NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship

Last updated

NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship
Details
Promotion Dominion Wrestling Union (1929–1953)
All Star Pro Wrestling (1968–1990)
Statistics
First champion George Walker
Final champion Siva Afi
Most reigns Steve Rickard

The New Zealand version of the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship defended in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Dominion Wrestling Union from 1929 to 1953 and in All Star Pro Wrestling from 1968 to 1990. It was first won in 1929 by Canadian wrestler George Walker, who claimed the title upon his arrival in New Zealand, and defended the belt for seven years before leaving for a rival promotion in 1935. It was the second oldest championship after the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship and had 36 officially recognized champions during its 60-year history. [1]

Contents

Title history

#Order in reign history
ReignThe reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed
EventThe event in which the title was won
—Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
N/AThe information is not available or is unknown
+Indicates the current reign is changing daily

Reigns

#WrestlersReignDateDays
held		LocationEventNotesRef.
1 George Walker 11929N/A New Zealand Live event Claims title upon arriving in New Zealand. [1] [2]
2 Earl McCready 11935N/A New Zealand Live event McCready is recognized as champion after Walker leaves the Dominion Wrestling Union for a rival promotion; he later legitimised his claim to the title when he defeated Walker in Wellington on 9 November 1937. [1] [3]
3 John Katan 18 July 194030 Wellington Live event [1] [4] [5]
4 Lofty Blomfield 17 August 194033 Wellington Live event [1]
5John Katan29 September 194015 Auckland Live event [1]
6Earl McCready224 September 1940N/A Dunedin Live event [1]
— Vacated —1953—N/AN/AThe championship is vacated when Earl McCready leaves New Zealand and the title subsequently remained inactive for the next 15 years. [1]
7 George Gordienko 11968N/A Auckland Live event [1]
8 John Da Silva 118 March 1968192 Auckland Live event [1] [6]
9Gordon Nelson11968N/AN/A Live event [1]
10John Da Silva226 September 19681,253 Wellington Live event [1]
11 Robert Bruce 12 March 1972563 Upper Hutt Live event [1]
12John Da Silva316 September 1973177 New Plymouth Live event [1]
13 Abdullah the Butcher 112 March 1974N/AN/A Live event [1] [7]
14John Da Silva41974N/AN/A Live event [1]
15 Bulldog Brower 11974N/AN/A Live event [1]
16John Da Silva51975N/AN/A Live event [1]
17Robert Bruce21975N/AN/A Live event [1]
18John Da Silva61976N/AN/A Live event [1]
19 Don Muraco 11977N/AN/A Live event [1]
20 King Curtis Iaukea 11977N/AN/A Live event [1]
21 Rick Martel 126 May 1977N/A Auckland Live event [1] [8]
22 Ali Vaziri 11977N/AN/A Live event [1]
23 Tommy Seigler 11977N/AN/A Live event [1]
— Vacated —1978—N/AN/AThe championship is vacated when Seigler leaves New Zealand. [1]
24 Les Thornton 1January 1978N/AN/A Live event [1]
25 Chris Markoff 11978N/AN/A Live event [1]
26 Ron Miller 11978N/A Auckland Live event [1]
27 Jack Claybourne 2April 1978N/A Australia Live event [1]
28 Toru Tanaka 113 June 19789 Christchurch Live event [1] [9]
29 Steve Rickard 122 June 197828 Auckland Live event [1]
30Toru Tanaka220 July 197828 Auckland Live event [1]
31 Steve Rickard 217 August 197842 Auckland Live event [1] [10]
32 Mad Dog Martin 128 September 1978N/A Auckland Live event [1]
33 Leo Burke 11979N/AN/A Live event [1]
34Rick Martel219 March 197970 Auckland Live event Defeated Mad Dog Martin to win the vacant title. [1] [8] [11]
35 Ripper Collins 128 May 197984 Auckland Live event [1]
36 Peter Maivia 120 August 197914 Auckland Live event [1] [12]
37 Mr. Fuji 13 September 1979N/A Auckland Live event [1] [13] [14]
38 Rick Martel 3N/AN/AN/A Live event [1] [8]
— Vacated —1980—N/AN/AThe championship is vacated when Martel leaves New Zealand. [1]
39 Ron Miller 2May 1980N/A Australia Live event Won tournament. [1]
40 Larry O'Day 114 July 198014 Auckland Live event [1]
41 Ron Miller 328 July 198093 Auckland Live event [1]
42 Steve Rickard 329 October 1980176 Auckland Live event [1]
43 Jos LeDuc 123 April 19817 Auckland Live event [1]
44 Mark Lewin 130 April 198170 Auckland Live event [1]
45 Jos LeDuc 29 July 198135 Auckland Live event [1]
46 Steve Rickard 413 August 198135 Auckland Live event [1]
47 Butcher Brannigan 117 September 19817 Auckland Live event [1]
48 Steve Rickard 524 September 1981252 Auckland Live event [1]
49 Baron Karl Von Krupp 13 June 198228 Auckland Live event [1]
50 Steve Rickard 61 July 198270 Auckland Live event [1]
51 Ox Baker 19 September 1982N/A Auckland Live event [1]
52 Al Perez 1September 1982N/AN/A Live event [1]
53 King Kamata 17 October 1982N/A Auckland Live event [1]
54 Al Perez 2October 1982N/A Auckland Live event [1]
55 Pat O'Connor 24 November 1982N/A Auckland Live event [1]
— Vacated —1983—N/AN/A [1]
56 Butcher Brannigan 21983N/AN/A Live event [1]
57 Ricky Rickard 11983N/AN/A Live event [1]
58 Larry O'Day 21983N/AN/A Live event [1]
59 Steve Rickard 71983N/AN/A Live event [1]
60 Zar Mongol 11983N/AN/A Live event [1]
61 Steve Rickard 81983N/AN/A Live event [1]
— Vacated —1983—N/AN/AThe championship is vacated and remains inactive for several years. [1]
62 Siva Afi 113 July 1990N/A Auckland Live event Defeated Canadian Stockman in tournament final. [1]
— Deactivated —1990—N/AN/AThe title is retired.

