SSW Heavyweight Championship
Encyclopedia
The Southern States Wrestling (SSW) Heavyweight Championship is the primary professional wrestling
championship
in Southern States Wrestling
. It was first won by The Tennessee Equalizer
when he defeated George Hiatt in Elizabethton, Tennessee
on February 16, 1991. The title is generally defended in the Southern United States
, most often in its home base in East Tennessee
, but also as far away as Virginia
and West Virginia
. In August 2004, then champion Ray Idol began wrestling for rival promotion NWA Championship Wrestling. Although he was immediately stripped of the title, Idol continued defending a different NWA Championship Wrestling-version under the SSW name. However, this was short-lived and the title became a regular title within the main promotion. There are 31 recognized champions with a total of 48 title reigns.
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...
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...
in Southern States Wrestling
Southern States Wrestling
Southern States Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in eastern Tennessee. Founded by wrestler Beau James in early 1991, SSW succeeded Smoky Mountain Wrestling as the top promotion in eastern Tennessee following its close...
. It was first won by The Tennessee Equalizer
Glen Day
Glen Edward Day is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.Day was born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised in Poplarville, Mississippi, by his mother Jeanne Bass Day. Jeanne was widowed at the age of 28 when Glen was approximately 2 years of age. His grandfather Glyndol Bass, was...
when he defeated George Hiatt in Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton is the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site both of the first independent American government located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British American colonies.Elizabethton is also the...
on February 16, 1991. The title is generally defended in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, most often in its home base in East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
, but also as far away as Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. In August 2004, then champion Ray Idol began wrestling for rival promotion NWA Championship Wrestling. Although he was immediately stripped of the title, Idol continued defending a different NWA Championship Wrestling-version under the SSW name. However, this was short-lived and the title became a regular title within the main promotion. There are 31 recognized champions with a total of 48 title reigns.
Title history
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Equalizer Glen Day Glen Edward Day is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.Day was born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised in Poplarville, Mississippi, by his mother Jeanne Bass Day. Jeanne was widowed at the age of 28 when Glen was approximately 2 years of age. His grandfather Glyndol Bass, was... |
1 | February 16, 1991 | Elizabethton, Tennessee Elizabethton, Tennessee Elizabethton is the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site both of the first independent American government located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British American colonies.Elizabethton is also the... |
|
| Skyfire | 1 | July 12, 1991 | Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County in the US state of Tennessee. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County... |
|
| Stan Lee | 1 | October 31, 1991 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Wayne Rogers | 1 | July 7, 1992 | Fall Branch, Tennessee Fall Branch, Tennessee Fall Branch is a census-designated place in Washington and Greene counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 1,313 at the 2000 census.... |
|
| G.Q. Stratus | 1 | January 8, 1993 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Jimmy Golden Jimmy Golden James "Jimmy" Golden is an American professional wrestler, who is better known as Bunkhouse Buck.Golden has many relatives in wrestling: his cousins are Robert & Ron Fuller, his father is Billy Golden and his uncle is Buddy Fuller and his nephew is Eddie Golden. His grandfather is Roy Welch... |
1 | March 30, 1993 | Weber City, Virginia Weber City, Virginia Weber City is an incorporated town in Scott County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,327 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport–Bristol –Bristol Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined... |
|
| Wayne Rogers | 2 | July 23, 1993 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Mike Samson | 1 | February 26, 1994 | Morristown, Tennessee Morristown, Tennessee Morristown is a city in, and the county seat of, Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 29,137 at the 2010 United States Census. It is the principal city of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Grainger, Hamblen and Jefferson counties... |
|
| The Mongolian Stomper | 1 | May 6, 1994 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| The title is vacated on September 1994 when The Mongolian Stomper announces his retirement due to injury. | ||||
| Chic White | 1 | October 1, 1994 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Steve Flynn | 1 | January 6, 1995 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Mike Samson | 2 | March 21, 1995 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Steve Flynn | 2 | August 11, 1995 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Iron Man | 1 | October 7, 1995 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Eddie Bruiser | 1 | January 19, 1996 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Tennessee Equalizer | 2 | March 1, 1996 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Danny Christian | 1 | September 2, 1996 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| K.C. Thunder | 1 | October 5, 1996 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Dan Cooley | 1 | January 31, 1997 | Shawsville, Virginia Shawsville, Virginia Shawsville is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,310 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg–Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Montgomery County, Virginia and the city of... |
|
| Dan Cooley is stripped of the championship on April 9, 1997, and the title is declared vacant. | ||||
| Steve Flynn | 3 | May 2, 1997 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Steve Flynn is stripped of the championship when he fails to appear for a scheduled title defense in Fall Branch on September 1, 1997. The title is subsequently vacated. | ||||
| Johnny Thunder | 1 | September 1, 1997 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| The War Machine | 2 | October 25, 1997 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Ricky Harrison | 1 | December 13, 1997 | Mountain City, Tennessee | |
| Buddy Landel Buddy Landel William Ansor is a professional wrestler better knownas "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel.-Career:Buddy Landel started his career in 1979 as a young talented athlete in ICW. He left high school even though he had received letters of intent to play baseball and football at the University of Tennessee... |
1 | April 10, 1998 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Beau James | 1 | April 10, 1998 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Ricky Harrison | 2 | April 17, 1998 | Fall Branch, Tennessee | |
| Beau James | 2 | January 16, 1999 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Iron Cross | 1 | June 5, 1999 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| The War Machine | 3 | October 7, 1999 | Johnson City, Tennessee | |
| Tracy Smothers Tracy Smothers Tracy Smothers is an American professional wrestler.-Early career:Tracy started his career in the Memphis promotion on Saturday morning TV. Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers started teaming as The Southern Boys in Florida Championship Wrestling in 1987 where they feuded with The New Breed... |
1 | March 3, 2000 | Saltville, Virginia Saltville, Virginia As of the census of 2000, there were 2,204 people, 909 households, and 660 families residing in the town. The population density was 273.7 people per square mile . There were 1,003 housing units at an average density of 124.5 per square mile... |
|
| Iron Cross | 2 | September 9, 2000 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Stan Sierra | 1 | January 15, 2001 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Brian Overbay | 1 | January 26, 2001 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Steve Phillips | 1 | January 26, 2001 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Brian Overbay | 2 | February 10, 2001 | ||
| Ricky Harrison | 3 | June 1, 2001 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Beau James | 3 | December 25, 2001 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Heinrich Von Keller | 1 | July 2002 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Heinrich Von Keller is stripped of the championship when he is suspended for attacking a local television sponsor and the title is declared vacant on September 1, 2002. | ||||
| Jesse Taylor | 1 | October 15, 2002 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Scotty McKeever | 1 | December 25, 2003 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Jesse Taylor | 2 | February 2003 | Beaver, West Virginia Beaver, West Virginia Beaver is a census-designated place in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,308 at the 2010 census.The West Virginia community got its name around 1860 “from the great numbers of beavers abounding in the creeks during the early days of settlement,” according to “A... |
|
| Robbie Cassidy | 1 | May 9, 2003 | Greeneville, Tennessee Greeneville, Tennessee Greeneville is a town in Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 15,198 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Greene County. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. It is the only town with this spelling in the United States, although there... |
|
| Jesse Taylor | 3 | July 7, 2003 | Kingsport,Tennessee | |
| Brad Batten | 1 | September 4, 2003 | Kingsport,Tennessee | |
| Beau James | 4 | October 2003 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Ray Idol | 1 | January 2004 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| John Noble | 1 | August 7, 2004 | ||
| Beau James | 5 | October 3, 2004 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Danny Ray | 1 | March 25, 2005 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |