AWA World Heavyweight Championship

Last updated
AWA World Heavyweight Championship
AWAchampbelt.JPG
Details
Promotion AWA
Date establishedMay 18, 1960
Date retiredDecember 12, 1990
Statistics
First champion(s) Pat O'Connor
Final champion(s) Larry Zbyszko
Most reigns Verne Gagne (10 reigns)
Longest reignVerne Gagne (2625 days)
Shortest reignVerne Gagne, Mighty Igor Vodic and Dick the Bruiser (7 days)

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.

Contents

History

The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was established in May 1960, after the AWA was formed by the departure of the Minneapolis, Minnesota-area territory from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Pat O'Connor was conditionally recognized as the first champion upon the AWA's secession from the NWA as O'Connor held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which he had won on January 9, 1959, though he was ordered to defend against Verne Gagne within 90 days or he would forfeit the AWA title to Gange.

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. The AWA and the title became inactive in late 1990 and the organization officially closed down in August 1991 with the title also being decommissioned. The championship is featured in the video games WWE '13 as a downloadable title and as an unlockable title in WWE 2K14 and the seventh-generation console versions of WWE 2K15 , WWE 2K16 , and WWE 2K17 .

Trademark infringement

In 1996, Dale Gagner and his associate Jonnie Stewart, former AWA employees, began using the AWA name in the state of Minnesota and formed a promotion known as AWA Superstars of Wrestling, infringing on the AWA name. The promotion also created their own version of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. In April 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) filed a lawsuit against Dale Gagner citing trademark infringement, as WWE owned all American Wrestling Association properties due to their purchase after the AWA's closure, [1] [2] [3] including the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. In October 2008, the court ruled in favor of WWE. The court ruling prohibits Gagner from exploiting or trading on the AWA name or any other derivatives. [4]

Title history

Key
No.Overall reign number
ReignReign number for the specific champion
DaysNumber of days held
†Championship change is unrecognized by the promotion
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
DateEventLocationReignDays
1 Pat O'Connor May 18, 1960N/AN/A190O'Connor held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which he 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 August 16, 1960N/AN/A1329Gagne was awarded the championship after Pat O'Connor failed to defend the title. [5]
3 Gene Kiniski July 11, 1961 Live event Minneapolis, Minnesota128 [5]
4 Verne Gagne August 8, 1961 Live event Minneapolis, Minnesota2154 [5]
5 Mr. M January 9, 1962 Live event Minneapolis, Minnesota1224 [5]
6 Verne Gagne August 21, 1962 Live event Minneapolis, Minnesota3322 [5]
7 The Crusher July 9, 1963 Live event Minneapolis, Minnesota111The Crusher also won Omaha version of World Heavyweight Championship from Verne Gagne on February 15, 1963, in Omaha, Nebraska. [5]
8 Verne Gagne July 20, 1963 Live event Minneapolis, Minnesota47Gagne won both the AWA Championship and the Omaha Championship. [5] [6]
9 Fritz Von Erich July 27, 1963 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 112Von Erich won both the AWA Championship and the Omaha Championship. [5]
10 Verne Gagne August 8, 1963 Live event Amarillo, Texas 5100 Fritz Von Erich's Omaha Championship 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 became the surviving title. [5]
11 The Crusher November 16, 1963 Live event Saint Paul, Minnesota 228 [5]
12 Verne Gagne December 14, 1963 Live event Minneapolis, Minnesota6140 [5]
13 Mad Dog Vachon May 2, 1964 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 114 [5]
14 Verne Gagne May 16, 1964 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 7157 [5]
15 Mad Dog Vachon October 20, 1964 Live event Minneapolis, Minnesota 2207 [5]
16 Mighty Igor Vodic May 15, 1965 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 17 [5]
17 Mad Dog Vachon May 22, 1965 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 391 [5]
18 The Crusher August 21, 1965 Live event Saint Paul, Minnesota 383 [5]
19 Mad Dog Vachon November 12, 1965 Live event Denver, Colorado 4365 (57)† [5]
† Mr. Wrestling January 8, 1966 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 1†6 [5]
† Mad Dog Vachon January 14, 1966 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 5†302AWA president Stanley Blackburn reviews the match from January 8, 1966, and declares it "no contest" on January 14, 1966, since Mr. Wrestling's legs are on the rope while pinning Vachon during the final fall. Vachon later defeats Mr. Wrestling decisively for the title. [5]
20 Dick the Bruiser November 12, 1966 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 17 [5]
21 Mad Dog Vachon November 19, 1966 Live event Omaha, Nebraska 599 [5]
22 Verne Gagne February 26, 1967 Live event Saint Paul, Minnesota 8538 [5] [7]
23 Dr. X August 17, 1968 Live event Bloomington, Minnesota 114 [5]
24 Verne Gagne August 31, 1968 Live event Minneapolis, MN 92625 [5]
25 Nick Bockwinkel November 8, 1975 Live event Saint Paul, Minnesota 11714 [5]
26 Verne Gagne July 18, 1980 Live event Chicago, Illinois 10305Gagne retired from active wrestling while still the champion. [5] [8]
27 Nick Bockwinkel May 19, 1981N/AN/A2467 (334)†Bockwinkel was awarded the championship when Verne Gagne retired from professional wrestling. [5] [8]
† Hulk Hogan April 18, 1982 Live event Saint Paul, Minnesota 1†6Hogan defeated Nick Bockwinkel, with both parties using a foreign object during the match, and is declared by the referee as champion. [5]
† Nick Bockwinkel April 24, 1982——3†127Bockwinkel was awarded the championship back by AWA president Stanley Blackburn due to the involvement of a foreign object during the match. [5]
28 Otto Wanz August 29, 1982 Live event Saint Paul, Minnesota 141 [5] [9]
29 Nick Bockwinkel October 9, 1982 Live event Chicago, Illinois 3501The championship is held up on December 27, 1982, after a match with Jerry Lawler; it was given back to Bockwinkel after defeating Lawler in a rematch on January 10, 1983. Bockwinkel is retroactively recognized as having continued been champion during the period the title was held up. [5]
30 Jumbo Tsuruta February 22, 1984 Live event Tokyo, Japan181 [5] [10]
31 Rick Martel May 13, 1984 Live event Saint Paul, Minnesota 1595 [5] [11]
32 Stan Hansen December 29, 1985 Live event East Rutherford, NJ 1181Hansen took the championship belt and defended it on All Japan Pro Wrestling's cards in July 1986. [5]
33 Nick Bockwinkel June 28, 1986 Live event Denver, Colorado 4308Bockwinkel was awarded the championship when Stan Hansen left the AWA. [5] [12]
34 Curt Hennig May 2, 1987 SuperClash II Daly City, CA 1373The championship was 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. On February 16, 1988, the title was again held up, this time due to a no-contest between Hennig and The Grappler in Portland, Oregon. Hennig would regain the title on March 5 in Portland, thanks to his replacement The Assassin defeating The Grappler in a decision match. AWA did not recognize this, which makes Hennig a one-time champion. [5] [13]
35 Jerry Lawler May 9, 1988 Live event Memphis, TN 1256 Jackie Fargo was the special guest referee after getting more votes in a national telephone poll than Hennig's father, Larry "The Axe" Hennig. CWA (Memphis) owner Jerry Jarrett announced weeks before the match that Lawler promised to retire if he lost. Lawler later defeated Kerry Von Erich on December 13, 1988, in Chicago to win the WCCW World Heavyweight Championship, and become the first Unified AWA World Heavyweight Champion. [5] [14]
— Vacated January 20, 1989———— Jerry Lawler was stripped of the championship after the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) split from the AWA. [5]
36 Larry Zbyszko February 7, 1989 Live event Saint Paul, Minnesota 1368Zbyszko won a battle royal, last eliminating Tom Zenk to win the vacant championship. [5] [15]
37 Mr. Saito February 10, 1990Super Fight in Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan157 [5] [16]
38 Larry Zbyszko April 8, 1990 SuperClash IV Saint Paul, Minnesota 2248 [5]
— Vacated December 12, 1990————The championship was stripped when Larry Zbyszko left the inactive AWA for World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Official kayfabe reason was that Zbyszko refused to defend the title on a tour of Japan.
—DeactivatedJanuary 12, 1991————The championship was deactivated when AWA closed on January 12, 1991. [5]

