Pro Wrestling Illustrated

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Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated logo.png
Pro Wrestling Illustrated cover, Jan 1986.webp
The cover of the January 1986 edition of the magazine
CategoriesSports
FrequencyMonthly
Publisher Kappa Publishing Group
First issueSeptember 1979
Country United States
Language English
Website www.pwi-online.com
ISSN 1043-7576

Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. [1] PWI is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The magazine is the longest published English language wrestling magazine still in production. PWI publishes bi-monthly issues and annual special issues such as their "Almanac and Book of Facts". The magazine recognizes various world championships as legitimate, similar to The Ring in boxing.

Contents

PWI is often referred to as an "Apter Mag", named after its long-time photographer Bill Apter, a term used for wrestling magazines that keep kayfabe. In recent years,[ as of? ] the PWI has moved away from reporting on storylines as actual news and mixed in editorial comments on the behind-the-scenes workings of wrestling.

Since 1991, PWI has been publishing its annual "Top 500 Wrestlers" listing the top male wrestlers in the world. In 2008, they added an annual "Top 50 Female Wrestlers" list, which was later expanded and renamed to the "Top 100 Female Wrestlers" list in 2018 and then again in 2021 as the "Top 150 Female Wrestlers." In 2020, they added an annual "Top 50 Tag Teams" listing the top tag teams in the world.

History

The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) was released in 1979. The magazine soon became known for not breaking kayfabe in its articles as it traditionally treated all "angles", or storylines, as real. However, in more recent years the magazine has taken an editorial approach between kayfabe and "shoot" writing, differentiating between on-screen feuds and controversies behind the scenes. PWI is not limited to covering only prominent professional wrestling promotions, as it also covers multiple independent promotions in the United States. PWI also published other special issues, which included: PWI Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts since 1996, Women of Wrestling, and a weekly newsletter entitled PWI Weekly from 1989 to 2000.

Yearly awards

PWI has given out annual awards and recognitions since its inception. These awards had previously been given out by another Victory Sports Magazine property, Sports Review Wrestling. PWI has also given out monthly rankings for big promotions, some select independent promotions, and overall rankings in singles and tag teams divisions. Additionally, readers are given the ability to vote for the winners of the year-end awards with ballots being included in special year-end issues. A special PWI Awards Magazine is issued annually, which reveals winners and the number of votes counted. The following is a list of categories in which PWI has issued awards.

World championship status

Historical recognition

Although many wrestling organizations promote their lead title as a world heavyweight championship, Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) has only recognized a few championships as valid world titles at any one time. PWI has also generally recognized the main tag team title from any promotion with a recognized world heavyweight championship as being a world tag team championship (unless named otherwise by the promotion) and certain other select titles from those promotions as world championships.

In 1983, PWI withdrew world title recognition from the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, citing how champion Bob Backlund was not facing contenders from outside the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) territory and was only facing rulebreakers. [2] This coincided with the WWF's withdrawal from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in summer 1983. PWI reinstated the WWF's world title recognition retroactively in 1985 [3] on account of the WWF's massive mainstream media profile.

The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was stripped of its world title status in January 1991 when the American Wrestling Association (AWA) was in its final days. [4] By this time, the championship was vacant and would remain so until the promotion's closure. [5]

Until March 1991, PWI and its sister publications steadfastly referred to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "the NWA" despite WCW having increasingly phased out the latter name in the preceding months. In spring 1991, the family of magazines adopted a new policy of referring to the current promotion and its champions as WCW and the promotion's pre-1991 past as the NWA. The magazine also announced it would refer to the overall history of the promotion's world title as the "NWA/WCW World Championship" (and likewise with other WCW championships). [6] PWI generally traced the lineage of the NWA/WCW World Championship back to George Hackenschmidt's title victory in 1905, rather than the creation of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship in 1948. [7] Subsequently, after Ric Flair left WCW and was stripped of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in July 1991, PWI and its sister publications nonetheless continued to recognize the WCW title as held by Lex Luger, Sting, Vader, and Ron Simmons as the rightful continuation of the historic NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. When Masa Chono won an NWA world title tournament in Japan in August 1992, PWI and its sister publications only recognized Chono's title as the "NWA Championship" and rejected it as a world title or as a continuation of the historic NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. [8]

PWI initially did not recognize the ECW World Heavyweight Championship as a world title but granted the championship and the promotion world title status in 1999.

