List of PWG World Champions

Current and longest reigning champion Daniel Garcia

The PWG World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship owned and copyrighted by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). The championship was created and debuted on August 30, 2003, at PWG's Bad Ass Mother 3000 – Stage 2 event.[1] Originally called the PWG Championship, the title was renamed to the PWG World Championship in February 2006 after the title was defended outside the United States for the first and second time—that month, then-champion Joey Ryan defeated Emil Sitoci in Essen, Germany at European Vacation – Germany and Jonny Storm in Orpington, England at European Vacation – England.[2][3]

The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. All reigns are won at live events, which are released on DVD. The inaugural champion was Frankie Kazarian, whom PWG recognized to have become the champion after defeating Ryan in the finals of a 16-man tournament on August 30, 2003, at PWG's Bad Ass Mother 3000 – Stage 2 event.[1] As of January 2025, Kevin Steen holds the record for most reigns, with three.[4][5][6] Daniel Garcia's current reign, at 994 days and counting, is the longest in the title's history. PWG publishes a list of successful championship defenses for each champion on its official website (though this section of the website has not been updated in a few years). As of January 2025, Ryan has the most defenses, with 19, while Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega have the least, with 0.

Daniel Garcia is the current champion in his first reign, after defeating Bandido on May 1, 2022, to win the title. Overall, there have been 32 reigns among 25 different wrestlers and three vacancies.[7] Low Ki, Bryan Danielson, and Davey Richards, all of whom vacated the championship, are the only people to have not been defeated for the championship.[8]

## Title history

[edit]

### Names

[edit]

Name  | Years

|

PWG Championship  | August 2003 – February 2006
PWG World Championship | February 2006 – present

### Reigns

[edit]

Key  No.  | Overall reign number

|

Reign  | Reign number for the specific champion
Days  | Number of days held
Defenses  | Number of successful defenses
<1  | Reign lasted less than a day
\+  | Current reign is changing daily
No. | Champion  | Championship change  | Reign statistics  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Date  | Event  | Location  | Reign  | Days | Defenses
1  | Frankie Kazarian | August 30, 2003 | Bad Ass Mother 3000 – Stage Two  | Industry, CA | 1  | 176 | 4[9] | Kazarian defeated Joey Ryan in the finals of a 16-man tournament to become the first champion.  | [1]
2  | Adam Pearce | February 22, 2004 | Taste the Radness | Santa Ana, CA | 1  | 139 | 3[10] | This was a Chicago Street Fight.  | [11]
3  | Frankie Kazarian | July 10, 2004 | The Reason for the Season | Los Angeles, CA | 2  | 126 | 3[12] | This was a Loser Leaves Town steel cage match.  | [13]
4  | Super Dragon | November 13, 2004 | Free Admission (Just Kidding)  | Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 140 | 8[14] |  | [15]
5  | A.J. Styles | April 2, 2005 | All Star Weekend – Night Two  | Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 126 | 4[16] |  | [17]
6  | Kevin Steen | August 6, 2005 | Zombies [Shouldn't Run]  | Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 119 | 5[4] |  | [18]
7  | Joey Ryan | December 3, 2005 | Chanukah Chaos (The C's Are Silent)  | Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 406 | 19[19] | The title was renamed from the "PWG Championship" to the "PWG World Championship" following PWG's European Vacation tour of England and Germany in February 2006.  | [2][3][20]
8  | Human Tornado | January 13, 2007 | Based on a True Story  | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 42 | 3[21] | This was a Guerrilla Warfare match.  | [22]
9  | El Generico | February 24, 2007 | Holy Diver Down | Van Nuys, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 155 | 9[23] |  | [24]
10  | Bryan Danielson | July 29, 2007 | Giant-Size Annual #4 | Burbank, CA | 1  | 160 | 5[25] |  | [26]
11  | Low Ki | January 5, 2008 | All Star Weekend 6 – Night One  | Van Nuys, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 32 | 1[8] |  | [27]
—  | Vacated | February 6, 2008[8] | —  | —  | —  | — | —  | The title was vacated due to Low Ki suffering a knee injury while working in Japan.  | [8]
12  | Human Tornado | February 24, 2008 | ¡Dia de los Dangerous! | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 2  | 133 | 1[28] | Tornado defeated Karl Anderson and Roderick Strong in the finals of a 5-man tournament to become the champion.  | [29]
13  | Chris Hero | July 6, 2008 | Life During Wartime | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 425 | 10[30] | This was a Guerrilla Warfare steel cage match.  | [31]
14  | Bryan Danielson | September 4, 2009 | Guerre Sans Frontières  | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 2  | <1 | 0[32] |  | [33]
—  | Vacated | September 4, 2009[32] | Guerre Sans Frontières  | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | —  | — | —  | The title was vacated due to Bryan Danielson being unable to defend it after signing with WWE.  | [32]
15  | Kenny Omega | November 21, 2009 | Battle of Los Angeles – Night Two | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 98 | 0[34] | Omega defeated Roderick Strong in the finals of the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles to win the vacant championship.  | [35]
16  | Davey Richards | February 27, 2010 | As the Worm Turns | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 198 | 2[36] |  | [37]
—  | Vacated | September 13, 2010 | —  | —  | —  | — | —  | The championship was vacated due to Davey Richards being unable to defend it.  | [38]
17  | Claudio Castagnoli | October 9, 2010 | The Curse of Guerrilla Island | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 287 | 6[39] | Castagnoli defeated Brandon Gatson, Chris Hero and Joey Ryan in a four–way match to win the vacant championship.  | [40]
18  | Kevin Steen | July 23, 2011 | Eight | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 2  | 91 | 1[5] |  | [41]
19  | El Generico | October 22, 2011 | Steen Wolf | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 2  | 147 | 0[42] | This was a ladder match.  | [43]
20  | Kevin Steen | March 17, 2012 | World's Finest | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 3  | 259 | 4[6] | This was a three-way match, also involving Eddie Edwards.  | [44]
21  | Adam Cole | December 1, 2012 | Mystery Vortex  | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 538 | 7[45] | This was a Guerrilla Warfare match.  | [46]
22  | Kyle O'Reilly | May 23, 2014 | Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 203 | 3[47] | This was a Knockout or Submission Only match.  | [48]
23  | Roderick Strong | December 12, 2014 | Black Cole Sun | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 449 | 7[49] | This was a Guerrilla Warfare match.  | [50]
24  | Zack Sabre Jr. | March 5, 2016 | All Star Weekend 12 – Night Two  | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 489 | 5  |  | [51]
25  | Chuck Taylor | July 7, 2017 | Pushin Forward Back | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 106 | 0  |  | [52]
26  |  Ricochet | October 21, 2017 | All Star Weekend 13 – Night Two  | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 83 | 1[53] |  | [54]
27  | Chuck Taylor | January 12, 2018 | Mystery Vortex V  | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 2  | 70 | 1  | This was a Guerrilla Warfare match.  |
28  | Keith Lee | March 23, 2018 | Time Is a Flat Circle | Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 29 | 0  |  |
29  |  Walter | April 21, 2018 | All Star Weekend 14 – Night Two  | Reseda, Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 181 | 2  | This was a three-way match, also involving Jonah Rock.  |
30  | Jeff Cobb | October 19, 2018 | Smokey and the Bandido | Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 427 | 3[55] |  |
31  | Bandido  | December 20, 2019 | The Makings of a Varsity Athlete | Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 863 | 3  |  | [56]
32  | Daniel Garcia  | May 1, 2022 | Delivering the Goods  | Los Angeles, CA | 1  | 994+ | 3  |  | [57]

