UWA World Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Details | |||||||||||||
Promotion | Universal Wrestling Association Mexican independent circuit | ||||||||||||
Date established | August 15, 1977 | ||||||||||||
Date retired | October 7, 2011 | ||||||||||||
|
The UWA World Heavyweight Championship (Campeonato Mundial peso Completo de UWA in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally promoted by Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) until it closed in 1995. After UWA's closure, the title was sporadically, unofficially defended on the Mexican independent circuit. In the past the title has been defended in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) when the champion worked for those companies. Lou Thesz was the first UWA World Heavyweight champion, having been awarded the title after wrestling Mil Mascaras to a draw on the very first UWA show. El Canek has held the Championship the most times, 15 reigns all in all, 13 of those before the UWA closed. Canek is also the one that kept the championship active after the UWA closed, defending it on the independent circuit. Dr. Wagner, Jr. was the final UWA World Heavyweight champion having defeated Canek on June 18, 2004. During Dr. Wagner, Jr's time in AAA, they sometimes acknowledged the title, having had shown him with the belt on numerous occasions. [1]
As it was a professional wrestling championship, the championship was not won not by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match determined by the bookers and match makers. [lower-alpha 1] On occasion the promotion declares a championship vacant, which means there is no champion at that point in time. This can either be due to a storyline, [lower-alpha 2] or real life issues such as a champion suffering an injury being unable to defend the championship, [lower-alpha 3] or leaving the company. [lower-alpha 4]
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
N/A | Unknown information |
† | Championship change is unrecognized by the promotion |
+ | Current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
1 | Lou Thesz | August 15, 1977 | Live event | N/A | 1 | 377 | Thesz was awarded the title after wrestling Mil Máscaras to a time limit draw at the UWA's first event on July 26, 1976. | [lower-alpha 5] |
2 | El Canek | August 27, 1978 | Live event | Mexico City | 1 | 539 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
3 | Tiger Jeet Singh | February 17, 1980 | Live event | Mexico City | 1 | 56 | [lower-alpha 5] [7] | |
4 | Antonio Inoki | April 13, 1980 | Live event | Mexico City | 1 | 194 | [lower-alpha 5] [8] | |
5 | Tiger Jeet Singh | October 24, 1980 | Live event | Okinawa, Japan | 2 | 114 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
6 | El Canek | February 15, 1981 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 2 | 523 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
7 | Riki Choshu | July 23, 1982 | Live event | Mexico City | 1 | 65 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
8 | El Canek | September 26, 1982 | Live event | Mexico City | 3 | 219 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
9 | Tatsumi Fujinami | May 1, 1983 | Live event | Mexico City | 1 | 42 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
10 | El Canek | June 12, 1983 | Live event | Mexico City | 4 | 252 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
— | Vacated | October 4, 1983 | — | — | — | — | El Canek vacated the title to do an extended tour of wrestling in Japan. Tour is cut short and Canek returns in time for the tournament. | [lower-alpha 5] |
11 | Enrique Vera | October 23, 1983 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 1 | 126 | Defeated El Canek and Dos Caras to win the vacant championship. | [lower-alpha 5] |
12 | Dos Caras | February 26, 1984 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 1 | 119 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
13 | El Canek | June 24, 1984 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 5 | 310 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
14 | Scorpio | April 30, 1985 | Live event | Mexico City | 1 | 61 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
15 | El Canek | June 30, 1985 | Live event | N/A | 6 | 548 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
16 | Dos Caras | December 30, 1986 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 2 | [lower-alpha 5] | ||
17 | El Canek | April 1987(NLT) | Live event | N/A | 7 | [lower-alpha 5] | ||
18 | The Killer | 1987 | Live event | N/A | 1 | [lower-alpha 5] | ||
19 | El Canek | 1987 | Live event | N/A | 8 | [lower-alpha 5] | ||
20 | Perro Aguayo | March 4, 1988 | Live event | N/A | 1 | 62 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
21 | El Canek | May 5, 1988 | Live event | N/A | 9 | 566 | [lower-alpha 5] [9] | |
22 | Big Van Vader | November 22, 1989 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 1 | 382 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
23 | El Canek | December 9, 1990 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 10 | 420 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
24 | Dos Caras | February 2, 1992 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 3 | 154 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
25 | El Canek | July 5, 1992 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 11 | 210 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
26 | Canadian Vampire Casanova | January 31, 1993 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 1 | 322 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
27 | El Canek | December 19, 1993 | Live event | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | 12 | 75 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
28 | Yamato | March 14, 1994 | Live event | Puebla, Puebla | 1 | 4 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
