AWA World Heavyweight Championship
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
| AWA World Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||
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| Details | |||||||||||
| Date established | May 18, 1960 | ||||||||||
| Date retired | December 12, 1990 | ||||||||||
| Promotion | American Wrestling Association | ||||||||||
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The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association. All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, are now owned by WWE. The championship was generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute worked finishes rather than contend in direct competition.
Contents
History
File:Awa.png
A fan wearing a replica of the AWA World Championship belt at WrestleMania 24 (a replica of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship belt is also visible on her left shoulder).
The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was established in May 1960, after the AWA became a separate promotion from the National Wrestling Alliance, which had previously been a part of 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. The creation of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship along with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship would pave the way for the creation of many other world championships in other wrestling promotions. American Wrestling Association and the title became inactive in 1990 and the organization officially closed down in 1991 with the title also being decommissioned. The championship is a downloadable title in WWE '13 and unlockable in WWE 2K14.
Trademark infringement
In 1996, Dale Gagner and his associate Jonnie Stewart, former American Wrestling Association employees, began using the AWA name in the state of Minnesota and formed an organization known as AWA Superstars of Wrestling, infringing on the AWA name. Finally, in April 2007 World Wrestling Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Dale Gagner and Jonnie Stewart, citing trademark infringement, as WWE owned all American Wrestling Association properties due to their purchase after the AWA's closure.[1][2][3] In October 2008, the court ruled in favor of WWE. The court ruling prohibits Gagner and his associate from exploiting or trading on the AWA name or any other derivatives.[4]
Title history
| # | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat O'Connor | 1 | May 18, 1960 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | N/A | N/A | Held NWA World Heavyweight Championship, won on January 9, 1959 in St. Louis, Missouri; recognized as the first AWA World Champion in May 1960, but was given 90 days to defend the title against Verne Gagne or be stripped of the title. | [5] |
| 2 | Verne Gagne | 1 | August 16, 1960 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | N/A | N/A | Awarded after O'Connor failed to defend the title. | [5] |
| 3 | Gene Kiniski | 1 | July 11, 1961 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 4 | Verne Gagne | 2 | August 8, 1961 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 5 | Mr. M | 1 | January 9, 1962 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 6 | Verne Gagne | 3 | August 21, 1962 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 7 | The Crusher | 1 | July 9, 1963 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | Also won Omaha version of World Heavyweight Championship from Verne Gagne on February 15, 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska. | [5] |
| 8 | Verne Gagne | 4 | July 20, 1963 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | Wins both the AWA title and the Omaha title. | [5] |
| 9 | Fritz Von Erich | 1 | July 27, 1963 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Omaha, Nebraska | Live event | Wins both the AWA title and the Omaha title. | [5] |
| 10 | Verne Gagne | 5 | August 8, 1963 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Amarillo, Texas | Live event | Von Erich's Omaha title was not at stake. On September 7, 1963, Gagne defeated Von Erich in Omaha in a title unification match and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship becomes the surviving title. | [5] |
| 11 | The Crusher | 2 | November 16, 1963 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 12 | Verne Gagne | 6 | December 14, 1963 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 13 | Mad Dog Vachon |
1
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May 2, 1964 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Omaha, Nebraska | Live event | [5] | |
| 14 | Verne Gagne | 7 | May 16, 1964 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Omaha, Nebraska | Live event | [5] | |
| 15 | Mad Dog Vachon | 2 | October 20, 1964 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 16 | Mighty Igor Vodic | 1 | May 15, 1965 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Omaha, Nebraska | Live event | [5] | |
| 17 | Mad Dog Vachon | 3 | May 22, 1965 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Omaha, Nebraska | Live event | [5] | |
