Triple Crown (professional wrestling): Difference between revisions
Adjusting the chart slightly to reflect title changes happening after 8-29-11, when the "Supershow" format went into effect, essentially ending the brand split. |
|||
| Line 307: | Line 307: | ||
|May 3, 1995<br />(with [[Lane Huffman|Stevie Ray]]) |
|May 3, 1995<br />(with [[Lane Huffman|Stevie Ray]]) |
||
|'''March 18, 2001''' |
|'''March 18, 2001''' |
||
|- |
|||
|[[Big Show]] |
|||
|October 29, 1995 |
|||
|February 23, 1997<br />(with [[Lex Luger]]) |
|||
|'''October 19, 2003'''{{Ref|1|1}} |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|} |
|} |
||
{{small|1 {{note|2}}Won title as part of WWE's [[WWE SmackDown|SmackDown]] brand.}} |
|||
==Extreme Championship Wrestling== |
==Extreme Championship Wrestling== |
||
Revision as of 19:45, 5 December 2012
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. National promotions that officially recognize Triple Crown winners include World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH), as well as the defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The three titles typically feature two levels of singles championships (a primary and secondary singles title) and a tag team championship.
WWE
In WWE (formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment)[1][2] 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.[3] For a span of nearly eighteen years, from 1979 up through 1997, these were the three championships of the company, and a wrestler who won all three championships (not necessarily concurrently) was considered a "Triple Crown Champion."[3][4] Until the 1990s the accomplishment was extremely rare, with Pedro Morales remaining the sole Triple Crown Champion for more than a decade.
CM Punk holds the record for completing the Triple Crown Championship in the shortest amount of time between the first and third title. It took him 203 days between June 2008 and January 2009. This broke Diesel's previous record of 227 days set in 1994, which is notable as Diesel had only been with the company for a year and a half at the time.[5][6]
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. The United States Championship has not yet officially been included as an alternate secondary title.
As of 2012, these WWE wrestlers are one title away from becoming a Triple Crown Champion:
- Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella, and William Regal all require a primary (WWE or World) championship.
- Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and The Undertaker all require the Intercontinental Championship.
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 the Triple Crown. |
| 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. |
| N/A | Indicates future reigns not possible |
| Name colors | |
| Won the Triple Crown under the original definition. | |
| Won the Triple Crown with one or more alternate titles. | |
| Won the Triple Crown with an alternate title, but then went on to win all the titles under the original definition. | |
| Won every Triple Crown eligible championship. | |
| 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 either before the brand extension or after the establishment of the Supershow format. | |
| Champion | Primary Championships | Tag Team Championships | Secondary Championships | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WWE | World Heavyweight |
World Tag Team |
WWE Tag Team |
Intercontinental | |
| Pedro Morales[3][7] | February 8, 1971 | N/A (Retired) |
August 9, 1980 (with Bob Backlund) |
N/A (Retired) |
December 8, 1980 |
| Bret Hart | October 12, 1992 | N/A (Retired) |
January 26, 1987 (with Jim Neidhart) |
N/A (Retired) |
August 26, 1991 |
| Diesel[5] | 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) |
December 13, 2009 (with Triple H) |
October 27, 1992 |
| Stone Cold Steve Austin[8] | March 29, 1998 | N/A (Retired) |
May 26, 1997 (with Shawn Michaels) |
N/A (Retired) |
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 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) |
April 19, 2011 (with Big Show) |
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 | N/A (Title Defunct) |
October 20, 2002 (with Chris Benoit) |
February 27, 2000 |
| Eddie Guerrero | February 15, 2004 | N/A (Deceased) |
N/A (Deceased) |
November 17, 2002 (with Chavo Guerrero) |
September 5, 2000 |
| Chris Benoit | N/A (Deceased) |
March 14, 2004 | May 21, 2001 (with Chris Jericho) |
October 20, 2002 (with Kurt Angle) |
April 2, 2000 |
| Ric Flair | January 19, 1992 | N/A (Not with WWE) |
December 14, 2003 (with Batista) |
N/A (Not with WWE) |
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 | N/A (Not with WWE) |
March 31, 2003 (with Kane) |
