World Wrestling Entertainment currently runs three separate brands. They are RAW, SmackDown, and Extreme Championship Wrestling. All three have world champions and the champion of each brand is considered to be of equal importance.
The title that dates back to the birth of the WWE in 1963 is the WWE Championship. That title is currently defended on SmackDown. The World Heavyweight Championship dates back to 2002 and was created when the WWE split into two brands. In 2007, the WWE officially stated that the championship has its roots dating back to the WCW World Championship. That title is currently defended on RAW. The ECW World Championship dates back to 1994. Extreme Championship Wrestling used to be a competitor to the WWE but was acquired by them in 2001. In 2006, the brand was relaunched. Even though it is the head title of the brand, most fans do not view the ECW Championship as being on the same level as the other two belts. All three belts can be traced back to the NWA World Championship.
Total Nonstop Action is a wrestling organization which dates back to 2002. In order to gain some credibility, they became a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and had exclusive use of the NWA World and Tag Team Championships. The NWA World Championship dates back to 1901. For close to a century, it was the most prestigious title in wrestling. On May 13, 2007, the NWA and TNA severed their business relationship. Their world championship is now referred to as the TNA World Championship.
RAW
World Heavyweight Champion: CM Punk - beat Edge when he cashed in the Money in the Bank title shot on the 6/30/08 edition of Monday Night RAW
Intercontinental Champion: Kofi Kingston - beat Chris Jericho on 6/29/08 at Night of Champions
Women's Champion: Mickie James - beat Beth Phoenix on the 4/14/08 edition of Monday Night RAW
World Tag Team Champions: Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase - beat Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly on 6/29/08 at Night of Champions
SmackDown
WWE Champion: Triple H - beat Champion Randy Orton, John Cena, and JBL in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination Match on 4/27/08 at Backlash
WWE Tag Team Champions: John Morrison & The Miz - beat Matt Hardy & MVP on the 11/16/07 edition of Friday Night SmackDown
ECW
ECW World Champion: Mark Henry - beat champion Kane and The Big Show on 6/29/08 at Night of Champions
U.S. Champion: Matt Hardy - beat MVP on 5/27/08 at Backlash
TNA
TNA World Heavyweight Champion: Samoa Joe - beat Kurt Angle in a steel cage match on 4/13/08 at Lockdown
TNA X-Division Champion: Petey Williams - beat Jay Lethal on the 4/17/08 edition of TNA:iMPACT!
TNA World Tag Team Champions: The Latin American Xchange - beat Team 3D in the finals of the Deuces Wild Tournament to win the vacant titles on 5/11/08 at Sacrifice
TNA Women's Champion: Awesome Kong - beat Gail Kim on the 1/10/08 edition of TNA:iMPACT!
