5 championships which are now defunct in WWE

WWE has introduced numerous championships over the years. The current setup consists of the prestigious WWE Championship, Universal Championship, Intercontinental Championship, Tag Team Championship (RAW, SmackDown, and women's), and Women's Championship (RAW and SmackDown), to name a few.

The company has also discontinued specific titles with the latest being WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Championship, which was introduced and made defunct in 2018. Braun Strowman was the inaugural and only champion.

In this article, we will look at five similarly defunct championships of WWE.

#5 WWE European Championship (1997 - 2002)

The European Championship was one of the most prestigious titles in the WWE from the late 90s to the early 2000s. The title was introduced on February 26, 1997, with the late British Bulldog being the inaugural winner. He won the title in a tournament held over several shows in Germany, culminating in a final victory over his brother-in-law, the late Owen Hart.

In 1999, the European title incurred a temporary hiatus with the reigning champion, Shane McMahon, expressing his desire to retire as an undefeated champion.

The title was finally discontinued in July 2002 when Rob Van Dam unified with the Intercontinental Championship after defeating Jeff Hardy in a ladder match. The reason to discontinue the European title was a problem of plenty. WWE inherited multiple titles like the WCW Championship and WCW Tag Team Championship when it took over WCW in 2001.

The reintroduction of the European Championship in the current WWE setup seems improbable. There are already two similar mid-card titles i.e. the Intercontinental Title and the United States Title.

#4 Hardcore Championship (1998 - 2002)

The Hardcore Championship was introduced in WWE on November 2, 1998, when Vince McMahon awarded the title to Mankind aka Mick Foley.

The title saw a 24/7 defense rule and saw the late Crash Holly became champion with 150 title changes in the six months before its discontinuation. Like the European Championship, the Hardcore title was also unified with the Intercontinental Championship on August 26, 2002. Rob Van Dam was again the last Hardcore Champion after he defeated Tommy Dreamer.

A similar title was introduced on May 20, 2019, in an episode of Monday Night RAW called the 24/7 Championship with the same rules as the Hardcore title of a 24/7 defense. In the Universe Era, which began in 2008, the word "hardcore" couldn't be said on live television, which was the reason to reintroduce the new name.

#3 WWE Divas Championship (2008 - 2016)

Then Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero introduced Divas Championship as an alternate to RAW's WWE Women's Championship on July 20, 2008.

Michelle McCool became the inaugural champion when she beat Natalya at The Great American Bash 2008. The title continued until 2016, when WWE decided to call its female wrestlers 'superstars' instead of 'Divas.'

Hence it was only logical to discontinue the Divas Championship, replaced by the RAW Women's Championship. WWE Hall of Famer Lita revealed the new title at WrestleMania 32.

#2 ECW Championship (2006 - 2010)

Before WWE took over the company in 2003, the ECW Championship was the original title of the ECW until it went out of business in 2001. Vince McMahon's promotion reintroduced this championship in 2006 with ECW Original Rob Van Dam as the first champion.

In 2010, WWE decided to discontinue the ECW brand altogether, their third in operation along with RAW and SmackDown. Ezekiel Jackson was the last ECW Champion before the title became defunct.

#1 WWE World Heavyweight Championship (2002 - 2013)

The World Heavyweight Championship was introduced on September 2, 2002, as a second world title in addition to the WWE Championship. The idea to introduce this world title was to have two different championships on RAW and SmackDown.

Eric Bischoff awarded the title to Triple H on RAW, making him the inaugural champion. In 2011, the brand extension ceased to exist, and any superstar could appear on either brand, making two world titles redundant.

Subsequently, at the TLC pay-per-view in 2013, the World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship when Randy Orton beat John Cena to become the undisputed champion.

When the brand extension again materialized in 2016, a new Universal Championship was created in addition to the WWE Championship, which laid to rest the chance for the World Heavyweight Title to make a comeback.