The Legendary Champion vs. Champion Matches That Have Thrilled the WWE Universe

In honor of Crown Jewel 2024 and its two Champion vs. Champion matches to decide the inaugural men's and women's Crown Jewel Champions, we thought it was the perfect time to look back at some of the very best Champion vs. Champion matches in WWE history

These types of matches don't happen very often — but when they do, they're guaranteed to captivate the WWE Universe.

Here's our picks for the greatest Champion vs. Champion matches ever!

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels — Survivor Series 1992

Long before their epic 60-Minute Iron Man Match at WrestleMania XIII, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels went one-on-one in a thrilling Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series 1992!

As the WWE Champion, Hart put his title on the line against Michaels, who was the reigning Intercontinental Champion at the time. Although HBK's title wasn't up for grabs, the match served as a proving ground for the young Shawn Michaels — it was almost a look into the future. Would Michaels be able to stand toe-to-toe in the ring with WWE's top champion? Well, even though Michaels came up short in his bid to become WWE Champion for the first time, he alleviated all concerns that fans — and management — had about him.

This match is a breathtaking technical classic — and somewhat of an underrated, forgotten gem. Believe it or not, neither Superstar was considered to be in their primes — not even Hart, who was enjoying his first run of many as champion. As great as this match was, today it serves as a reminder of the constant evolution so many pro wrestlers endure throughout their careers!

John Cena vs. Randy Orton — TLC 2013

For WWE fans in the 2010s, there were no two Superstars bigger than John Cena and Randy Orton — and the prospect of them clashing to unify the WWE Championship with the World Heavyweight Championship was a dream come true.

At TLC 2013, Cena and Orton competed in a ladder match for the right to be called the first-ever WWE World Heavyweight Champion — and they left absolutely everything in the ring that night. The finish, which saw Orton pull Cena off the top of a ladder and crash into the end of a table propped up in the corner of the ring before pulling down both titles, raised serious concerns for Cena's long-term health. (Thankfully, Cena shook off concussion symptoms in the weeks after the bout.)

Interestingly, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was a title that turned out to be simply a footnote in WWE history. The title would eventually be dissolved, eventually spawning the Universal Championship.

Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior — WrestleMania VI (1990)

For babies of the '80s, there was no bigger match in WWE history than Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior going head-to-head at WrestleMania! The two fan favorites finally met in the ring with Hogan's WWE Championship and Warrior's Intercontinental Championship on the line. It was one of the first Champion vs. Champion matches ever to have such sky-high stakes, and the epic clash lived up to fans' lofty expectations.

There's no other way to put it: Hulk Hogan was unbeatable at this stage in his career, and even the most rabid Ultimate Warrior fans knew there was zero chance Warrior would be walking out of WrestleMania as both the WWE Champion and the Intercontinental Champion…

But it happened. Against all odds, Warrior pinned Hogan's shoulders to the mat just long enough for the referee to count to three, and in an instant, the Ultimate Warrior catapulted himself into the upper echelon of WWE.

Just listen to the crowd when Warrior wins — it's a reaction that can never be recreated!

Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam — Monday Night Raw 2002

Champion vs. Champion matches don't necessarily need to be contested for world championships, as these two iconic WWE legends proved back in 2002. During a particularly thrilling episode of Raw, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam competed in a ladder match that would unify Hardy's European Championship and RVD's Intercontinental Championship.

As longtime fans know, both Superstars were — and still are — born to compete in ladder matches!

The two men had the WWE Universe on the edge of their seats as they launched themselves off the ladder, used it as a weapon, and inflicted as much extreme punishment as possible. It was a car crash in the best way — your eyes were glued to the screen because you had no idea what was coming next. Although both Hardy and Van Dam went on to become WWE Champions in the future, this match — which ended with RVD capturing the Unified Intercontinental Championship after delivering a Five-Star Frog Splash to Hardy from atop a ladder — was an exciting stepping stone for both Superstars.

Steve Austin vs. Chris Jericho — Vengeance 2001

Diehard wrestling fans know that Chris Jericho is the answer to the trivia question of "Who was the first Undisputed WWE Champion in history?" — and he did it by defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin in the main event of Vengeance 2001.

The match had an intriguing buildup. Earlier in the night, Jericho defeated The Rock for the WCW World Championship, while Austin successfully retained his WWE Championship against Kurt Angle, setting the stage for the Undisputed WWE Championship unification match in the evening's main event.

Both men were clearly exhausted by the time the opening bell rang due to their previous matches, but Jericho and Austin still gave the WWE Universe an instant classic — it was as hard-hitting as it gets! Nobody at the time thought that Jericho — a relative "nobody" compared to larger-than-life Superstars like Austin and The Rock — could pull off the impossible and unify two world titles in one night, but that's exactly what happened. Jericho defeated The Rock and Steve Austin within hours of each other and wrote himself into the history books as the first Undisputed WWE Champion ever.

Jericho's career took off after his fateful Vengeance victory, leading him down a surefire Hall of Fame path!