The Triple Crown is an accomplishment in professional wrestling. It is a distinction made to a professional wrestler who has won three of a single promotion's championships; specifically, a world championship, secondary singles championship and tag team championship.
Contents
- WWE
- List of WWE Triple Crown winners
- World Championship Wrestling
- Extreme Championship Wrestling
- Total Nonstop Action WrestlingImpact Wrestling
- List of TNAImpact Wrestling Triple Crown winners
- Ring of Honor
- Lucha Underground
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- Maryland Championship Wrestling
- Combat Zone Wrestling
- Full Impact Pro
- All American Wrestling
- Revolution Pro Wrestling
- References
National promotions that officially recognize Triple Crown winners include WWE, Impact Wrestling (Formerly TNA), and Ring of Honor (ROH) as well as the defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Notable independent promotions such as Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) also have established a version of the Triple Crown.
WWE
In WWE (formerly known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation/WWWF and World Wrestling Federation/WWF), the term Triple Crown Champion has traditionally been used to describe a wrestler who has won the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the (now defunct) World Tag Team Championship. For a span of nearly eighteen years, from 1979 up through 1997, these were the only three championships of the company, and a wrestler who won all three championships (not necessarily concurrently) was considered a "Triple Crown Champion". Until the 1990s, the accomplishment was extremely rare, with Pedro Morales remaining the sole Triple Crown winner for more than a decade.
Following the first brand extension between 2002 and 2011, the (now defunct) World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship became alternate titles that can compose part of the Triple Crown. During the unification of those two world championships and two tag team championships, the only three Triple Crown championships of WWE were the WWE, Intercontinental, and WWE Tag Team Championships (the United States Championship is not considered part of the Triple Crown, though by 2015 it is considered part of WWE's Grand Slam). In 2016, a second brand extension period began and two new titles were introduced: the Universal Championship and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. On January 12th, 2017, WWE stated that the aforementioned championships were acceptable substitutes for their counterpart titles in the Grand Slam, but have not yet confirmed if they are part of the Triple Crown. No holders of these two titles has held the other required titles to become a Triple Crown or Grand Slam champion.
CM Punk holds the record for completing the Triple Crown in the shortest amount of time between the first and third title. It took him 203 days between June 2008 and January 2009. This broke Diesel's previous record of 227 days set in 1994.
List of WWE Triple Crown winners
The following is a list of WWE Triple Crown winners with dates indicating the wrestler's first reign with the respective championship.
World Championship Wrestling
The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Triple Crown consisted of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (now WWE United States Championship) and the WCW World Tag Team Championship. When Bret Hart and Goldberg won the WCW World Tag Team Championship, they both became Triple Crown winners at the same time. WWE has yet to determine whether or not Big Show achieved the WCW Triple Crown due to him winning the United States Championship while in WWE.
Extreme Championship Wrestling
The Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Triple Crown consisted of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the ECW World Television Championship and the ECW World Tag Team Championship. It is unknown if Rob Van Dam is considered an ECW Triple Crown Champion, due to his reign taking place in the WWE. Johnny Hotbody's Triple Crown victories all took place under ECW's previous name, Eastern Championship Wrestling.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/Impact Wrestling
In Impact Wrestling (Formerly TNA), the TNA Triple Crown was an accolade bestowed upon those who won (not necessarily concurrently) all three championships regularly contested in TNA between 2002 and 2007 - the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the TNA X Division Championship and (one-half of) the NWA World Tag Team Championship. It was unknown whether or not those who won the NWA World Heavyweight and NWA World Tag Team Championships before or after TNA's acquisition and usage of the title belts would qualify for the Triple Crown.
In May 2007, TNA lost the rights to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship and introduced the Impact World Heavyweight Championship and the Impact World Tag Team Championship. On July 8, 2007, Impact Wrestling (Then TNA) stated that, should the then-Impact X Division Champion Samoa Joe win the Impact World Tag Team Championship, this would leave him "just one step shy of becoming only the second Triple Crown Champion". This indicates that the Impact World Heavyweight Championship and the Impact World Tag Team Championship are part of the existing Triple Crown accolade.
List of TNA/Impact Wrestling Triple Crown winners
The following is a list of TNA/Impact Wrestling Triple Crown winners with dates indicating the wrestler's first reign with the respective championship. Under TNA/Impact Wrestling's definition of the Triple Crown, wrestlers are eligible to win the Triple Crown each time they complete a new circuit. To date, only A.J. Styles has won the TNA/Impact Wrestling Triple Crown on more than one occasion (five times), as well as being the only wrestler to hold all of the eligible championships.
Ring of Honor
The Ring of Honor (ROH) Triple Crown originally was defined as the ROH World Championship, the ROH World Tag Team Championship, and the ROH World Television Championship. It was later amended so that the World Championship and any combination of the Television, Tag Team or (now defunct) ROH Pure Championship would qualify. ROH has not yet determined if the newly active ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship would be a component to the Triple Crown.
Lucha Underground
Lucha Underground has three established titles in its promotion, the Lucha Underground Championship, the Gift of the Gods Championship and, uniquely, Trios Championship. Lucha Underground airs its episodes on tape delay, thus title changes listed below may not have aired yet.
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an independent regional promotion that at various points served as a developmental territory for WWE and TNA. Their version consists of the OVW Heavyweight Championship, the OVW Television Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship.
Maryland Championship Wrestling
Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW) is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the MCW Heavyweight Championship, the MCW Tag Team Championship, and MCW Rage Television Championship.
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the CZW World Heavyweight Championship, the CZW World Tag Team Championship, CZW Wired Championship and CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Full Impact Pro
Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the FIP World Heavyweight Championship, the FIP Florida Heritage Championship and the FIP Tag Team Championship.
All American Wrestling
All American Wrestling (AAW) is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the AAW Heavyweight Championship, the AAW Heritage Championship and the AAW Tag Team Championship.
Revolution Pro Wrestling
Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) is an independent regional promotion. Their version consists of the British Heavyweight Championship, the British Cruiserweight Championship and the Undisputed British Tag Team Championship.