AWA World Heavyweight Championship
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Heavyweight Championship is the most prestigious championship in the American Wrestling Association. It was established in May 1960, after the AWA became a separate promotion from the National Wrestling Alliance, which had previously been a part of as the NWA's Minneapolis, Minnesota-area presence. The first champion was Pat O'Connor, who was recognized as the first champion upon the AWA's secession from the NWA as O'Connor held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as well, which he won on January 9, 1959.
It had world title status for its entire existence until the promotion folded in January 1991. The title was revived in 1996 for AWA Superstars of Wrestling but did not gain World Title status until 2005.
Title history
American Wrestling Association (1959-1991)
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat O'Connor | 1 | May 1960 | Held NWA World Heavyweight Championship, won on January 9, 1959 in St. Louis, Missouri; recognized as the first AWA World Champion , but was given 90 days to defend the title against Verne Gagne or be stripped of the title. | |
| Verne Gagne | 1 | August 16, 1960 | Awarded after O'Connor failed to defend the title. | |
| Gene Kiniski | 1 | July 11, 1961 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 2 | August 8, 1961 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Mr. M (Bill Miller) | 1 | January 9, 1962 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 3 | August 21, 1962 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| The Crusher | 1 | July 9, 1963 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Also won Omaha version of World Heavyweight Championship from Fritz Von Erich on February 15, 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska. |
| Verne Gagne | 4 | July 20, 1963 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Wins both the AWA title and the Omaha title. |
| Fritz Von Erich | 1 | July 27, 1963 | Omaha, Nebraska | Wins both the AWA title and the Omaha title. |
| Verne Gagne | 5 | August 8, 1963 | Amarillo, Texas | Wins AWA title only; also wins Omaha title from Fritz Von Erich on September 7, 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska to unify the titles. |
| The Crusher | 2 | November 28, 1963 | Saint Paul, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 6 | December 14, 1963 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Maurice Vachon | 1 | May 2, 1964 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Verne Gagne | 7 | May 15, 1964 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Maurice Vachon | 2 | October 20, 1964 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Mighty Igor Vodic | 1 | May 15, 1965 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Maurice Vachon | 3 | May 22, 1965 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| The Crusher | 3 | August 21, 1965 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Maurice Vachon | 4 | November 12, 1965 | Denver, Colorado | |
| Dick The Bruiser | 1 | November 12, 1966 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Maurice Vachon | 5 | November 19, 1966 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Verne Gagne | 8 | February 26, 1967 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Dr. X (Dick Beyer) | 1 | August 17, 1968 | Bloomington, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 9 | August 31, 1968 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 1 | November 8, 1975 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 10 | July 18, 1980 | Chicago, Illinois | Gagne retired from active wrestling while still the champion. |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 2 | May 19, 1981 | Awarded the title when Gagne retired. | |
| Hulk Hogan | 1 | April 18, 1982 | St. Paul, Minnesota | Hogan's victory was overturned by AWA President Stanley Blackburn on April 24, 1982 as a result of the use of a foreign object by Hogan on Bockwinkel in the course of the bout, with Hogan's reign unrecognized. However, in 2005, the AWA, reasoning that the decision had been overturned by Blackburn, rather than the official refere, retroactively recognised Hogan as a former champion. [1] |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 3 | April 24, 1982 | Returned to Bockwinkel by AWA president Stanley Blackburn due to the involvement of a foreign object in the match. | |