December 7, 2004 (with Rey Mysterio) |
March 17, 2002 |
| Booker T | July 23, 2006 | November 1, 2001 (with Test) |
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) |
N/A (Not with WWE) |
April 10, 2001 |
| CM Punk[5][6] | July 17, 2011 | June 30, 2008 | October 27, 2008 (with Kofi Kingston) |
January 19, 2009 | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield | June 27, 2004 | N/A (Retired) |
May 25, 1999 (with Faarooq) |
N/A (Retired) |
March 9, 2009 |
| Rey Mysterio | July 25, 2011 | April 2, 2006 | N/A (Title Defunct) |
November 5, 2002 (with Edge) |
April 5, 2009 |
| Dolph Ziggler | February 15, 2011[9] | April 3, 2006 (with the Spirit Squad) |
July 28, 2010 | ||
| Christian | May 1, 2011 | April 2, 2000 (with Edge) |
September 23, 2001 | ||
| Big Show | November 14, 1999 | December 18, 2011 | August 22, 1999 (with The Undertaker) |
July 26, 2009 (with Chris Jericho) |
April 1, 2012 |
| The Miz | November 22, 2010 | December 13, 2008 (with John Morrison) |
November 16, 2007 (with John Morrison) |
July 23, 2012 | |
World Championship Wrestling
The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Triple Crown consisted of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Tag Team Championship.[10][11]
List of WCW Triple Crown Champions
| Champion | Primary Championships | Tag Team Championships | Secondary Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| WCW World Heavyweight | WCW World Tag Team | WCW United States Heavyweight | |
| Ric Flair | January 11, 1991 | December 26, 1976 (with Greg Valentine) |
July 29, 1977 |
| Lex Luger | July 14, 1991 | March 27, 1988 (with Barry Windham) |
July 11, 1987 |
| Sting | February 29, 1992 | January 22, 1996 (with Lex Luger) |
August 25, 1991 |
| Diamond Dallas Page | April 11, 1999 | May 31, 1999 (with Bam Bam Bigelow and Kanyon) |
December 28, 1997 |
| Goldberg | July 6, 1998 | December 7, 1999 (with Bret Hart) |
April 20, 1998 |
| Bret Hart | November 21, 1999 | December 7, 1999 (with Goldberg) |
July 20, 1998 |
| Chris Benoit | January 16, 2000 | March 14, 1999 (with Dean Malenko) |
August 9, 1999 |
| Scott Steiner | November 26, 2000 | November 1, 1989 (with Rick Steiner) |
April 11, 1999 |
| Booker T | July 9, 2000 | May 3, 1995 (with Stevie Ray) |
March 18, 2001 |
| Big Show | October 29, 1995 | February 23, 1997 (with Lex Luger) |
October 19, 20031 |
1 ^ Won title as part of WWE's SmackDown brand.
Extreme Championship Wrestling
The Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Triple Crown consisted of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the ECW World Television Championship and the ECW World Tag Team Championship.1[12][13]
List of ECW Triple Crown Champions
| Champion | Primary Championships | Tag Team Championships | Secondary Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECW World Heavyweight | ECW World Tag Team | ECW World Television | |
| 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 Taz) |
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 |
| Rob Van Dam | June 13, 20062 | June 27, 1998 (with Sabu) |
April 4, 1998 |
1 ^ All of ECW's Championships are now defunct.
2 ^ Won title as part of WWE's ECW brand.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
In Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the TNA Triple Crown was an accolade bestowed upon those who won (not necessarily concurrently) all three championships regularly contested in TNA between 2002 and 2007 - the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the TNA X Division Championship and (one-half of) the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[14]
In May 2007, TNA lost the rights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship and introduced the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and the TNA World Tag Team Championship. On July 8, 2007, TNA stated that, should the then-TNA X Division Champion Samoa Joe win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, this would leave him "just one step shy of becoming only the second Triple Crown Champion". This indicates that the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and the TNA World Tag Team Championship are part of the existing Triple Crown accolade.[15]
Current TNA wrestlers who are one title away from a Triple Crown include:
- Eric Young, Douglas Williams, Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels, Kid Kash, and Kazarian all require the TNA World Heavyweight Championship (as the NWA World Heavyweight Championship is no longer under TNA control).
- Sting, Bobby Roode, and James Storm require the X Division Championship.
- Austin Aries and Rob Van Dam require the TNA World Tag Team Championship (as the NWA World Tag Team Championship is no longer under TNA control).
