WWF European Championship

WWF European Championship - Title History

On this page, you find the full Title History for the WWF European Championship, with all Championship Info, Statistics, the Belt Design changes through the years, and the full list of Title Reigns, along with dates, events, and reign durations.

The WWF European Championship was contested in World Wrestling Entertainment, by men wrestlers.

The championship was first established on February 26, 1997, and the inaugural champion was The British Bulldog.

Introduced in 1997, the European Championship crowned its first title holder in a tournament. In the finals, appropriately right in the heart of Europe, in Berlin, Germany, the British Bulldog prevailed over Owen Hart. The championship didn't make regular appearances in the United States, however, until after Shawn Michaels defeated the British Bulldog in Birmingham, England at One Night Only. After Michaels won the title, the European Championship began being defended on U.S. soil more often.

The European Championship was retired on April 4, 1999, after Shane McMahon defeated X-Pac, but it was then brought back and awarded to Mideon in June of that same year. The European Championship became a coveted title and was strapped around the waists of some of the top WWE Superstars including the likes of Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero. But after Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy to unify the Intercontinental and European Championships, the European Championship was once again deemed inactive.

The WWF European Championship was retired on July 22, 2002, when it was unified into the WWE Intercontinental Championship, with the final champion being Rob Van Dam.

WWF European Championship: Title History

Promotions / Brands

Promotion from to
Promotion WWF February 26, 1997 July 22, 2002

Promotion	from	to
Promotion WWF	February 26, 1997	July 22, 2002

Championship Names & Belt Designs
- WWF European Championship October 18, 1998 July 22, 2002
- WWF European Championship February 26, 1997 October 17, 1998

For the Title History of the championship in which this title was unified into, see the page for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

WWF European Championship: Title Reigns

N.	Image	Champion	Reign
	Unified into the WWE Intercontinental Championship July 22, 2002 Grand Rapids, MI \| Raw 8040+ days After Rob Van Dam unified the title into the Intercontinental Title defeating Jeff Hardy, the European Title was retired.
37		Rob Van Dam 1 July 22, 2002 Grand Rapids, MI \| Raw 0 days Rob Van Dam unified the title into the Intercontinental Title defeating Jeff Hardy in a unification ladder match. While this reign is not listed in the WWE.com Title History, Rob Van Dam is listed as former European Champion on his WWE.com profile.	0 days
36		Jeff Hardy 1 July 8, 2002 Philadelphia, PA \| Raw 14 days	14 days
35		William Regal 4 May 6, 2002 Hartford, CT \| Raw 63 days	63 days
34		Spike Dudley 1 April 8, 2002 Phoenix, AZ \| Raw 28 days The title was renamed WWE European Championship on May 5, 2002.	28 days
33		William Regal 3 March 21, 2002 Ottawa, ON \| SmackDown! 18 days The title became exclusive to Raw when Regal was drafted to the Raw brand on March 26, 2002.	18 days
32		Diamond Dallas Page 1 January 31, 2002 Norfolk, VA \| SmackDown! 49 days	49 days
31		Christian 1 November 1, 2001 Cincinnati, OH \| SmackDown! 91 days	91 days
30		Bradshaw 1 October 22, 2001 Kansas City, MO \| Raw Is War 10 days	10 days
29		The Hurricane 1 August 27, 2001 Grand Rapids, MI \| Raw Is War 56 days	56 days
28		Matt Hardy 1 April 26, 2001 Denver, CO \| SmackDown! 123 days	123 days
27		Eddie Guerrero 2 April 1, 2001 Houston, TX \| WWF WrestleMania X-Seven 25 days	25 days
26		Test 1 January 22, 2001 Lafayette, LA \| Raw Is War 69 days	69 days
25		William Regal 2 December 4, 2000 East Rutherford, NJ \| Raw Is War 49 days	49 days
24		Crash Holly 1 December 2, 2000 Sheffield, England \| WWF Rebellion 2000 2 days	2 days
23		William Regal 1 October 16, 2000 Detroit, MI \| Raw Is War 47 days	47 days
22		Al Snow 1 August 31, 2000 Fayetteville, NC \| SmackDown! 46 days	46 days
21		Perry Saturn 1 July 23, 2000 Dallas, TX \| WWF Fully Loaded 2000 39 days	39 days
20		Eddie Guerrero 1 April 3, 2000 Los Angeles, CA \| Raw Is War 111 days	111 days
19		Chris Jericho 1 April 2, 2000 Anaheim, CA \| WWF WrestleMania 2000 1 day	1 day
18		Kurt Angle 1 February 10, 2000 Austin, TX \| SmackDown! 52 days	52 days
17		Val Venis 1 December 12, 1999 Sunrise, FL \| WWF Armageddon 1999 60 days	60 days
16		The British Bulldog 2 October 28, 1999 Springfield, MA \| SmackDown! 45 days	45 days
15		D'Lo Brown 4 September 26, 1999 Charlotte, NC \| WWF Unforgiven 1999 32 days	32 days
14		Mark Henry 1 August 23, 1999 Ames, IA \| Raw Is War 34 days Jeff Jarrett gave the title to Henry as a gift for his assisting Jarrett in defeating D'Lo Brown at SummerSlam (Jarrett also won the Intercontinental Title).	34 days
13		Jeff Jarrett 1 August 22, 1999 Minneapolis, MN \| WWF SummerSlam 1999 1 day	1 day
12		D'Lo Brown 3 July 25, 1999 Buffalo, NY \| WWF Fully Loaded 1999 28 days	28 days
11		Mideon 1 June 21, 1999 Memphis, TN \| Raw Is War 34 days Shane McMahon awarded Mideon the title after he found it in McMahon's travel bag.	34 days
	Deactivated April 4, 1999 Uniondale, NY \| Heat 78 days Shane McMahon "retired as champion".
10		Shane McMahon 1 February 15, 1999 Birmingham, AL \| Raw Is War 48 days	48 days
9		X-Pac 2 October 18, 1998 Rosemont, IL \| WWF Judgment Day 1998: In Your House 120 days	120 days
8		D'Lo Brown 2 October 5, 1998 East Lansing, MI \| Raw Is War 13 days	13 days
7		X-Pac 1 September 21, 1998 Sacramento, CA \| Raw Is War 14 days	14 days
6		D'Lo Brown 1 July 20, 1998 Binghamton, NY \| Raw Is War 63 days	63 days
5		Triple H 2 March 16, 1998 Phoenix, AZ \| Raw Is War 126 days Defeated an injured Owen Hart in an impromptu match originally scheduled for WrestleMania XIV.	126 days
4		Owen Hart 1 January 22, 1998 Davis, CA \| Raw Is War 53 days Defeated The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust / Dustin Rhodes, who was dressed as Triple H; however, Commissioner Slaughter awards the title to Hart considering Goldust / Dustin Rhodes as a substitution for Triple H.	53 days
3		Triple H 1 December 22, 1997 Lowell, MA \| Raw Is War 31 days Michaels was ordered to defend the title against Triple H by WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter, and he intentionally lost the match, because he also held the WWF World Heavyweight Title.	31 days
2		Shawn Michaels 1 September 20, 1997 Birmingham, England \| WWF One Night Only 93 days	93 days
1		The British Bulldog 1 March 3, 1997 Berlin, Germany \| Raw Is War 201 days Defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final to become the first champion.	201 days

