1. Magnum T.A.
(11/27/1986 - 7/18/1987)
Magnum won the championship at Starrcade 1986, becoming the first man to do so. He would make no defenses of the title, facing off with the Four Horsemen in multi-man matches instead.
2. Ric Flair
Ric Flair defeated Magnum T.A. at the Great American Bash 1987 to win his first championship, and would be chased by Magnum for the rest of the year. Flair made one defense of the title.
3. Magnum T.A. (2)
(11/26/1987 - 2/20/1988)
After reclaiming the championship from Ric Flair at Starrcade 1987, Magnum would go on to make one successful defense of the title.
4. Terry Gordy
(2/20/1988 - 11/27/1988)
After the Fabulous Freebirds invaded WCW, Terry Gordy would capture the world championship from Magnum T.A. at that February's supercard. Gordy would defend the title a staggering 17 times, owing to a weekly open challenge for the championship he held to prove his toughness.
5. Magnum T.A. (3)
(11/27/1988 - 5/20/1989)
Magnum T.A. would reclaim the world championship from Gordy at 1988's Starrcade, the third year in a row where he would win the title in the show's main event. This would be Magnum's third and final reign, and he would make 9 defenses throughout.
6. Terry Gordy (2)
(5/20/1989 - 7/15/1989)
Gordy would claim his last world championship at a May supercard, and he would make one defense.
7. Terry Funk
(7/15/1989 - 10/21/1989)
Terry Funk won his first and only WCW World Heavyweight championship at the 1989 Great American Bash, where he defeated Terry Gordy in a multi-man match. Funk made one defense of the title.
8. Michael Hayes
Hayes's only reign came near the end of the Fabulous Freebirds' time on top of the company. He would make two defenses for his time with the championship.
9. Barry Windham
(11/26/1989 - 1/20/1990)
The last champion of the 1980s, Windham would claim his title after a lengthy feud with Michael Hayes. Windham would make one defense.
10. Sting
(1/20/1990 - 10/20/1990)
Sting would win his first WCW championship in a three-way match also involving his friends Barry Windham and Ricky Steamboat, after he and Steamboat both won that year's Blackjack Classic to gain a title shot. Sting held the belt for the majority of 1990, making 6 defenses in the process.
11. Ric Flair (2)
(10/20/1990 - 3/16/1991)
Flair defeated Sting at Halloween Havoc 1990 to begin his second reign with the championship. He would make two defenses, one of which notably the 1990 Starrcade main event, where he and Sting went to a daring 60 minute draw.
12. The Great Muta
(3/16/1991 - 5/18/1991)
The enigmatic Great Muta won his first world championship from Flair after working his way through the Four Horsemen with mind games and excellent in-ring showings. Muta made one defense of the championship.
13. Ricky Steamboat
(5/18/1991 - 7/15/1991)
When he defeated the Great Muta, Ricky Steamboat became the first former WWF World Heavyweight champion to win the WCW championship. Steamboat made no defenses of the championship during his reign.
14. Arn Anderson
(7/15/1991 - 1/4/1992)
Arn Anderson's first WCW World Heavyweight championship saw him make five defenses, with the most notable being a Starrcade match against Ric Flair which almost led to the destruction of the Four Horsemen.
15. The Great Muta (2)
(1/4/1992 - 7/28/1992)
The Great Muta won the WCW championship from Arn Anderson at WCW's second supershow in Japan. Muta made five defenses during his last reign to date.
16. Sting (2)
(7/28/1992 - 11/22/1992)
Sting's second reign saw him defeat the Great Muta at the Great American Bash. He defended the title three times.
17. "The Deadman" Mark Callous
(11/22/1992 - 3/28/1993)
Mark Callous defeated Sting in the main event of Starrcade to win the World Heavyweight Championship, where it was also revealed that Callous and his group were being led by the debuting Jake Roberts. Callous made three defenses of the championship.
18. Randy Savage
(3/28/1993 - 6/27/1993)
Randy Savage became the second former WWF champ to win the WCW title after defeating Callous at Spring Stampede 1993. Savage would immediately embark on a feud with the Four Horsemen and would make two defenses of the title.
19. Ric Flair (3)
(6/27/1993 - 11/28/1993)
Flair's third reign saw him going toe to toe with Randy Savage through its entirety, closely backed by the Four Horsemen. Flair would make 4 defenses of the championship.
20. Randy Savage (2)
(11/28/1993 - 11/27/1994)
Randy Savage's second reign would be the first to last from Starrcade to Starrcade in the championship's history. Savage defended the title fourteen times over the 364 day reign, still carrying on his legendary feud with the Four Horsemen over that period.