| Otto Wanz | 1 | August 29, 1982 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 4 | October 9, 1982 | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Hulk Hogan | 2 | April 24, 1983 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Hogan's victory was overturned by AWA President Stanley Blackburn immediately following the bout, with Hogan's reign unrecognized. However, in 2005, the AWA, reasoning that the decision had been overturned by Blackburn, rather than the official refere, retroactively recognised Hogan as a two-time former champion. [1] |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 5 | April 24, 1983 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | After the match Blackburn came down to the ring and tried to have Hogan disqualified for having thrown Bockwinkel over the top rope, but since this was a no disqualification match, Blackburn simply stripped Hogan of the belt and again returned it to Bockwinkel. Understandably upset at the way he had been treated, Hogan left the AWA shortly thereafter. Since then, however, the two wins by Hogan have been recognized as official reigns. |
| Jumbo Tsuruta | 1 | February 22, 1984 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Rick Martel | 1 | May 13, 1984 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Stan Hansen | 1 | December 29, 1985 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 6 | June 28, 1986 | Denver, Colorado | Awarded when Hansen left the AWA. |
| Curt Hennig | 1 | May 2, 1987 | San Francisco, California | Title held up immediately after the match due to controversy over interference by Larry Zbyszko on Hennig's behalf, but the title is returned to Hennig days later after the AWA Championship Committee rules that there was no evidence of interference. |
| Jerry Lawler | 1 | May 9, 1988 | Memphis, Tennessee | Lawler defeated Kerry Von Erich on December 13, 1988 in Chicago, Illinois to win the World Class Heavyweight Championship, and become the first Unified World Heavyweight Champion. He was nevertheless stripped of the AWA title on January 20, 1989 after the Continental Wrestling Association split with the AWA. |
| Larry Zbyszko | 1 | February 7, 1989 | St. Paul, Minnesota | Zbyszko won the vacant title by winning a battle royal, last eliminating Tom Zenk. |
| Masa Saito | 1 | February 10, 1990 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Larry Zbyszko | 2 | April 8, 1990 | St. Paul, Minnesota | Title was stripped on December 12, 1990 when Zbyszko left the inactive AWA for WCW. The AWA closed in 1991. |
AWA Heavyweight Title (1996-2003)
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonnie Stewart | 1 | June 6, 1996 | Rochester, Minnesota | Defeated Larry Gligorovich to win the revived AWA "Heavyweight" title after the AWA reopened as AWA Superstars of Wrestling. |
| King Kong Bundy | 1 | March 31, 1999 | Oshkosh, Wisconsin | Later stripped of the title by AWA Superstars owner Dale Gagne. |
| The Patriot (Danny Dominion) |
1 | July 29, 2000 | Pine Bluff, Arkansas | Defeated Dale Gagne in an impromptu match to win the title. |
| Ricky Enrique | 1 | July 29, 2000 | Pine Bluff, Arkansas | |
| Eric Priest | 1 | June 3, 2001 | Hillside, Illinois | |
| Evan Karagias | 1 | March 22, 2002 | Casa Grande, Arizona | |
| Danny Dominion | 2 | May 2, 2002 | Cottonwood, Arizona | |
| Evan Karagias | 2 | May 4, 2002 | Lemoore, California | |
| Horshu | 1 | October 12, 2002 | Mercedes, Texas | Stripped of the title due to missing mandatory title defenses. |
| Evan Karagias | 3 | July 6, 2003 | Lemoore, California | Defeated Eric Priest to win the vacated title. Karagias was fired in January 2005 by Dale Gagne for misconduct and refusal of defending the title as scheduled. |
AWA World Heavyweight Title (2005-present)
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takao Omori | 1 | February 15, 2005 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeated Steve Corino in the finals of a tournament when Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE joins the AWA. The title is known as the AWA World Heavyweight Championship once again. |
| Steve Corino | 1 | June 11, 2005 | Bay City, Michigan | |
| Shinjiro Ohtani | 1 | January 22, 2006 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Takao Omori | 2 | April 1, 2006 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Ric Converse | 1 | June 14, 2006 | Indianapolis, Indiana | |
| Steve Corino | 2 | January 7, 2007 | Pottstown, Pennsylvania | On March 23, 2007, Corino lost the title to TNT at an AWF event; however, on March 28, the AWA Board of Directors returned the title to Corino when the proper paperwork for the match could not be found. |
| Takao Omori | 3 | March 31, 2007 | Yokohama, Japan |
See also
References
- ^ a b Bush, S. (2005). "AWA World Champion: Hollywood Hulk Hogan". American Wrestling Association.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)