The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand. It was the first world title established in WWE, at the time known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), having been introduced in 1963 as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship. The WWWF, a National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territory, did not recognize Lou Thesz's victory over reigning NWA champion Buddy Rogers and sought to create its own world title upon exiting the body. The WWWF rejoined the NWA in 1971; however, one of the caveats of rejoining is that the championship would no longer be recognized as a "world championship", and only as a regional heavyweight championship.