Current recognition

Since 2023, Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) recognizes the WWE Championship, WWE Universal Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, AEW World Championship, Impact World Championship, ROH World Championship, MLW World Heavyweight Championship, and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship from the United States, the AAA Mega Championship and CMLL World Heavyweight Championship from Mexico, as well as the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, World of Stardom Championship, and GHC Heavyweight Championship from Japan as world heavyweight championships. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] PWI later additionally recognized the independent wrestling titles the Independent Wrestling World Championship and the Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling Championship as world championships. [14]

List of all recognized world heavyweight championships

Date of recognitionChampionshipPromotionCountry
July 14, 1948 – January 11, 1991
May 8, 2006 – May 13, 2007
January 1, 2021 – present		 NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Flag of the United States.svg
May 18, 1960 – December 12, 1990 AWA World Heavyweight Championship American Wrestling Association (AWA) Flag of the United States.svg
April 25, 1963 – present WWE Championship WWE:
SmackDown 		Flag of the United States.svg
January 11, 1991 – December 9, 2001 WCW World Heavyweight Championship World Championship Wrestling (WCW) World Wrestling Federation Flag of the United States.svg
August 27, 1994 – April 11, 2001 ECW World Heavyweight Championship Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Flag of the United States.svg
September 2, 2002 – December 15, 2013 World Heavyweight Championship WWE Flag of the United States.svg
May 13, 2007 – June 29, 2015
January 1, 2021 – present		 TNA World Championship Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) Flag of the United States.svg
August 21, 2016 – present WWE Universal Championship WWE:
SmackDown 		Flag of the United States.svg
August 31, 2019 – present AEW World Championship All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Flag of the United States.svg
April 3, 2020 – March 4, 2021 IWGP Heavyweight Championship New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) Flag of Japan.svg
January 1, 2021 – present AAA Mega Championship Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) Flag of Mexico.svg
January 1, 2021 – present ROH World Championship Ring of Honor (ROH) Flag of the United States.svg
January 1, 2021 – present CMLL World Heavyweight Championship Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) Flag of Mexico.svg
January 1, 2021 – present Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) Flag of Japan.svg
January 1, 2021 – present MLW World Heavyweight Championship Major League Wrestling (MLW) Flag of the United States.svg
January 1, 2021 – present World of Stardom Championship World Wonder Ring Stardom (Stardom) Flag of Japan.svg
February 12, 2021 – present GHC Heavyweight Championship CyberFight (CF):
Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) 		Flag of Japan.svg
March 4, 2021 – present IWGP World Heavyweight Championship New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) Flag of Japan.svg
August 8, 2021 – presentIndependent Wrestling World Championship [15] IndependentWrestling.tv (IWTV) Flag of the United States.svg
August 8, 2021 – presentPan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling Championship [16] PAWDWC Presents F1ght Club Pro Wrestling (F1ght Club) Flag of the United States.svg
May 27, 2023 – present World Heavyweight Championship WWE:
Raw 		Flag of the United States.svg

According to the annual PWI almanac, PWI still recognizes select world title reigns from May 4, 1905 – January 28, 1946, before the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in July 1948, [17] mostly conforming to the lineage traditionally traced backwards 1948-1905 by the NWA for their World Heavyweight Championship. [17] [18]

