Over the years, WWE has had plenty of double champions. However, a WWE World champion in possession of a Tag Team championship simultaneously is an incredibly rare feat! The majority of singles superstars have the sole focus of winning the World Championship.
Moreover, in most cases, the reigning World Champion may win the Tag Team Championship, and the partner is usually a rival they are feuding with at the time. In some instances, both wrestlers may hold a singles championship to couple up with their Tag Team championship. The prospect is exciting and opens up many different avenues for a storyline to go.
9 Bob Backlund
Bob Backlund was a huge star in the 1970s and early part of the 1980s in the WWF. Backlund ended Superstar Billy Graham's reign as WWF Champion on February 20th, 1978. However, Backlund would make more history as he became the first man to hold the WWF Championship and WWF Tag Team Championship at the same time in 1980.
It was a dream team as Backlund won the titles with former WWF Champion Pedro Morales. The duo defeated the Wild Samoans at Showdown at Shea in a two out of three falls match. Unfortunately, their reign was short-lived as they relinquished the titles 24 hours later due to Backlund holding the WWF Championship. It is unthinkable that something like that would happen in the modern era.
8 Chris Benoit
2004 was the year where Chris Benoit was finally recognized as a main eventer. The Rabid Wolverine won the Royal Rumble match and defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship in one of the greatest triple threat matches of all time at WrestleMania XX.
A month later in April, Benoit teamed up with fellow Canadian Edge to win the World Tag Team Championship from Evolution's Batista and Ric Flair. It was the first time in Benoit's WWE career that he held two championships at once. He is the only man to hold both the World Heavyweight and World Tag Team titles simultaneously. Furthermore, The Crippler was a double champion for a month, as himself and Edge lost the Tag Team titles to La Resistance in May.
7 The Miz
Throughout his WWE career, The Miz has overcome adversity from his peers and fans. The Awesome One became Mr. Money in the Bank in July 2010. He cashed in his contract on Randy Orton in November of that year to win his first WWE Championship.
Miz headlined WrestleMania XXVII and faced John Cena in the main event for the WWE Championship. Before they clashed at Mania, in February 2011 on Raw, they defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater of The Corre. Miz was briefly a double champion but he turned on Cena, allowing The Corre to regain the titles on the same night.
6 Diesel
Big Daddy Cool Diesel originally joined the WWF as Shawn Michaels' bodyguard. However, Diesel thrived on his own and galvanized the New Generation Era. A few nights after the 1994 Survivor Series, Diesel defeated Bob Backlund to begin his near-year long reign as WWF Champion.
Many critique Diesel's WWF Championship reign as long and tedious but it steadied the ship in 1995. During that time, Diesel reunited with Shawn Michaels and the Two Dudes with Attitude won their second WWF Tag Team Championship together. Michaels was also the Intercontinental Champion but their reign as double champions lasted just one night.
5 Batista
In 2005, Batista became the face of the company alongside John Cena. The Animal dethroned his former Evolution mentor Triple H at WrestleMania 21 to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista was drafted to Smackdown, carried the show, and had some great matches with Eddie Guerrero.
Batista formed a short partnership with Rey Mysterio towards the end of 2005. The pair were feuding with Raw's World Tag Team Champions Kane and Big Show. Therefore, Batista and Mysterio defeated MNM to clinch the WWE Tag Team Titles on the Smackdown before Armageddon. The title change was done so it would be champions vs champions at Armageddon, which they lost. The Animal was a double champion for two weeks before MNM regained the titles.
4 Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins reclaimed the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2019. The Architect was riding on a wave of momentum on Raw, although fans had begun to grow tired of his run as a face.
Eight days after his triumph at SummerSlam, Rollins became a five-time Raw Tag Team Champion with Braun Strowman as his partner. Whilst Rollins became the first man to hold the Universal and Raw Tag Team titles simultaneously, he feuded with Strowman. At Clash of Champions, Rollins and Strowman pulled double duty when lost the Raw Tag Team titles to Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. Nonetheless, The Architect overcame Strowman in the main event with his Universal title intact.
3 Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin did the unthinkable when he aligned himself with Vince McMahon at WrestleMania X-Seven. The Texas Rattlesnake defeated The Rock to win his fifth WWF Championship. The following night on Raw, the Two-Man Power Trip was born with Triple H interfering in Austin's cage match with The People's Champion.
Austin and The Game ran roughshod on WWF television for a month in 2001. Triple H won the Intercontinental Title twice, and they feuded with Kane and Undertaker. At Backlash, the dastardly duo controlled the major titles after defeating the Brothers of Destruction to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. It was the second time in Austin's career that he held the WWF Championship and Tag Team titles simultaneously. Ironically, the first time was with Undertaker in 1998 on the road to SummerSlam.
2 John Cena
Around 2007, main eventers began to hold the World Tag Team Championship. Rated RKO was the Tag Team champions when WWE Champion John Cena and Shawn Michaels challenged them for the gold. As expected, it was an exceptional tag team match between the four. Cena became a Tag Team Champion for the first time in his career when himself and Michaels defeated Edge and Randy Orton.
The new World Tag Team Champions put their differences aside when they overcame Smackdown's World Heavyweight Champion Batista and The Undertaker at No Way Out. Big Match John outlasted Michaels in an exceptional main event at WrestleMania 23. Nevertheless, their reign as World Tag Team Champions finally ended the night after WrestleMania in a battle royal which the Hardys won.
1 Chris Jericho
2001 was a very good year for Chris Jericho. Y2J won the Intercontinental Championship from Chris Benoit in a Ladder match at the Royal Rumble. He was the only person to retain their title at WrestleMania X-Seven over William Regal in the opening match. However, despite the Invasion angle being a failure, Jericho was one of the superstars who benefitted from it.
At No Mercy, Jericho defeated The Rock for the WCW Championship. It was Y2J's first World Championship victory. Nevertheless, both Jericho and Rock represented the WWF and they put their differences aside when they beat the Dudley Boyz to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. With the victory, Jericho became the only person to hold the WCW Championship and WWF Tag Team titles at the same time. Y2J was a double champion for eight days as Booker T and Test ended Jericho and Rock's Tag Team Championship reign on the November 1, 2001 edition of Smackdown.