Whether you’re a longtime wrestling enthusiast or somebody who started following wrestling matches just recently, you’ll likely agree that WrestleMania is a top-rated and popular wrestling tournament.
But because WrestleMania is definitely not the only top wrestling tournament around, we’ve decided to provide you with a well-researched list of the top 10 wrestling tournaments in the world.
If you’re a new wrestling enthusiast looking to find out the best wrestling events that are worth following every year, rest assured that our list of Top 10 Wrestling Tournaments in the World has got what you’re looking for.
What Are the Top 10 Wrestling Tournaments in the World?
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a widely known wrestling tournament which started in 1963 under the name “WWWF World Heavyweight Championship.” Under the aegis of its creator and promoter, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), WWE Championship is contested as a world heavyweight championship which is defended on the Raw brand division.
John Cena, who has a record of 13 reigns in WWE Championship, is the wrestler with the most reigns in the history of the tournament. Bruno Sammartino, whose first reign lasted 2,803 days, is the wrestler with the longest WWE Championship reign. Other notable wrestlers in the history of WWE Championship include Buddy Rogers (the tournament’s first champion); Yokozuna (the tournament’s heaviest champion); Rey Mysterio (the tournament’s lightest champion); and Mr. McMahon (the tournament’s oldest champion).
WWE Championship features on the main roster of WWE as one of the roster’s two world titles. The other title therein is the WWE Universal Championship. It’s noteworthy that WWE Championship’s current champion is Roman Reigns.
WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship is another notable wrestling tournament. It started in 1975 under the name “NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic)”. Under the aegis of its creator and promoter, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), WWE United States Championship is contested as a professional wrestling championship which is defended on the Raw brand division.
Ric Flair, who has a record of 6 reigns in WWE United States Championship, remains the wrestler with the most reigns in the history of the tournament. Lex Luger, whose third reign lasted 523 days, is the wrestler with the longest WWE United States Championship reign.
Other notable wrestlers in the history of WWE United States Championship are as follows: Harley Race (the tournament’s first champion); Big Show (the tournament’s heaviest champion); Kalisto (the tournament’s lightest champion); Terry Funk (the tournament’s oldest champion); and David Flair (the tournament’s youngest champion). It’s also noteworthy that Seth “Freakin” Rollins is the current champion of WWE United States Championship.
WWE United States Championship features on the main roster of WWE as one of the roster’s two secondary championships. The other championship therein is the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is the most successful, if not also most popular, professional wrestling event. In the history of wrestling, WrestleMania, which commenced in 1985, is also enviable as the longest-running professional wrestling event.
An event which has witnessed more than 35 editions since debuting in 1985, WrestleMania is a widely-followed, live-streaming and pay-per-view event under the aegis of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
While WrestleMania takes place between March and April yearly, its most recent edition was held on 2nd and 3rd of April, 2022 in Texas, United States. Without any doubt, WrestleMania is a highly coveted event which belongs to WWE’s “Big Five” –an exclusive class of wrestling events, including Survivor Series, WrestleMania, Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble.
The name “WrestleMania” is said to have been given by Howard Finkel (ring announcer and WWE Hall of Fame member), while the concept of WrestleMania was actually developed by Vince McMahon –an erstwhile WWE chairman.
WrestleMania can be live-streamed by wrestling fans via the following channels: Peacock and the WWE Network.
WWE Raw Women’s Championship
WWE Raw Women’s Championship is a famous wrestling tournament which began on April 2, 2016 under the name “WWE Women’s Championship.” Under the aegis of its creator and promoter, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), WWE Raw Women’s Championship is contested as a women’s-only world wrestling championship which is defended on the Raw brand division.
Charlotte Flair, who has a record of 6 reigns in WWE Raw Women’s Championship, remains the wrestler with the most reigns in the history of the tournament. Becky Lynch, whose first reign lasted 373 days, is considered the wrestler with the longest WWE Raw Women’s Championship reign.
Other notable wrestlers in the history of WWE Raw Women’s Championship are as follows: Nia Jax (the tournament’s heaviest champion); Alexa Bliss (the tournament’s lightest champion); Asuka (the tournament’s oldest champion); and Sasha Banks (the tournament’s youngest champion).
