WSW World Heavyweight Championship

WSW World Heavyweight Championship
WSW World Heavyweight Championship belt (2018–2022)
Details
Promotion	World Series Wrestling
Date established	5 October 2005 [1]
Current champion(s)	Matt Cardona
Statistics First champion(s) Rhino [1] Most reigns Matt Cardona (3 reigns) Longest reign Jeff Jarrett (570 days) Shortest reign Brian Cage and Johnny Impact (1 day) Oldest champion Austin Aries (40 years, 70 days) Youngest champion Bryan Danielson (26 years, 10 days)

The WSW World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship contested for in the heavyweight division of World Series Wrestling (WSW).

History

On 5 October 2005, during WSW's first show, Rhino became the inaugural champion by defeating Jeff Jarrett, during a tour that took part in Melbourne, Victoria. ^[1] Rhino held the championship for three days before losing it to Jarrett on 8 October. ^[2] On 1 May 2007, due to Jarrett's commitments with Total Nonstop Action (TNA), WSW stippred him of the championship. ^[2] on 1 June, Bryan Danielson won the vacant championship by defeating Nigel McGuinness. ^[2]

On 31 August 2007, the championship was deactivated as WSW went to hiatus. Ten years later, on 25 November 2017, Ricochet won the now reactivated championship after defeating Austin Aries and Brian Cage in a three-way match. ^[3] In 2019, the championship was vacated with the previous titleholder being Marty Scurll. ^{[4] [ better source needed ]} On 8 July 2022, Johnny Downunder won the vacant championship after defeating Joey Janela in a no disqualification match. ^[5] Downunder has previously won the title under the ring name Johnny Impact. ^[6]

Reigns

The inaugural champion Rhino

As of 31March2025, there have been 15 reigns between 12 wrestlers and two vacancies. Rhino was the inaugural champion. Austin Aries, Johnny Downunder (also known as Johnny Impact) and Matt Cardona, share the record for most reigns at two. Aries is the oldest champion at 40 years old, while Bryan Danielson is the youngest at 26 years old. Jeff Jarrett's reign is the longest at 570 days, while Brian Cage and Impact's first reign was the shortest at one day.

Matt Cardona is the current champion in his third reign. He won the title by defeating Nic Nemeth in a Sydney Street Fight, which was also for the Nemeth's Internet Championship at Legacy on 31 March 2025, in Sydney, New South Wales.

Key

No.	Overall reign number
Reign	Reign number for the specific champion
Days	Number of days held
+	Current reign is changing daily

No.	Champion	Championship change			Reign statistics		Notes	Ref.
		Date	Event	Location	Reign	Days
1	Rhino	5 October 2005	International Assault Tour Day 1	Melbourne, Victoria	1	3	Defeated Jeff Jarrett to become inaugural champion.	[1]
2	Jeff Jarrett	8 October 2005	International Assault Tour Day 3	Newcastle, New South Wales	1	570		[2]
—	Vacated	1 May 2007	—	—	—	—	WSW stripped Jeff Jarrett of the championship due to his commitments with Total Nonstop Action (TNA).	[2]
3	Bryan Danielson	1 June 2007	International Assault Tour Day 1	Kensington, New South Wales	1	2	Defeated Nigel McGuinness to win the vacant title.	[2]
4	Billy Kidman	3 June 2007	International Assault Tour Day 3	Newcastle West, New South Wales	1	89		[2]
—	Deactivated	31 August 2007	—	—	—	—	The championship became inactive after WSW went to hiatus.	[ citation needed ]
5	Ricochet	25 November 2017	International Assault Tour 2K17 Day 2	Adelaide, South Australia	1	2	Defeated Austin Aries and Brian Cage in a three-way match to win the vacant title.	[3]
6	Austin Aries	27 November 2017	International Assault Tour 2K17 Day 4	Penrith, New South Wales	1	207		[7]
7	Brian Cage	22 June 2018	International Assault Best of the Best 2K18 Day 1	Ferntree Gully, Victoria	1	1	This was a three-way match, also involving Johnny Impact.	[6]
8	Johnny Impact	23 June 2018	International Assault Best of the Best 2K18 Day 2	Ferntree Gully, Victoria	1	1		[6]
9	Austin Aries	24 June 2018	International Assault Best of the best 2K18 Day 3	Adelaide, South Australia	2	155		[6]
10	Robbie Eagles	26 November 2018	International Assault the Elite Takeover Day 4	Ferntree Gully, Victoria	1	208		[8]
11	Marty Scurll	22 June 2019	International Assault Zero Fear Day 2	Ferntree Gully, Victoria	1	N/A [a]		[4]
	Championship history is unrecorded from June 23, 2019 to July 8, 2022.
12	Johnny Downunder	8 July 2022	Phoenix Rising Day 1	Adelaide, South Australia	2	246	Defeated Joey Janela in a No Disqualification match to win the vacant title. Downunder was previously known as Johnny Impact.	[5]
13	Matt Cardona	11 March 2023	Unleash Hell Day 2	Melbourne, Victoria	1	209		[9]
14	Shawn Spears	6 October 2023	Full Throttle Day 1	Melbourne, Victoria	1	7		[10]
15	Matt Cardona	13 October 2023	Full Throttle Day 6	Sydney, New South Wales	2	261		[11]
16	Nic Nemeth	30 June 2024	Most Wanted Day 4	Adelaide, South Australia	1	274	Defeated Hammerstone in a No Disqualification match, who substituted for Cardona due to Cardona's torn pec injury.	[12]
17	Matt Cardona	31 March 2025	Legacy Day 4	Sydney, New South Wales	3	0+	This was a Sydney Street Fight, which was also for the Nemeth's Internet Championship.	[13]

