List of WWE European Champions

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Rob Van Dam was the last European Champion.
Rob Van Dam was the last European Champion.

This is a chronological list of wrestlers that have been WWE European Champion by ring name. The WWE European Championship is a former professional wrestling title competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. The title was created on February 26, 1997.[1] The first champion was The British Bulldog who defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final.[2] The title was first abandoned in 1999 when Shane McMahon hid the belt in his duffel bag.[3] The title was later found by Mideon, which made the belt once again in use.[4] The title was finally retired on July 22, 2002 when WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy to unify the European title into the Intercontinental title.[5] There have been a total of 27 recognized champions who have had a combined 37 official reigns.

The championship has been known as:[6]

  • WWF European Championship (February 1997 - May 2002)
  • WWE European Championship (May 2002 - July 2002)

Contents

[edit] Title history

Wrestler: Times: Date: Location: Notes:
The British Bulldog 1 February 26, 1997[1] Berlin, Germany Defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final to become the first champion. Longest reigning European Champion. Aired March 3 on RAW The Bulldog was also WWF Tag Team Champion with Owen Hart.[2]
Shawn Michaels 1 September 20, 1997 Birmingham, England Won title at One Night Only. Micheals also held the WWF Championship.[7]
Hunter Hearst Helmsley 1 December 11, 1997 Lowell, MA Michaels was ordered to defend the title against Helmsley by WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Michaels intentionally lost the match. Aired December 22 on RAW.[8]
Owen Hart 1 January 20, 1998 Davis, CA Defeated Goldust, who was dressed as Helmsley. Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter awards the title to Hart considering Goldust as a substitution for Helmsley. Aired January 26 on RAW.[9]
Hunter Hearst Helmsley 2 March 16, 1998 Phoenix, AZ Won the title on RAW.[10]
D'Lo Brown 1 July 14, 1998 Binghamton, NY Aired July 20 on RAW.[11]
X-Pac 1 September 15, 1998 Sacramento, CA Aired September 21 on RAW.[12]
D'Lo Brown 2 September 29, 1998 East Lansing, MI Aired October 5 on RAW.[13]
X-Pac 2 October 18, 1998 Chicago, IL Won the title at Judgment Day.[14]
Shane McMahon 1 February 15, 1999 Birmingham, AL Defeated X-Pac in a tag team match with Shane McMahon and Kane vs. Triple H and X-Pac.[3]
Abandoned March 30, 1999 Uniondale, NY McMahon "retired as champion." Aired April 4 on Heat.[3]
Mideon 1 June 21, 1999 Memphis, TN McMahon awarded Mideon the title after he found the title in McMahon's duffel bag.[4]
D'Lo Brown 3 July 25, 1999 Buffalo, NY Became the first wrestler to hold the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship at the same time. Won the title at Fully Loaded.[15]
Jeff Jarrett 1 August 22, 1999 Minneapolis, MN Won the title at SummerSlam. Also for Brown's Intercontinental Championship.[16]
Mark Henry 1 August 23, 1999 Ames, IA Jarrett awarded the title to Henry as a gift for his assisting Jarrett in defeating D'Lo Brown at SummerSlam.[17]
D'Lo Brown 4 September 26, 1999 Charlotte, NC Won the title at Unforgiven.[18]
The British Bulldog 2 October 26, 1999 Springfield, MA Aired October 28 on SmackDown!.[19]
Val Venis 1 December 12, 1999 Sunrise, FL Won the title at Armageddon. Defeated The British Bulldog and D'Lo Brown in a triple threat match.[20]
Kurt Angle 1 February 8, 2000 Austin, TX Aired February 10 on SmackDown! Angle also held the Intercontinental Championship [21].
Chris Jericho 1 April 2, 2000 Anaheim, CA Won the title at WrestleMania. Defeated Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit in a triple threat match[22].
Eddie Guerrero 1 April 3, 2000 Los Angeles, CA Won the title on RAW. He was the first and only wrestler of Latin descent to hold the title[23].
Perry Saturn 1 July 23, 2000 Dallas, TX Won the title at Fully Loaded.[24]
Al Snow 1 August 29, 2000 Fayetteville, NC Aired August 31 on SmackDown!.[25]
William Regal 1 October 16, 2000 Detroit, MI Won the title on RAW.[26]
Crash Holly 1 December 2, 2000 Sheffield, England Won the title at Rebellion.[27]
William Regal 2 December 4, 2000 East Rutherford, NJ Won the title on RAW.[28]
Test 1 January 22, 2001 Lafayette, LA Won the title on RAW.[29]
Eddie Guerrero 2 April 1, 2001 Houston, TX Won the title at WrestleMania X-Seven.[30]
Matt Hardy 1 April 24, 2001 Denver, CO Aired April 26 on SmackDown!. Longest reigning American born to hold the Championship.[31]
The Hurricane 1 August 27, 2001 Grand Rapids, MI Won the title on RAW.[32]
Bradshaw 1 October 22, 2001 Kansas City, MO Won the title on RAW.[33]
Christian 1 October 30, 2001 Cincinnati, OH Aired November 1 on SmackDown!.[34]
Diamond Dallas Page 1 January 29, 2002 Norfolk, VA Aired January 31 on SmackDown!.[35]
William Regal 3 March 19, 2002 Ottawa, ON Aired March 21 on SmackDown!.[36]
Spike Dudley 1 April 8, 2002 Phoenix, AZ Won the title on RAW.[37] Renamed the WWE European Championship on May 5, 2002 after World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. settled a lawsuit with the World Wide Fund for Nature, and became simply World Wrestling Entertainment.[2][6]
William Regal 4 May 6, 2002 Hartford, CT Won the title on RAW.[38]
Jeff Hardy 1 July 8, 2002 Philadelphia, PA Won the title on RAW.[5]
Rob Van Dam 1 July 22, 2002 Grand Rapids, MI Won the title on RAW.[5]
Title retired July 22, 2002 Grand Rapids, MI Rob Van Dam unified the European Championship with the Intercontinental Championship[5].

[edit] See also

List of WWE European Championship reigns by length

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b History of the European Championship. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  2. ^ a b The British Bulldog's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  3. ^ a b c Shane McMahon's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  4. ^ a b Mideon's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  5. ^ a b c d Jeff Hardy's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  6. ^ a b European Heavyweight Title. Wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  7. ^ Shawn Michaels' first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  8. ^ Hunter Hearst Helmsley's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  9. ^ Owen Hart's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  10. ^ Hunter Hearst Helmsley's second reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  11. ^ D'Lo Brown's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  12. ^ X-Pac's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  13. ^ D'Lo Brown's second reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  14. ^ X-Pac's second reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  15. ^ D'Lo Brown's third reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  16. ^ Jeff Jarrett's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  17. ^ Mark Henry's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  18. ^ D'Lo Brown's fourth reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  19. ^ The British Bulldog's second reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  20. ^ Val Venis' first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  21. ^ Kurt Angle's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  22. ^ Chris Jericho's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  23. ^ Eddie Guerrero's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  24. ^ Perry Saturn's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  25. ^ Al Snow's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  26. ^ William Regal's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  27. ^ Crash Holly's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  28. ^ William Regal's second reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  29. ^ Test's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  30. ^ Eddie Guerrero's second reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  31. ^ Matt Hardy's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  32. ^ The Hurricane's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  33. ^ Bradshaw's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  34. ^ Christian's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  35. ^ Diamond Dallas Page's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  36. ^ William Regal's third reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  37. ^ Spike Dudley's first reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
  38. ^ William Regal's fourth reign. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.

[edit] External links