10 shocking moments from WWE 2002

#7 The World Heavyweight Championship returns

Big Golden return.

Throughout the years, the WWF/WWE Championship has always been seen as the primary championship belt for the company. That being said, other championship belts have occasionally come to challenge its dominance, such as the Universal Title which currently represents the RAW brand in 2017.

Perhaps the second most prestigious title the company has seen over the years is the World Heavyweight Championship which began life back in 2002. With the brand extension a cemented reality at the time, it was no longer sustainable for the WWE to have so many different main event stars all challenging for one belt.

With Lesnar as the Undisputed Champion following his victory over Rock at Summerslam, Smackdown GM Stephanie McMahon secured the Beast as a Smackdown exclusive competitor, leaving RAW without a champion.

Then GM Eric Bishoff announced that a new championship would be formed, which paid homage to prestigious wrestling belts from the past. Back when the NWA was at its height of popularity, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was the ultimate prize in wrestling. Over the years, and with the cessation of WCW from the NWO, the belt became known as the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

This incarnation of the belt temporarily appeared on WWF television until it was incorporated into the Undisputed WWF Championship in 2001. Now, with two sets of rosters to consider, the 'big gold belt' was finally allowed to return and would become a staple of the WWE product until a second unification took place in 2014 leading to the situation we know today.