## Combined reigns

[edit]

Former champion Bandido Record three-time champion Kevin Steen

As of January 19, 2025.

†  | Indicates the current champion

|

Rank  | Wrestler  | No. of
reigns  | Combined
defenses  | Combined
days

|
|
|
|

1  |  Daniel Garcia † | 1 | 3 | 994+
2  |  Bandido | 1 | 1 | 863
3  | Adam Cole | 1 | 7 | 538
4  | Zack Sabre Jr. | 1 | 5 | 489
5  | Kevin Steen | 3 | 10 | 469
6  | Roderick Strong | 1 | 7 | 449
7  | Jeff Cobb | 1 | 3 | 427
8  | Chris Hero | 1 | 10 | 425
9  | Joey Ryan | 1 | 19 | 406
10  | El Generico | 2 | 9 | 302
Frankie Kazarian | 2 | 7 | 302
12  | Claudio Castagnoli | 1 | 6 | 287
13  | Kyle O'Reilly | 1 | 3 | 203
14  | Davey Richards | 1 | 2 | 198
15  |  Walter | 1 | 2 | 181
16  | Chuck Taylor | 2 | 1 | 176
17  | Human Tornado | 2 | 4 | 175
18  | Bryan Danielson | 2 | 5 | 160
19  | Super Dragon | 1 | 8 | 140
20  | Adam Pearce | 1 | 3 | 139
21  | A.J. Styles | 1 | 4 | 126
22  | Kenny Omega | 1 | 0 | 98
23  |  Ricochet | 1 | 1 | 83
24  | Low Ki | 1 | 1 | 32
25  | Keith Lee | 1 | 0 | 29

## References

[edit]

General

* Westcott, Brian. "PWG Heavyweight Championship reign history". Solie.org. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
* "PWG World Championship reign history". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2009-05-14.

