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After the brand extension, the Intercontinental Championship was re-introduced on RAW as the second tier championship exclusive to that brand, while the United States Championship was introduced on SmackDown as the second tier championship belonging to that brand. Despite the fact that it is a second tier championship, its status as a substitute in the Triple Crown Championship is unconfirmed due to the fact that neither the WWE nor PWI have ever explicitly stated that it is equal to the Intercontinental Championship.
 
After the brand extension, the Intercontinental Championship was re-introduced on RAW as the second tier championship exclusive to that brand, while the United States Championship was introduced on SmackDown as the second tier championship belonging to that brand. Despite the fact that it is a second tier championship, its status as a substitute in the Triple Crown Championship is unconfirmed due to the fact that neither the WWE nor PWI have ever explicitly stated that it is equal to the Intercontinental Championship.
 
=== Unofficial Champions ===
 
The following is a list of wrestlers who would be Triple Crown Champions upon confirmation of the U.S. Title's status:
 
 
{|cellpadding=6 cellspacing=0 border=1 style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; font-size:90%;"
 
!rowspan="2"|Name
 
!colspan="2"|World Championship
 
!colspan="2"|Tag Team Championship
 
!colspan="2"|Second-Tier Championship
 
|-
 
![[WWE Championship|WWE<br/>Championship]]
 
!''[[World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)|World<br/>Heavyweight<br/>Championship]]''
 
![[World Tag Team Championship|World Tag Team<br/>Championship]]
 
!''[[WWE Tag Team Championship|WWE Tag Team<br/>Championship]]''
 
![[WWE United States Championship|United States Championship]]
 
|-
 
|[[Paul Wight|The Big Show]]
 
|November 14, 1999
 
|
 
|August 22, 1999<br/>(with [[Undertaker]])
 
|
 
|style="background: #EEEEFF;"|'''October 19, 2003'''
 
|-
 
|[[John Layfield|John Bradshaw Layfield]]
 
|style="background: #EEEEFF;"|June 27, 2004
 
|
 
|May 25, 1999<br/>(with [[Ron Simmons|Farooq]])
 
|
 
|style="background: #EEEEFF;"|'''April 2, 2006'''
 
|-
 
|[[John Cena]]
 
|style="background: #EEEEFF;"|April 3, 2005
 
|
 
|style="background: #FFEEEE;"|'''January 29, 2007'''<br/>(with [[Shawn Michaels]])
 
|
 
|style="background: #EEEEFF;"|March 14, 2004
 
|}
 
   
 
=== Potential Champions ===
 
=== Potential Champions ===

Revision as of 10:56, 10 August 2012

This article deals with the achievement as understood in professional wrestling in the United States. For the Japanese championship, which is counted as a single title, see AJPW Triple Crown Championship.

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.

WWE Triple Crown

In World Wrestling Entertainment, the term Triple Crown Champion has traditionally been used to describe a wrestler who has won the WWE 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.

Following the brand extension in 2002, the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship are alternate titles that can compose part of the Triple Crown.

Official 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 World Heavyweight Championship reigns are considered as part of the WWE Triple Crown. 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. Championships in italics indicate that they are alternate titles, not part of the original definition. Dates in italics indicate that the wrestler has won the title, but does not contribute to their Triple Crown, because they had already won a title at that level. Names in bold are also Grand Slam Champions.

Name World Championship Tag Team Championship Second-Tier Championship
WWE
Championship
World
Heavyweight
Championship
World Tag Team
Championship
WWE Tag Team
Championship
Intercontinental Championship
Pedro Morales February 8, 1971 August 9, 1980
(with Bob Backlund)
December 8, 1980
Bret Hart October 12, 1992 January 26, 1987
(with Jim Neidhart)
August 26, 1991
Diesel November 26, 1994 August 28, 1994
(with Shawn Michaels)
April 13, 1994
Shawn Michaels March 31, 1996 November 17, 2002 August 28, 1994
(with Diesel)
October 27, 1992
Steve Austin March 29, 1998 May 26, 1997
(with Shawn Michaels)
August 3, 1997
The Rock November 15, 1998 August 30, 1999
(with Mankind)
February 13, 1997
Triple H August 23, 1999 September 2, 2002 April 29, 2001
(with Steve Austin)
October 21, 1996
Kane June 28, 1998 July 18, 2010 July 13, 1998 (with Mankind) May 20, 2001
Chris Jericho December 9, 2001 September 7, 2008 May 21, 2001
(with Chris Benoit)
December 12, 1999
Kurt Angle October 22, 2000 January 10, 2006 October 20, 2002
(with Chris Benoit)
February 27, 2000
Eddie Guerrero February 15, 2004 November 17, 2002
(with Chavo Guerrero)
September 5, 2000
Chris Benoit March 14, 2004 May 21, 2001
(with Chris Jericho)
October 20, 2002
(with Kurt Angle)
April 2, 2000
Ric Flair January 19, 1992 December 14, 2003
(with Batista)
September 19, 2005
Edge January 8, 2006 May 8, 2007 April 2, 2000
(with Christian)
November 5,
2002

