DEFY World Championship

Last updated
DEFY World Championship
DEFY World Championship.png
Current title design (2017–present)
Details
Promotion DEFY Wrestling
Date establishedJune 30, 2017
Current champion(s) Kenta
Date wonJune 3, 2023 [1]
Statistics
First champion(s) Davey Richards
Most reigns Swerve Strickland
(3 reigns)
Longest reignRandy Myers
(1,009 days)
Shortest reign Davey Richards
(8 days)
Oldest champion Kenta
(42 years, 83 days)
Youngest champion Nick Wayne
(17 years, 272 days)
Heaviest championSchaff
(273 lb (124 kg))
Lightest championArtemis Spencer (176 lb (80 kg))

The DEFY World Championship is a men's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion DEFY Wrestling, being sanctioned as the promotion's top championship. There have been a total of ten reigns shared between eight different champions. The current champion is Kenta who is in his first reign. [1]

Contents

Title history

There have been a total of 10 reigns shared between 8 different champions. Davey Richards was the inaugural champion who also holds the record for the shortest reign with eight days. Randy Myers had the longest reign at 1,009 days, however without scoring any defenses due to the COVID pandemic impact. Swerve Strickland holds the record for most reigns with three and also for the most cumulated successful defenses with nine. The current champion is New Japan Pro Wrestling's Kenta who defeated Nick Wayne at DEFY Your Nightmare on June 3, 2023, in Seattle, Washington. [1]

Key
No.Overall reign number
ReignReign number for the specific champion
DaysNumber of days held
DefensesNumber of successful defenses
<1Reign lasted less than a day
+Current reign is changing daily
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
DateEventLocationReignDaysDefenses
1 Davey Richards June 30, 2017DEFY5 Gigantic Seattle, WA 180Defeated Shane Strickland in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion. [2]
2 Shane Strickland July 8, 2017 CZW Evilution Voorhees, NJ 12795This was a four-way winner takes all match also disputed for Strickland's CZW World Heavyweight Championship which also involved Joe Gacy and Lio Rush. [3]
3 Austin Aries April 13, 2018DEFY Vibes Seattle, WA 1981This was a winner takes all match also disputed for Aries' Impact World Championship. [4]
4 Shane Strickland July 20, 2018DEFY Swerve Vs. Aries Portland, OR 21473 [5]
5Artemis SpencerDecember 14, 2018DEFY On Edge Seattle, WA 12528 [6]
6SchaffAugust 23, 2019DEFY Defyance Forever Tacoma, WA 11824 [7]
7Randy MyersFebruary 21, 2020DEFY Kings Of Crash Seattle, WA 11,0090 [8]
Christopher Daniels (Interim)December 18, 2021DEFY Dark Horse Seattle, WA 2946Daniels defeated Brody King to become the interim champion. [9]
Swerve Strickland (Interim)October 8, 2022DEFY City Of Thorns Portland, OR 490 [10]
8 Swerve Strickland November 26, 2022DEFY Fightwave Seattle, WA 31331This was a title unification match in which Strickland wrestled as the interim champion. The bout was a six-way ladder match which also involved Artemis Spencer, Christopher Daniels, Cody Chhun and Schaff. Strickland was previously known as Shane Stricklad. [11]
9 Nick Wayne April 8, 2023DEFY The Realest Seattle, WA 1562 [12]
9 Kenta June 3, 2023DEFY Your Nightmare Seattle, WA 1576+10 [13]

Combined reigns

As of December30, 2024.

Indicates the current champion
RankWrestlerNo. of
reigns
Combined
defenses
Combined
days
1Randy Myers101,009
2 Kenta110576+
3 Swerve Strickland [a] 39559
4Artemis Spencer18252
5Schaff14182
6 Austin Aries 1198
7 Nick Wayne 1256
8 Davey Richards 108

Notes

  1. Strickland was known as "Shane Strickland" during his first two title reigns.

Related Research Articles

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

The AAW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by AAW Wrestling. There have been a total of 34 reigns and one vacancy shared between 25 different champions. The current champion is Gnarls Garvin, who is in his first reign.

The AAW Heritage Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion All American Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AAW Tag Team Championship</span> Professional wrestling tag team championship

The AAW Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion All American Wrestling (AAW). There have been a total of 46 reigns shared between 38 different teams consisting of 70 distinctive champions. The current holders are Russ Jones and Schaff, who are in their second reign as a team, as well as individually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swerve Strickland</span> American professional wrestler (born 1990)

Stephon Strickland is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Swerve Strickland. He is a former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Champion.

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

The MLW World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It is the promotion's principal championship. The championship was established on June 15, 2002 at the Genesis and was active until February 10, 2004 after the promotion stopped hosting events. The championship was reactivated in 2018.

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

Austin Matelson, better known by his ring name Luchasaurus, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Killswitch. He is a member of The Patriarchy stable, and he is a former one-time AEW World Trios Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Vinci</span> Italian professional wrestler

Fabian Aichner is an Italian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Giovanni Vinci.