21. Roddy Piper
(11/27/1994 - 2/26/1995)
Roddy Piper's WCW title reign came after his shocking arrival as the newest member of the Four Horsemen, eventually defeated Randy Savage at Starrcade to end his legendary reign and the feud between Savage and the Horsemen. Piper made two defenses of the championship and, during his reign, would bring about the downfall of the Four Horsemen after injuring Ric Flair and attempting to be the stable's de facto number one.
22. Arn Anderson (2)
(2/26/1995 - 7/12/1995)
Arn's second and last reign saw him defeat Piper at Clash of the Champions 1995, avenging the breakup of the Four Horsemen in the process. Arn made four defenses during this reign.
23. Vader
(7/12/1995 - 8/27/1995)
Vader was the first man to win the WCW championship on weekly television and the only man to hold the WCW World Heavyweight championship, the NWA World Heavyweight championship, and the WCW Intercontinental championship at once. Vader made six defenses of the championship during his time with the belt.
24. Owen Hart
(8/27/1995 - 2/25/1996)
Owen Hart defeated Vader to win the WCW World Heavyweight championship in the main event of the first Slamboree. He would make nine defenses during his time with the championship.
25. Shawn Michaels
(2/25/1996 - 5/26/1996)
Shawn Michaels won his first and only WCW World Heavyweight championship when he defeated Owen Hart at Clash of the Champions 1996, marking his first victory against either of the Hart brothers. Shawn defended the championship four times during his reign.
26. Booker T
(5/26/1996 - 7/28/1996)
Booker T gained the title from Shawn Michaels after chasing him for months, eventually gaining an opportunity by winning Battlebowl. Booker defended the championship two times.
27. Randy Savage (3)
(7/28/1996 - 12/28/1997)
Randy Savage defeated Booker T for the World championship the month after he was shockingly revealed to be the third man in the New World Order. Savage would have the longest reign in the championship's history, holding the belt for over a year and making 15 defenses - his most notable being Starrcade 1996, where he retired Magnum T.A. by retaining the championship.
28. Sting (3)
(12/28/1997 - 2/22/1998)
Sting would win the WCW World Heavyweight championship from Randy Savage in his first match in over a year, after being turned on by best friend Barry Windham. Sting made one defense of the title during his reign.
29. Mike Awesome
(2/22/1998 - 6/28/1998)
Mike Awesome defeated Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight championship at Clash of the Champions 1998. Awesome would make five defenses of the championship.
30. British Bulldog
(6/28/1998 - 10/25/1998)
British Bulldog defeated Mike Awesome for the title at Bash at the Beach 1998. He defended the title three times.
31. Power Warrior
(10/25/1998 - 12/27/1998)
Power Warrior's only championship reign to date came after he defeated British Bulldog at Halloween Havoc 1998. He made two defenses, one of which being the last Great Muta match before he was sealed away to become Keiji Mutoh.
32. Mick Foley
Mick Foley defeated Power Warrior for the WCW World Heavyweight championship at Starrcade 1998, winning the belt after years of climbing the ranks. Foley would make two defenses.
33. Ric Flair (4)
(2/28/1999 - 3/28/1999)
Ric Flair's fourth championship reign came after he defeated Mick Foley at Clash of the Champions 1999, his first reign in almost six years. Flair managed only one defense of the championship at this time.
34. Diamond Dallas Page
(3/28/1999 - 5/10/1999)
Diamond Dallas Page's first world title reign began at Spring Stampede 1999. He would make one defense.
35. Ric Flair (5)
(5/10/1999 - 5/23/1999)
Ric Flair's fifth reign was the second time the WCW World Heavyweight championship changed hands on weekly television. Flair was the first person to make zero defenses since Ricky Steamboat in 1991.
36. Diamond Dallas Page (2)
(5/23/1999 - 9/26/1999)
Diamond Dallas Page's second reign with the WCW World Heavyweight championship saw him make three defenses.
37. Dwayne Johnson
(9/26/1999 - 12/26/1999)
Dwayne Johnson's first reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion began at Superbrawl 1999 when he defeated Diamond Dallas Page. Dwayne made four defenses during this reign.
38. Owen Hart
(12/26/1999 - 1/1/2000)
After declaring his intention to retire on January 1st, 2000 and chasing after the WCW World Heavyweight championship for all of 1999, Owen Hart won the title in his final match in the main event of Starrcade 1999. As he vacated the title upon his retirement, Owen made no defenses.
39. Goldberg
(2/27/2000 - 6/24/2001)
Goldberg's first reign came after he defeated Diamond Dallas Page in the finals of a colossal company-wide tournament for the vacant World Heavyweight championship.
40. Chris Jericho
(6/24/2001 - ongoing)
Chris Jericho's first World Heavyweight championship reign also meant that he became the first person in WCW history to ever defeat Goldberg, breaking the mythical Streak. Jericho is the current champion.
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