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Triple Crown (professional wrestling)

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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 within one year. 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 and the introduction of two titles (the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Tag Team Championship), the WWE Triple Crown was expanded to include these new titles, due to the fact that they have achieved Grand Slam status.

There are also variations for strictly the three older belts or the three newer belts. Likewise, the inclusion of the defunct European Championship (along with any Triple Crown Combination) can lead to various Grand Slam combinations.

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 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 13, 1998 (with Mankind) May 20, 2001
Chris Jericho December 9, 2001 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 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 August 15, 2004 November 13, 2006
(with Edge)
December 14, 2003
 --won Triple Crown under the original definition
 --won Triple Crown with an alternate title
 --Won title as a member of the RAW brand.
 --Won title as a member of the SmackDown! brand.
 --Won title as a member of the ECW brand.

Potential Champions

As of November 13, 2006, the following active (or semi-active) wrestlers are potential Triple Crown Champions:

ECW Triple Crown

The Extreme Championship Wrestling version of the Triple Crown consists of the ECW World Heavyweight 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. Winning of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in the WWE doesn't count towards being an ECW Triple Crown Champion nor a WWE Triple Crown as well.

Name ECW World Heavyweight Championship ECW World Tag Team Championship ECW World Television Championship
Johnny Hot Body 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

Rob Van Dam could be "considered" for the Triple Crown, as he won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, but Van Dam won it when it was part of the revived ECW brand of WWE.

TNA Triple Crown

Although Total Nonstop Action Wrestling does not have its own heavyweight or tag team championship, TNA recognizes and has the exclusive rights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship belts (despite not being a National Wrestling Alliance territory) to form two-thirds of its Triple Crown. The third belt is the TNA X Division Championship. The X-Division championship is unique among major Triple Crowns in that it draws parallels with cruiserweight championships, as opposed to second-tier championships in other promotions, even though there is no weight limit (Samoa Joe or Sonny Siaki are examples of this).

List of TNA Triple Crown Champions

The following is a list of TNA 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. Currently, only one wrestler, A.J. Styles has achieved this.

Name NWA World Heavyweight Championship NWA 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) June 9, 2004
A.J. Styles* May 15, 2005 June 18, 2006 (with Christopher Daniels) September 11, 2005
  • In TNA Wrestling, it is possible to be a multi-time Triple Crown Champion (in different years), as noted by Mike Tenay and Don West alluding to Styles as a 2-Time, then a 3-time Triple Crown Champion. Styles is credited for winning the Triple Crown once in 2003, once in 2004, and once in 2006. Styles had another reign with Christopher Daniels as the NWA World Tag Team Champions from September 24, 2006 to October 22, 2006 and as the X-Division Champion after winning the title form Chris Sabin on the November 2, 2006 (taped October 24) edition of iMPACT and held it until the November 16, 2006 edition of iMPACT when he lost it to Christopher Daniels in a 3-Way Match in which Sabin also participated. Styles could become a 4-time Triple Crown Champion if he were to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship again.

Potential Champions

As of November 2006, 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
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