AWA World Heavyweight Championship
| AWA World Heavyweight Championship | |
|---|---|
| Data | |
| owner | American Wrestling Association |
| Introduced | May 18, 1960 |
| Discontinued | December 12, 1990 |
The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was the main title of the wrestling promotion American Wrestling Association (AWA) and existed from 1960 to 1990. The rights of the title are now with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). As with all wrestling titles, titles were assigned within a storyline .
history
The title came about shortly after the AWA split off from the National Wrestling Alliance and its creation is accordingly closely linked to the territorial structure of the time. The split occurred due to a dispute over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Verne Gagne defeated the then title holder Édouard Carpentier in 1957, but did not get the title because it had already been promised Killer Kowalski . After Gagne tried to get his rights for two years, the AWA broke away from the NWA. In order to establish its own World Heavyweight Championship , the then NWA champion Pat O'Connor was recognized as a champion and a challenge was issued. O'Connor was supposed to "defend" the title within 90 days. Since he did not meet the challenge, the break was sealed and the AWA awarded the belt to Verne Gange.
A total of 18 other wrestlers were allowed to call themselves AWA World Heavyweight Champion, including the Austrian Otto Wanz , Hulk Hogan , Jerry Lawler , Curt Henning and Fritz Von Erich .
The title lasted until the AWA closed in 1991. The rights were later acquired by World Wrestling Entertainment, who used the title in various video games, among other things.
In 1996 Dale Gagner and Jonnie Stewart founded their AWA Superstars of Wrestling promotion in Minnesota and tried to establish their own version of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. In April 2007, WWE sued the promotion and won in court, making the promotion in Wrestling Superstars Live! and also had to rename their title.
List of title holders
† means that the title change was not recognized by the AWA.
| No. | Wrestlers | number | date | Days | place | event | Remarks | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat O'Connor | 1 | May 18, 1960 | 90 | see story | |||
| 2 | Verne Gagne | 1 | August 16, 1960 | 329 | Was awarded the title after the 90 day limit expired. | |||
| 3 | Gene Kinski | 1 | July 11, 1961 | 18th | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 4th | Verne Gagne | 2 | August 8, 1961 | 154 | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 5 | Mr. M | 1 | January 9, 1962 | 224 | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 6th | Verne Gagne | 3 | August 21, 1963 | 322 | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 7th | The Crusher | 1 | July 9, 1963 | 11 | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | Also won the Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship on February 15, 1963 from Verne Gagne . | |
| 8th | Verne Gagne | 4th | July 20, 1963 | 140 | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | Won both titles. | |
| 9 | Fritz Von Erich | 1 | July 27, 1963 | 12 | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | Won both titles. | |
| 10 | Verne Gagne | 5 | August 8, 1963 | 100 | Amarillo , Texas | Live event | Von Erich only lost the AWA title. On September 7, 1963, Gagne also won the Omaha version and combined both titles. | |
| 11 | The Crusher | 2 | November 16, 1963 | 28 | Saint Paul , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 12 | Verne Gagne | 6th | December 14, 1964 | 140 | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 13 | Mad Dog Vachon | 1 | May 2, 1964 | 14th | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | ||
| 14th | Verne Gagne | 7th | May 16, 1964 | 157 | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | ||
| 15th | Mad Dog Vachon | 2 | October 20, 1964 | 207 | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 16 | Mighty Igor Vodic | 1 | May 15, 1965 | 7th | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | ||
| 17th | Mad Dog Vachon | 3 | May 22, 1965 | 91 | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | ||
| 18th | The Crusher | 3 | August 21, 1965 | 83 | Saint Paul , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 19th | Mad Dog Vachon | 4th | November 12, 1965 | 265 (57) † | Denver , Colorado | Live event | ||
| - | Mr. Wrestling | 1 † | January 8, 1966 | 6th | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | ||
| - | Mad Dog Vachon | 5 † | January 14, 1966 | 302 | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | After AWA President Stanley Blackburn watched the January 8, 1966 match, he annulled the title change because Mr. Wrestling's leg would have been on the rope when he pinned Mad Dog Vachon. | |
| 20th | Dick the Bruiser | 1 | November 12, 1966 | 7th | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | ||
| 21st | Mad Dog Vachon | 5 (6) | November 19, 1966 | 99 | Omaha , Nebraska | Live event | ||
| 22nd | Verne Gagne | 8th | February 26, 1967 | 538 | Saint Paul , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 23 | Dr. X | 1 | 17th August 1968 | 14th | Bloomington , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 24 | Verne Gagne | 9 | August 31, 1968 | 2625 | Minneapolis , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 25th | Nick Bockwinkel | 1 | November 8, 1975 | 1714 | Saint Paul , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 26th | Verne Gagne | 10 | July 18, 1980 | 305 | Chicago, Illinois | Live event | Gagne retired from wrestling as the reigning champion. | |
| 27 | Nick Bockwinkel | 2 | May 19, 1981 | 467 (334) † | - | - | Was awarded the title | |
| - | Hulk Hogan | 1 † | April 18, 1982 | 6th | Saint Paul , Minnesota | Live event | Both opponents had used a "foreign object", but the referee declared Hogan champion. | |
| - | Nick Bockwinkel | 3 † | April 24, 1982 | 127 | - | - | AWA President Stanley Blackburn declared the title change null and void. | |
| 28 | Otto Wanz | 1 | August 29, 1982 | 41 | Saint Paul , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 29 | Nick Bockwinkel | 3 (4) | October 9, 1982 | 501 (79) † | Chicago, Illinois | Live event | ||
| - | Jerry The King Lawler | 1 † | December 27, 1982 | 0 | Memphis, Tennessee | Live event | Decision was revised. | |
| vacancy | - | - | - | Memphis, Tennessee | Live event | |||
| - | Nick Bockwinkel | 5 † | January 10, 1983 | 408 | Memphis, Tennessee | Live event | Defeated Lawler in a rematch. | |
| 30th | Jumbo Tsurata | 1 | February 22, 1984 | 81 | Tokyo , Japan | Live event | ||
| 31 | Rick Martel | 1 | May 13, 1984 | 595 | Saint Paul , Minnesota | Live event | ||
| 32 | Stan Hansen | 1 | December 29, 1985 | 181 | East Rutherford , New Jersey | Live event | Hansen took the title to All Japan Pro Wrestling , where he defended it in July 1986. | |
| 33 | Nick Bockwinkel | 4 (6) | June 28, 1986 | 308 | Denver , Colorado | Live event | Received the title after Stan Hansen joined All Japan Pro Wrestling. | |
| 34 | Curt Henning | 1 | May 2, 1987 | 373 | Daly City , California | SuperClash 2 | Shortly after the match, it was alleged that Larry Zbyszko intervened in the match. The AWA Athletic Commission decided in favor of Henning. | |
| 35 | Jerry The King Lawler | 1 (2) | May 9, 1988 | 256 | Memphis, Tennessee | Live event | Lawler also defeated Kerry Von Erich on December 13, 1988 and won the WCCW World Heavyweight Championship . This made him the first Unified AWA World Heavyweight Champion. | |
| vacancy | - | January 20, 1989 | - | - | - | Lawler was stripped of the title after the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) broke away from the AWA. | ||
| 36 | Larry Zbyszko | 1 | February 7, 1989 | 368 | Saint Paul , Minnesota | Live event | Zbyszko won a battle royal . In the final he faced Tom Zenk . | |
| 37 | Mr. Saito | 1 | February 10, 1990 | 57 | Tokyo , Japan | Live event | ||
| 38 | Larry Zbyszko | 2 | April 8, 1990 | 248 | Saint Paul , Minnesota | SuperClash 4 | ||
| vacancy | - | December 12, 1990 | - | - | - | The title was revoked after Zbyszko left the AWA gen World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The official reason given was that Zbyszko had refused to defend his title in Japan. | ||
| Title set | - | 1991 | - | - | - | The AWA dissolved. |
Title statistics
| rank | Wrestlers | number | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verne Gagne | 10 | 4.677 |
| 2 | Nick Bockwinkel | 4 (6) | 2.990 |
| 3 | Mad Dog Vachon | 5 (6) | 776 |
| 4th | Larry Zbyszko | 2 | 616 |
| 5 | Rick Martel | 1 | 595 |
| 6th | Curt Hennig | 1 | 373 |
| 7th | Jerry Lawler | 1 (2) | 256 |
| 8th | Mr. M | 1 | 224 |
| 9 | Stan Hansen | 1 | 181 |
| 10 | The Crusher | 3 | 122 |
| 11 | Pat O'Connor | 1 | 90 |
| 12 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 1 | 81 |
| 13 | Mr. Saito | 1 | 57 |
| 14th | Otto Wanz | 1 | 41 |
| 15th | Gene Kiniski | 1 | 28 |
| 16 | Dr. X | 1 | 14th |
| 17th | Fritz Von Erich | 1 | 12 |
| 18th | Dick the Bruiser | 1 | 7th |
| Mighty Igor Vodic | 1 | 7th | |
| - | Mr. Wrestling | 1 | 6th |
| Hulk Hogan | 1 | 6th |
literature
- Royal Duncan & Gary Will: Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications 2006. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 .
Individual evidence
- ^ The sensational history of the AWA . In: WWE . ( wwe.com [accessed December 13, 2017]).
- ↑ WWE News, RAW Results, Smackdown Results . In: Wrestling News and Results, WWE News, TNA News, ROH News . ( wrestleview.com [accessed December 13, 2017]).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au Royal Duncan & Gary Will: Wrestling Title Histories , 4th. Edition, Archeus Communications, 2006, ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 .
- ↑ Brian Hoops: On this day in pro wrestling history: Brisco beats Race for NWA title, Gagne beats Crusher for AWA title, Robinson vs. Fees . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. July 20, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ Brian Hoops: Daily pro wrestling history (02/26): Verne Gagne wins AWA title on his birthday . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. February 26, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ a b Brian Hoops: On this day in pro wrestling history: Gagne retires as AWA champion, Austin's ex-wife beats Lesnar's wife for WWF title, Steamboat & Youngblood, Thesz Vs Rogers . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. May 10, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ↑ Oliver, Greg: Former AWA World champion Otto Wanz dies . SLAM wrestling. September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ Brian Hoops: Daily pro wrestling history (02/22): Sting defeats Hogan to win vacant WCW title . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ↑ Brian Hoops: On this day in pro wrestling history (May 13): Rick Martel wins AWA gold, Kurt Angle wins TNA title, Nash & Hall beat one man to win tag titles . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. May 13, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ↑ Brian Hoops: On this day in pro wrestling history: 2nd Steve Austin WWE title reign begins, infamous Stan Hansen AWA title belt stripping story . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. June 29, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ Brian Hoops: On this day in pro wrestling history (Feb 7): Bobby Roode & Austin Aries wins tag gold . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Brian Hoops: DAILY PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (02/10): MASA SAITO WINS AWA GOLD AT THE TOKYO DOME . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.