 In June 2002 , <unk> won the King of the Ring tournament , defeating <unk> Ray Dudley in the first round , Booker T in the quarter @-@ finals , Test in the semi @-@ finals , and Rob Van Dam in the finals , earning him a shot at the WWE <unk> Championship at SummerSlam . On July 22 , <unk> joined the SmackDown ! brand . After a quick feud with Hollywood <unk> Hogan in August 2002 , <unk> defeated WWE <unk> Champion , The Rock at SummerSlam to become the WWE <unk> Champion and youngest WWE Champion at age 25 , a record previously held by The Rock . He also became the second fastest wrestler to win the WWE Championship since his debut ( 126 days ) behind only Ric Flair ( 113 days ) . At the time , the <unk> WWE Championship was being defended on both brands , so Raw General Manager Eric <unk> expected <unk> to return to Raw the following night . However , SmackDown ! General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced that <unk> was only required to defend the title on SmackDown ! , forcing <unk> to institute a new championship for Raw ( the World Heavyweight Championship ) . The WWE <unk> Championship was then renamed the WWE Championship . 