See also

References

  1. 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 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 "British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Title". The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo. Wrestling-Titles.com. 2003. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  2. ↑ Austin, Tex (January 1934). "News of the Mat". Ring Magazine . The New WAWLI Papers (Wrestling As We Liked It) No. 547. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Oliver, Greg (27 September 2000). "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Earl McCready". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  4. ↑ Sokolyk, K.W. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: John Katan". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  5. ↑ Woodward, Buck (9 November 2009). "This Day in History: The Most Talked About Match in Wrestling History – The Montreal Screwjob". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  6. ↑ Marinez, Ryan; Buck Woodward (18 March 2009). "This Day in History: The Final WCW PPV, Saturday Night's Main Event Returns And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Abdullah the Butcher". Bios. Oklafan.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Rick Martel". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  9. ↑ Gamble, Ron (3 June 2003). "Official 411 Wrestling Almanac For June (Part 1)". 411Mania. Archived from the original on 24 June 2003. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  10. ↑ Martinez, Ryan (17 August 2008). "This Day in History: Shane Douglas and the Dudley Boyz Win Gold at Hardcore Heaven And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  11. ↑ Woodward, Buck (19 March 2010). "This Day in History: WCW's Last Nitro Before The Buyout, The First And Last WCW Uncensored Events And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  12. ↑ Slagle, Steve (2000). "High Chief Peter Maivia". Photos & Bios: The Stories Behind the Stars. Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 17 March 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  13. ↑ Martinez, Ryan (3 September 2009). "This Day in History: NWA at the Omni, WCCW Star Wars, Cadillac Tournament, Battle of Los Angeles And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  14. ↑ Hoops, Brian (3 September 2015). "ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (3 SEPT.): RIC FLAIR VS. TERRY FUNK TEXAS DEATH MATCH, GREAT MUTA VS. STING, TED DIBIASE AND STAN HANSEN WINS AJPW TAG TITLES". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
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