Combined reigns

†	Indicates the current champion.
N/A	The exact length of a title reign is too uncertain to calculate.

Rank	Wrestler	No. of Reigns	Combined Days
1	Jeff Jarrett	1	540
2	Matt Cardona †	3	470+
3	Austin Aries	2	362
4	Nic Nemeth	1	274
5	Johnny Downunder/Impact	2	247
6	Robbie Eagles	1	208
7	Billy Kidman	1	89
8	Shawn Spears	1	7
9	Rhino	1	3
10	Bryan Danielson	1	2
	Ricochet	1	2
12	Brian Cage	1	1
13	Marty Scurll	1	N/A [a]

Notes

1. The length of the championship reign is too uncertain to calculate.

References

1. Arena Reports (6 October 2005). "10/5 WSW in Australia: Samoa Joe vs. Test, Styles vs. Daniels, Team 3D (Dudleys), Jarrrett". PWTorch.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
2. "Solie's Title Histories: WSW- World Series Wrestling". Solie's Vintage Wrestling. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
3. Phillips, Jim (19 May 2018). "World Series Wrestling: An Independent Foundation Fuels an International Future". The Gorilla Position. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
4. Apps, Jamie (23 June 2019). "#AndNEW: WSW World & Women's Champions on Zero Fear Tour". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
5. Tees, David (8 July 2022). "Janela vs Morrison, Cardona, Chelsea, Brian Cage, Flip Gordon, Taya & More: WSW Phoenix Rising Tour Night One on FITE.TV Report". PWInsider.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
6. "WSW results: Impact title matches, Hangman Page vs. Joey Ryan". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . F4W Staff. 24 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
7. Gallagher, Marilee (10 April 2018). "Match Point: Austin Aries vs Shane "Swerve" Strickland (4/13/18)". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
8. Gallagher, Marilee (29 November 2018). "#AndNEW: Australian Star Robbie Eagles Wins Two Titles in Two Days". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
9. Silverio, Ben F. (11 March 2023). "Matt Cardona Adds Another Championship To His Collection". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
10. Lambert, Jeremy (8 October 2023). "WSW Full Throttle Results (10/6): Shawn Spears Faces Matt Cardona, Cassie Lee Returns To The Ring". Fightful. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
11. "WSW Full Throttle - Tag 6". Cagematch. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
12. "WSW Most Wanted - Tag 4". Cagematch. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
13. "WSW Legacy - Tag 4". Cagematch. Retrieved 31 March 2025.

External links

• World Series Wrestling's official website