List of TNA Triple Crown Champions
The following is a list of TNA Triple Crown Champions with dates indicating the wrestler's first reign with the respective championship. Under TNA's definition of the Triple Crown Championship, wrestlers are eligible to be a multiple Triple Crown champion each time they complete a new circuit. To date, only A.J. Styles has won the TNA triple crown on more than one occasion (four times).
| Text | |
|---|---|
| Championships in italics | Indicates the title is an alternate title from the original definition of the Triple Crown. |
| Dates | A date indicates the wrestlers first reign with that championship. |
| Dates in bold | The date the wrestler became a Triple Crown Champion. |
| Names in bold | Indicates the wrestler is also a Grand Slam Champion. |
| N/A | Indicates future reigns not possible due to the title no longer being under TNA control |
| Name colors | |
| Won the Triple Crown under the original definition. | |
| Won the Triple Crown with an alternate title. | |
| Won every Triple Crown eligible championship. | |
| Champion | Primary Championships | Tag Team Championships | Secondary Championships | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWA World Heavyweight |
TNA World Heavyweight |
NWA World Tag Team |
TNA World Tag Team |
TNA X Division | |
| A.J. Styles | June 11, 2003 | September 20, 2009 | July 3, 2002 (with Jerry Lynn) |
October 14, 2007 (with Tomko) |
June 19, 2002 |
| Kurt Angle | N/A | June 17, 2007 | N/A | August 12, 2007 (No partner) |
August 12, 2007 |
| Samoa Joe | N/A | April 13, 2008 | N/A | July 15, 2007 (No partner) |
December 11, 2005 |
| Abyss | November 19, 2006 | February 4, 2004
(with A.J. Styles) |
May 16, 2011 | ||
Ring of Honor
_in_July_2008_cropped.jpg)
The Ring of Honor (ROH) Triple Crown originally was defined as the ROH World Championship, the ROH World Tag Team Championship, and the ROH World Television Championship.[16] It was later amended so that the World Title and any combination of the TV, Tag Team or defunct ROH Pure Championship would qualify.[17]
Current ROH wrestlers who are one title away from the Triple Crown include:
- El Generico and Jay Lethal require the World Championship.
- Davey Richards and Kevin Steen require the TV Championship (as the Pure Championship is no longer active).
List of ROH Triple Crown Champions
| Champion | Primary Championships | Tag Team Championships | Secondary Championships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROH World | ROH World Tag Team | ROH World Television | ROH Pure | |
| Eddie Edwards[18][19] | March 19, 2011 | April 10, 2009 (with Davey Richards) |
March 5, 2010 | N/A (Title Defunct) |
| Roderick Strong[20] | September 11, 2010 | December 12, 2005 (with Austin Aries) |
March 31, 2012 | N/A (Title Defunct) |
See also
References
- ^ WWE rebranding announcement
- ^ WWE rebranding article
- ^ a b c Brian Shields (4th Edition 2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Pocket Books. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "Pedro Morales". WWE. 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.
- ^ a b c "Punk rocks! C.M. is WWE's triple threat". Daily News. 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ a b Baines, Tim (2009-01-24). "Rey's ready to Rumble again". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ "Pedro Morales". WWE. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
- ^ "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. August 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ "History of the World Heavyweight Championship: Dolph Ziggler". WWE. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ The 50 Greatest Stars in WCW History: Booker T. WWE. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ Khan, Steve. "Bret Hart Airs Out Hogan, HBK, & More In Controversial Interview". Wrestlezone. April 3, 2006. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
- ^ Denbaum, Evan (2006-02-27). "Cardona ready to work his way to WWE stardom". WWE.
- ^ http://www.wwe.com/inside/superstars-who-werent-supposed-to-make-it-26055797/page-5
- ^ Banks, B. (2007-03-30). "Ask TNAwrestling.com: New Titles, Great Muta, DVDs & More". TNAWrestling.com. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
Who do you think will be the 2nd man to win the TNA Triple Crown?...Obviously, A.J. Styles was the first to accomplish the feat, capturing the X, Tag Team and World Titles...
- ^ Jevec, R. (2007-07-08). "The TNA Championship Scenarios At Sunday's Victory Road". TNAWrestling.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
[Samoa Joe] has been a multi-time X Division Champion...A victory over Team 3D will put yet another championship title around his waist, leaving him just one step shy of becoming only the second Triple Crown Champion in TNA Wrestling history
- ^ http://www.rohwrestling.com/wrestlers/roster/eddie-edwards
- ^ "http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/champion-vs-champion-philly". ROHWrestling. Retrieved 2012-7-5.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|title= - ^ "http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/186071". 411mania. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ "MORE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST 2011 UPDATES!". Ring of Honor. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ Caldwell, James (2012-03-31). "Title change at ROH iPPV Saturday". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2012-03-31.