Bianca Belair, who became a champion on April 2, 2022, is the current champion of the WWE Raw Women’s Championship. It’s noteworthy that Charlotte Flair is not only the champion with the most reigns, but also the first champion in the history of WWE Raw Women’s Championship.
WWE Raw Women’s Championship features on the main roster of WWE as one of the roster’s two women’s world titles. The other title therein is the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship is a wrestling tournament which started on September 1, 1979 under the name “WWF Intercontinental (Heavyweight) Championship.” Under the aegis of its creator and promoter, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), WWE Intercontinental Championship is contested as a professional wrestling championship which is defended on the SmackDown brand division.
Chris Jericho, who has a record of 9 reigns in WWE Intercontinental Championship, is the wrestler with the most reigns in the history of the tournament. The Honky Tonk Man, whose reign lasted 454 days, is the wrestler with the longest WWE Intercontinental Championship reign.
Other notable wrestlers in the history of WWE Intercontinental Championship are as follows: Big Show (the tournament’s heaviest champion); Rey Mysterio (the tournament’s lightest champion); Ric Flair (the tournament’s oldest champion); and Jeff Hardy (the tournament’s youngest champion).
Gunther, who became a champion on June 10, 2022, is the current champion of the WWE Intercontinental Championship. It’s also noteworthy that Pat Patterson is the first champion in the history of the tournament.
WWE Intercontinental Championship features on the main roster of WWE as one of the roster’s two secondary championships. The other championship therein is the WWE United States Championship.
ROH World Championship
ROH World Championship is another notable wrestling tournament. It started on June 22, 2002 under the name “ROH Championship.” Under the aegis of its creator and promoter, Ring of Honor (ROH), ROH World Championship is contested as a professional world (wrestling) championship which is defended on All Elite Wrestling (AEW)’s TV programs.
Adam Cole, who has a record of 3 reigns in ROH World Championship, is the wrestler with the most reigns in the history of the tournament. Samoa Joe, whose reign lasted 645 days, is considered the wrestler with the longest ROH World Championship reign.
Other notable wrestlers in the history of ROH World Championship are as follows: Low Ki (the tournament’s first champion); Takeshi Morishima (the tournament’s heaviest champion); Jonathan Gresham (the tournament’s lightest champion); PCO (the tournament’s oldest champion); and Low Ki (the tournament’s youngest champion).
It’s also noteworthy that Chris Jericho, who became a champion on September 21, 2022, is the current champion of ROH World Championship.
The ROH World Championship is not only a well-known wrestling world championship, but also the “most prestigious” (event) among the titles promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH).
WWE Universal Championship
WWE Universal Championship is another popular WWE-promoted wrestling tournament. It started on July 25, 2016 under the name “WWE Universal Championship.” Under the aegis of its creator and promoter, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), WWE Universal Championship is contested as a world heavyweight championship which is defended on the SmackDown brand division.
Brock Lesnar, who has a record of 3 reigns in WWE Universal Championship, remains the wrestler with the most reigns in the history of the tournament. Roman Reigns, whose second reign has lasted 785+ days (at the time of writing this post), is considered the wrestler with the longest WWE Universal Championship reign.
Other notable wrestlers in the history of WWE Universal Championship are as follows: Finn Balor (the tournament’s first champion as well as lightest champion); Braun Strowman (the tournament’s heaviest champion); Goldberg (the tournament’s oldest champion); and Kevin Owens (the tournament’s youngest champion).
It’s also noteworthy that Roman Reigns is not only the current champion of WWE Universal Championship, but also the champion with the longest reign in the history of the tournament. His current (and second) reign, which began on August 30, 2020, has lasted more than 785 days.
WWE Universal Championship features on the main roster of WWE as one of the roster’s two world titles. The other title therein is the WWE Championship.
ROH Pure Championship
ROH Pure Championship is a well-followed wrestling event which came into inception on February 14, 2004 under the name “ROH Pure Wrestling Championship.” Under the aegis of its promoters, Ring of Honor (ROH) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), ROH Pure Championship is contested as a professional wrestling championship.
Quite surprisingly, no single wrestler can boast having the most reigns in the history of ROH Pure Championship. This is because no wrestler in the tournament has emerged as the champion more than once.
