Triple Crown (professional wrestling)
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. This distinction should not be confused with the AJPW Triple Crown Championship, one of the two world titles in Japanese wrestling.
WWE Triple Crown
In World Wrestling Entertainment, the term Triple Crown Champion has traditionally been used to describe a wrestler who has won the WWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the Tag Team Championship. 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.
Triple Crown Champions and the Brand Extension
Following the brand extension in 2002 and the introduction of the duals to each of the three titles (the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Tag Team Championship, and the WWE-era WWE United States Championship), the WWE Triple Crown was expanded to include these new titles. However, determining Triple Crown Champions becomes a more difficult task, considering the lineage controversy that extends from the World Heavyweight Championship and the pre-WWE history of the United States Championship. However, to date no wrestler has claimed the WWE Triple Crown solely on either dependency, and thus it is assumed that for these two titles, only those who won belts in their current forms are included.
Because of the new belts, many other distinct Triple Crown variations can be made: The Raw Triple Crown and SmackDown! Triple Crown for the three belts representing each show at the time the third belt is won (as the titles have changed shows). There are also variations for strictly the three older belts or the three newer belts. Likewise, the inclusion of the defunct European Championship (along with any Triple Crown Combination) can lead to various Grand Slam combinations.
Uniquely, however, one can also talk about whether a wrestler has won all six of these titles, or a "Deluxe Triple Crown". Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle are the closest to have won all six of these titles, missing only the WWE Championship and World Tag Team Championship respectively.
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 United States Championship reigns are considered as part of the WWE Triple Crown. Because of the ongoing lineage dispute of the Big Gold Belt, only its current WWE-era form is included.
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, and dates in italics indicate that the wrestler has won the title, but does not contribute to their Triple Crown. Names in bold are also Grand Slam Champions.
- Eddie Guerrero was scheduled to win the World Heavyweight Championship, but died the morning of the match. Had he won the championship, he would he matched with Benoit as having 5 out of 6 of the major titles in WWE.
- There is some dispute as to whether JBL deserves Grand Slam status, as he has won the European Championship as well as those listed above.
- Flair has held the NWA-era NWA United States Championship.
- Austin (as "Stunning" Steve Austin), Benoit, Guerrero, and Hart have held the WCW-era WCW United States Championship.
- Angle and Edge have held the Invasion-era WCW United States Championship.
Potential Champions
As of April 3 2006, the following active wrestlers are potential Triple Crown Champions:
- Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shelton Benjamin, Goldust, Val Venis, Test, and William Regal all need a world title reign.
- Batista, Rey Mysterio and The Undertaker all need a secondary title reign.
- John Cena and Randy Orton need a tag team title reign.
- Hulk Hogan and Mick Foley also require a secondary title reign, but both just make occasional special appearances.
- Christian, Jeff Hardy & Jeff Jarrett also need world title reigns, but they presently work for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
WCW Triple Crown
World Championship Wrestling has also included their own Triple Crown, consisting of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, the WCW World Tag Team Championship, and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. As the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship is also considered to be a major wrestling championship, it is included for completeness.
As the three constituent belts were later used as part of the Invasion storyline, any of these can be considered as a World Wrestling Entertainment championship (and thus WCW Triple Crown Champions are also WWE Triple Crown Champions), although they are not commonly regarded as such. Because of this, Invasion-era championships are excluded from consideration. Conversely, the three WCW belts are not used in determining a WWE Triple Crown.
List of WCW Triple Crown Champions
The following is a list of WCW Triple Crown Champions. Only the WCW-era versions of the championships are included.
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, and dates in italics indicate that the wrestler has won the title, but does not contribute to their Triple Crown. Names in bold are also Grand Slam Champions.
| Name | World Championship | WCW World Tag Team Championship | WCW United States Championship | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WCW World Heavyweight Championship | WCW International World Heavyweight Championship | |||
| Sting | February 29, 1992 | April 17, 1994 | January 22, 1996 (with Lex Luger) | August 25, 1991 |
| Lex Luger | July 14, 1991 | January 22, 1996 (with Sting) | January 1, 1991 | |
| Diamond Dallas Page | April 11, 1999 | May 31, 1999 (with Bam Bam Bigelow) | December 28, 1997 | |
| Bret Hart | November 21, 1999 | December 7, 1999 (with Goldberg) | July 20, 1998 | |
| Goldberg | July 6, 1998 | December 7, 1999 (with Bret Hart) | April 20, 1998 | |
| Chris Benoit | January 16, 2000 | March 14, 1999 (with Dean Malenko) | August 9, 1999 | |
| Scott Steiner | November 26, 2000 | March 9, 1991 (with Rick Steiner) | April 11, 1999 | |
| Booker T | July 9, 2000 | December 8, 1994 (with Stevie Ray) | March 18, 2001 | |
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. Although it is an offshoot of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the ECW FTW Heavyweight Championship is not considered to be a Triple Crown candidate championship, as it existed solely as a plot device in a storyline involving Taz.
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.
TNA Triple Crown
Although Total Nonstop Action Wrestling does not have its own heavyweight or tag-team championship, TNA recognizes and has the exclusive rights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship belts (despite not being a National Wrestling Alliance territory) to form two-thirds of its Triple Crown. The third belt is the TNA X Division Championship. The X-Division championship is unique among major Triple Crowns in that it draws parallels with cruiserweight championships, as opposed to second-tier championships in other promotions, even though there is no weight limit (Samoa Joe is a perfect example of this).
List of TNA Triple Crown Champions
The following is a list of TNA Triple Crown Champions. Only the TNA-era versions of the NWA World and Tag Team reigns are considered. 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. Currently, only one wrestler, A.J. Styles has achieved this.
| 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 |
Potential Champions
As of April 2006, the following wrestlers are potential Triple Crown Champions:
- Christopher Daniels, Amazing Red, Low-Ki, and Jerry Lynn need a world heavyweight reign.
- Kid Kash needs a world heavyweight reign, but is currently contracted with WWE.
- Shane Douglas and Ron Killings need an X division reign