Mikey Whipwreck	October 28, 1995	August 27, 1994 (with Cactus Jack)	May 13, 1994
Taz	January 10, 1999	December 4, 1993 (with Kevin Sullivan)	March 6, 1994

• Note -- Rob Van Dam won the ECW World Title in the current incarnation of ECW, not the original promotion (1992 - 2001), thus it does not count towards the Triple Crown.

TNA Triple Crown

In Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the TNA Triple Crown is an accolade bestowed upon those who win (not necessarily concurrently) all three championships regularly contested in TNA - the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the TNA X Division Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

List of TNA Triple Crown winners

As of December 2006, there has been only one Triple Crown winner, A.J. Styles. In TNA Wrestling, it is possible to be a multi-time Triple Crown Champion, as noted by Mike Tenay and Don West alluding to Styles as a 2-Time, then a 3-time Triple Crown Champion. Styles is a 3-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, 6-time TNA X Division Champion and 4-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, making him a three-time Triple Crown winner.

Name	NWA World Heavyweight Championship	NWA World Tag Team Championship	TNA X Division Championship
A.J. Styles	June 11, 2003	July 3, 2002 (with Jerry Lynn)	June 19, 2002
A.J. Styles	April 21, 2004	February 4, 2004 (with Abyss)	October 23, 2002
A.J. Styles	May 15, 2005	June 18, 2006 (with Christopher Daniels)	June 9, 2004

Potential Champions

The following wrestlers require one more title in order to be awarded a(nother) Triple Crown. It should be noted that this list excludes NWA World Heavyweight Champions who held a pre-1975 version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

Wrestlers currently working for or associated with TNA:

• Christopher Daniels, Senshi, Jerry Lynn, and A.J. Styles each need an NWA World Heavyweight Title reign.
• Ron Killings, Abyss, and Shane Douglas need an X Division Title reign.

Ohio Valley Wrestling

Ohio Valley Wrestling has a hierarchy similar to WWE, with a Heavyweight, Television, and Tag Team titles. This is a less notable triple crown, because it is technically on the independent circuit, but is possible to make an impressive resume for a wrestler.

List of OVW Triple Crown Champions

The following is a list of individuals who have won the OVW Heavyweight, Television, and Tag Team titles.

Name	OVW Heavyweight Championship	OVW Southern Tag Team Championship	OVW Television Championship
Brent Albright	April 25, 2005	March 31, 2004 (with Chris Masters)	January 5, 2005
CM Punk	May 3, 2006	July 28, 2006 (with Seth Skyfire)	November 9, 2005

Reference

[1] WWE's Championship Chart.