Nigel McGuinness, whose reign lasted 350 days, remains the wrestler with the longest ROH Pure Championship reign. Other notable wrestlers in the history of ROH Pure Championship are as follows: A.J. Styles (the tournament’s first champion); Samoa Joe (the tournament’s heaviest champion); Jonathan Gresham (the tournament’s lightest champion); Jonathan Gresham (the tournament’s oldest champion); and Jay Lethal (the tournament’s youngest champion). At the time he became a ROH Pure Championship champion, Jay Lethal was just 19 years and 310 days old.
It’s also noteworthy that Daniel Garcia, who became a champion on September 7, 2022, is the current champion of ROH Pure Championship.
The ROH Pure Championship is distinguished for the fact that it doesn’t align with direct competition. It instead adopts a competition format which incorporates scripted finishes.
Battle of Los Angeles
Promoted by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Battle of Los Angeles –or the BOLA –is a professional wrestling event which takes place annually. The BOLA, which premiered in 2005, is a North American tournament which featured 16 participants in its first edition. In its second year (2006), the BOLA featured 24 participants, but soon in 2008, the BOLA reverted to its initial composition as a 16-man contest.
The BOLA was once held as an 8-man and one-night event. This was in 2011 when the wrestling tournament witnessed a significant overhaul. Currently, the BOLA is held as a 24-man contest, and it’s noteworthy that the tournament has been adopting this 24-man format since 2014.
Ricochet, who recorded his first victory in 2014, is the only wrestler who has become a champion more than once in the history of the BOLA. Ricochet has enjoyed two victories, with his second victory coming on September 3, 2017.
Daniel Garcia, who became a champion on January 30, 2022, is the current champion at the Battle of Los Angeles. The first champion in the BOLA’s history is Chris Bosh who became a champion on September 4, 2005.
ECWA Super 8 Tournament
This wrestling tournament is an 8-man event which began in 1997. Held by the East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), the ECWA Super 8 Tournament is also a one-night event which occurs annually.
While it adopts the single-elimination format, ECWA Super 8 Tournament is notably a “Delaware” event; the wrestling event has always been held in Delaware except for the 2011 edition which was held somewhere else. The 2011 edition was also significant for being the first edition of ECWA Super 8 Tournament to be an internet pay-per-view live broadcast.
Darius Carter, who became a winner in 2022, is the current champion at the ECWA Super 8 Tournament. Except for Christopher Daniels, who has two wins to his name, no wrestler has emerged as a champion more than once in the history of ECWA Super 8 Tournament.
FAQs
What Is the Most Successful Professional Wrestling Event?
WrestleMania is the most successful, if not also most popular, professional wrestling event. In the history of wrestling, WrestleMania, which commenced in 1985, is also enviable as the longest-running professional wrestling event.
What Is WWE?
Even if you don’t follow wrestling matches, you must have come across the acronym “WWE,” provided you’re at least familiar with wrestling. Well, WWE is an acronym for World Wrestling Entertainment which is a top-rated American professional wrestling promotion. WWE is the promoter of several popular wrestling events (tournaments) including WrestleMania, WWE Championship, WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE United States Championship, etc.
Which Events Make up “WWE’s Big Five”?
WWE’s “Big Five” is an exclusive set of five wrestling events including Survivor Series, WrestleMania, Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble.
Conclusion
Wrestling is one of the sports that many lovers of high-drama combats can’t just do without. If you belong to the latter category of sport fans, nothing should stop you from following some, or even all, of the events in our list of top 10 wrestling tournaments in the world.
References:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Championship#:~:text=The%20WWE%20Championship%20is%20a,WWE%20Universal%20Championship%20on%20SmackDown.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_United_States_Championship#:~:text=The%20WWE%20United%20States%20Championship,WWE%20Intercontinental%20Championship%20on%20SmackDown.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WrestleMania#:~:text=WrestleMania%20is%20a%20professional%20wrestling,April%202%20and%203%2C%202022.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championship#:~:text=The%20WWE%20Intercontinental%20Championship%20is,United%20States%20Championship%20on%20Raw.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROH_World_Championship
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Universal_Championship#:~:text=The%20WWE%20Universal%20Championship%20is,the%20WWE%20Championship%20on%20Raw.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROH_Pure_Championship
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Raw_Women%27s_Championship
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Los_Angeles_(professional_wrestling)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECWA_Super_8_Tournament#:~:text=The%20Super%208%20Tournament%20is,%2Dnight%20single%2Delimination%20format.
