Established in 1997 as the "WWF European Championship", the title incurred a brief hiatus in 1999 due to then-champion Shane McMahon's desire to retire as an "undefeated champion". It was renamed in May 2002 when the WWF became the WWE before finally being unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship in July that year. Despite its name, only two holders were actually from Europe: the British Bulldog, who was the inaugural and longest-reigning champion, and William Regal. It became a prominent singles title of the Attitude Era, held by then-former world championsShawn Michaels and Diamond Dallas Page, along with Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Eddie Guerrero, among others.[1]
In 1997, the British Bulldog was crowned the first WWF European Champion by winning a tournament that was held over several shows in Germany, culminating in a finals victory over Owen Hart. Upon winning the title, Shawn Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion in WWE. Michaels is the only wrestler to have held both the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and the European title at the same time.
After winning the European title, both D'Lo Brown and Al Snow were billed from different parts of Europe each week while champion. During Snow's reign, he and "Head" dressed up as various ethnic stereotypes corresponding to the European location they were billed from, though not always in a politically or geographically correct manner. The title was retired briefly in April 1999 by then-champion Shane McMahon, who wanted to retire as an "undefeated champion". McMahon reintroduced the championship two months later and gave it to Mideon, who saw the title belt in Shane's travel bag and asked if he could have it.[1]
The term "Eurocontinenental Champion" is a portmanteau of European and Intercontinental, used to describe wrestlers who held both titles simultaneously.[4] Three wrestlers accomplished this feat. The first was D'Lo Brown, who defeated Mideon for the European title at Fully Loaded in 1999 and two nights later at a Monday Night Raw taping, defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the Intercontinental Championship. A month later at SummerSlam Jarrett defeated Brown to win both titles but awarded the European Championship to Mark Henry the following day.
On the February 10, 2000 edition of SmackDown!Kurt Angle defeated Val Venis for the European Championship. Seventeen days later, at No Way Out, Angle defeated Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship and became the third Eurocontinental Champion. Angle held the titles until WrestleMania 2000, when he faced Jericho and Chris Benoit in a three-way dance for both titles. In a rarity, Angle lost both of his championships without being pinned or forced to submit; Benoit defeated Jericho in the first fall for the Intercontinental Championship and Jericho defeated Benoit in the second fall to take the European Championship.
In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to WWE and the title was renamed accordingly, though the physical belt was not updated to reflect the name change. The title was then unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match on the July 22, 2002 episode of Raw, when Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy.[5]
The British Bulldog was the inaugural champion, and had the longest title reign at 206 days. William Regal and D'Lo Brown both had the most title reigns, each holding it four times. Jeff Hardy was the youngest champion at 24, while Diamond Dallas Page was the oldest champion at 46. Jeff Hardy was the final champion. The title was retired on the July 22, 2002 episode of Monday Night Raw when WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy in a ladder match to unify the European title into the Intercontinental title.[6][7]
^ abc"WWE European Championship: official history". WWE. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
^WWE.com: "History of the Intercontinental Championship"
^"Wrestlers Who Reigned As Euro-Continental Champion". Inside the Ropes. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
^"This Day In History: Foley's (First) Retirement, Angle Becomes 'Eurocontinental' Champion, Hornswoggle Gets His Name And More". PWInsider.com. 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
^>"WWE European Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. World Wrestling Entertainment. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
^"WWE RAW #478". CAGEMATCH: The Internet Wrestling Database. 22 June 2002. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
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WWE European Championship history at WWE.com
January 05, 2023
european, championship, professional, wrestling, championship, competed, world, wrestling, entertainment, during, late, 1990s, early, 2000s, multiple, wrestlers, held, european, intercontinental, championships, within, short, spans, each, other, four, held, bo. The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment During the late 1990s and early 2000s multiple wrestlers held the European and WWF Intercontinental Championships within short spans of each other 1 2 and four held both simultaneously becoming Eurocontinental champions 3 WWE European ChampionshipFinal European Champion Jeff Hardy after he won the title from William Regal on the July 8 2002 episode of Monday Night RawDetailsPromotionWWEDate establishedFebruary 26 1997Date retiredJuly 22 2002Other name s WWF European Championship 1997 2002 WWE European Championship 2002 StatisticsFirst champion s The British BulldogFinal champion s Jeff HardyMost reignsWilliam Regal D Lo Brown 4 reigns Longest reignThe British Bulldog 206 days Shortest reignChris Jericho and Jeff Jarrett lt 1 day Oldest championDiamond Dallas Page 46 years 302 days Youngest championJeff Hardy 24 years 311 days Heaviest