What would happen in the professional wrestling world if non-title matches did not exist? What would happen if every time a Champion stepped into the ring in a one on one match, the WWE Championship was on the line?
Criteria:
- WWE Title could only change hands in singles (i.e. one on one) matches (more on that in a second)
- WWE Title can not be lost by countout or disqualification (keeping with the traditional rules of pro wrestling)
- WWE Title could be lost by pinfall, submission, or by a match stipulation.
- WWE Title could be lost by Referee Stoppage
- WWE Title could not be lost in an Multiple Man (Triple Threat, Elimination Chamber, etc) or Tag Team Match
- WWE Title must be defended (i.e. wrestle a one on one match) every 365 days.
- The Linear WWE Title is not bound to the WWE. If the champion loses anywhere (Japan, another territory, etc.), they lose the Linear Title
The Multi-Man Match Conundrum: Any multi-man matches (Triple Threat, Fatal-Four Way, Elimination Chambers, etc.) Any match that involves more than one opponent opens the champion to a degree of luck to retain the title.
Inactivity/Retirement on Lineage: What happens if someone wins the Linear Title and then becomes inactive, retires, or dies? If you were the linear champion, you had to defend the title within 1 year of winning it (i.e. a singles match.) If the champion failed to defend within that one year window, the Linear title would go to whoever the active WWE champion was at that time.
View the original Linear Championship article by Jason Felix here: https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2014/03/12/who-is-the-reigning-linear-wwe-champion/
UPDATE – March 4, 2015: Due to the odd, and previously unprecedented, circumstances from WWE Night of Champions 2014, we’ve added the WWE Linear Championship #DarkestTimeline. Seth Rollins beat Roman Reigns on that event, in an official match, via forfeit. Because the match began, and the referee stopped it due to forfeit, it is treated as a ref stoppage. A ref stoppage is a valid way for the title to change hands, so Seth Rollins won the WWE Linear Championship from Reigns on that night. However, due to controversy, and honestly the thought that it would just be fun to track, the #DarkestTimeline (A reference to NBC’s Community) was created. The #DarkestTimeline sees Reigns retaining the WWE Linear Title, as if it never changed hands due to the forfeit. So, we have a split lineage in a way. Rollins won the Linear Title, while Reigns retained with the #DarkestTimeline. We follow the #DarkestTimeline exclusively on Twitter, so be sure to follow the @WWELinear Title on Twitter. Currently, Seth Rollins reigns the #DarkestTimeline, while Rusev is the #WWELinear Champion. The hope is that one day, these titles will again be merged and everyone can go about our merry way!
UPDATE 2 – March 29, 2015: With John Cena’s defeat of Rusev at WWE Wrestlemania 31, the WWE Linear & #DarkestTimeline titles have finally been merged! John Cena reigns as the undisputed @WWELinear Champion as of March 29!
| Champion | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Buddy Rogers | 1963 | This is the start of the WWE lineage based on Vince McMahon Sr. and the WWWF breaking away from the NWA. Rogers was recognized as the first champion |
| Bruno Sammartino | 5/17/63 | |
| Gorilla Monsoon | 10/4/63 | Monsoon defeated Sammartino via Referee Stoppage due to an eye injury suffered by Sammartino |
| Bruno Sammartino (2) | 6/6/64 | Wins a Best of Three Falls Match – 2 Falls to 1 |