Rankings

PWI 500

PWI has published the list of the top 500 professional wrestlers each year since 1991 in an annual special edition magazine, the PWI 500. PWI writers choose the position of the wrestler following a designated evaluation period starting from mid-June; anything a wrestler accomplished before or after that period is not considered. They follow a criterion that includes win–loss record, championships won, quality of competition, major feuds, prominence within a wrestler's promotion(s), and overall wrestling ability. [19] [20] As of 2023, L. A. Park has been ranked in the most editions of the PWI 500, with 30 appearances. [21] John Cena and Seth Rollins have the most appearances at number one, with three. John Cena has the most appearances in the top 10, with 13. In 1993, Miss Texas (Jacqueline Moore) became the first woman to be ranked in the list, at number 249. [22] Since 2008, men and women have had separate lists.

Year12345678910
1991 [23] Hulk Hogan Lex Luger Ric Flair Randy Savage Sting Scott Steiner Ricky Steamboat Steve Williams Arn Anderson Rick Steiner
1992 [24] Sting Randy Savage Rick Rude Bret Hart Ricky Steamboat Jerry Lawler Scott Steiner The Ultimate Warrior Stunning Steve Austin
1993 [25] Bret Hart Big Van Vader Shawn Michaels Sting Yokozuna Ric Flair Lex Luger Rick Rude Mr. Perfect Scott Steiner
1994 [26] Hulk Hogan Ric Flair Big Van Vader Shawn Michaels Stunning Steve Austin Razor Ramon Sting Ricky Steamboat Owen Hart
1995 [27] Diesel Shawn Michaels Sting Bret Hart Sabu Hulk Hogan Big Van Vader Randy Savage Razor Ramon Mitsuharu Misawa
1996 [28] Shawn Michaels The Giant Kenta Kobashi Ahmed Johnson Kevin Nash Rey Misterio, Jr. Hulk Hogan Sabu Ric Flair
1997 [29] Dean Malenko Mitsuharu Misawa Stone Cold Steve Austin Diamond Dallas Page Lex Luger The Undertaker Shinya Hashimoto The Giant Jushin Thunder Liger Chris Benoit
1998 [30] Stone Cold Steve Austin Goldberg Mitsuharu Misawa The Undertaker Kenta Kobashi Booker T Ken Shamrock Chris Jericho
1999 [31] Rob Van Dam Rey Misterio, Jr. The Rock Diamond Dallas Page Keiji Mutoh The Undertaker Goldberg Taz
2000 [32] Triple H The Rock Chris Benoit Kenta Kobashi Jeff Jarrett Justin Credible Mike Awesome Jushin Thunder Liger Chris Jericho Kensuke Sasaki
2001 [33] Kurt Angle Stone Cold Steve Austin Keiji Mutoh Booker T Triple H Scott Steiner Mitsuharu Misawa Rhyno
2002 [34] Rob Van Dam The Undertaker Keiji Mutoh Chris Jericho Eddie Guerrero Kurt Angle Edge Yuji Nagata The Rock Triple H
2003 [35] Brock Lesnar Triple H Kurt Angle Keiji Mutoh Chris Jericho Big Show Booker T Kenta Kobashi Eddie Guerrero Rob Van Dam