29 | El Canek | March 18, 1994 | UWA Live event | Nezahualcóyotl, México | 13 | 1976 | The UWA closed in 1995, however the title continued to be defended in other promotions. | [lower-alpha 5] |
30 | Cadaver de Ultratumba | August 15, 1999 | Live event | Tehuacán, Puebla | 1 | 22 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
31 | El Canek | September 6, 1999 | AAA TV Taping | Tehuacán, Puebla | 14 | 867 | [lower-alpha 5] | |
32 | Cibernético | January 20, 2002 | AAA TV Taping | Salamanca, Guanajuato | 1 | 299 | [10] | |
33 | El Canek | November 15, 2002 | AAA TV Taping | Orizaba, Veracruz | 15 | 581 | [10] | |
34 | Dr. Wagner Jr. | June 18, 2004 | CMLL Infierno en el Ring (2004) | Mexico City | 1 | 2667 | [1] [11] | |
— | Deactivated | October 7, 2011 | — | — | — | — | The championship goes dormant following Dr. Wagner's successful defence against L.A. Park. |
¤ | The exact length of the title reign is uncertain. |
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
---|---|---|---|
1 | El Canek | 15 | 7,086¤ |
2 | Dr. Wagner Jr. | 1 | 2,667 |
3 | Big Van Vader | 1 | 382 |
4 | Lou Thesz | 1 | 377 |
5 | Canadian Vampire Casanova | 1 | 322 |
6 | Cibernético | 1 | 299 |
7 | Dos Caras | 3 | 273¤ |
8 | Antonio Inoki | 1 | 194 |
9 | Tiger Jeet Singh | 2 | 170 |
10 | Enrique Vera | 1 | 126 |
11 | Riki Choshu | 1 | 65 |
12 | Perro Aguayo | 1 | 62 |
13 | Scorpio | 1 | 61 |
14 | Tatsumi Fujinami | 1 | 42 |
15 | Cadaver de Ultratumba | 1 | 22 |
16 | Yamato | 1 | 4 |
17 | The Killer | 1 | N/A¤ |
Sangre Chicana is the ring name of retired Mexican professional wrestler Andrés Durán Reyes. Reyes made his professional wrestling debut in 1973, wearing a red mask with a gold stripe, under the name Lemus. A year later he changed his name to Sangre Chicana but kept the mask with the golden stripe. He rose to prominence in a feud with El Cobarde and Fishman that led to a Lucha de Apuesta, mask vs. mask match where Reyes lost his mask.
Felipe Estrada, known as El Canek or simply Canek, is a Mexican luchador enmascarado or masked professional wrestler best known for the 20 years he worked for the Universal Wrestling Association where he held the UWA World Heavyweight Championship a total of 15 times. As the major heavyweight working for the Universal Wrestling Association promotion, he became one of Lucha Libre's biggest attractions during the 1980s especially through his high-profile matches against non-Mexicans that sold out numerous shows and led to the UWA using the same formula of "Canek vs. the foreigner" for over a decade. He made his debut in 1972 as "El Universitario" at the age of 18 and would later work under the name "Principe Azul". In 1973 he adopted the ring name El Canek, a name inspired by the Mayan Indian leader Jacinto Canek, that he has used ever since. While he has worked in Mexico for the majority of his career he has also made several, frequent, tours of Japan and has worked in the United States as well as Europe.
The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). For the majority of its existence the title was promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where it was known in Spanish as the Campeonato Mundial Semi Completo de NWA. It began as an official National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) title and was given to the NWA's Mexican affiliate, Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, to control. The title was also promoted in NWA Hollywood Wrestling until Hollywood Wrestling's closure in 1982. The title remained under the control of EMLL even after EMLL pulled out of the NWA and changed its name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Due to its history, it was considered one of the most important titles in EMLL/CMLL. As it was a professional wrestling championship, it was not won legitimately; it was instead won via a scripted ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a storyline. The official definition of the light heavyweight weight class in Mexico is between 92 kg (203 lb) and 97 kg (214 lb), but this was not always strictly enforced.
The CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 1991. As it is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won via legitimate competition; it is instead won via a scripted ending to a match or on occasion awarded to a wrestler because of a storyline. The official definition of the light heavyweight division in Mexico is between 92 kg (203 lb) and 97 kg (214 lb), but the weight limits are not always strictly adhered to. Because CMLL puts more emphasis on the lower weight classes, this division is considered more important than the heavyweight division, which is considered the most important championship by most promotions outside Mexico.
The NWA World Welterweight Championship is an inactive professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and most recently promoted by NWA Mexico. The championship was originally created in 1946 by the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). As with all professional wrestling championships, matches for the NWA World Welterweight Championship were not won or lost competitively but by a pre-planned ending to a match, with the outcome determined by the CMLL bookers and match makers. CMLL controlled the championship from 1946 until 1996 and again from 2007 until 2010. From 1996 until 2007 the championship was promoted mainly in Japan, initially as one of eight championships that made up the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) J-Crown Championship. After the J-Crown was discontinued the title remained in Japan promoted by the Toryumon federation until 2007 when it returned to Mexico and CMLL. CMLL was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) until the late 1980s but chose to keep the championship and the NWA prefix after leaving the NWA.
The UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship that was originally promoted by the Mexican lucha libre professional wrestling) promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA). the UWA operated from 1975 to 1995 but the title is still defended on the Mexican independent circuit after the UWA closed. The weight range for this championship is 97 kg (214 lb) to 107 kg (236 lb) but is not strictly enforced to these days. The UWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship has also been promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling and was at one time one of the eight championships that made up the J-Crown Championship. Following the breakup of the J-Crown, the championship was used by the Toryumon promotion but has since then returned to Mexico where it's defended on the independent circuit.
José Luis Rodríguez Arellano is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado who wrestles under the ring name Dos Caras. His most active years were in the 1970s and 1980s, and he achieved his greatest success in Mexico's Universal Wrestling Alliance (UWA), where he won the UWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. He has been called "the greatest heavyweight ever to come out of Mexico". He is the creator of the Dos Caras Clutch, a hammerlock head scissors pinning combination.
The UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is a singles professional wrestling championship initially promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) from 1975 until the UWA closed in 1995 and since then been defended on the Mexican independent circuit until 2007. By the year 2000 the title became a mainstay in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) when it was won by El Zorro who worked for AAA. The official definition of the Light Heavyweight weight class in Mexico is between 92 kg (203 lb) and 97 kg (214 lb), but is not always strictly enforced.
The UWA World Welterweight Championship is a championship in professional wrestling that is primarily contested for in various Lucha Libre promotions in Mexico. In 1993, the championship was recognized by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Michinoku Pro, following Super Delfin's victory over then champion Celestial. In 1995, Gran Hamada was stripped of the championship, because he exceeded the weight limit. The championship returned to being primarily contested for in Mexico, and it wasn't until Taiji Ishimori's victory over Super Crazy in 2003 that a Japanese wrestler would hold the championship again.
The WWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is a singles professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion World Wrestling Association (WWA) since 1989. In the 1990s, the title was taken to Japan when reigning champion Gran Hamada returned to his home country. In Japan, the title became one of 8 championships that made up the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) J-Crown Championship. When the J-Crown was broken up into individual titles the WWA World Light Heavyweight Championship returned to Mexico. The official definition of the Light Heavyweight weight class in Mexico is between 92 kg (203 lb) and 97 kg (214 lb), but is not always strictly enforced.
The IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship is a singles Championship in the Mexican lucha libre promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) and was introduced in 1997. It has since been defended throughout Mexico, primarily in Naucalpan, but also in Japan as well. As the Championship is designated as a heavyweight title, it can only officially be competed for by wrestlers weighing at least 105 kg (231 lb).
The UWA World Featherweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) from 1983 until the promotion closed in 1995. The official definition of the Featherweight weight class in Mexico is between 57 kg (126 lb) and 63 kg (139 lb), but is not always strictly enforced. the UWA World Featherweight Championship was not among the UWA titles that were kept active even after the UWA closed, like the UWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was abandoned when the UWA closed down.
The UWA World Women's Championship was a singles women's professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) from 1975 until the UWA closed in 1995 and since then defended on the Mexican independent circuit. Zuleyma was the reigning champion when UWA closed and she sporadically defended the title over the next 10 years, often with over a year between title defenses. The last champion was Miss Janeth with no recorded title defenses after 2003.
The WWA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion World Wrestling Association (WWA) since 1986. As the Championship was designated as a heavyweight title, the Championship can only officially be competed for by wrestlers weighing at least 105 kg (231 lb). However, as with most heavyweight titles the "minimum" weight requirement is often ignored.
The WWA Light Heavyweight Championship is a singles professional wrestling championship promoted by World Wrestling Association (WWA) in Mexico since 1987. The official definition of the Light Heavyweight weight class in Mexico is between 92 kg (203 lb) and 97 kg (214 lb), but is not always strictly enforced.
The IWRG Intercontinental Super Welterweight Championship is an inactive professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). The official definition of the super welterweight weight class in Mexico is between 82 kg (181 lb) and 87 kg (192 lb), but is not always strictly enforced.
Genaro Jacobo Contreras, better known by his ring name Ringo Mendoza, a Mexican professional wrestling trainer and retired luchador for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Mendoza wrestled his last match in 2011, transitioning to being a full-time trainer instead.
The CMLL World Micro-Estrellas Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican lucha libre wrestling-based promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. The championship is exclusively competed for in the Micro-Estrellas, or Micros, division where all competitors have dwarfism.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Mexico City-based professional wrestling promotion. It was founded in 1933 and is the oldest active promotion in the world. In the company's long history it has promoted a number of professional wrestling championships as part of their shows, using various divisional, special stipulations, and weight-class championships. Over the years a total of nine CMLL championships have either been abandoned or control of the title was given to another promotion. CMLL actively promotes twelve world championships, seven national championships, and eight regional championships.