Championship unification

Championship unification or championship consolidation is the act of combining two or more separate championships into a single title.

Definition
In professional wrestling and e-wrestling, championships may be unified to consolidate the number of championships in a given promotion, or to add legitimacy and prestige to a certain title's lineage. In a title-for-title match, one of three things will happen:


 * The lesser championship will be dropped.
 * A brand new championship will be created.
 * Both championships retain their identity and may be defended and lost individually.

Examples
In Lords of Pain Wrestling (LPW), three prominent unifications of titles have occured, two in 2008 and one in 2012.


 * After The Rik won the LPW United States Championship, he unified it with his UKWF Championship, thus creating the LPW Transatlantic Championship. The title maintains the lineage of the LPW United States Championship.


 * At Altered Reality IV, the LPW World Tag Team Championship was unified with the LPW United States Tag Team Championship when World Tag Team Champions MWA (Tromboner Man and RaTo) defeated U.S. Tag Team Champions Dark Brotherhood (Eric Scorpio and Ash Strife) on September 6, 2008, thus creating the new LPW Undisputed World Tag Team Championship.


 * At Ragnarök, the LPW Television Championship was unified with the LPW Hardcore Championship when Television Champion Steve Storme defeated Hardcore Champion Cyborg Lincoln on July 4, 2012. Although Storme won the match, the Television Championship was voided, thus allowing Lincoln keep the Hardcore Championship.