List of early world heavyweight champions in professional wrestling
Encyclopedia
The World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship was the first recognized professional wrestling
world heavyweight championship
created in 1905 to identify the best catch as catch can
professional wrestler
in the world. The first recognized World Heavyweight Champion was Georg Hackenschmidt
, who officially won the championship on May 4, 1905 by defeating Tom Jenkins
in New York City, New York
, The championship remained active for the next 51 years with the last recognized reign beginning on November 9, 1956.
Several of the championship reigns are also recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA) under the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
's lineage. World Wrestling Entertainment
's (WWE) current two World Heavyweight Championships (the WWE Championship
and the World Heavyweight Championship
) lineages can also be traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship.
The WWE Championship's origin can be traced back to the NWA Championship after an incident in which the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) at the time left the NWA after refusing to recognize Lou Thesz
as NWA Champion after he beat Buddy Rogers in a one fall match — The NWA World Title matches usually followed a best-of-three fall format — Vincent J. McMahon
, the WWWF's owner created the WWWF Championship and awarded Rogers the belt proclaiming he won it in a (apocrypha
l) tournament in Brazil
. The WWE's World Heavyweight Championship was subsequently
created after then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
became exclusive to the SmackDown Brand
.
WWE's World Heavyweight Championship is a successor to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as well as being spun-off from the WWE Championship.
The now defunct World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling
(ECW) were also home to World Heavyweight Championships with origins that can also be traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship. In WCW, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
s origin is traced back to a match which took place on January 11, 1991 where Ric Flair
defeated Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, when WCW pulled out of the NWA in early 1991 Flair was recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
can be traced back to an incident in WCW's final split with the NWA in 1993, Flair's NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign was continued to be recognized with the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship.
In ECW, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
's origin is attributed to a tournament which was held to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1994 in NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling
although its inaugural champion was Jimmy Snuka
who won it two years prior. On August 27, 1994 Shane Douglas
participated and won the tournament and discarded the NWA World Heavyweight Championship proclaiming himself the new Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion despite having won the Championship five months prior, because of this event ECW withdrew from the NWA and renamed itself Extreme Championship Wrestling. The championship was also competed for on the ECW brand of WWE.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
's (TNA) World Heavyweight Championship (the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
) can also be traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship. TNA formed in May 2002 and formed a partnership with the NWA, allowing TNA control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship
. On June 19, 2002 TNA crowned the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion under their banner, after Ken Shamrock
won a Gauntlet for the Gold
match at TNA's first Weekly Pay-per-view
. On May 13, 2007 NWA severed ties with TNA after the then-current NWA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage
and the then-current NWA World Tag Team Champions Team 3D
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon) after Christian Cage refused to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against wrestlers from the NWA territories. The TNA World Heavyweight Championship was first won by Kurt Angle
who won it at TNA Sacrifice by defeating Christian Cage
and Sting.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
world heavyweight championship
Championship (professional wrestling)
A Championship or "title" in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations.Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries...
created in 1905 to identify the best catch as catch can
Catch wrestling
Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnivals who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
in the world. The first recognized World Heavyweight Champion was Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt was an early 20th-century Estonian strongman and professional wrestler, and the first free-style heavyweight champion of the world. He launched his professional career in Russia and lived most of his life in London, England, where he gained the nickname of 'The...
, who officially won the championship on May 4, 1905 by defeating Tom Jenkins
Tom Jenkins (wrestler)
Tom Jenkins was an American catch wrestler who held the American Heavyweight Championship three times around the turn of the 20th century...
in New York City, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, The championship remained active for the next 51 years with the last recognized reign beginning on November 9, 1956.
Several of the championship reigns are also recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA) under the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
's lineage. World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's (WWE) current two World Heavyweight Championships (the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
and the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
) lineages can also be traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship.
The WWE Championship's origin can be traced back to the NWA Championship after an incident in which the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) at the time left the NWA after refusing to recognize Lou Thesz
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was a United States professional wrestler and 18-time world heavyweight champion, most notably holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days , longer than anyone else in history...
as NWA Champion after he beat Buddy Rogers in a one fall match — The NWA World Title matches usually followed a best-of-three fall format — Vincent J. McMahon
Vincent J. McMahon
Vincent James "Vince" McMahon, better known as Vince McMahon, Sr. was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for founding the American promotion, World Wide Wrestling Federation, which is now known as WWE.-Early life:Vincent James McMahon was born on July 6, 1914 in Harlem,...
, the WWWF's owner created the WWWF Championship and awarded Rogers the belt proclaiming he won it in a (apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
l) tournament in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The WWE's World Heavyweight Championship was subsequently
Subsequence
In mathematics, a subsequence is a sequence that can be derived from another sequence by deleting some elements without changing the order of the remaining elements...
created after then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
became exclusive to the SmackDown Brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
.
WWE's World Heavyweight Championship is a successor to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as well as being spun-off from the WWE Championship.
The now defunct World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
(ECW) were also home to World Heavyweight Championships with origins that can also be traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship. In WCW, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation . It existed within WCW between 1991 and 2001. Following the acquisition of WCW by World Wrestling...
s origin is traced back to a match which took place on January 11, 1991 where Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
defeated Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, when WCW pulled out of the NWA in early 1991 Flair was recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
The World Championship Wrestling International World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Championship Wrestling . "WCW International" referred to a fictional international subsidiary of World Championship Wrestling...
can be traced back to an incident in WCW's final split with the NWA in 1993, Flair's NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign was continued to be recognized with the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship.
In ECW, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
's origin is attributed to a tournament which was held to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1994 in NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
although its inaugural champion was Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
who won it two years prior. On August 27, 1994 Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
participated and won the tournament and discarded the NWA World Heavyweight Championship proclaiming himself the new Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion despite having won the Championship five months prior, because of this event ECW withdrew from the NWA and renamed itself Extreme Championship Wrestling. The championship was also competed for on the ECW brand of WWE.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
's (TNA) World Heavyweight Championship (the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is currently the highest ranked championship in TNA and is primarily defended in TNA's heavyweight division...
) can also be traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship. TNA formed in May 2002 and formed a partnership with the NWA, allowing TNA control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship
NWA World Tag Team Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship is the professional wrestling world tag team championship within the NWA framework.-History:...
. On June 19, 2002 TNA crowned the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion under their banner, after Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
won a Gauntlet for the Gold
Gauntlet for the Gold
The Gauntlet match as defined by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is a battle royal-style match. When it involves title implications, such as a title on the line or contendership for a title, it is called a Gauntlet for the Gold...
match at TNA's first Weekly Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
. On May 13, 2007 NWA severed ties with TNA after the then-current NWA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage
Jason Reso
William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage...
and the then-current NWA World Tag Team Champions Team 3D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
(Brother Ray and Brother Devon) after Christian Cage refused to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against wrestlers from the NWA territories. The TNA World Heavyweight Championship was first won by Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
who won it at TNA Sacrifice by defeating Christian Cage
Jason Reso
William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage...
and Sting.
Title history
Key| Reign | The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed |
| # | Indicates what number the reign is |
| Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the titles were won |
| N/A | The information is not available or is unknown |
| # | Wrestlers | Reign | Date | Location | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hackenscmidt won a world championship tournament to become the first champion. Hackenschmidt won several other tournaments in Paris, France; Hamburg, Germany; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Elberfeld, Germany; and Berlin, Germany in the same year. He also won the European Greco-Roman Championship title from Tom Cannon Tom Cannon Tom Cannon is Professor of Strategic Development at the University of Liverpool Management School. He is considered to be an expert on Sports finance, economics and business notably professional sports like soccer, F1, cricket, rugby , tennis, horse-racing, American football and is often featured... on September 4, 1902 in Liverpool, England. He won the recognition of being the World Heavyweight Champion on January 30, 1904 in London, England by defeating Ahmed Madrali. Hackenschmidt defeated American Heavyweight Champion, Tom Jenkins, on May 4, 1905 in New York City, New York to become the recognized World Champion in North America. |
||||||
| Gotch held the title for five years until April 1, 1913. He was the fifth longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion in history behind Bruno Sammartino Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino is an Italian-American former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign... , Lou Thesz Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was a United States professional wrestler and 18-time world heavyweight champion, most notably holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days , longer than anyone else in history... , Verne Gagne Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne , is a retired American professional wrestler, football player, and professional wrestling trainer and promoter. He was the former owner/promoter of the American Wrestling Association , based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was the predominant promotion throughout... (who all held their World Titles for over seven years) and Bob Backlund Bob Backlund Robert Lee "Bob" Backlund is an American professional wrestler with an in ring career that spanned over 30 years. Over that time, he went on to become a two-time WWWF/WWF Champion... (who held his for nearly six years). |
||||||
| Stecher defeated Charlie Cutler to become the first widely recognized world heavyweight champion after the retirement of Frank Gotch. | ||||||
| Though Zbyszko defeated Munn to win the championship, Munn continued to be recognized as World Heavyweight Champion in Michigan and in Illinois. | ||||||
| Lewis defeats Wayne Munn on February 2, 1928 in Michigan City, Indiana for the Michigan/Illonois World Heavyweight Championship version. Lewis defeats Stecher on February 21, 1928 to end the dispute. | ||||||
| The recognition of being the World Heavyweight Champion was withdrawn from Gus Sonnenberg by the wrestling section of the National Boxing Association in 1929 for failing to meet real title contenders. | ||||||
| Lewis lost the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship AWA World Heavyweight Championship The American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association. All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, are now owned by WWE... by disqualification to Henri Deglane Henri Deglane Henri Deglane was a French wrestler. He was an Olympic Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling and a world champion professional wrestler.-Olympics:... on May 4, 1931 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but still recognized as World Heavyweight Champion in Illinois. Lewis also defeated the title claimer, Wladek Zbyszko Wladek Zbyszko Wladek Zbyszko , real name Wladyslaw Cyganiewicz, was a Polish professional wrestler and strongman. He is the brother of Stanislaus Zbyszko... , on November 2, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois for the title. Lewis continued to win the New York State Athletic Commission World Title by defeating Jack Sherry on October 10, 1932. |
||||||
| O'Mahoney defeated Jim Londos to win the New York State Athletic Commission World Title. Mahoney continues to win Boston's American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title by defeating Ed Don George (who had beat Deglane on February 9, 1933) on July 30, 1935 in Boston, Massachusetts to become the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. | ||||||
| On April 29, 1936 it was announced by the New York Times that Ali Baba would not be recognized as World Heavyweight Champion in the New York State by The New York Athletic Commission however it was announced that Ali Baba and Dave Shikat would face each other on May 5, 1936 at Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the... for the World Heavyweight Championship. Ali Baba went on to win the professional wrestling bout and thus be recognized as the World Heavyweight Champion. |
||||||
| Detton defeated Ed Lewis in a tournament final to win the title. | ||||||
| Nagurski was recognized as the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion by "The Ring" magazine. | ||||||
| Londos retires as World Heavyweight Champion in 1946. | ||||||
| Thesz unified 3 championships to become the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship World Heavyweight Championship (National Wrestling Association) The World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship of the National Wrestling Association , an offshoot of the National Boxing Association... which he won on July 20, 1948 by defeating Bill Longson Bill Longson William Longson was a professional wrestler, who spent most of his career in St. Louis, Missouri under the ring name "Wild Bill" Longson... , the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship NWA World Heavyweight Championship The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and... which was awarded to him on November 27, 1949, and the Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium World Heavyweight Championship which he won on May 21, 1952 by defeating Baron Michele Leon. |
||||||
| Watson defeated Lou Thesz by Count Out to win the world title. | ||||||
| Édouard Carpentier Édouard Carpentier Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz was a Québécois professional wrestler better known by his ring name Édouard Carpentier. In a career that spanned from the 1950s into the 1970s, he garnered several world championships.-Early life:... defeated Lou Thesz by disqualification on June 14, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois when Thesz cannot continue the match due to a back injury. The NWA rules states that a title cannot change on a Disqualification and Carpentier gives the title back to Thesz. Edouard Carpentier was then recognized as World Heavyweight Champion in Omaha, Nebraska and in Boston, Massachusetts. He was then later recognized as the World Heavyweight Champion by the World Wrestling Association in Los Angeles, California WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version) The WWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Los Angeles-based World Wrestling Association... . This was the last time the World Heavyweight Title has been unified and to date has never been fully unified again. The Omaha version of the World Title was later unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship of Boston. Lou Thesz defeated Edouard Carpentier in a rematch by disqualification on July 24, 1957 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for the title. |
See also
- World Heavyweight Championship (professional wrestling)
- Championship (professional wrestling)Championship (professional wrestling)A Championship or "title" in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations.Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries...
External links
- The Early World Heavyweight Championship on Wrestling-Titles.com