Combined reigns

Inaugural champion Pat O'Connor PatOConnor.jpg
Inaugural champion Pat O'Connor
Record 10-time, longest reigning and longest combined champion Verne Gagne Verne Gagne 1964.jpg
Record 10-time, longest reigning and longest combined champion Verne Gagne
Final champion Larry Zbyszko Larry Zbyszko HOF.jpg
Final champion Larry Zbyszko
RankWrestlerNo. of
reigns		Combined
days
1 Verne Gagne 104,677
2 Nick Bockwinkel 42,990
3 Mad Dog Vachon 5776
4 Larry Zbyszko 2616
5 Rick Martel 1595
6 Curt Hennig 1373
7 Jerry Lawler 1256
8 Mr. M 1224
9 Stan Hansen 1181
10 The Crusher 3122
11 Pat O'Connor 190
12 Jumbo Tsuruta 181
13 Mr. Saito 157
14 Otto Wanz 141
15 Gene Kiniski 128
16 Dr. X 114
17 Fritz Von Erich 112
18 Dick the Bruiser 17
Mighty Igor Vodic 17
— Mr. Wrestling 16
Hulk Hogan 16

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Browning, Dan (2007-04-28). "World Wrestling sues promoter". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2007-04-28.
  2. ↑ "News and Notes, May 4, 2007". GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com. 2007-05-04. Archived from the original on 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  3. ↑ Ryder, Bob (2007-04-26). "WWE Files Lawsuit Against "Gagne" For Trademark Violations Associated With AWA". 1wrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-02.
  4. ↑ "WWE wins trademark infringement lawsuit over AWA". wrestleview.com. 2008-10-28.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
  6. ↑ Hoops, Brian (July 20, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history: Brisco beats Race for NWA title, Gagne beats Crusher for AWA title, Robinson vs. Gagen". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ Hoops, Brian (February 26, 2017). "Daily pro wrestling history (02/26): Verne Gagne wins AWA title on his birthday". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Hoops, Brian (May 10, 2015). "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. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  9. ↑ Oliver, Greg (September 14, 2017). "Former AWA World champion Otto Wanz dies". SLAM Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  10. ↑ Hoops, Brian (February 22, 2017). "Daily pro wrestling history (02/22): Sting defeats Hogan to win vacant WCW title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  11. ↑ Hoops, Brian (May 13, 2015). "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. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  12. ↑ Hoops, Brian (June 29, 2015). "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. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  13. ↑ "The Grappler's Cagematch Profile". cagematch.net. 2019-01-21.
  14. ↑ "Lead up to Lawler's AWA title win 1". YouTube .
  15. ↑ Hoops, Brian (February 7, 2017). "On this day in pro wrestling history (Feb 7): Bobby Roode & Austin Aries wins tag gold". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  16. ↑ Hoops, Brian (February 10, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/10): Masa Saito wins AWA gold at the Tokyo Dome". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
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