2004 [36] Chris Benoit Eddie Guerrero Triple H Kenta Kobashi Randy Orton Toshiaki Kawada John Cena A.J. Styles Shawn Michaels Chris Jericho
2005 [37] Batista John Cena Satoshi Kojima Triple H John Bradshaw Layfield Kurt Angle A.J. Styles Edge Shelton Benjamin Hiroyoshi Tenzan
2006 [38] John Cena Kurt Angle Edge Samoa Joe Místico Rey Mysterio Brock Lesnar Kenta Kobashi Shawn Michaels Jeff Jarrett
2007 [39] Edge Místico Kurt Angle The Undertaker Shawn Michaels Christian Cage Perro Aguayo, Jr. Bobby Lashley Takeshi Morishima
2008 [40] Randy Orton Kurt Angle Triple H Samoa Joe Edge The Undertaker Shawn Michaels Nigel McGuinness John Cena Shinsuke Nakamura
2009 [41] Triple H Chris Jericho John Cena Edge Randy Orton Nigel McGuinness Hiroshi Tanahashi CM Punk Sting Último Guerrero
2010 [42] A.J. Styles John Cena CM Punk Randy Orton Chris Jericho Batista Shinsuke Nakamura The Undertaker Kurt Angle Sheamus
2011 [43] The Miz Randy Orton John Cena Kane Takashi Sugiura Alberto Del Rio Mr. Anderson Rey Mysterio Eddie Edwards CM Punk
2012 [44] CM Punk Bobby Roode Daniel Bryan Sheamus Jun Akiyama Davey Richards Kurt Angle Mark Henry Alberto Del Rio
2013 [45] John Cena CM Punk Hiroshi Tanahashi Bully Ray Kazuchika Okada Sheamus Jeff Hardy Alberto Del Rio Dolph Ziggler Kevin Steen
2014 [46] Daniel Bryan Randy Orton John Cena A.J. Styles Bray Wyatt Roman Reigns Magnus Adam Cole Bully Ray
2015 [47] Seth Rollins John Cena A.J. Styles Roman Reigns Shinsuke Nakamura Randy Orton Jay Briscoe Rusev Alberto El Patrón Kevin Owens
2016 [48] Roman Reigns Kazuchika Okada Finn Bálor A.J. Styles Jay Lethal Kevin Owens Shinsuke Nakamura Seth Rollins Dean Ambrose John Cena
2017 [49] Kazuchika Okada A.J. Styles Kevin Owens Roman Reigns Kenny Omega Shinsuke Nakamura Samoa Joe Dean Ambrose Bobby Roode The Miz
2018 [50] Kenny Omega Kazuchika Okada Brock Lesnar Seth Rollins Braun Strowman Roman Reigns Cody Rhodes Tetsuya Naito
2019 [51] Seth Rollins Daniel Bryan A.J. Styles Kofi Kingston Kazuchika Okada Johnny Gargano Kenny Omega Hiroshi Tanahashi Will Ospreay
2020 [52] Jon Moxley Adam Cole Chris Jericho Drew McIntyre Tetsuya Naito Kazuchika Okada Cody Rhodes Seth Rollins Kofi Kingston AJ Styles
2021 [53] Kenny Omega Roman Reigns Bobby Lashley Kota Ibushi Jon Moxley Will Ospreay Finn Bálor Shingo Takagi Rich Swann
2022 [54] Roman Reigns Kazuchika Okada CM Punk Adam Page Bobby Lashley Cody Rhodes Bryan Danielson El Hijo del Vikingo Big E Jonathan Gresham
2023 [55] Seth Rollins Roman Reigns Jon Moxley Gunther El Hijo del Vikingo MJF Kazuchika Okada Orange Cassidy Josh Alexander Cody Rhodes
2024 [56] Cody Rhodes Swerve Strickland Will Ospreay Seth Rollins Tetsuya Naito Damian Priest MJF Jon Moxley Gunther Místico

