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Abandoned: The History of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship

Kyle Schadler

For this very special edition of Abandoned, I present the AWA World Heavyweight Championship!

The American Wrestling Association was founded in 1960, but before that, they were a part of the National Wrestling Alliance much like WWE was in the early days. Known as NWA Minneapolis, the top star in the territory was Verne Gagne.

The NWA was all about territories back then with the NWA World Heavyweight champion travelling from territory to territory defending the title. Minneapolis wanted Gagne to be the champion, but the NWA would not agree. In response, Gagne and Wally Karbo, who ran the territory, broke ties with the NWA to form the AWA.

For 30 years, the AWA sold itself on technical wrestling and expanded to cities like Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas and San Francisco, while also up in Canada. The AWA also saw the rise of Hulk Hogan in the early 1980s, but after he and many other top talent like Adrian Adonis and Bobby Heenan jumped to the WWF, now WWE, the AWA began to decline.

Throughout the 1980s, the WWF ditched being a northeastern region and started to become the national entity that it is today.  When WCW was officially formed, the AWA fell behind further and became inactive in 1990.

The company would close its doors in 1991, and is now owned by WWE.

The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was established when the company formed with then-NWA champion Pat O’Connor being recognized as champion. The title has seen a total 38 champions throughout its 30 years of existence, so let’s get started!

I know I said that the ROH World Tag Team and Television Championships would be next, but the tag titles are taking a lot of time to do.

Due to some teams only being together for a short time, their career highlights are very short, so I had to go back to the old way of doing the series so the slides aren’t bare. It’s taking time, but as soon as it’s finished, it’ll be online.

Pat O’Connor

Defeated: Recognized

When: May 18, 1960

Where: St. Louis, Mo.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 90 days

At the time, the National Wrestling Alliance wouldn’t grant Verne Gagne a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Due to that, Minneapolis and some other territories broke away from the NWA and formed the American Wrestling Association.

They recognized current NWA World champion Pat O’Connor as their first champion with the stipulation of O’Connor having to defend the title within 90 days.

The NWA refused to recognize O’Connor as the AWA World champion, so he was stripped of the title on Aug. 16, 1960 when the 90 days were up.

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Pat O’Connor continued to wrestle up until his passing on Aug. 16, 1990.

Verne Gagne

Defeated: Awarded

When: Aug. 16, 1960

Where: N/A

Event: N/A

Title Reign: 329 days

Due to O’Connor not defending the title within the 90 days, his opponent, Verne Gagne, was awarded the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Gene Kiniski

Defeated: Verne Gagne

When: July 11, 1961

Where: Minneapolis, Minn.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 28 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Kiniski would retire in 1992, but he stayed in the wrestling business. He could be seen refereeing matches, promoting shows and even as the interim president of All Japan Pro Wrestling in 2000. He passed away on April 14, 2010.

Verne Gagne

Defeated: Gene Kiniski

When: Aug. 8, 1961

Where: Minneapolis

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 154 days

Career Highlights:

Mr. M

Defeated: Verne Gagne

When: Jan. 9, 1962

Where: Minneapolis

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 224 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Better known as Bill Miller, I couldn’t find out when Mr. M retired. After retiring, though, he got into veterinary medicine and opened up his own practice. He passed away on March 24, 1997.

Verne Gagne

Defeated: Mr. M

When: Aug. 21, 1962

Where: Minneapolis

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 322 days

Career Highlights:

The Crusher

Defeated: Verge Gagne

When: July 9, 1963

Where: Minneapolis

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 11 days

Five months earlier, The Crusher faced Gagne for the Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship. Crusher won the title, and after winning the AWA title, he became a double champion.

Verne Gagne

Defeated: The Crusher

When: July 20, 1963

Where: Minneapolis

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: Seven days

This match saw both the Omaha World Heavyweight Championship and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on the line. When Gagne defeated Crusher, he won both titles.

Fritz Von Erich

Defeated: Verne Gagne

When: July 27, 1963

Where: Omaha, Neb.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 12 days

This match saw both the Omaha World Heavyweight Championship and the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on the line. When Von Erich defeated Gagne, he won both titles.

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

After retiring in 1986, Fritz Von Erich remained in professional wrestling in a non-wrestling capacity. He passed away on Sept. 10, 1997, after unfortunately having outlived all of his sons but one.

