NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship
| GCW Georgia Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Previous version of the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||
| Promotion |
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| Date established | August 9, 1964 | ||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Terry Lawler | ||||||||||
| Date won | September 30, 2023 | ||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||
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The GCW Heavyweight Championship is the major title in the Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It started in 1964 and was unified in 1981 with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship.
The title was picked back up in 1998 by NWA Georgia, which became NWA Wildside in September 1999 when it merged with National Championship Wrestling. Along with this change, the championship became known as the NWA Wildside Heavyweight Championship. The title continued until Wildside ceased operations on April 30, 2005.
In 2012, NWA Action (later renamed NWA Atlanta) picked up the title and restored its original name. Cru Jones won the reactivated title by defeating Steve Stiles on June 23, 2012, in Stockbridge, Georgia, and vacated it in 2013. It was either unified with the Atlanta Heavyweight Championship in June 2015 or retired in February 2016.
Under the resurrection of Georgia Championship Wrestling, an announcement was made that the Georgia Heavyweight Championship would be revived and a new champion crowned on April 24, 2021.
Title history
[edit]Names
[edit]| Name | Time of use |
|---|---|
| NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship | February 5, 1963 – September 9, 1981 |
| NWA Wildside Heavyweight Championship | September 1999 – April 30, 2005 |
| NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship | June 23, 2012 – June 15, 2017 |
| GCW Georgia Heavyweight Championship | April 24, 2021 – present |
Reigns
[edit]| Wrestler | Count | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship | ||||
| John Mauldin * | 1 | 1938 | Reported on an Atlanta program in July 1938 as having "recently" retired as champion. | |
| Choo-Choo Lynn | 1 | February 5, 1963 | Recognized in Macon. | |
| Honey Boy Hannigan | 1 | July 23, 1963 | Macon, GA | |
| Choo-Choo Lynn | 2 | July 30, 1963 | Macon, GA | |
| Dick the Bruiser | 1 | March 24, 1964 | ||
| Sputnik Monroe | 1 | August 9, 1964 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Don Fargo | 1 | September 25, 1964 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Sputnik Monroe | 2 | October 16, 1964 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mario Galento | 1 | November 13, 1964 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Buddy Fuller | 1 | May 28, 1965 | Atlanta, GA | [1] |
| Louie Tillet | 1 | May 27, 1966 | ||
| Buddy Fuller | 2 | June 17, 1966 | Atlanta, GA | |
| El Mongol | 1 | February 24, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Nick Kozak | 1 | March 17, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| El Mongol | 2 | April 7, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Buddy Fuller | 3 | April 28, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| El Mongol | 3 | June 16, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Tim Woods | 1 | July 11, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| El Mongol | 4 | July 18, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Tim Woods | 2 | August 11, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | [2] |
| El Mongol | 5 | September 8, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Bobby Shane | 1 | September 29, 1967 | ||
| El Mongol | 6 | October 10, 1967 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Tim Woods | 3 | May 3, 1968 | Atlanta, GA | Wins a title under a mask calling himself the Big O; Unmask on May 24, 1968. |
| The Big O | 1 | May 10, 1968 | Atlanta, GA | [3] |
| Tarzan Tyler | 1 | June 14, 1968 | Atlanta, GA | |
