AWA International Heavyweight Championship

Last updated
CWA/AWA International Heavyweight Championship
AWA International Heavyweight Championship.png
The championship belt
Details
Promotion Continental Wrestling Association, American Wrestling Association
Date establishedFebruary 1983
Date retiredDecember 7, 1987
Other name(s)
  • CWA/AWA International Heavyweight Championship
    CWA International Heavyweight Championship
    AWA International US Heavyweight Championship
    Mid-Southern International Championship
    AWA International Championship
Statistics
First champion(s) Austin Idol
Final champion(s) Jerry Lawler
Most reigns Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee (4 times)
Longest reign Austin Idol (203 days)
Shortest reign Jerry Lawler (1 hour)

The AWA International Heavyweight Championship, originally known as the CWA/AWA International Heavyweight Championship (also identified as the Mid-Southern International Championship and the AWA International Championship) was a major professional wrestling title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It was created in 1983 from the CWA's partnership with the American Wrestling Association. The title lasted until 1987, when it was unified with the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight and AWA Southern Heavyweight championships, creating the CWA Heavyweight Championship.

Contents

Title history

Key
No.Overall reign number
ReignReign number for the specific champion
DaysNumber of days held
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
DateEventLocationReignDays
 1  Austin Idol  February 1983 N/A 1 125Idol was awarded the title as the first champion.
 2  Jerry Lawler  March 7, 1983 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 70 [1]
 3  Ken Patera  May 16, 1983 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 70
 4  Jerry Lawler  July 25, 1983 House show Memphis, Tennessee 2 21 [2]
 5  Ken Patera  August 15, 1983 House show Memphis, Tennessee 2 26
 6  Austin Idol  September 10, 1983 House show Memphis, Tennessee 2 2
 7  Stan Hansen  September 12, 1983 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 21
 8  Austin Idol  October 3, 1983 House show Memphis, Tennessee 3 203This was a bullrope match.
 9  Randy Savage  April 23, 1984 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 21
 10  Austin Idol  May 14, 1984 House show Memphis, Tennessee 4 33
 11 Masao Ito June 16, 1984 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 23
 12  Tommy Rich  July 9, 1984 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 48
 13  Eddie Gilbert  August 26, 1984 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 22
 14  Dutch Mantel  September 17, 1984 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 7
 15  Eddie Gilbert  September 24, 1984 House show Memphis, Tennessee 2 95
 16  Terry Taylor  December 28, 1984 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 191
 17  Phil Hickerson  July 7, 1985 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 8
 18  Terry Taylor  July 15, 1985 House show Memphis, Tennessee 2 7
 19  Phil Hickerson  July 22, 1985 House show Memphis, Tennessee 2 70
 20 Mongolian Stomper  September 30, 1985 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 21Won the title by countout.
 21  Phil Hickerson  October 21, 1985 House show Memphis, Tennessee 3 19
 22  Dutch Mantel  November 9, 1985 House show Memphis, Tennessee 2 86
 23 Rick Casey February 3, 1986 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 28
 24 Abdul Gaddafi March 3, 1986 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 21
 25  Billy Travis  March 24, 1986 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 42
 26  Bill Dundee  May 5, 1986 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 70
 27  Jerry Lawler  July 14, 1986 House show Memphis, Tennessee 3 56This was a "loser leaves town" match.
Vacated  September 8, 1986 House show Memphis, TennesseeVacated for undocumented reasons
 28  Big Bubba  October 6, 1986 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 90
 29  Soul Train Jones  January 4, 1987 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 106
 30  Chick Donovan  April 20, 1987 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 54
 31  Bill Dundee  June 13, 1987 House show Memphis, Tennessee 2 65
 32  George Barnes  August 17, 1987 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 14
 33  Bill Dundee  August 31, 1987 House show Memphis, Tennessee 3 41
Vacated  October 11, 1987Dundee and Lawler wins AWA World Tag Team Titles
 34  Bill Dundee  October 27, 1987 House show Nashville, Tennessee 4 6Won a tournament to win the vacant title.
 35  Manny Fernandez  November 2, 1987 House show Memphis, Tennessee 1 35
 36  Jerry Lawler  December 7, 1987 House show Memphis, Tennessee 4 0
Unified  December 7, 1987 House show Memphis, TennesseeUnified with the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship and AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship to create the CWA Heavyweight Championship

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship formed in 1988, which consisted of the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship from World Class Championship Wrestling and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from the American Wrestling Association. The title was unified on December 13, 1988, when AWA World Champion Jerry Lawler defeated WCWA World Champion Kerry Von Erich in a unification match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manny Fernandez (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Emanuel Fernandez is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "The Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AWA World Heavyweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Dundee</span>

