Awa World Heavyweight Championship
From Conservapedia The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was the main singles championship in the American Wrestling Association. It was defended from the AWA's launch in 1960 until the promotion became inactive in late-1990 and eventually closed in 1991.
Championship history[edit]
Note: Only officially recognized championship reigns are listed here.
| Champion | Reign | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat O'Connor | 1 | May 18, 1960 | N/A | O'Connor, the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion, is recognized as the first AWA World Heavyweight Champion on this date, but is given 90 days to defend the title against top contender Verne Gagne or be stripped of the championship |
| Verne Gagne | 1 | August 16, 1960 | N/A | Awarded by forfeit when Pat O'Connor fails to meet the 90-day deadline to defend the title |
| Gene Kiniski | 1 | July 11, 1961 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 2 | August 8, 1961 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Mr. M (Bill Miller) | 1 | January 9, 1962 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 3 | August 21, 1962 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| The Crusher (Reginald Lisowski) | 1 | July 9, 1963 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 4 | July 20, 1963 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Fritz Von Erich (Jack Adkisson) | 1 | July 27, 1963 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Verne Gagne | 5 | August 8, 1963 | Amarillo, Texas | Gagne also defeats Von Erich on September 7, 1963 in Omaha to win and unify Von Erich's Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship into the AWA World title |
| The Crusher | 2 | November 16, 1963 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 6 | December 14, 1963 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Mad Dog Vachon (Maurice Vachon) | 1 | May 2, 1964 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Verne Gagne | 7 | May 16, 1964 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Mad Dog Vachon | 2 | October 20, 1964 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Mighty Igor (Richard Garza) | 1 | May 15, 1965 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Mad Dog Vachon | 3 | May 22, 1965 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| The Crusher | 3 | August 21, 1965 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Mad Dog Vachon | 4 | November 12, 1965 | Denver, Colorado | |
| Dick the Bruiser (William Afflis) | 1 | November 12, 1966 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Mad Dog Vachon | 5 | November 19, 1966 | Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Verne Gagne | 8 | February 26, 1967 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Dr. X (Richard Beyer) | 1 | August 17, 1968 | Bloomington, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 9 | August 31, 1968 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 1 | November 8, 1975 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Verne Gagne | 10 | July 18, 1980 | Chicago, Illinois | Gagne retires on May 10, 1981 while still champion |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 2 | May 19, 1981 | N/A | Awarded title following Verne Gagne's retirement; Hulk Hogan defeats Bockwinkel on April 18, 1982 in St. Paul, Minnesota, but the title is returned to Bockwinkel by AWA President Stanley Blackburn on April 24, 1982 due to the use of a foreign object by both wrestlers during the match |
| Otto Wanz | 1 | August 29, 1982 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 3 | October 9, 1982 | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Jumbo Tsuruta (Tomomi Tsuruta) | 1 | February 22, 1984 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Rick Martel (Richard Vigneault) | 1 | May 13, 1984 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Stan Hansen (John Stanley Hansen II) | 1 | December 29, 1985 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 4 | June 28, 1986 | Denver, Colorado | Awarded when Hansen no-shows a scheduled title defence and leaves the AWA |
| Curt Hennig | 1 | May 2, 1987 | Daly City, California | The title is held up immediately after the match due to controversy over interference by Larry Zbyszko on Hennig's behalf, but the title is returned to Hennig days later after the AWA Championship Committee rules that there was no evidence of interference by Zbyszko |
| Jerry Lawler | 1 | May 9, 1988 | Memphis, Tennessee | Lawler also defeats Kerry Von Erich in a title unification match on December 13, 1988 at SuperClash III in Chicago, Illinois to win Von Erich's World Class Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship and become the first holder of what would later be known as the United States Wrestling Association Unified World Heavyweight Championship |
| Vacant | January 20, 1989 | N/A | Lawler is stripped of the AWA World title after the Continental Wrestling Association splits with the AWA | |
| Larry Zbyszko (Lawrence Whistler) | 1 | February 7, 1989 | St. Paul, Minnesota | Wins a battle royal for the vacant title, last eliminating Tom Zenk |
| Mr. Saito (Masanori Saito) | 1 | February 10, 1990 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Larry Zbyszko | 2 | April 8, 1990 | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| Vacant | December 12, 1990 | N/A | Zbyszko is stripped of the title when he leaves the inactive AWA for World Championship Wrestling; the AWA closes in 1991 |
External links[edit]
Categories: [Professional wrestling championships]
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