| The Professional | 1 | August 23, 1968 | Atlanta, GA | |
| The Big O | 2 | November 8, 1968 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Held up | November 29, 1968 | Atlanta, GA | After a match against with The Professional. | |
| The Professional | 2 | December 6, 1968 | Atlanta, GA | Defeated Valentine in a rematch to win vacant title. |
| Dale Lewis | 1 | December 27, 1968 | Atlanta, GA | |
| El Mongol | 7 | February 7, 1969 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Assassin #1 | 1 | March 21, 1969 | ||
| El Mongol | 8 | April 15, 1969 | Atlanta, GA | |
| The Professional | 3 | May 16, 1969 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Paul DeMarco | 1 | June 21, 1969 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Joe Scarpa | 1 | September 19, 1969 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Paul DeMarco | 2 | October 3, 1969 | Atlanta, GA | |
| The Professional | 4 | November 28, 1969 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Vacated | February 18, 1970 | After The Professional was injured. | ||
| Assassin #2 | 1 | March 13, 1970 | Atlanta, GA | Defeated Joe Scarpa in an 8-man tournament final to win the vacant title. |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 1 | April 17, 1970 | Atlanta, GA | [4] |
| Paul DeMarco | 3 | July 17, 1970 | Atlanta, GA | [5] |
| Nick Bockwinkel | 2 | July 24, 1970 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Buddy Colt | 1 | September 4, 1970 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Fred Blassie | 1 | November 13, 1970 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Buddy Colt | 2 | November 20, 1970 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Ray Gunkel | 1 | November 27, 1970 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Vacated | November 30, 1970 | When Buddy Colt and Homer O'Dell file an appeal. | ||
| El Mongol | 9 | February 5, 1971 | Atlanta, GA | Defeated Nick Bockwinkel in a 14-man tournament final to win the vacant title. |
| Buddy Colt | 3 | June 18, 1971 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Ray Gunkel | 2 | July 20, 1971 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Buddy Colt | 4 | January 1972 | ||
| El Mongol | 10 | January 25, 1972 | ||
| Buddy Colt | 5 | April 8, 1972 | Griffin, GA | |
| Roberto Soto | 1 | May 5, 1972 | [6] | |
| Vacated | November 1972 | When Soto jumps to the All South Wrestling Alliance. | ||
| Mr. Wrestling II | 1 | March 2, 1973 | Atlanta, GA | Defeated Sputnik Monroe in a 16-man tournament final to win the vacant title. |
| Bill Watts | 1 | May 11, 1973 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mr. Wrestling II | 2 | July 13, 1973 | ||
| Bill Watts | 2 | July 21, 1973 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Stripped | August 17, 1973 | After Watts deliberately gets disqualified in a defense against Mr. Wrestling II. | ||
| Mr. Wrestling II | 3 | August 31, 1973 | Defeated Watts in a rematch to win the title. | |
| Bill Watts | 3 | November 2, 1973 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Ron Fuller | 1 | December 21, 1973 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mr. Wrestling II | 4 | January 11, 1974 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Buddy Colt | 6 | July 5, 1974 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mr. Wrestling II | 5 | August 30, 1974 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Harley Race | 1 | September 13, 1974 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Don Muraco | 1 | September 21, 1974 | ||
| Held Up | October 4, 1974 | After match with Buddy Colt. | ||
| Luke Graham | 1 | October 8, 1974 | Atlanta, GA | Won a tournament to win the vacant title. |
| Buddy Colt | 7 | October 11, 1974 | Atlanta, GA | Won a battle royal to win the title. |
| Held up | November 15, 1974 | Atlanta, GA | In a following match against Rocky Johnson. | |
| Rocky Johnson | 1 | December 6, 1974 | Atlanta, GA | Defeated Colt in a rematch. |
