The title's origins lay in the first world heavyweight championship, and then to events that began in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), which had many different territorial promotions as members.

[1] As a result of the purchase, the WWF acquired the video library of WCW, select talent contracts, and championships among other assets.

[2] At the event, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was decommissioned with Chris Jericho becoming the final WCW World Heavyweight Champion and the subsequent Undisputed WWF Champion after defeating The Rock and Steve Austin respectively.

As a result of the increase, WWE divided the roster through its two main television programs, Raw and SmackDown, assigning championships and appointing figureheads to each brand of the same name.

Due to its relation to both titles, its lineage is connected with the earliest recognized world heavyweight championship.

On the April 24, 2023, episode of Raw, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H unveiled a new World Heavyweight Championship with a belt design that pays homage to the "Big Gold Belt", and announced that the inaugural champion would be crowned at Night of Champions.

[14][15][16] The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the World Heavyweight Championship between the Raw and SmackDown brands.

He was also the youngest champion, when he won the title for the first time at the age of 24 years 136 days during SummerSlam (2004) in August.

The oldest champion was The Undertaker who won the title for the third and final time at the age of 44 during Hell in a Cell (2009) in October 2009.

He defeated John Cena in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at TLC in Houston, Texas, on December 15, 2013, to unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships.