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==Title history== |
==Title history== |
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''†Title changes not officially recognized by the American Wrestling Association.'' |
''†Title changes not officially recognized by the American Wrestling Association.'' |
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Revision as of 12:12, 24 March 2011
Title history
†Title changes not officially recognized by the American Wrestling Association.
| # | Wrestler | Reigns | Date | Days held: | Location | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
Pat O'Connor | 1
|
May 18, 1960
|
90 | St. Louis, MO | Live event | Held NWA World Heavyweight Championship, won on January 9, 1959 in St. Louis, Missouri; recognized as the first AWA World Champion in May 1960, but was given 90 days to defend the title against Verne Gagne or be stripped of the title. |
2
|
Verne Gagne | 1
|
August 16, 1960
|
329 | N/A | N/A | Awarded after O'Connor failed to defend the title. |
3
|
Gene Kiniski | 1
|
July 11, 1961
|
28 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | |
4
|
Verne Gagne | 2
|
August 8, 1961
|
154 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | |
5
|
Mr. M | 1
|
January 9, 1962
|
224 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | |
6
|
Verne Gagne | 3
|
August 21, 1962
|
322 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | |
7
|
The Crusher | 1
|
July 9, 1963
|
11 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | Also won Omaha version of World Heavyweight Championship from Verne Gagne on February 15, 1963 in Omaha, Nebraska. |
8
|
Verne Gagne | 4
|
July 20, 1963
|
7 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | Wins both the AWA title and the Omaha title. |
9
|
Fritz Von Erich | 1
|
July 27, 1963
|
12 | Omaha, NE | Live event | Wins both the AWA title and the Omaha title. |
10
|
Verne Gagne | 5
|
August 8, 1963
|
100 | Amarillo, TX | Live event | Wins AWA title only; also wins Omaha title from Fritz Von Erich on September 7, 1963 in Omaha, NE to unify the titles. |
11
|
The Crusher | 2
|
November 16, 1963
|
28 | St. Paul, MN | Live event | |
12
|
Verne Gagne | 6
|
December 14, 1963
|
140 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | |
13
|
Mad Dog Vachon | 1
|
May 2, 1964
|
14 | Omaha, NE | Live event | |
14
|
Verne Gagne | 7
|
May 16, 1964
|
157 | Omaha, NE | Live event | |
15
|
Mad Dog Vachon | 2
|
October 20, 1964
|
207 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | |
16
|
Mighty Igor Vodic | 1
|
May 15, 1965
|
7 | Omaha, NE | Live event | |
17
|
Mad Dog Vachon | 3
|
May 22, 1965
|
91 | Omaha, NE | Live event | |
18
|
The Crusher | 3
|
August 21, 1965
|
83 | St. Paul, MN | Live event | |
19
|
Mad Dog Vachon | 4
|
November 12, 1965
|
365 | Denver, CO | Live event | |
-
|
Tim Woods | 1
†
|
January 8, 1966
|
6 | Omaha, NE | Live event | AWA president Stanley Blackburn reviews the match from January 8, 1966 and declares it "no contenst" on January 14, 1966 since Woods' legs are on the rope while pinning Vachon during the final fall. |
-
|
Mad Dog Vachon | 4
(5)
|
January 14, 1966
|
302 | Omaha, NE | Live event | Vachon defeats Woods in a rematch on January 14, 1966. |
20
|
Dick The Bruiser | 1
|
November 12, 1966
|
7 | Omaha, NE | Live event | |
21
|
Mad Dog Vachon | 5
(6)
|
November 19, 1966
|
99 | Omaha, NE | Live event | |
22
|
Verne Gagne | 8
|
February 26, 1967
|
538 | St. Paul, MN | Live event | |
23
|
Dr. X | 1
|
August 17, 1968
|
14 | Bloomington, MN | Live event | |
24
|
Verne Gagne | 9
|
August 31, 1968
|
2625 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | |
25
|
Nick Bockwinkel | 1
|
November 8, 1975
|