| Fred Blassie | 8/24/64 | Wins a Best of Three Falls Match by TKO – Sammartino won Fall #1, but couldn’t finish the match after being inadvertently hit in the groin on a leap frog |
| Bruno Sammartino (3) | 11/10/64 | |
| Professor Toru Tanaka | 5/1/67 | Sammartino’s leg was under the bottom rope. WWWF disallowed the title change. Since match was never restarted, this results in a linear title change |
| Bruno Sammartino (4) | 7/8/67 | |
| Professor Toru Tanaka (2) | 9/30/67 | Tanaka won on a “illegal pinfall.” WWWF disallowed the title change. Since the match was never restarted, this results in a linear title change |
| Bruno Sammartino (5) | 10/2/67 | |
| Killer Kowalski | 2/20/69 | |
| Bruno Sammartino (6) | 6/14/1969 | |
| Ivan Koloff | 12/9/1969 | Won by Referee Stoppage |
| Bruno Sammartino (7) | 1/19/1970 | |
| Crusher Verdu | 6/15/1970 | Won by Referee Stoppage |
| Bruno Sammartino (8) | 9/12/1970 | Won a Texas Death Match |
| Ivan Koloff (2) | 1/18/1971 | |
| Pedro Morales | 2/8/1971 | |
| Stan Stasiak | 8/30/1971 | Won by Referee Stoppage |
| Bobo Brazil | 9/27/1971 | Won by Referee Stoppage |
| Giant Baba | 2/27/1973 | Won a Best of Three Falls Match 2 Falls to 1 |
| Jack Brisco | 12/9/1974 | Won a Best of Three Falls Match 2 Falls to 1 |
| Terry Funk | 12/10/75 | |
| Harley Race | 6/29/77 | |
| Terry Funk (2) | 5/12/1978 | Won a Russian Chain Match |
| Manny Fernandez | 10/14/1979 | |
| Don Muraco | 3/26/1980 | |
| Manny Fernandez (2) | 4/24/1980 | |
| Don Muraco (2) | 5/1/1980 | |
| Bugsy McGraw | 5/27/1980 | Won a Lights Out Match |
| Don Muraco (3) | 6/10/1980 | |
| Dusty Rhodes | 6/23/1980 | Won a Lights Out Match |
| Ivan Koloff (3) | 7/16/1980 | Won a Russian Chain Match |
| Bugsy McGraw (2) | 7/22/1980 | Won a Lights Out Match |
| Nikolai Volkoff | 7/24/1980 | Won a Helmet Match |
| Dusty Rhodes (2) | 8/15/1980 | |
| Bobby Jaggers | 9/29/1980 | Won a Taped Fist Match |
| Mike Graham | 10/5/1980 | |
| Dick Slater | 10/13/1980 | |
| Jack Brisco (2) | 11/4/1980 | |
| Mongolian Stomper | 12/25/1980 | |
| Andre the Giant | 2/20/1981 | |
| El Canek | 2/12/1984 | |
| Tatsumi Fujinami | 7/5/1984 | |
| Hulk Hogan | 2/5/1985 | |
| Andre the Giant (2) | 2/5/1988 | |
| Hulk Hogan (2) | 7/31/1988 | Won a Steel Cage Match |
| Ultimate Warrior | 4/1/1990 | Wrestlemania VI |
| Sgt. Slaughter | 1/19/1991 | Royal Rumble 1991 |
| Ultimate Warrior (2) | 3/17/1991 | Won a Steel Cage Match. Warrior loses Linear Title 4/27/1994, as his final defense was 4/27/1993 against Hercules |
| Bret Hart | 4/27/1994 | Awarded – Warrior did not defend for one year – Hart was the reigning WWF Champion |
| Bob Backlund | 11/23/1994 | Survivor Series. Won in a Submission Match via Corner Stoppage |
| Diesel | 11/26/1994 | House Show |
| Bret Hart (2) | 11/19/1995 | Survivor Series (Won a No Holds Barred Match) |
| Shawn Michaels | 3/31/1996 | WrestleMania XII (Won an Iron Man Match 1 Fall to 0 in Overtime) |
| Sid Vicious | 11/17/1996 | Survivor Series |
| Shawn Michaels (2) | 1/19/1997 | Royal Rumble |
| Triple H | 12/11/1997 | Monday Night Raw |
| Undertaker | 12/11/1997 | After Raw Dark Match (Won a Casket Match) |
| Shawn Michaels (3) | 1/18/1998 | Royal Rumble (Won a Casket Match) |
| Steve Austin | 3/29/1998 | Wrestlemania XIV |
| Kane | 6/28/1998 | King of the Ring (Won a First Blood Match) |
| Steve Austin (2) | Monday Night Raw | |
| Mankind | 11/15/1998 | Survivor Series (Defeats Austin in the Semi-Finals of the WWF Title Tournament) |