championMark Henry 392 lb 178 kg Lightest championSpike Dudley 150 lb 68 kg Established in 1997 as the WWF European Championship the title incurred a brief hiatus in 1999 due to then champion Shane McMahon s desire to retire as an undefeated champion It was renamed in May 2002 when the WWF became the WWE before finally being unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship in July that year Despite its name only two holders were actually from Europe the British Bulldog who was the inaugural and longest reigning champion and William Regal It became a prominent singles title of the Attitude Era held by then former world champions Shawn Michaels and Diamond Dallas Page along with Triple H Kurt Angle Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero among others 1 Contents 1 History 1 1 Inaugural tournament 1 2 Eurocontinental Champions and unification 2 Reigns 3 Other media 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditIn 1997 the British Bulldog was crowned the first WWF European Champion by winning a tournament that was held over several shows in Germany culminating in a finals victory over Owen Hart Upon winning the title Shawn Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion in WWE Michaels is the only wrestler to have held both the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and the European title at the same time After winning the European title both D Lo Brown and Al Snow were billed from different parts of Europe each week while champion During Snow s reign he and Head dressed up as various ethnic stereotypes corresponding to the European location they were billed from though not always in a politically or geographically correct manner The title was retired briefly in April 1999 by then champion Shane McMahon who wanted to retire as an undefeated champion McMahon reintroduced the championship two months later and gave it to Mideon who saw the title belt in Shane s travel bag and asked if he could have it 1 Inaugural tournament Edit QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal The British BulldogPinMankindThe British BulldogPinVaderVaderPinRocky MaiviaThe British BulldogPinOwen HartOwen HartFlash FunkOwen HartCOBret HartBret HartSubHunter Hearst HelmsleyEurocontinental Champions and unification Edit The term Eurocontinenental Champion is a portmanteau of European and Intercontinental used to describe wrestlers who held both titles simultaneously 4 Three wrestlers accomplished this feat The first was D Lo Brown who defeated Mideon for the European title at Fully Loaded in 1999 and two nights later at a Monday Night Raw taping defeated Jeff Jarrett to win the Intercontinental Championship A month later at SummerSlam Jarrett defeated Brown to win both titles but awarded the European Championship to Mark Henry the following day On the February 10 2000 edition of SmackDown Kurt Angle defeated Val Venis for the European Championship Seventeen days later at No Way Out Angle defeated Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship and became the third Eurocontinental Champion Angle held the titles until WrestleMania 2000 when he faced Jericho and Chris Benoit in a three way dance for both titles In a rarity Angle lost both of his championships without being pinned or forced to submit Benoit defeated Jericho in the first fall for the Intercontinental Championship and Jericho defeated Benoit in the second fall to take the European Championship In May 2002 the WWF was renamed to WWE and the title was renamed accordingly though the physical belt was not updated to reflect the name change The title was then unified with the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match on the July 22 2002 episode of Raw when Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy 5 Reigns EditMain article List of WWE European Champions The British Bulldog was the inaugural champion and had the longest title reign at 206 days William Regal and D Lo Brown both had the most title reigns each holding it four times Jeff Hardy was the youngest champion at 24 while Diamond Dallas Page was the oldest champion at 46 Jeff Hardy was the final champion The title was retired on the July 22 2002 episode of Monday Night Raw when WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy in a ladder match to unify the European title into the Intercontinental title 6 7 Other media EditThe title appears in the video games WWF No Mercy WWF SmackDown 2 Know Your Role WWF SmackDown Just Bring It WWE WrestleMania X8 WWE SmackDown Shut Your Mouth WWE 12 WWE 13 WWE 2K14 WWE 2K15 WWE 2K16 WWE 2K17 WWE 2K18 WWE 2K19 WWE 2K20 and WWE 2K22 See also Edit Europe portalNXT United Kingdom ChampionshipNotes EditReferences Edit a b c WWE European Championship official history WWE Retrieved 2008 09 12 WWE com History of the Intercontinental Championship Wrestlers Who Reigned As Euro Continental Champion Inside the Ropes Retrieved 17 August 2022 This Day In History Foley s First Retirement Angle Becomes Eurocontinental Champion Hornswoggle Gets His Name And More PWInsider com 2009 02 27 Retrieved 2012 08 13 Jeff Hardy s European Championship reign World Wrestling Entertainment Archived from the original on 16 June 2012 Retrieved 2008 09 21 gt WWE European Championship World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment 11 November 2022 Retrieved 12 December 2022 WWE RAW 478 CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database 22 June 2002 Retrieved 12 December 2022 External links EditListen to this article 2 minutes source source This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 28 May 2008 2008 05 28 and does not reflect subsequent edits Audio help More spoken articles WWE European Championship history at WWE com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title WWE European Championship amp oldid 1130562558, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
