Title history
AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Boston version)
Key
No. |
Overall reign number |
Reign |
Reign number for the specific champion |
Days |
Number of days held |
No. |
Champion |
Championship change |
Reign statistics |
Notes |
Ref. |
Date |
Event |
Location |
Reign |
Days
|
1 |
Ed Lewis |
February 21, 1928 |
Live event |
St. Louis, Missouri |
1 |
318 |
Defeated Joe Stecher to win the original main line title |
[1][2]
|
2 |
Gus Sonnenberg |
January 4, 1929 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
1 |
705 |
|
[1]
|
3 |
Ed Don George |
December 10, 1930 |
Live event |
Los Angeles, California |
1 |
125 |
|
[1]
|
4 |
Ed Lewis |
April 14, 1931 |
Live event |
Los Angeles, California |
2 |
20 |
|
[1]
|
5 |
Henri Deglane |
May 4, 1931 |
Live event |
Montreal, Quebec |
1 |
751 |
Won by DQ after allegedly being bitten; recognized in Boston and Montreal as AWA champion; Lewis still recognized in California. |
[1]
|
6 |
Ed Don George |
February 9, 1933 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
2 |
901 |
|
[1]
|
7 |
Danno O'Mahoney |
July 30, 1935 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
1 |
352 |
The title was unified with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and New York State Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Championship to be the Unified World Heavyweight Championship; loses to Dick Shikat on March 2, 1936 in New York, but continues to be recognized as champion by AWA. |
[1]
|
8 |
Yvon Robert |
July 16, 1936 |
Live event |
Montreal, Quebec |
1 |
531 |
|
[1]
|
— |
Vacated |
December 1937 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Roberts was stripped of the championship for not defending it against Lou Thesz. |
[1]
|
9 |
Lou Thesz |
December 29, 1937 |
Live event |
St. Louis, Missouri |
1 |
44 |
Defeats Everette Marshall and is presented with the AWA championship belt |
[1]
|
10 |
Steve Casey |
February 11, 1938 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
1 |
384 |
|
[1]
|
11 |
Marv Westenberg |
March 2, 1939 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
1 |
14 |
|
[1]
|
12 |
Gus Sonnenberg |
March 16, 1939 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
2 |
13 |
|
[1]
|
13 |
Steve Casey |
March 29, 1939 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
2 |
20 |
|
[1]
|
14 |
Ed Don George |
April 18, 1939 |
Live event |
Albany, New York |
3 |
199 |
|
[1]
|
15 |
Steve Casey |
November 3, 1939 |
Live event |
Buffalo, New York |
3 |
183 |
|
[1]
|
16 |
The French Angel |
May 13, 1940 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
1 |
731 |
|
[1][6]
|
17 |
Steve Casey |
May 14, 1942 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
4 |
810 |
|
[1]
|
18 |
The French Angel |
August 1, 1944 |
Live event |
San Francisco, California |
2 |
14 |
|
[1]
|
19 |
Steve Casey |
August 15, 1944 |
Live event |
San Francisco, California |
5 |
253 |
Casey joined the US Army; Sándor Szabó emerged from a series of elimination bouts as the duration world champion; Casey defeats Szabo in the consolidation match on April 4, 1945 in Boston, Massachusetts. |
[1][7]
|
20 |
Sándor Szabó |
April 25, 1945 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
1 |
7 |
|
[1]
|
21 |
Frank Sexton |
May 2, 1945 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
1 |
35 |
|
[1]
|
22 |
Steve Casey |
June 6, 1945 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
6 |
21 |
|
[1]
|
23 |
Frank Sexton |
June 27, 1945 |
Live event |
Boston, Massachusetts |
2 |
1,791 |
|
[1]
|
24 |
Don Eagle |
May 23, 1950 |
Live event |
Cleveland, Ohio |
1 |
1 |
|
[1]
|
25 |
Gorgeous George |
May 26, 1950 |
Live event |
Chicago, Illinois |
1 |
97 |
This was a screwjob finish orchestrated by promoter Fred Kohler to weaken Eagle's value as an attraction. The title change was initially ignored by Bowser and other promoters. |
[1] [8][9]
|
26 |
Don Eagle |
August 31, 1950 |
Live event |
Columbus, Ohio |
2 |
[Note 1] |
This change re-established the lineage, which was disputed after George defeated Eagle in a screwjob finish. |
[1][9]
|
— |
Deactivated |
November 1952 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Vacated in November 1952 when Eagle was inactive due to back injuries. |
[1][5]
|