Verne Gagne

Defeated: Fritz Von Erich

When: Aug. 8, 1963

Where: Amarillo, Texas

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 100 days

Gagne would win only the AWA World Championship here. A month later, he would defeat Von Erich again, this time for the Omaha World Heavyweight Championship.

Instead of carrying both belts, the titles were unified. The Omaha World Heavyweight Championship was abandoned as a result.

The Crusher

Defeated: Verne Gagne

When: Nov. 16, 1963

Where: St. Paul, Minn.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 28 days

Career Highlights:

Verne Gagne

Defeated: The Crusher

When: Dec. 14, 1963

Where: Minneapolis

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 140 days

Career Highlights:

Mad Dog Vachon

Defeated: Verne Gagne

When: May 2, 1964

Where: Omaha, Neb.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 14 days

Career Highlights:

Verne Gagne

Defeated: Mad Dog Vachon

When: May 16, 1964

Where: Omaha

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 157 days

Career Highlights:

Mad Dog Vachon

Defeated: Verne Gagne

When: Oct. 20, 1964

Where: Minneapolis

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 207 days

Career Highlights:

Mighty Igor Vodic

Defeated: Mad Dog Vachon

When: May 15, 1965

Where: Omaha

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: Seven days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

I couldn’t find much information about Vodic’s life after professional wrestling. All I could find is that he passed away on Jan. 7, 2002.

Mad Dog Vachon

Defeated: Mighty Igor Vodic

When: May 22, 1965

Where: Omaha

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 91 days

Career Highlights:

The Crusher

Defeated: Mad Dog Vachon

When: Aug. 21, 1965

Where: St. Paul, Minn.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 83 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

After retiring in 1988, The Crusher stayed in the business in non-wrestling roles throughout the 1990s. In 2005, he became paralyzed after years of hip and knee surgeries, as well as the removal of a tumor. The Crusher passed away on Oct. 22 of that year.

Mad Dog Vachon

Defeated: The Crusher

When: Nov. 12, 1965

Where: Denver, Colo.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 365 days

Tim Woods would win the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Vachon on Jan. 8, 1966. After AWA President Stanley Blackburn reviewed the match on Jan. 14, though, he declared the match a no-contest due to Woods having his feet on the ropes.

Vachon and Woods had a rematch that very same day, and Mad Dog retained the title. Woods’ reign as champion is not officially recognized.

Career Highlights:

Dick the Bruiser

Defeated: Mad Dog Vachon

When: Nov. 12, 1966

Where: Omaha

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: Seven days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Dick The Bruiser retired from the ring in 1985. He became a talent agent for WCW, and remained as such until his passing on Nov. 10, 1991.

Mad Dog Vachon

Defeated: Dick The Bruiser

When: Nov. 19, 1966

Where: Omaha

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 99 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Mad Dog Vachon retired from the ring in 1986. A year later, he lost his leg in a car accident. Vachon stays active in professional wrestling, though, as he participates in various legends reunion shows and makes appearances at independent events and conventions.

Verne Gagne

Defeated: Mad Dog Vachon

When: Feb. 26, 1967

Where: St. Paul

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 538 days

Career Highlights:

Dr. X

Defeated: Verne Gagne

When: Aug. 17, 1968

Where: Bloomington, Minn.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 14 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Better known as The Destroyer or Dick Beyer, Dr. X retired in 1993. He went onto teach physical education in New York before becoming a board member of the Cauliflower Alley Club. He still serves as a board member to this day.

Verne Gagne

Defeated: Dr. X

When: Aug. 31, 1968

Where: Minneapolis

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 2,625 days

Career Highlights:

Nick Bockwinkel

Defeated: Verne Gagne

When: Nov. 8, 1975

Where: St. Paul

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 1,714 days

On March 25, 1979 AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel would go one-on-one with WWF champion Bob Backlund. Fans saw the match end in a double count-out.

Career Highlights:

Verne Gagne

Defeated: Nick Bockwinkel

When: July 18, 1980

Where: Chicago

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 305 days

The AWA World Heavyweight Championship would be declared vacant on May 19, 1981 when Gagne officially retired from the ring.

Where Are They Now?

Before retiring, Gagne began to train other wrestlers, but after his retirement, he started training others on a more regular basis. He has trained, or assisted in training, such greats as Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Bob Backlund, Jimmy Snuka, The Iron Sheik and Curt Hennig.

Gagne has since been afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and is currently living in a health-care facility.

Nick Bockwinkel

Defeated: Awarded

When: May 19, 1981

Where: N/A

Event: N/A

Title Reign: 467 days

The title didn’t stay vacant for long after Gagne’s retirement. The AWA World Heavyweight Championship would be awarded to Bockwinkel later that day.

Hulk Hogan would take the title from Bockwinkel on April 18, 1982. Both Hogan and Bockwinkel would use a foreign object during the match, and the referee made the decision to award the title to Hogan as a result.

The title was awarded back to Bockwinkel on April 24, though, due to the use of the foreign objects. Hogan’s reign as champion is not officially recognized.

Career Highlights:

Otto Wanz

Defeated: Nick Bockwinkel

When: Aug. 29, 1982

Where: St. Paul

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 41 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Otto Wanz retired from the ring in 1990. He now organizes strongman competitions in his home country of Austria.

Nick Bockwinkel

Defeated: Otto Wanz

When: Oct. 9, 1982

Where: Chicago

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 501 days

Jerry Lawler would win the title from Bockwinkel on Dec. 27, 1982. The title would be held up shortly afterwards for unknown reasons, and a rematch was scheduled for Jan. 10, 1983. Bockwinkel won the rematch and thus remained the AWA champion.

Hulk Hogan once again won the title on April 24, 1983 in a No Disqualification match. During the match, Hogan threw Bockwinkel over the top rope, and back then, throwing someone over the top rope was an automatic disqualification.

Since AWA President Stanley Blackburn couldn’t disqualify Hogan, he decided to strip him of the title immediately after the match. The title was then given back to Bockwinkel. Hogan’s second reign is also not recognized as an official reign.

Career Highlights:

Jumbo Tsuruta

Defeated: Nick Bockwinkel

When: Feb. 22, 1984

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 81 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Jumbo Tsuruta retired from the ring in 1999 due to declining health. He passed away about a year later on May 13, 2000.

Rick Martel

Defeated: Jumbo Tsuruta

When: May 13, 1984

Where: St. Paul

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 595 days

AWA champion Rick Martel wrestled NWA champion Ric Flair one-on-one on Oct. 2, 1985. Fans in attendance saw the match end in a double count-out.

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Rick Martel retired from the ring in 1998 and became a trainer for WCW. After WCW closed its doors, he began appearing at conventions, which he still does today.

Stan Hansen

Defeated: Rick Martel

When: Dec. 29, 1985

Where: E. Rutherford, N.J.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 181 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Stan Hansen retired from the ring in 2000, and a year later, he became the commissioner of All Japan Pro Wrestling’s promotion Pacific Wrestling Federation. He resigned in 2007, though. He can now be seen at conventions.

Nick Bockwinkel

Defeated: Awarded

When: June 28, 1986

Where: Denver, Colo.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 308 days

At the time the match was scheduled, Stan Hansen was not with the AWA. He had left the company and therefore didn’t show up for the match. Bockwinkel was awarded the title as a result.

Hansen would return in July 1986 to take the title to Japan, though. Despite defending the title there, he was not officially the champion.

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Nick Bockwinkel retired from the ring in 1987. In 1993, he became a road agent for WCW and came out of retirement for Slamboree: Legends Reunion to compete in a match against Dory Funk Jr. He was also the on-air commissioner of WCW.

Nowadays, Bockwinkel is the President of the Cauliflower Alley Club.

Curt Hennig

Defeated: Nick Bockwinkel

When: May 2, 1987

Where: Daly City, Calif.

Event: SuperClash 2

Title Reign: 373 days

The title was held up right after the match due to some controversy. Larry Zbyszko interfered in the match, which caused Hennig to defeat Bockwinkel. A few days later, though, the AWA Championship Committee ruled that there was no evidence of the interference.

As a result, Hennig was given back the AWA World Championship.

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Curt Hennig wrestled right up until his passing on Feb. 10, 2003. At the time, he was working for TNA Wrestling.

Jerry Lawler

Defeated: Curt Hennig

When: May 9, 1988

Where: Memphis, Tenn.

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 256 days

On Dec. 13, 1988, Lawler defeated Kerry Von Erich for the Continental Wrestling Association’s WCWA World Heavyweight Championship. The match ended in some controversy due to it being stopped because Von Erich was losing too much blood from a cut.