1714 | St. Paul, MN | Live event | Wrestled WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund to a double count-out on March 25, 1979 in Toronto, ON. |
26
|
Verne Gagne | 10
|
July 18, 1980
|
305 | Chicago, IL | Live event | Gagne retired from active wrestling while still the champion. |
27
|
Nick Bockwinkel | 2
|
May 19, 1981
|
467 | N/A | N/A | Awarded the title when Gagne retired. |
-
|
Hulk Hogan | 1
†
|
April 18, 1982
|
6 | St. Paul, MN | Live event | Hogan's victory was overturned by AWA President Stanley Blackburn on April 24, 1982 as a result of the use of a foreign object by Hogan on Bockwinkel in the course of the bout, with Hogan's reign being unrecognized. |
-
|
Nick Bockwinkel | 2
(3)
|
April 24, 1982
|
127 | N/A | N/A | Returned to Bockwinkel by AWA president Stanley Blackburn due to the involvement of a foreign object in the match. Since Hogan was never recognized as a champion, Bockwinkel was only recognized as a two-time champion. |
28
|
Otto Wanz | 1
|
August 29, 1982
|
41 | St. Paul, MN | Live event | |
29
|
Nick Bockwinkel | 3
(4)
|
October 9, 1982
|
501 | Chicago, IL | Live event | |
-
|
Jerry Lawler | 1
†
|
December 27, 1982
|
14 | Memphis, TN | Live event | Title held up after the match. |
-
|
Nick Bockwinkel | 3
(5)
|
January 10, 1983
|
408 | Memphis, TN | Live event | Defeats Lawler in a rematch. |
-
|
Hulk Hogan | 2
†
|
April 24, 1983
|
0 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | Hogan's victory was overturned by Stanley Blackburn immediately following the bout, with Hogan's reign unrecognised. |
-
|
Nick Bockwinkel | 3
(6)
|
April 24, 1983
|
304 | Minneapolis, MN | Live event | After the match Blackburn came down to the ring and tried to have Hogan disqualified for having thrown Bockwinkel over the top rope, but since this was a no disqualification match, Blackburn simply stripped Hogan of the belt and again returned it to Bockwinkel. Understandably upset at the way he had been treated, Hogan left the AWA shortly thereafter. Neither of the Hogan's wins were officially recognized by the AWA. |
30
|
Jumbo Tsuruta | 1
|
February 22, 1984
|
81 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | |
31
|
Rick Martel | 1
|
May 13, 1984
|
595 | St. Paul, MN | Live event | Wrestled NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair to a double count-out on October 2, 1985 in Tokyo, Japan. |
32
|
Stan Hansen | 1
|
December 29, 1985
|
181 | East Rutherford, NJ | Live event | |
33
|
Nick Bockwinkel | 4
(7)
|
June 28, 1986
|
308 | Denver, CO | Live event | Awarded when Hansen left the AWA. |
34
|
Curt Hennig | 1
|
May 2, 1987
|
373 | San Francisco, CA | SuperClash 2 | Title 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 (perhaps learning from their mistakes with Hogan) rules that there was no evidence of interference. |
35
|
Jerry Lawler | 1
(2)
|
May 9, 1988
|
256 | Memphis, TN | Live event | Lawler defeated Kerry Von Erich on December 13, 1988 in Chicago to win the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship, and become the first USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship. |
-
|
Vacated | -
|
January 20, 1989
|
0 | N/A | N/A | Lawler was stripped of the title after the Continental Wrestling Association split from the AWA. |
36
|
Larry Zbyszko | 1
|
February 7, 1989
|
368 | St. Paul, MN | Live event | Zbyszko won a battle royal, last eliminating Tom Zenk. |
37
|
Mr. Saito | 1
|
February 10, 1990
|
57 | Tokyo, Japan | Live event | |
38
|
Larry Zbyszko | 2
|
April 8, 1990
|
248 | St. Paul, MN | SuperClash 4 | |
-
|
Title retired | -
|
December 12, 1990
|
0 | N/A | N/A | Title stripped when Zbyszko left the inactive AWA for WCW. The AWA closed in 1991. |