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

Keith Gerald Lee II is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion. He is on hiatus due to an undisclosed injury. He is also known for his time in WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH), as well as on the independent circuit, in promotions such as Evolve, All American Wrestling (AAW), and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he held the PWG World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darby Allin</span> American professional wrestler

Samuel Ratsch, better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is a former two-time AEW TNT Champion and former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champion. Ratsch is also known for his appearances in World Wrestling Network promotions also wrestling for Evolve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miyu Yamashita</span> Japanese professional wrestler (born 1995)

Miyu Yamashita is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. Yamashita was trained by DDT Pro Wrestling's Kyohei Mikami, and made her debut in August 2013 as one of the first members of DDT's all female Tokyo Joshi Pro sister promotion.

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

Mark Shepherd, better known by the ring name Shane Taylor, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Shane Taylor Promotions stable. He also performs in AEW's sister company, Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion and ROH World Television Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Perry</span> American professional wrestler (born 1997)

Jack Perry is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Elite stable. He is also a former one-time FTW Champion, a former one-time AEW TNT Champion, and a former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champion. He previously performed under the ring name Jungle Boy. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its sub-group House of Torture.

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

The Progress World Championship is a professional wrestling World championship created and promoted by the British professional wrestling promotion Progress Wrestling. The current champion is Luke Jacobs, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating Kid Lykos at Progress Chapter 169: The Devil On My Shoulder in London, England on July 28, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Gacy</span> American professional wrestler (born 1987)

Joseph Ruby is an American professional wrestler. As of August 2020, he is signed to WWE, on the Raw brand, where he performs under the ring name Joe Gacy and is a member of The Wyatt Sicks faction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Hart (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler and cheerleader (born 2001)

Julia Hart is an American professional wrestler and former cheerleader. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a member of the House of Black stable and is a former AEW TBS Champion.

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

Jasper Kange is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bishop Kaun or Kaun. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a one-half of Gates of Agony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Wayne</span> American professional wrestler (born 2005)

Nicholas Wayne Finley, known by his ring name Nick Wayne, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Patriarchy stable. He also makes appearances on its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). He is a former one-time AEW World Trios Champion and is the youngest champion in AEW at 19 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DEFY Wrestling</span> American professional wrestling promotion

DEFY Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based out of Seattle, Washington. DEFY was created in 2017 after founders Jim Perry and Matt Farmer successfully petitioned the Washington state government to alter laws around professional wrestling, which they had argued had severely impacted the ability of promoters to run small professional wrestling events in the state since the early 1990s. Since its launch in 2017, DEFY has risen to a high level of prominence on the American Independent circuit, in part because of its association as the "home" of emerging national wrestling stars Swerve Strickland, Darby Allin and Nick Wayne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Glory Tag Team Championship</span>

The HOG Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion House of Glory (HOG). There have been a total of twelve reigns shared between ten teams composed of 20 individual champions with two vacancies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DEFY x Progress Onslaught</span> 2024 Progress Wrestling and DEFY Wrestling co-promoted event

DEFY x Progress Onslaught was a two-night professional wrestling event co-promoted by Progress Wrestling and DEFY Wrestling. It took place on November 29 and December 1, 2024, at the Roulette Intermedium and at Thalia Hall. Both nights of the event were streamed live on Triller TV.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "DEFY World Championship". cagematch.net. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  2. "Defy 06/30/17 Defy 5: Gigantic Night 2 Results". pwponderings.com. PW Ponderings. July 1, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  3. Perez, Luis (August 4, 2017). "ZW 07/08/17 EVILution iPPV Review". pwponderings.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  4. Rosado, Emmanuel (April 14, 2018). "#AndNEW: Austin Aries Wins Defy Wrestling Championship". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  5. DEFY Wrestling (July 18, 2018). "VIDEO: SHANE STRICKLAND BEGINS SECOND REIGN AS DEFY CHAMPION". defywrestling.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  6. DEFY Wrestling (December 15, 2018). "RESULTS: DEFY ON EDGE 12/14/18 …AND NEW, DEFY WORLD CHAMPION - ARTEMIS SPENCER". defywrestling.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  7. "Defy Wrestling 08/23/19 Defyance Forever Results". pwponderings.com. PW Ponderings. August 25, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  8. Toro, Carlos (February 24, 2020). "DEFY Wrestling Kings Of Crash Results (2/21): New Champion Crowned, Jeff Cobb, Anthony Bowens, More". fightful.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  9. "DEFY Dark Horse". cagematch.net. December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  10. "DEFY City Of Thorns". cagematch.net. October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  11. Chicasaca, Renato (November 26, 2022). "Cartelera DEFY Fightwave: Swerve Strickland, Christopher Daniels, Wheeler Yuta y más". turnheelwrestling.com (in Spanish). Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  12. Lambert, Jeremy (April 9, 2023). "DEFY The Realest Results (4/8): Nick Wayne Faces Swerve Strickland". fightful.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  13. Guzzo, Gisberto (June 4, 2023). "DEFY Your Nightmare Results (6/3): KENTA, Christopher Daniels, And More In Action". fightful.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.