WWF Titles - Short & Sweet Trivia Quiz

Answer: North American Heavyweight Championship

The first holder of the North American Heavyweight Championship was Ted DiBiase in February 1979, who did not even have to compete for the title because it was awarded to him upon his arrival to the WWWF, which would soon turn into the WWF. DiBiase lost the title months later, in June 1979, to Pat Patterson in a "Championship Wrestling" taping held in Allentown, PA. Shortly after that, the WWF abandoned the North American title by having Patterson announce he had won the new Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, which would replace his previous belt.

Japanese wrestler Seiji Sakaguchi was the final holder of the North American title as he defeated Patterson in an NJPW event in November 1979.

Answer: Dino Bravo

Dino Bravo was the only WWF wrestler to ever hold the Canadian Championship, and he didn't even have to compete for it! The title was awarded to him when the WWF took over Lutte's International Wrestling promotion, and he was introduced as the champion in September 1985. This title was later vacated a few months later when Bravo left the WWF, and the short-lived title was forever deactivated.

Bravo, whose real name was Adolfo Bresciano, had a long and successful career that saw him win several world titles in promotions like NWA, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, and Maple Leaf Wrestling. Bravo was killed in 1993, apparently due to Bravo's alleged involvement with organized crime.

Answer: Grand Slam

Shawn Michaels, also known as the "Heartbreak Kid", is arguably one of professional wrestling's most important figures. Michaels began wrestling as early as 1984 and first joined the WWF with partner Marty Jannetty in 1987. Michaels won the Intercontinental Championship in 1992, followed by the World Tag Team Championship in 1994 (with Diesel), and then the WWF Championship in 1996. On September 20, 1997, Michaels controversially defeated The British Bulldog at "One Night Only" (which was held in England) and became the first-ever Grand Slam champion upon winning all four major titles.

Other titles that Michaels held throughout his career included the World Heavyweight Championship, and the WWE Tag Team Championship (with Triple H).

Answer: Bret Hart

Sycho Sid defeated Bret Hart on a February 17, 1997 episode of "Raw", the day after the "In Your House 13: Final Four" pay-per-view. At the latter event, Bret Hart had won the WWF Championship, which Shawn Michaels had previously vacated. On Monday night, Stone Cold Steve Austin interfered in the match between Sid and Hart to allow the former to pin "the Hitman". This began what would be Sid's second and last reign as WWF Champion.

Sid's second reign would last a little over a month because The Undertaker would claim the title at "Wrestlemania 13". Hart would then take the title back at "Summerslam".

Answer: The Rockers

The Rockers, the notorious tag team formed by Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels, won tag team belts with the AWA, the CWA, and Central States Wrestling. However, the pair was never officially recognized with WWF gold. On the October 30, 1990 episode of "The Main Event", The Rockers won the championships from The Hart Foundation.

However, that title change was never aired, and therefore never officially acknowledged. So, it goes down in history that they never won these belts!

Answer: Hardcore Championship

The WWE Hardcore Championship was born in 1998 in a storyline that featured Mankind, who was the inaugural holder of the belt by appointment of Vince McMahon. Big Boss Man became the second holder on November 30, 1998 by defeating Mankind in a Ladder Match. It wasn't until February 2000 that Crash Holly became champion and introduced the 24/7 rule; that is, the championship could be disputed at any place and time as long as there was a referee there to count. The concept proved popular and resulted in multiple title changes, sometimes within the same day!

Though the title became defunct in 2002 when it was unified with the Intercontinental Championship, the concept was revived in 2019 with the 24/7 Championship. Fittingly, it was Mick Foley (aka Mankind) who unveiled the new belt.

Answer: Smackdown

The WWE Cruiserweight Championship, as it was last known before being retired in 2007, has a long history that dates back to 1991. This title was inherited from WCW following its integration into the WWF. The championship was called the WWF Cruiserweight Championship starting in 2001, but the name was short-lived because the company changed its name to WWE in May 2002. A few months prior, WWE introduced the concept of exclusive championship belts to either "Raw" or "Smackdown". Then-Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri was drafted to "Smackdown" and took the belt with him. Even though many titles have changed brands in WWE history, this one never left the blue brand.

To either the amusement or displeasure of fans, Hornswoggle last held the Cruiserweight title before its retirement. A similar title, the WWE/NXT Cruiserweight Championship, was introduced in 2016, but it ceased existing just a few years later.

Answer: Bruno Sammartino

Though the name may be confusing given the many similarly-named WWE titles, the WWF International Heavyweight Championship was a title recognized by several different promotions in the 1960s and 1980s. These included CWC, NJPW, and UWF. Antonino Rocca became the inaugural champion in 1959 by defeating Buddy Rogers. A few years later, Rocca vacated the championship and no one else claimed it. Two decades later, the International Heavyweight Championship was reactivated. Its subsequent holders included Tony Parisi, Gino Brito, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Riki Choshu. There is some dispute over the lineage of the title, but it is widely accepted that the championship no longer existed after 1985.

Bruno Sammartino may have been one of the greatest champions in wrestling history, but this is a title he never held!

Answer: Junior Heavyweight Championship

The WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship is another one of those titles that doesn't get a lot of recognition. Competitors who sought to win the belt were usually smaller wrestlers. Paul DeGalles was the first champion, followed by WWWF's Johnny De Fazio. De Fazio would end up being the wrestler with most reigns of this belt (4). Because Tatsumi Fujinami moved to NJPW with the title in 1978, the doors opened for competitors like Ryuma Go, Tiger Mask, and Black Tiger to compete for and win the championship in Japan.

The title was finally deactivated in 1985.

Answer: Antonio Inoki

Antonio Inoki trained in Brazil before beginning his professional wrestling career in his native Japan. He was a long-term competitor in NJPW, which also allowed him to participate in WWF events. In addition to professional wrestling, Inoki was also proficient in martial arts. Perhaps that is why Vincent J. McMahon (Vince McMahon's father) awarded Inoki the WWWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship upon establishing it in 1978. The only other holder of that belt was Shota Chochishvili, who only had it for a month before losing it back to Inoki via submission. By 1990, the title no longer existed.

Inoki served two terms in Japan's House of Councillors, perhaps seizing on his enormous popularity as a wrestler. He passed away in 2022.