The World Heavyweight Championship was brought to Raw by then-General Manager Eric Bischoff after WWE Champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to SmackDown. Bischoff awarded the championship to Triple H, but he had to defend it against his then-best friend, Ric Flair. Triple H was successful and has held the championship on five different occasions. Other holders of this prestigious championship include Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and more. Historical photos...
World Heavyweight Championship
| CHAMPION | DEFEATED | LOCATION | DATE | VIDEO |
| Triple H | n/a | Milwaukee, WI | 09-02-02 | |
| Shawn Michaels | Triple H | New York, NY | 11-17-02 | |
| Triple H | Shawn Michaels | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 12-15-02 | Watch |
| Goldberg | Triple H | Hershey, PA | 09-21-03 | |
| Triple H | Goldberg | Orlando, FL | 12-14-03 | Watch |
| Chris Benoit | Triple H | New York, NY | 03-14-04 | |
| Randy Orton | Chris Benoit | Toronto, Ontario | 08-15-04 | |
| Triple H | Randy Orton | Portland, OR | 09-12-04 | |
| Triple H | n/a | Puerto Rico | 01-09-05 | |
| Batista | Triple H | Los Angeles, CA | 04-03-05 | |
| Kurt Angle | n/a | Philadelphia, PA | 01-10-06 | |
| Rey Mysterio | Randy Orton | Chicago, IL | 04-02-06 | |
| King Booker | Rey Mysterio | Indianapolis, IN | 07-23-06 | |
| Batista | King Booker | Philadelphia, PA | 11-26-06 | |
| Undertaker | Batista | Detroit, Mich. | 04-01-07 | |
| Edge | Undertaker | Pittsburgh | 05-08-07 | |
| The Great Khali | n/a | Laredo, TX | 07-17-07 | |
| Batista | The Great Khali | Memphis, TN | 09-16-07 | |
| Edge | Batista | Pittsburgh, PA | 12-16-07 | |
| Undertaker | Edge | Orlando, Fla. | 03-30-08 | |
| Edge | Undertaker | San Diego, Calif. | 06-01-08 | |
| CM Punk | Edge | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 06-30-08 | Watch |
| Chris Jericho | n/a | Cleveland | 09-07-08 | |
| Batista | Chris Jericho | Phoenix | 10-26-08 | |
| Chris Jericho | Batista | Tampa, Fla. | 11-03-08 | |
| John Cena | Chris Jericho | Boston | 11-23-08 |