| British Heavy Middleweight Championship | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||||
| Promotion | World of Sport | ||||||||
| Date established | 1953 | ||||||||
| Date retired | 4 September 1990 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The British Heavy Middleweight Championship was a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit. The title's history dates back to its foundation by Joint Promotions in 1953. Officially heavy middleweights were required to weight between 12 st 8 lb(176 lbs) and 13 st 5 lb(187 lb). [1]
The championship was recognised and defended on matches screened by UK national television network ITV as part of the professional wrestling slot on World of Sport as well as standalone broadcasts. [2] [3] [4] Pre-publicity for these championship match broadcasts was given in ITV's nationally published listings magazine TVTimes [5] [6] [7] The entire 31 October 1987 edition of the standalone Wrestling broadcast was given over to Fit Finlay's recapture of the title from Chic Cullen in Bradford, 17 September 1987 [4] and highlights of this match were included on the official ITV wrestling compilation VHS release Mayhem and Mystery. [8] Similarly, highlights of Alan Kilby's capture of the vacant title in a tournament final over King Ben in Preston, 7 October 1981, were included on official ITV wrestling compilation DVD release The Best Of British Wrestling A-Z. [9]
The title was founded in 1953 and remained in Joint Promotions until the mid-1980s when it was taken over by All Star Wrestling. The title remained active until the mid-1990s. [10]
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| Eric Taylor | 1953 | House show | N/A | 1 | N/A | Vacated the title in 1966 when he left Joint Promotions. | [11] | |
| Bert Royal | 4 May 1966(NLT) | House show | N/A | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Bert Royal | 16 January 1968 | House show | Blackburn | 2 | N/A | Defeated Peter Preston, having lost the title at some point before this date. | [11] | |
| Jackie Pallo | 21 April 1969 | House show | Nottingham | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Bert Royal | May 1969(NLT) | House show | N/A | 3 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Steve Logan | 29 August 1975 | House show | Liverpool | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Bert Royal | 11 November 1975 | House show | Manchester | 4 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Mark Rocco | 11 June 1977 | House show | Manchester | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Marty Jones | 13 September 1978 | House show | Woking | 1 | N/A | Jones, already the holder of the British Light Heavyweight Championship, vacated the title immediately. | [11] | |
| Mark Rocco | 6 December 1978 | House show | Blackburn | 2 | N/A | Won a tournament final against Chris Adams. Vacated title in August 1981 after winning the world title | [11] | |
| Alan Kilby | 7 October 1981 | House show | Preston | 1 | N/A | Won a tournament for the belt, defeating King Ben in the final | [11] | |
| Dave Finlay | 9 June 1982 | House show | Bath, Somerset | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Alan Kilby | August 1982(NLT) | House show | N/A | 2 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Dave Finlay | 14 September 1982 | House show | Croydon | 2 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Alan Kilby | 10 November 1982 | House show | London | 3 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Dave Finlay | 15 November 1982 | House show | Bradford | 3 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Alan Kilby | November 1982 | House show | N/A | 4 | N/A location= | [11] | ||
| Dave Finlay | 21 December 1982 | House show | Wolverhampton | 4 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Alan Kilby | January 1983 | House show | N/A | 5 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Chic Cullen | 21 March 1983 | House show | London | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Dave Finlay | 29 September 1984(NLT) | House show | N/A | 6 | N/A | Legacy from Cullen uncertain | [11] | |
| Chic Cullen | 1985(NLT) | House show | N/A | 2 | N/A | Legacy from Finlay uncertain | [11] | |
| Rocky Moran | 7 January 1986 | House show | Croydon | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Kung Fu (Ed Hamill) | 3 March 1986 | House show | Bradford | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Chic Cullen | May 1987(NLT) | House show | N/A | 3 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Dave Finlay | 17 September 1987 | House show | Bradford | 6 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Danny Boy Collins | 4 July 1989 | House show | Croydon | 1 | N/A | [11] | ||
| Richie Brooks | 29 May 1990 | House show | Croydon | 1 | N/A | Wins title by disqualification when Collins, dazed from falling head-first to ringside, attacks the referee. | [11] | |
| Danny Boy Collins | 4 September 1990 | House show | Croydon | 2 | N/A | Last known title claimant | [11] | |
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years but became popular when the then new independent television network ITV began showing it in 1955, firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late-night midweek slot. It was at its peak of popularity when the television show World of Sport was launched in the mid-1960s, making household names out of Adrian Street, Mick McManus, Count Bartelli, Giant Haystacks, Jackie Pallo, Big Daddy, Steve Veidor, Dynamite Kid, and Kendo Nagasaki.
David Taylor is a retired English professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with World Championship Wrestling from 1995 to 2000 and with World Wrestling Entertainment from 2006 to 2007.
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