| The Rock | 11/15/1998 | Survivor Series (Defeats Mankind in the Finals of the WWF Title Tournament) |
| Mankind (2) | 12/29/1998 | Monday Night Raw (Won a No Disqualifications Match) |
| The Rock (2) | 1/24/1999 | Royal Rumble (Won an “I Quit” Match) |
| Mankind (3) | 1/26/1999 | Halftime Heat (Won an Empty Arena Match) |
| The Rock (3) | 2/15/1999 | Monday Night Raw (Won a Ladder Match) |
| Steve Austin (3) | 3/28/1999 | Wrestlemania XV |
| Undertaker (2) | 5/23/1999 | Over the Edge |
| Steve Austin (4) | 6/28/1999 | Monday Night Raw |
| Triple H (2) | 10/17/1999 | No Mercy |
| Big Show | 11/20/1999 | House Show |
| Triple H (3) | 1/3/2000 | Monday Night Raw |
| The Godfather | 3/14/2000 | Smackdown |
| The Big Show (2) | 4/4/2000 | Smackdown |
| Triple H (4) | 4/22/2000 | House Show |
| The Rock (4) | 4/30/2000 | Backlash |
| Chris Benoit | 5/15/2000 | Monday Night Raw (Won a Submission Match) |
| Rikishi | 6/19/2000 | Monday Night Raw |
| Kurt Angle | 6/25/2000 | King of the Ring (King of the Ring Finals) |
| Kane (2) | 7/11/2000 | Smackdown |
| The Rock (5) | 8/28/2000 | Monday Night Raw |
| Undertaker (3) | 9/18/2000 | House Show |
| Kurt Angle (2) | 11/19/2000 | Survivor Series |
| The Rock (6) | 2/25/2001 | No Way Out |
| Steve Austin (5) | 4/1/2001 | Wrestlemania XVII |
| Rob Van Dam | 9/4/2001 | Tuesday Smackdown |
| Kurt Angle (3) | 9/10/2001 | Monday Night Raw (Hardcore Match) |
| Rob Van Dam (2) | 10/2/2001 | Smackdown |
| Chris Jericho | 10/9/2001 | Smackdown |
| The Rock (7) | 11/5/2001 | Monday Night Raw |
| Chris Jericho (2) | 12/9/2001 | Vengeance |
| Triple H (5) | 3/17/2002 | Wrestlemania XVIII |
| Hulk Hogan (3) | 4/21/2002 | Backlash |
| Undertaker (4) | 5/19/2002 | Judgment Day |
| Kurt Angle (4) | 6/18/2002 | Smackdown |
| Rikishi (2) | 6/22/2002 | House Show |
| Lance Storm | 7/2/2002 | Smackdown |
| Booker T | 8/12/2002 | WWE Raw |
| The Big Show (3) | 10/13/2002 | House Show |
| Brock Lesnar | 11/3/2002 | House Show |
| The Big Show (4) | 11/17/2002 | Survivor Series |
| Kurt Angle (5) | 12/15/2002 | Armageddon |
| Brock Lesnar (2) | 3/30/2003 | Wrestlemania XIX |
| Kurt Angle (6) | 8/2/2003 | House Show |
| Brock Lesnar (3) | 9/16/2003 | Smackdown (Won an Iron Man Match 5 Falls to 4) |
| Eddie Guerrero | 2/15/2004 | No Way Out |
| D-Von Dudley | 4/20/2004 | Smackdown |
| Rob Van Dam (3) | 7/3/2004 | House Show |
| Luther Reigns | 7/17/2004 | House Show |
| John Cena | 7/20/2004 | Smackdown |
| John Bradshaw Layfield | 7/25/2004 | House Show |
| John Cena (2) | 3/12/2005 | House Show |
| Kurt Angle (7) | 10/24/2005 | Monday Night Raw |
| John Cena (3) | 10/27/2005 | House Show |
| Kurt Angle (8) | 1/2/2006 | Monday Night Raw |
| Shawn Michaels (4) | 1/16/2006 | Monday Night Raw |
| Shane McMahon | 3/6/2006 | Monday Night Raw |
| Bobby Lashley | 5/21/2007 | Monday Night Raw |
| John Cena (4) | 7/22/2007 | Great American Bash |
| Carlito | 7/30/2007 | Monday Night Raw |
| John Cena (5) | 8/13/2007 | Saturday Night’s Main Event |
| Randy Orton | 5/12/2008 | Monday Night Raw |
| Triple H (6) | 5/18/2008 | Judgment Day (Won a Steel Cage Match) |
| Jeff Hardy | 11/11/2008 | Smackdown |
| Chris Jericho (3) | 12/8/2008 | Monday Night Raw |
| John Cena (6) | 12/13/2008 | House Show |
| Shawn Michaels (5) | 1/12/2009 | Monday Night Raw |
| John Cena (7) | 1/26/2009 | Monday Night Raw |
| Big Show (5) | 2/17/2009 | Smackdown |
| Triple H (7) | 2/20/2009 | House Show |
| Randy Orton (2) | 4/20/2009 | Monday Night Raw (Won a No Disqualifications Match) |
| Triple H (8) | 4/21/2009 | Smackdown Dark Match (Won a Steel Cage Match) |