WWF European Championship: Statistics

Promotion World Wrestling Entertainment
Gender Male
Title Type Tertiary Title
Date Established February 26, 1997
Date Retired July 22, 2002
Unified Into WWE Intercontinental Championship
Notes Introduced in 1997, the European Championship crowned its first title holder in a tournament. In the finals, appropriately right in the heart of Europe, in Berlin, Germany, the British Bulldog prevailed over Owen Hart. The championship didn't make regular appearances in the United States, however, until after Shawn Michaels defeated the British Bulldog in Birmingham, England at One Night Only. After Michaels won the title, the European Championship began being defended on U.S. soil more often.

The European Championship was retired on April 4, 1999, after Shane McMahon defeated X-Pac, but it was then brought back and awarded to Mideon in June of that same year. The European Championship became a coveted title and was strapped around the waists of some of the top WWE Superstars including the likes of Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero. But after Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy to unify the Intercontinental and European Championships, the European Championship was once again deemed inactive.

First ChampionThe British Bulldog
Final ChampionRob Van Dam

Most Number of Reigns

Rank	Wrestler	Reigns
	William Regal	4
	D'Lo Brown	4
	The British Bulldog	2
	Triple H	2
	Eddie Guerrero	2

Most Combined Days

Rank	Wrestler	Days
	The British Bulldog	246
	William Regal	177
	Triple H	157
	Eddie Guerrero	136
	D'Lo Brown	136

Longest Reigns

Wrestler	Reign	Days
The British Bulldog	March 3, 1997 - September 20, 1997	201
Triple H	March 16, 1998 - July 20, 1998	126
Matt Hardy	April 26, 2001 - August 27, 2001	123
X-Pac	October 18, 1998 - February 15, 1999	120
Eddie Guerrero	April 3, 2000 - July 23, 2000	111