Lawler became the USWA Unified World champion as a result, but his reign as AWA champion came to an end on Jan. 20, 1989 when Lawler was stripped of the title after the AWA broke ties with CWA and WCCW.

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Jerry Lawler is now semi-retired and can be seen every Monday night at the announce booth on WWE Monday Night Raw. He still wrestles on occasion, but after his heart attack after a match last year, fans will probably never see him wrestle for WWE again.

Larry Zbyszko

Defeated: Battle Royale

When: Feb. 7, 1989

Where: St. Paul

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 368 days

With the title vacant, the AWA set up a Battle Royale to determine a new champion. In the end, Larry Zbyszko last eliminated Tom Zenk to become the new champion.

Career Highlights:

Mr. Saito

Defeated: Larry Zbyszko

When: Feb. 10, 1990

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Event: Live Event

Title Reign: 57 days

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Mr. Saito retired from the ring in 1999 and seemed to stay away from professional wrestling until 2006. That year, he became the supervisor of young talent in the Kensuke Office promotion. He still holds that position.

Larry Zbyszko

Defeated: Mr. Saito

When: April, 8, 1990

Where: St. Paul

Event: SuperClash 4

Title Reign: 248 days

The AWA became inactive as a promotion in the fall of 1990. As a result, Zbyszko left the company and signed with WCW. The AWA would strip him of the title on Dec. 12, but it ultimately didn’t matter.

The American Wrestling Association would close its doors in 1991, and in 2003, WWE would buy the rights to the AWA name and tape library.

Career Highlights:

Where Are They Now?

Larry Zbyszko still wrestles on the independent circuit. You can also see him at various conventions.

Statistics and Final Thoughts

Most Reigns: Verne Gagne (10 times)

Longest Reign: Verne Gagne (2,625 days)

Longest Combined Reign: Verne Gagne (10 reigns equaling 6,777 days)

Shortest Reign: Verne Gagne, Mighty Igor Vodic and Dick the Bruiser (seven days)

When I was born in 1986, the American Wrestling Association was already in decline. I’ve been told that even as a baby, I was watching professional wrestling as my father would have it on television. He mostly watched WCW and WWF, though, so by the time I was old enough to realize there was another promotion out there, it was too late.

I never got to see the AWA in its glory, or even in its decline. In the company’s final years, AWA Championship Wrestling was airing on ESPN, and thanks to ESPN Classic, those old episodes are still aired.

When I am able to catch an episode, what I see is great. The wrestling is top-notch and some of the matches are great. I can see why the AWA centered the company around technical wrestling. They weren’t sports entertainment, they were wrestling.

The title has a rich history of great all-around wrestlers. The likes of Verne Gagne, Nick Bockwinkel, Fritz Von Erich and Curt Hennig were great technical wrestlers. With all the talent that has held this belt, the AWA World Heavyweight Championship is definitely one of my favorite titles.

I wish that I got to see the title and the company in its heyday, but I’ll just have to settle with ESPN Classic and whatever WWE puts out.

Thanks for reading this special edition of Abandoned! Wrestling Gold will return as soon as I’m able to finish the ROH tag and television titles, which will hopefully be soon. See you all next time!

Previous Installments

WWE Women’s│WWE European│ECW Television│WCW Hardcore│WCW US Tag Team│WWF Martial Arts│WWF International│WCW Women’s│ECW World│WWE Cruiserweight│WWF Light Weight│ECW Tag Team│FTW World│WCW 6-Man Tag Team│Million Dollar│WWF Junior│WWF Women’s Tag Team│WCW International│ WCW TV pt.1│WCW TV pt. 2│WWE Hardcore │WCW Tag Team pt. 1│WCW Tag Team pt. 2│World Tag Team pt. 1│World Tag Team pt. 2│ World Tag Team pt. 3│World Tag Team pt. 4│WWWF USA

Wrestling Gold Series

WWE Divas│TNA Knockouts│TNA Knockouts Tag│WWE Tag│TNA Tag│Shimmer│WWE US 1│WWE US 2│TNA TV│TNA X-Division│ WWE IC 1│WWE IC 2│WWE IC 3│WWE IC 4

Sources

http://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/awa-h.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Wrestling_Association

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWA_World_Heavyweight_Championship

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Wrestling_Association

Information on wrestler title histories and “Where Are They Now” provided by Wikipedia

Don’t forget to hit me up on Twitter, where I always follow back fellow wrestling fans and usually tweet during the shows!

   

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