| Abdullah the Butcher | 1 | February 21, 1975 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mr. Wrestling II | 6 | July 4, 1975 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Abdullah the Butcher | 2 | July 11, 1975 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Toru Tanaka | 1 | August 7, 1975 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mike McCord | 1 | September 16, 1975 | ||
| Nikolai Volkoff | 1 | September 23, 1975 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mr. Wrestling II | 7 | October 3, 1975 | Atlanta, GA | |
| The Spoiler | 1 | November 27, 1975 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Dusty Rhodes | 1 | January 30, 1976 | Atlanta, GA | |
| The Spoiler | 2 | February 6, 1976 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Dick Slater | 1 | August 20, 1976 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mr. Wrestling II | 8 | October 26, 1976 | Columbus, GA | |
| Dick Slater | 2 | November 25, 1976 | Columbus, GA | |
| Paul Jones | 1 | April 15, 1977 | ||
| Dick Slater | 3 | June 4, 1977 | ||
| Mr. Wrestling II | 9 | July 22, 1977 | ||
| Stan Hansen | 1 | November 16, 1977 | ||
| Mr. Wrestling II | 10 | January 25, 1978 | ||
| Stan Hansen | 2 | February 6, 1978 | ||
| Stripped | May 20, 1978 | When attacking the referee after a match with Mr. Wrestling II. | ||
| Angelo Mosca | 1 | June 9, 1978 | Atlanta, GA | Won a one night 14-man tournament to win the vacant title. |
| Stripped | May 20, 1978 | After a match with Thunderbolt Patterson. | ||
| Mr. Wrestling II | 11 | October 16, 1978 | Augusta, GA | Defeated Stan Hansen in a one night 6-man tournament final. |
| Masked Superstar | 1 | December 4, 1978 | Augusta, GA | |
| Wahoo McDaniel | 1 | May 14, 1979 | Augusta, GA | |
| Masked Superstar | 2 | July 30, 1979 | Augusta, GA | |
| Wahoo McDaniel | 2 | August 17, 1979 | Augusta, GA | |
| Vacated | August 18, 1979 | After double pin in a match with Masked Superstar. | ||
| Killer Karl Kox | 1 | August 24, 1979 | Augusta, GA | Defeats Bob Armstrong in a one night 14-man tournament final. |
| Tommy Rich | 1 | October 26, 1979 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Masked Superstar | 3 | December 7, 1979 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Mr. Wrestling II | 12 | January 12, 1980 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Austin Idol | 2 | March 29, 1980 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Baron von Raschke | 1 | June 8, 1980 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Steve Keirn | 1 | August 11, 1980 | ||
| Dennis Condrey | 1 | September 8, 1980 | ||
| Tony Atlas | 1 | October 24, 1980 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Vacated | April 1981 | When Tony Atlas leaves Georgia. | ||
| Tommy Rich | 2 | May 17, 1981 | Atlanta, GA | Defeated Greg Valentine in a tournament final to win the vacant title. |
| Ken Patera | 1 | June 12, 1981 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Tommy Rich | 3 | August 9, 1981 | Atlanta, GA | Defeated Masked Superstar to win the vacant title when Patera leaves the area after a dispute with booker Ole Anderson. |
| Masked Superstar | 4 | September 12, 1981 | Atlanta, GA | |
| Retired | September 13, 1981 | Atlanta, GA | Unified with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. | |
| Billy Black | 1 | June 1, 1998 | Awarded the title when it is revived by NWA Georgia. | |
| Lord Humongous | 1 | February 25, 1999 | Loganville, GA | |
| Silky Boom Boom | 1 | April 5, 1999 | Loganville, GA | |
| Frenchy Riviera | 1 | May 6, 1999 | Loganville, GA | |
| Silky Boom Boom | 2 | June 2, 1999 | Conyers, GA | |
| Bart Sawyer | 1 | June 27, 1999 | Stockbridge, GA | |
| Vacated | October 1999 | |||
| NWA Wildside Heavyweight Championship. | ||||
| Rick Michaels | 1 | October 14, 1999 | Loganville, GA | Last eliminated Dusty Dotson in a Mega Rumble match to win the vacant title. |
| Vacated | January 2000 | |||
| Rukkus | 1 | February 5, 2000 | Cornelia, GA | Won the title in a Mega Rumble match. |
| Stone Mountain | 1 | April 15, 2000 | Cornelia, GA | Defeated Mark E. Mark, who subbed for Rukkus. |