William Cruickshanks is a Scottish-born Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA National Heavyweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The NWA National Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the U.S.-based, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF and lasted until 1987 when the company was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions. In 1988, the newly created Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), soon renamed Pro Wrestling Federation (PWF), picked it back up in 1988 and it continued its lineage through NWA Florida, until they ceased operations in 2006. In 2009, Pro Wrestling Fusion revived the title until they left the NWA in 2011. For several months in 2012, a new Championship Wrestling from Florida affiliated with the NWA, briefly reviving the title until NWA Florida Underground Wrestling took over the championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCWA World Heavyweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally created in June 1966 by WCWA's predecessor NWA Big Time Wrestling (BTW), billed as the local version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship before being renamed the NWA American Heavyweight Championship in May 1968. In 1982, Big Time Wrestling rebranded themselves as "World Class Championship Wrestling" (WCCW) and the championship was renamed the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship. In 1986 WCCW withdrew from the National Wrestling Alliance, creating the World Class Wrestling Association, replacing the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship with the WCWA Heavyweight Championship, replacing the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship as the top title recognized by the promotion. In 1989, the WCWA championship was unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship to become the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship as WCWA merged with the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) to become the United States Wrestling Association. In 1990 WCWA split from the USWA, but the promotion folded without determining a WCWA World Heavyweight Champion. As it is a professional wrestling championship, the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was not won by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has used a variety of different names over the years, which consists of initial changes to represent the various companies that have controlled the title at different times. Originally, it was simply known as the Texas Heavyweight Championship until its name was changed after the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1948. For most of the title's existence, at least until the early 1990s, it was defended almost exclusively within the Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas of Texas. From the 1930s to the mid-1960s, these cities and the surrounding towns were within the territory operated by Ed McLemore, which was known simply as Southwest Sports, Inc. at the time. After McLemore's death, the territory came under the control of Fritz Von Erich and was renamed as Big Time Wrestling. However, the promotion would be renamed World Class Championship Wrestling in the early 1980s, which is the name the territory is best remembered under today. The championship remained an NWA affiliated title until February 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Idol</span> American professional wrestler

Michael McCord is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Austin Idol. He is best known for his appearances in the Mid-South with the Continental Wrestling Association, in particular his recurring feud with Jerry Lawler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship</span> Professional wrestling championship

The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship, in use since 1939, was renamed the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version) in 1974. The title's name changed again in 1978, when it was renamed the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship due to a partnership with the American Wrestling Association. It was also called the Mid-Southern Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its sister publications, in order for this title to not be confused with Championship Wrestling from Florida's version of the title.

Stephen Paul Keirn is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as well as his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Skinner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PWF World Heavyweight Championship</span>

The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and one of the three titles that make up the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. It was created in 1973 by All Japan owner Giant Baba, after he won a series of ten matches against Bruno Sammartino, Terry Funk, Abdullah the Butcher, The Destroyer, Wilbur Snyder, Don Leo Jonathan, Pat O'Connor and Bobo Brazil.

The CWA Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title defended in the Championship Wrestling Association. It was created through the unification of the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight, AWA Southern Heavyweight and CWA/AWA International Heavyweight championships.

The CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It was created in 1985 from the CWA's partnership with the American Wrestling Association. The title was abandoned in 1987 when the CWA was renamed the Championship Wrestling Association, and the original Continental titles were abandoned or unified with others.

The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Southern Division)</span> Professional wrestling championship

The NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship was originally the primary singles championship for Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling and was originally named the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship. As the name indicates the title was recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance as a local title promoted in the Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi region from 1957 until 1977 when its name was changed for the Southern Division of Southeast Championship Wrestling. In 1980 the title was abandoned and the Northern division of the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship became the main title of SECW.

The WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship is a secondary title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council (WWC).

The Georgia version of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Southern Heavyweight Championship was a secondary singles championship used in Georgia Championship Wrestling off-and-on from 1948 to 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Starr</span> British professional wrestler (1962 – 2013)

Mark Ashford-Smith was an English professional wrestler best known by his ring name Mark Starr. He competed as a member of several tag teams.

The MAC World / International Heavyweight Championship was a Canadian professional wrestling championship created and sanctioned by the Montreal Athletic Commission (MAC). While the Commission sanctioned the title, it did not promote the events in which the Championship was defended. From 1935 until 1938, the American Wrestling Association (AWA) controlled the Championship. The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was recognized by the MAC as the world championship until February 1938 when Yvon Robert was stripped of the title after refusing to wrestle Lou Thesz. A separate world title was created specifically for Quebec and, after the Commission granted promoter Eddie Quinn control of the championship, was used as the main singles title for Canadian Athletic Promotions from 1939 to 1963 and finally by the International Wrestling Association / All-Star Wrestling from 1964 until the mid-1970s. In 1975 the championship was abandoned and replaced by the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship.

References

  1. Hoops, Brian (March 7, 2020). "Daily Pro Wrestling history (03/07): Bruno Sammartino vs. Giant Baba". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  2. Hoops, Brian (July 25, 2015). "On this day in history - Demon Vs. Santo, Gagne Vs. Kiniski". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.