Splinter titles
AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version)
Key
No. |
Overall reign number |
Reign |
Reign number for the specific champion |
Days |
Number of days held |
No. |
Champion |
Championship change |
Reign statistics |
Notes |
Ref. |
Date |
Event |
Location |
Reign |
Days
|
1 |
Don Eagle |
August 31, 1950 |
Live event |
Cleveland, Ohio |
1 |
|
|
[10]
|
2 |
Ruffy Silverstein |
May 2, 1951 |
N/A |
Chicago, Illinois |
1 |
|
|
[10]
|
3 |
Dr. Bill Miller |
August 15, 1951 |
N/A |
Chicago, Illinois |
1 |
|
|
[10]
|
3 |
Ruffy Silverstein |
December 26, 1951 |
N/A |
Chicago, Illinois |
2 |
|
|
[10]
|
4 |
Buddy Rogers |
October 17, 1952 |
N/A |
Chicago, Illinois |
1 |
|
|
[10]
|
— |
Deactivated |
October 17, 1952 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Rogers was already the Ohio AWA Champion and his reign continued under that lineage. |
|
AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Ohio version)
Ohio-based promoter Al Haft created a splinter version of the title after recognizing Don Eagle's loss to Dr. Bill Miller on May 1, 1952 as a title change. The change was not recognized by Bowser. That title continued until 1954 when incumbent Buddy Rogers was stripped of the title.[5]
Key
No. |
Overall reign number |
Reign |
Reign number for the specific champion |
Days |
Number of days held |
No. |
Champion |
Championship change |
Reign statistics |
Notes |
Ref. |
Date |
Event |
Location |
Reign |
Days
|
1 |
Don Eagle |
August 31, 1950 |
Live event |
Columbus, Ohio |
2 |
609 |
|
[1][5]
|
2 |
Dr. Bill Miller |
May 1, 1952 |
N/A |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
1 |
124 |
|
[5]
|
3 |
Don Arnold |
September 2, 1952 |
N/A |
Dayton, Ohio |
1 |
24 |
|
[11]
|
4 |
Buddy Rogers |
October 14, 1952 |
N/A |
Dayton, Ohio |
1 |
|
|
[11]
|
5 |
Don Arnold |
January 1953 |
N/A |
N/A |
2 |
|
|
[11]
|
6 |
Buddy Rogers |
January 29, 1953 |
N/A |
Cleveland,Ohio |
2 |
|
|
[11]
|
7 |
Antonino Rocca |
March 3, 1953 |
N/A |
Cleveland Ohio |
1 |
|
|
|
8 |
Buddy Rogers |
April 9, 1953 |
N/A |
Cleveland,Ohio |
3 |
|
|
[11]
|
— |
Deactivated |
May 1954 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Rogers was stripped of the title in 1954 for not defending his championship against Ruffy Silverstein. A tournament was scheduled to crown a new champion in May 1954 but never took place. |
[11]
|
- ↑ Don Eagle's second reign lasted between 759 and 822 days.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 "American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title". Pro-Wrestling Title Histories.
- 1 2 "Gus Sonnenberg Captures World Wrestling Championship From Strangler Lewis". The Hartford Courant. May 1, 1929. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
- ↑ Solomon, Brian (2015). Pro Wrestling FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Most Entertaining Spectacle. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1617135996.
- ↑ Beekman, Scott (2006). Ringside: A History of Professional Wrestling in America. Praeger Publishing. p. 62-63. ISBN 978-0275984014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Oliver, Greg; Johnson, Steven (2012). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes & Icons. ECW Press. p. 1800. ISBN 978-1770410374.
- ↑ Hoops, Brian (May 13, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 13): Rick Martel wins AWA gold, Kurt Angle wins TNA title, Nash & Hall beat one man to win tag titles". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ↑ Hoops, Brian (August 15, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history: IWGP Champ wins 1-G, Orton beats Benoit". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ↑ F4W Staff (May 26, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 26): Dick the Bruiser & Crusher beat Larry Hennig & Harley Race in a nine fall death match, Tiger Mask wins WWF Jr. Heavyweight gold". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- 1 2 Laprade, Pat; Hebert, Bertland (2013). Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 1770410945.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title [Chicago]". Pro-Wrestling Title Histories.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title [Ohio]". Pro-Wrestling Title Histories.