PWI Women's 250

PWI has published a list of the top female professional wrestlers each year since 2008 in a special edition magazine. As with the list of male professional wrestlers, PWI writers choose the wrestler's position following a designated evaluation period starting from mid-June; anything a wrestler accomplished before or after that period is not considered. The list was originally limited to 50 wrestlers and was referred to as the Female 50. It has since been expanded and renamed to Women's 100 in 2018 and Women's 150 in 2021. It was expanded and renamed to Women's 250 in 2023. [57] [58]

Year12345678910
PWI Female 50
2008 [59] Awesome Kong Beth Phoenix Gail Kim Mickie James MsChif Sara Del Rey Roxxi Laveaux Melina Michelle McCool Candice Michelle
2009 [60] Mickie James Angelina Love Melina MsChif Tara Awesome Kong Beth Phoenix Michelle McCool Maryse Taylor Wilde
2010 [61] Michelle McCool Mercedes Martinez Cheerleader Melissa Eve Torres Madison Rayne Mickie James MsChif Maryse
2011 [62] Madison Eagles Mercedes Martinez Mickie James Natalya Madison Rayne Cheerleader Melissa Tara Sara Del Rey
2012 [63] Gail Kim Beth Phoenix Cheerleader Melissa Sara Del Rey Jessicka Havok Layla Miss Tessmacher Saraya Knight Mercedes Martinez Tara
2013 [64] Cheerleader Melissa Mickie James Saraya Knight Jessicka Havok Kaitlyn Gail Kim Kacee Carlisle Tara AJ Lee Mercedes Martinez
2014 [65] Paige AJ Lee Gail Kim Cheerleader Melissa LuFisto Angelina Love Ivelisse Velez Courtney Rush Natalya Charlotte
2015 [66] Nikki Bella Paige Sasha Banks Santana Garrett Gail Kim Charlotte Naomi Cherry Bomb Courtney Rush Taryn Terrell
2016 [67] Charlotte Sasha Banks Asuka Becky Lynch Bayley Jade Natalya Gail Kim Sexy Star Sienna
2017 [68] Asuka Charlotte Flair Alexa Bliss Sasha Banks Io Shirai Sienna Naomi Kairi Sane
PWI Women's 100
2018 [69] Ronda Rousey Alexa Bliss Charlotte Flair Io Shirai Asuka Shayna Baszler Carmella Nia Jax Mayu Iwatani Kairi Sane
2019 [70] Becky Lynch Charlotte Flair Ronda Rousey Shayna Baszler Tessa Blanchard Bayley Natalya Io Shirai Mercedes Martinez Nicole Savoy
2020 [71] Bayley Becky Lynch Asuka Charlotte Flair Sasha Banks Hikaru Shida Tessa Blanchard Riho Io Shirai Mayu Iwatani
PWI Women's 150
2021 [72] Bianca Belair Utami Hayashishita Deonna Purrazzo Britt Baker Thunder Rosa Sasha Banks Syuri Io Shirai Tam Nakano Raquel González
2022 [73] Syuri Bianca Belair Thunder Rosa Becky Lynch Jade Cargill Jordynne Grace Saya Kamitani Charlotte Flair Starlight Kid Taya Valkyrie
PWI Women's 250
2023 [74] Rhea Ripley Giulia Bianca Belair Jamie Hayter Tam Nakano Athena Deonna Purrazzo Willow Nightingale Kamille Jordynne Grace
2024 [75] Toni Storm Jordynne Grace Rhea Ripley Maika Stephanie Vaquer Sareee Bayley Willow Nightingale Mariah May Athena

PWI Tag Team 100

PWI has published a list of the top tag teams since 2020. PWI writers rank the wrestlers following a designated evaluation period starting from October; a minimum of 10 matches or 4 months as a tag team is required. [76] [77] The ranking included both male and female tag teams.

