British Heavy Middleweight Championship

The British Heavy Middleweight Championship was a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit. The title's history dates back to its foundation by Joint Promotions in 1953. Officially heavy middleweights were required to weight between 12 st 8 lb (176 lbs) and 13 st 5 lb (187 lb).[1]

The championship was recognised and defended on matches screened by UK national television network ITV as part of the professional wrestling slot on World of Sport as well as standalone broadcasts.[2][3][4] Pre-publicity for these championship match broadcasts was given in ITV's nationally published listings magazine TVTimes[5][6][7] The entire 31 October 1987 edition of the standalone Wrestling broadcast was given over to Fit Finlay's recapture of the title from Chic Cullen in Bradford, 17 September 1987[4] and highlights of this match were included on the official ITV wrestling compilation VHS release Mayhem and Mystery.[8] Similarly, highlights of Alan Kilby's capture of the vacant title in a tournament final over King Ben in Preston, 7 October 1981, were included on official ITV wrestling compilation DVD release The Best Of British Wrestling A-Z. [9]

Title history

The title was founded in 1953 and remained in Joint Promotions until the mid-1980s when it was taken over by All Star Wrestling. The title remained active until the mid-1990s.[10]

Wrestler: Times: Date: Place: Notes:
Eric Taylor 1 1953 Vacated the title in 1966 when he left Joint Promotions.[11]
Bert Royal 1 before 4 May 1966 [11]
Bert Royal 2 16 January 1968 Blackburn Defeated Peter Preston, having lost the title at some point before this date.[11]
Jackie Pallo 1 21 April 1969 Nottingham [11]
Bert Royal 3 before May 1969 N/A [11]
Steve Logan 1 29 August 1975 Liverpool [11]
Bert Royal 4 11 November 1975 Manchester [11]
Mark Rocco 1 11 June 1977 Manchester [11]
Marty Jones 1 13 September 1978 Woking Jones, already the holder of the British Light Heavyweight Championship, vacated the title immediately.[11]
Mark Rocco 2 6 December 1978 Blackburn Won a tournament final against Chris Adams. Vacated title in August 1981 after winning the world title.[11]
Alan Kilby 1 7 October 1981 Preston Won a tournament for the belt, defeating King Ben in the final[11]
Dave Finlay 1 9 June 1982 Bath [11]
Alan Kilby 2 before August 1982 [11]
Dave Finlay 2 14 September 1982 Croydon [11]
Alan Kilby 3 10 November 1982 London [11]
Dave Finlay 3 15 November 1982 Bradford [11]
Alan Kilby 4 November 1982 [11]
Dave Finlay 4 21 December 1982 Wolverhampton [11]
Alan Kilby 5 January 1983 [11]
Chic Cullen 1 21 March 1983 London [11]
Dave Finlay 6 before 29 September 1984 Legacy from Cullen uncertain[11]
Chic Cullen 2 before 1985 Legacy from Finlay uncertain [11]
Rocky Moran 1 7 January 1986 Croydon [11]
Kung Fu (Ed Hamill) 1 3 March 1986 Bradford [11]
Chic Cullen 3 before May 1987 [11]
Dave Finlay 6 17 September 1987 Bradford [11]
Danny Boy Collins 1 4 July 1989 Croydon [11]
Richie Brooks 1 29 May 1990 Croydon Wins title by disqualification when Collins, dazed from falling head-first to ringside, attacks the referee.[11]
Danny Boy Collins 2 4 September 1990 Croydon Last known title claimant[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Peter Bills, Wrestling, David & Charles, 1983, p. 62
  2. ↑ "Marty Jones capture of British Heavy Middleweight title from Mark Rocco in Woking 13 September 1978". World Of Sport - Wrestling. ITV. 23 September 1978.
  3. ↑ "Alan Kilby capture of vacant British Heavy Middleweight title in tournament final over King Ben in Preston 7 October 1981". World Of Sport - Wrestling. ITV. 31 October 1981.
  4. 1 2 "Fit Finlay capture of British Heavy Middleweight title from Chic Cullen in Bradford 17 September 1987,". Professional Wrestling. ITV. 31 October 1987.
  5. ↑ "Champion vs Champion: British Light-heavyweight champion Marty Jones v British Heavy-Middleweight champion Mark Rocco"". Saturday 23 September - Friday 29 September 1978 - Saturday listings page. TVTimes.
  6. ↑ ""For the vacant British Heavy Middleweight championship: Alan Kilby v King Ben"". Saturday 7 October - Friday 13 October 1981 - Saturday listings page. TVTimes.
  7. ↑ ""British Heavy Middleweight Championship: Chic Cullen v Fit Finlay"". Saturday 31 October - Friday 6 November 1987 - Saturday listings page. TVTimes.
  8. ↑ Mayhem and Mystery, The Video Collection, VC2181, 1991
  9. ↑ The Best of British Wrestling A-Z (Bonus Feature: Forgotten Heroes) Granada Home Video 2006
  10. ↑ "British Heavy Middleweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  11. 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 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Europe - Great Britain: British Heavy Middleweight Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. p. 403. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
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