Specific

1. ^ a b c "Bad Ass Mother 3000 - Stage 2". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
2. ^ a b "European Vacation - Germany". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
3. ^ a b "European Vacation - England". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
4. ^ a b "Kevin Steen's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
5. ^ a b "Kevin Steen's second reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
6. ^ a b "Kevin Steen's third reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
7. ^ "Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Champion". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
8. ^ a b c d "Low Ki's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
9. ^ "Frankie Kazarian's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
10. ^ "Adam Pearce's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
11. ^ Corey, Commander (2004-12-01). "Pro Wrestling Guerilla DVD a rad experience". Slam! Sports - Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
12. ^ "Frankie Kazarian's second reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
13. ^ "The Reason for the Season". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
14. ^ "Super Dragon's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
15. ^ "Free Admission (Just Kidding)". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
16. ^ "A.J. Styles' first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
17. ^ Clevett, Jason (2005-04-10). "SoCal stars shine at All Star Weekend". Slam! Sports - Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
18. ^ "Zombies (Shouldn't Run)". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
19. ^ "Joey Ryan's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
20. ^ "Chanukah Chaos (The C's Are Silent)". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-08. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
21. ^ "Human Tornado's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
22. ^ "Based on a True Story". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
23. ^ "El Generico's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
24. ^ "Holy Diver Down". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
25. ^ "Bryan Danielson's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-10. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
26. ^ "Giant-Size Annual #4". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-08. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
27. ^ "All-Star Weekend 6 - Night One". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
28. ^ "Human Tornado's second reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
29. ^ "¡Dia de los Dangerous!". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
30. ^ "Chris Hero's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
31. ^ "Life During Wartime". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
32. ^ a b c "Bryan Danielson's second reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
33. ^ "Guerre Sans Frontières". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
34. ^ "Kenny Omega's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
35. ^ "2009 Battle of Los Angeles - Night Two". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2009-11-25. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
36. ^ "Davey Richards' first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
37. ^ "As the Worm Turns". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-11. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
38. ^ Caldwell, James (2010-09-14). "PWG News: Davey Richards relinquishes PWG World Title, four-way match announced for next show to determine new champion". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
39. ^ "Claudio Castagnoli's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
40. ^ "The Curse of Guerrilla Island". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-19. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
41. ^ "Eight". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
42. ^ "El Generico's second reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
43. ^ "Steen Wolf". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
44. ^ "World's Finest". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
45. ^ "Adam Cole's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
46. ^ "Mystery Vortex". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
47. ^ "Kyle O'Reilly's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
48. ^ "Sold our Soul for Rock 'n Roll". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
49. ^ "Roderick Strong's first reign". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
50. ^ "Black Cole Sun". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
51. ^ "3/5 PWG All-Star Weekend Night Two: Roderick Strong vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the PWG Championship, The Young Bucks vs. Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly for the PWG Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. 2016-03-06. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
52. ^ Crockett, Paul (2017-07-08). "New PWG Champion crowned". Pro Wrestling Insider. Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
53. ^ "PWG World Championship". cagematch.net. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
54. ^ Meltzer, Dave (2017-10-22). "PWG All Star Weekend 13 night two results: Chuck Taylor vs. Ricochet". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
55. ^ Bryant, Steve (January 19, 2019). "PWG Hand of Doom - 18 January 2019 - Results". Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
56. ^ "Bandido se convierte en el nuevo campeón mundial de PWG". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. December 21, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
57. ^ Bryant, Steve (May 1, 2022). "PWG Delivering the Goods – 01 May 2022 – Results". socaluncensored.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* PWG World Title History Archived 2021-12-23 at the Wayback Machine at Cagematch.net

* v
* t
* e

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Roster|

Founders
Disco Machine
Excalibur
Joey Ryan
Scott Lost
Super Dragon

Champions|

* World (reigns)
* World Tag Team (reigns)

Tournaments|

* Battle of Los Angeles
* Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament

Miscellaneous|

Events

* v
* t
* e

PWG World Champions

2000s|

* Frankie Kazarian
* Adam Pearce
* Super Dragon
* A.J. Styles
* Kevin Steen
* Joey Ryan
* Human Tornado
* El Generico
* Bryan Danielson
* Low Ki
* Chris Hero
* Kenny Omega

2010s|

* Davey Richards
* Claudio Castagnoli
* Adam Cole
* Kyle O'Reilly
* Roderick Strong
* Zack Sabre Jr.
* Chuck Taylor
* Ricochet
* Keith Lee
* Walter
* Jeff Cobb
* Bandido

2020s|

* Daniel Garcia (current)

*[No.]: Number
*[Ref.]: Reference(s)
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