Year12345678910
2020 [78] FTR
(Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)		 Kenny Omega & Adam Page Bayley & Sasha Banks The North
(Ethan Page & Josh Alexander)		 The Street Profits
(Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)		 Guerrillas of Destiny
(Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)		 Lucha Bros
(Pentagón Jr. & Fénix)		 The New Day
(Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods)		 The Kabuki Warriors
(Asuka & Kairi Sane)		 Roppongi 3K
(Sho & Yoh)
2021 [79] The Young Bucks
(Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)		 Lucha Bros
(Pentagón Jr. & Rey Fénix)		 Dangerous Tekkers
(Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.)		 The Usos
(Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso)		 FTR
(Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)		 Alto Livello Kabaliwan
(Syuri & Giulia)		 Guerrillas of Destiny
(Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)		 Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler The New Day
(Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods)		 The Good Brothers
(Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
2022 [80] The Usos
(Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso)		 FTR
(Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)		 The Briscoes
(Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)		 Death Triangle
(Pac, Pentagón Jr. & Rey Fénix)		 FWC
(Hazuki & Koguma)		 RK-Bro
(Randy Orton & Matt Riddle)		 The Good Brothers
(Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)		 The Young Bucks
(Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)		 The Hex
(Allysin Kay & Marti Belle)		Violence is Forever
(Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini)
2023 [81] FTR
(Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)		 Aussie Open
(Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)		 Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Bishamon
(Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi)		 The Motor City Machine Guns
(Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)		 ABC
(Ace Austin & Chris Bey)		 The Acclaimed
(Anthony Bowens & Max Caster)		 The Judgment Day
(Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, & Dominik Mysterio)		 Damage CTRL
(Bayley, Dakota Kai, & Iyo Sky)		 7Upp
(Nanae Takahashi & Yuu)
2024 [82] Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill Nathan Frazer & Axiom Bishamon
(Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi)		 The Young Bucks
(Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)		 TMDK
(Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)		 ABC
(Ace Austin & Chris Bey)		 Saito Brothers
(Jun Saito & Rei Saito)		 The Bloodline
(Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa)		 Crazy Star
(Suzu Suzuki & Mei Seira)		 FTR
(Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)

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References

  1. ↑ "About Us". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  2. ↑ Item: "Those Samoans Are Tough – Especially The Fourteenth Time!" 1983 Year In Review. Pro Wrestling Illustrated March 1984
  3. ↑ ""1985 ... July 2: Pro Wrestling Illustrated reinstates world title recognition for the WWF heavyweight title after more than two years of viewing it as a regional championship." Wrestling History, Pro Wrestling Illustrated Online, retrieved March 14, 2018". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  4. ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated strips the AWA of World Title Recognition – Pro Wrestling Illustrated May 1991
  5. ↑ "AWA World Heavyweight Title". Archived from the original on February 22, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  6. ↑ Editorial, Wrestling '91, Spring 1991 edition
  7. ↑ "The NWA was formed in 1948 but the NWA World Heavyweight Championship is traditionally traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship that was created in 1905." = WWF vs NWA: Who's Better? Pro Wrestling Illustrated January 1991
  8. ↑ "The NWA World champion became the WCW World champion when the federation changed initials ... The initials may have changed, but Ron Simmons wears the same belt (figuratively, at least) in 1992 that Lou Thesz wore in 1952. Given that, Chono cannot be considered the NWA World champion in the historical sense ... We'll call him NWA champion because that is the title he won. But this article will be the last time we'll call him NWA World champion"
    – "Who Needs The Confusion? Why Reviving The NWA Title Was A Bad Idea." Inside Wrestling December 1992 edition, pages 38–41
  9. ↑ "The New PWI". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. December 4, 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  10. ↑ "PWI Will No Longer Recognize TNA World Heavyweight Championship". wrestlingnewsworld.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  11. ↑ @OfficialPWI (April 3, 2020). "For those who are wondering, PWI currently recognizes four championships as legitimate World titles: WWE champions…" (Tweet). Retrieved April 3, 2020– via Twitter.
  12. ↑ PWI (March 6, 2021). "PWI Announces World Title Recognition For Several Promotions In Its Publication". Bodyslam.net. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  13. ↑ PWI (February 26, 2021). "IMPACT, MLW & ROH Among Championships Given 'World Title' Status By Pro Wrestling Illustrated". Mandatory.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  14. ↑ IWTV (August 8, 2021). "PWI Recognizes the IWTV & PAWD Titles as World Championships". IWTV. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  15. ↑ CAGEMATCH. "IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship". CAGEMATCH. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  16. ↑ CAGEMATCH. "Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling World Championship". CAGEMATCH. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  17. 1 2 PWI Almanac 1996 NWA World Heavyweight Championship lineage
  18. ↑ History of the World Heavyweight Championship, Whatever happened to Gorgeous George, Joe Jares 1977
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