If there was any doubt that an American-based promotion like the WWE had a truly worldwide championship in the WWE titles, those tempers could be eased with a little bit of research. To date, wrestlers from nine different countries have held the title, and some may surprise you. Of course, there have been countless American-born WWE champions, but the first Canadian champion was actually Ivan Koloff, who portrayed a Russian for years. Edge, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho and others would go on to continue a great tradition of Canadian champions as well. Other countries haven't been represented as well, but can still lay claim to having champions. France (Andre the Giant), Ireland (Sheamus), Italy (Bruno Sammartino), Iran (The Iron Sheik), and Mexico (Alberto Del Rio) have all had local-born competitors win the WWE championship. Perhaps the most surprising country to have a WWE champion is Spain, which was the birthplace to Kane. Don't expect Kane to speak much of his Spain-based heritage, however, as he was born to an Air Force family in which was stationed there. Surprisingly, there have been no British-born WWE champions, but Bad News Barrett may have something to say about that before the end of his career.
Sean Ross Sapp, 28, is a convergent media major at Morehead State University, and a news/feature writer for RantSports and WhatCulture. Before taking a managerial role for the Kraken Fight Team, Sapp was a two-time submission wrestling medalist in the region. He is also a contributor to Bill Apter's 1Wrestling.com, and an editor for Cage Passion Sports. He has also published over 300 articles for Fansided. You can contact Sean Ross Sapp for news tips and radio appearances at SeanRossSapp@gmail.com