(with Rey Mysterio)
July 24, 1999
Rob Van Dam June 11, 2006 March 31, 2003
(with Kane)
December 7, [[2004
(with Rey Mysterio)
March 17, 2002
King Booker July 23, 2006 November 1, 2001
(with Test)
July 7, 2003
Randy Orton October 07, 2007 August 15, 2004 November 13, 2006
(with Edge)
December 14, 2006
Jeff Hardy December 14, 2008 June 07, 2009 June 29, 1999 (with Matt Hardy) April 10, 2001
CM Punk June 30, 2008 October 27, 2008 (with Kofi Kingston) January 19, 2009
John Bradshaw Layfield June 27, 2004 May 25, 1999 (with Faarooq) March 9, 2009
Rey Mysterio April 2, 2006 November 5, 2002 (with Edge) April 5, 2009
Dolph Ziggler February 15, 2011 April 3, 2006 (with Spirit Squad) July 28, 2010
The Big Show November 14, 1999 December 18, 2011 August 22, 1999 (with The Undertaker) July 26, 2009 (with Chris Jericho) April 1, 2012
The Miz November 22, 2010 December 10, 2008 (with John Morrison November 16, 2007 (with John Morrison} July 23, 2012

United States Championship

After the brand extension, the Intercontinental Championship was re-introduced on RAW as the second tier championship exclusive to that brand, while the United States Championship was introduced on SmackDown as the second tier championship belonging to that brand. Despite the fact that it is a second tier championship, its status as a substitute in the Triple Crown Championship is unconfirmed due to the fact that neither the WWE nor PWI have ever explicitly stated that it is equal to the Intercontinental Championship.

Potential Champions

As of February 12, 2007, the following active (or semi-active) wrestlers are potential Triple Crown Champions. Those who would be considered potential Triple Crown Champions if the United States Championship is considered an equivalent to the Intercontinental Championship are not included in this list:

Wrestlers currently working for or making appearances in WWE:

ECW Triple Crown

The Extreme Championship Wrestling version of the Triple Crown consists of the ECW World Championship, ECW Tag Team Championship, and the ECW World Television Championship.

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.

Name ECW World Championship ECW Tag Team Championship ECW World Television Championship
Johnny Hotbody April 26, 1992 April 3, 1993 (with Chris Candido and Chris Michaels) August 12, 1992
Sabu October 2, 1993 February 4, 1995 (with The Tazmaniac) November 13, 1993
Mikey Whipwreck October 28, 1995 August 27, 1994 (with Cactus Jack) May 13, 1994
Taz January 10, 1999 December 4, 1993 (with Kevin Sullivan) March 6, 1994

Note:Rob Van Dam's eligibility as a ECW Triple Crown Champion is debated because he won the ECW World Championship under the WWE brand and not the original promotion.

TNA Triple Crown

In Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the TNA Triple Crown is an accolade bestowed upon those who win (not necessarily concurrently) all three championships regularly contested in TNA - the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the TNA X Division Championship and (one-half of) the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

List of TNA Triple Crown winners

As of December 2006, there has been only one Triple Crown winner, A.J. Styles. In TNA Wrestling, it is possible to be a multi-time Triple Crown Champion, as noted by Mike Tenay and Don West alluding to Styles as a 2-Time, then a 3-time Triple Crown Champion. Styles is a 3-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, 6-time TNA X Division Champion and 4-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, making him a three-time Triple Crown winner. He completed his first Triple Crown in June 11, 2003 by winning his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship. To become a four-time TNA Triple Crown Champion, A.J. Styles needs to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship again.

Name World championship Tag team championship X Division championship
NWA World
Heavyweight
Championship
TNA World
Heavyweight
Championship
NWA World
Tag Team
Championship
TNA World
Tag Team
Championship
TNA X Division
Championship
A.J. Styles June 11, 2003 July 3, 2002 (with Jerry Lynn) June 19, 2002
A.J. Styles April 21, 2004 February 4, 2004 (with Abyss) October 23, 2002
A.J. Styles May 15, 2005 June 18, 2006 (with Christopher Daniels June 9, 2004
Kurt Angle June 17, 2007 August 12, 2007 August 12, 2007

Potential Champions

The following wrestlers require one more title in order to be awarded a Triple Crown. It should be noted that this list excludes NWA World Heavyweight Champions who held a pre-1975 version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

The following wrestlers are potential Triple Crown Champions:


Ohio Valley Wrestling

Ohio Valley Wrestling has a hierarchy similar to WWE, with a Heavyweight, Television, and Tag Team titles. This is a less notable triple crown, because it is technically on the independent circuit, but is possible to make an impressive resume for a wrestler.

List of OVW Triple Crown Champions

The following is a list of individuals who have won the OVW Heavyweight, Television, and Tag Team titles.

Name OVW Heavyweight Championship OVW Southern Tag Team Championship OVW Television Championship
Brent Albright April 25, 2005 March 31, 2004 (with Chris Masters) January 5, 2005
CM Punk May 3, 2006 July 28, 2006 (with Seth Skyfire) November 9, 2005
Idol Stevens March 14, 2007 October 10, 2003 (with Nova) January 4, 2006

Reference

[1] WWE's Championship Chart.