| Prince Justice | 1 | May 5, 2001 | Cornelia, GA | |
| Scott Wrenn | 1 | September 1, 2001 | Cornelia, GA | |
| Rick Michaels | 2 | October 19, 2001 | Cornelia, GA | |
| A.J. Styles | 1 | December 22, 2001 | Cornelia, GA | [7] |
| David Young | 1 | March 23, 2002 | Cornelia, GA | Defeated Styles and Rick Michaels in a three-way elimination match. |
| Jason Cross | 1 | June 1, 2002 | Cornelia, GA | |
| Adam Jacobs | 1 | June 29, 2002 | Cornelia, GA | Won a gauntlet steel cage match, last eliminating A.J. Styles. |
| David Young | 2 | August 2, 2002 | Cornelia, GA | Defeated John Phoenix when Jacobs no-showed. |
| Iceberg | 1 | September 22, 2002 | Cornelia, GA | |
| Hotstuff Hernandez | 1 | July 5, 2003 | Cornelia, GA | |
| Onyx | 1 | October 25, 2003 | Cornelia, GA | |
| Jason Cross | 2 | September 4, 2004 | Cornelia, GA | |
| Ray Gordy | 1 | December 4, 2004[8] | Cornelia, GA | |
| Onyx | 2 | December 4, 2004[8] | Cornelia, GA | |
| Rainman | 1 | March 26, 2005 | Cornelia, GA | Defeated Onyx and Ray Gordy in a three-way match. |
| Onyx | 3 | April 30, 2005 | Cornelia, GA | Final champion. |
| Retired | April 30, 2005 | Cornelia, GA | When NWA Wildside closes. | |
| NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship. | ||||
| Cru Jones | 1 | June 23, 2012 | Stockbridge, GA | Defeats Steve Stiles to be recognized by NWA Action when title is revived. |
| Vacated | September 2013 | |||
| Andy Anderson | 1 | October 26, 2013 | Stockbridge, GA | Defeats Pain in 32-man tournament final. |
| Tyson Dean | 1 | December 14, 2013 | Griffin, GA | |
| Odinson | 1 | April 25, 2015 | Griffin, GA | Replaces Shane Marx, who is injured during the match to defeats Tyson Dean. |
| Tommy Too Much | 1 | June 27, 2015 | Stockbridge, GA | Reigning NWA Atlanta Heavyweight Champion, defeats Odinson in a unification match. |
| Mike Pain | 1 | August 13, 2016 | Dudley, GA | Recognized as champion by NWA Georgia after NWA Atlanta closes operations |
| Logan Creed | 1 | October 1, 2016 | Columbus, GA | |
| Damien Wayne | 1 | July 15, 2017 | Columbus, GA | NWA ends licenses with promotions worldwide. Title declared vacant |
| GCW Georgia Heavyweight Championship | ||||
| Terry Lawler | 1 | April 24, 2021 | Buckhead, GA | Title is revived under the new GCW. Lawler wins a 20 man Rumble match to win the vacated championship. Last eliminating Shawn Hunter |
| Shawn Hunter | 1 | July 24, 2021 | Buckhead, GA | |
| Charlie Anarchy | 1 | April 30, 2022 | Buckhead, GA | |
| Chop Top | 1 | July 30, 2022 | Buckhead, GA | |
| Hunter James | 1 | March 25, 2023 | Buckhead, GA | |
| Terry Lawler | 2 | September 30, 2023 | Buckhead, GA | |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ F4W Staff (May 28, 2015). "ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (MAY 28): HULK HOGAN VS. NICK BOCKWINKEL, BRUNO VS. SUPERSTAR GRAHAM DOUBLE DQ". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hoops, Brian (August 11, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (August 11): Verne Gagne vs. Lou Thesz for AWA title, first ever G1 final". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (May 10, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history: Gagne retires as AWA champion, Austin's ex-wife beats Lesnar's wife for WWF title, Steamboat & Youngblood, Thesz Vs Rogers". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (July 17, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history, Kangaroos, Gagne vs. Kiniski in Hawaii, Gordy wins Triple Crown, Hogan wins WCW title from Flair at Bash at the Beach, famous Punk vs. Cena Chicago bout". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ F4W Staff (May 5, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 5): Bruno Vs. Gorilla in Puerto Rico, 2nd annual Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ John Milner (February 18, 2005). "Bio: A.J. Styles". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "Independent Wrestling Results - December 2004". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2008-07-05.