| 18 | The Crusher | 3 | August 21, 1965 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 19 | Mad Dog Vachon | 4 | November 12, 1965 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Denver, Colorado | Live event | [5] | |
| 20 | Dick the Bruiser | 1 | November 12, 1966 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Omaha, Nebraska | Live event | [5] | |
| 21 | Mad Dog Vachon | 5 | November 19, 1966 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Omaha, Nebraska | Live event | [5] | |
| 22 | Verne Gagne | 8 | February 26, 1967 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 23 | Dr. X | 1 | August 17, 1968 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Bloomington, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 24 | Verne Gagne | 9 | August 31, 1968 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 25 | Nick Bockwinkel | 1 | November 8, 1975 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Live event | Wrestled WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund to a double count-out on March 25, 1979 in Toronto, Ontario. | [5] |
| 26 | Verne Gagne | 10 | July 18, 1980 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Chicago, Illinois | Live event | Gagne retired from active wrestling while still the champion. | [5] |
| 27 | Nick Bockwinkel | 2 | May 19, 1981 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | N/A | N/A | Awarded the title when Gagne retired. | [5] |
| 28 | Otto Wanz | 1 | August 29, 1982 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Live event | [5] | |
| 29 | Nick Bockwinkel | 3 | October 9, 1982 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Chicago, Illinois | Live event | [5] | |
| 30 | Jumbo Tsuruta | 1 | February 22, 1984 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | [5] | |
| 31 | Rick Martel | 1 | May 13, 1984 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Live event | Wrestled NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair to a double count-out on October 2, 1985 in Tokyo, Japan. | [5] |
| 32 | Stan Hansen | 1 | December 29, 1985 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Live event | [5] | |
| 33 | Nick Bockwinkel | 4 | June 28, 1986 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Denver, Colorado | Live event | Awarded when Hansen left the AWA. | [5] |
| 34 | Curt Hennig | 1 | May 2, 1987 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Daly City, California | SuperClash 2 | 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. | [5] |
| 35 | Jerry Lawler | 1 | May 9, 1988 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Memphis, Tennessee | Live event | Lawler defeated Kerry Von Erich on December 13, 1988 in Chicago to win the WCCW World Heavyweight Championship, and become the first Unified AWA World Champion. Jackie Fargo was the special referee after getting more votes in a national telephone poll than Hennig's father, Larry "The Axe" Hennig. | [5] |
| - | Vacated | - | January 20, 1989 | 0 | N/A | N/A | Lawler was stripped of the title after the Continental Wrestling Association split from the AWA.\ | [5] |
| 36 | Larry Zbyszko | 1 | February 7, 1989 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Live event | Zbyszko won a battle royal, last eliminating Tom Zenk. | [5] |
| 37 | Mr. Saito | 1 | February 10, 1990 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | [5] | |
| 38 | Larry Zbyszko | 2 | April 8, 1990 | Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. | Saint Paul, Minnesota | SuperClash 4 | [5] | |
| - | Vacated | - | December 12, 1990 | 0 | N/A | N/A | Title stripped when Zbyszko left the inactive AWA for WCW. Official kayfabe reason is that Zbyszko refused to defend the title on a tour of Japan. Pro Wrestling Illustrated withdrew recognition of World Championship status January 1991. The vacant title was from this point recognised only as the "AWA Championship". | [5][6] |
| - | Title retired | - | 1991 | 0 | N/A | N/A | The AWA closed in 1991. | [5] |
List of top combined reigns
| Rank | Wrestler | # Of Reigns | Combined Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Verne Gagne | 10 | 4,677 |
| 2. | Nick Bockwinkel | 4 | 2,990 |
| 3. | Mad Dog Vachon | 5 | 776 |
| 4. | Larry Zbyszko | 2 | 616 |
| 5. | Rick Martel | 1 | 595 |
| 6. | Curt Hennig | 1 | 373 |
| 7. | Jerry Lawler | 1 | 256 |
| 8. | Mr. M | 1 | 224 |
| 9. | Stan Hansen | 1 | 181 |
| 10. | The Crusher (wrestler) | 3 | 122 |
| 11. | Pat O'Connor (wrestler) | 1 | 90 |
| 12. | Jumbo Tsuruta | 1 | 81 |
| 13. | Mr. Saito | 1 | 57 |
| 14. | Otto Wanz | 1 | 41 |
| 15. | Gene Kiniski | 1 | 28 |
| 16. | Dr. X | 1 | 14 |
| 17. | Fritz Von Erich | 1 | 12 |
| 18. | Mighty Igor Vodic | 1 | 7 |
| 19. | Dick the Bruiser | 1 | 7 |
See also
- List of early world heavyweight champions in professional wrestling
- World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha)
- USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship
- WSL World Heavyweight Championship
- Zero1 World Heavyweight Championship
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 5.30 5.31 5.32 5.33 5.34 5.35 5.36 5.37 5.38 5.39 5.40 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ PWI Strips the AWA of World Title Status Pro Wrestling Illustrated May 1991