| Randy Orton (3) | 6/28/2009 | The Bash (Won a Best of Three Falls Match 2 Falls to 1) |
| John Cena (8) | 9/13/2009 | Breaking Point (Won an “I Quit” Match) |
| Randy Orton (4) | 10/4/2009 | Hell in a Cell (Won a Hell in a Cell Match) |
| John Cena (9) | 10/25/2009 | Bragging Rights (Won a 60 Minute Iron Man Falls Count Anywhere Match 6 Falls to 5) |
| Sheamus | 12/13/2009 | TLC (Won a Tables Match) |
| Triple H (9) | 3/28/2010 | Wrestlemania XXVI |
| Sheamus (2) | 4/25/2010 | Extreme Rules (Won a Street Fight) |
| John Cena (10) | 6/11/2010 | House Show |
| Sheamus (3) | 6/27/2010 | House Show (Won a Steel Cage Match) |
| Randy Orton (5) | 9/20/2010 | Raw Dark Match |
| The Miz | 11/22/2010 | Monday Night Raw |
| Edge | 1/31/2011 | Monday Night Raw (Loses title on 4/5/2012, as final defense was on 4/5/2011) |
| CM Punk | 4/5/2012 | (AWARDED – Was Reigning WWE Champion on 4/5/2012) |
| Daniel Bryan | 5/28/2012 | Monday Night Raw |
| CM Punk (2) | 6/1/2012 | House Show (Won a No Disqualifications Match) |
| Kane (3) | 6/4/2012 | Monday Night Raw |
| Sheamus (4) | 6/5/2012 | Smackdown |
| CM Punk (3) | 10/2/2012 | WWE Main Event |
| John Cena (11) | 11/12/2012 | Monday Night Raw |
| Dolph Ziggler | 12/16/2012 | WWE TLC (Won a TLC Match) |
| John Cena (12) | 12/26/2012 | House Show |
| Daniel Bryan (2) | 8/18/2013 | Summerslam |
| Randy Orton (6) | 8/18/2013 | Summerslam |
| Daniel Bryan (3) | 9/15/2013 | Night of Champions |
| Randy Orton (7) | 10/27/2013 | Hell in a Cell (Won a Hell in a Cell Match) |
| Kofi Kingston | 1/13/2014 | Monday Night Raw |
| Alberto Del Rio | 1/27/2014 | Monday Night Raw |
| Dave Batista | 2/16/2014 | House Show |
| Alberto Del Rio (2) | 2/24/2014 | Monday Night Raw |
| Sin Cara | 2/28/2014 | House Show |
| Bad News Barrett | 3/8/2014 | House Show |
| Sheamus (5) | 5/27/2014 | Smackdown |
| Cesaro | 6/10/2014 | Smackdown |
| Kofi Kingston (2) | 6/30/2014 | Monday Night Raw |
| Cesaro (2) | 7/4/2014 | House Show |
| Kofi Kingston (3) | 7/7/2014 | Monday Night Raw |
| Cesaro (3) | 7/11/2014 | House Show |
| Rob Van Dam (4) | 7/12/2014 | House Show |
| Alberto Del Rio (3) | 7/14/2014 | Monday Night Raw |
| Roman Reigns | 7/22/2014 | Smackdown |
| Seth Rollins | 9/21/2014 | WWE Night of Champions (Forfeit) |
| John Cena (13) | 10/3/2014 | House Show |
| Dean Ambrose | 10/13/2014 | Monday Night Raw (Contract On A Pole Match) |
| Seth Rollins (2) | 10/26/2014 | WWE Hell In A Cell (Won a Hell In A Cell Match) |
| John Cena (14) | 11/2/2014 | House Show |
| Seth Rollins (3) | 12/15/2014 | Monday Night Raw (Steel Cage Match) |
| Dolph Ziggler (2) | 12/16/2014 | Super Smackdown Live |
| Bad News Barrett (2) | 1/5/2015 | Monday Night Raw (Best of 3 Falls) |
| Sin Cara (2) | 1/6/2015 | Smackdown |
| Bad News Barrett (3) | 1/13/2015 | Smackdown |
| R-Truth | 1/17/2015 | House Show |
| Rusev | 1/19/2015 | Monday Night Raw |
| John Cena (15) | 3/29/2015 | WWE Wrestlemania 31 |
| Kevin Owens | 5/31/2015 | WWE Elimination Chamber |
| John Cena (16) | 6/14/2015 | WWE Money In The Bank |
| Seth Rollins (4) | 8/23/2015 | WWE SummerSlam |
| The Ryback | 9/7/2015 | WWE Monday Night Raw |
| Seth Rollins (5) | 9/8/2015 | WWE Smackdown |
| John Cena (17) | 9/20/2015 | WWE Night of Champions |
| Alberto Del Rio (4) | 10/25/2015 | WWE Hell In A Cell |
| Roman Reigns (2) | 11/22/2015 | WWE Survivor Series |
| Sheamus (6) | 11/22/2015 | WWE Survivor Series (Cashed in MITB Briefcase) |
| Roman Reigns (3) | 12/14/2015 | WWE Monday Night Raw |
