WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
WCW International World Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||
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Details | |||||||||||||
Promotion | World Championship Wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||||||||||||
Brand | WCW International | ||||||||||||
Date established | July 18, 1993 | ||||||||||||
Date retired | June 23, 1994 | ||||||||||||
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The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1993 and 1994. Although it was owned and controlled by WCW, the championship was presented as the highest accolade of "WCW International", a fictitious subsidiary. The championship was contested at WCW events and at several events in Japan under the aegis of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Represented by the historic
Over the title's history, eight title reigns were shared between four wrestlers. Rick Rude's three title reigns comprise the longest total time as champion with 202 cumulative days. Hiroshi Hase is the champion with the shortest reign of eight days; Rude holds the longest individual reign of 178 days. Ric Flair was the first and last titleholder.
Background
The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship has its origins in the
Overview
Ric Flair was the first WCW International World Heavyweight Champion; he had defeated Barry Windham for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in July 1993 and held it at the point when WCW withdrew from the NWA two months later.
Rude engaged in a promotional tour in Japan with the championship; WCW held a partnership with Japanese promotion
At the 1994
Reigns
No. | Overall reign number |
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Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
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Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
1 | Ric Flair | July 18, 1993 | Beach Blast 1993 | Biloxi, Mississippi | 1 | 63 | Flair defeated NWA World Heavyweight Championship . The NWA withdraws recognition on September 15, 1993, when WCW leaves the NWA. Flair continued to be recognized as "World Heavyweight Champion" by WCW. WWE does not recognize this reign as a separate reign, and it is included as one of Flair's eight NWA title reigns recognized by WWE.
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[12][13][14] |
2 | Rick Rude | September 19, 1993 | Fall Brawl 1993
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Houston, Texas
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1 | 178 | Rude was recognized as "WCW International" World Heavyweight Champion after withdrawal of WCW from NWA. | [15] |
3 | Hiroshi Hase | March 16, 1994 | House show | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 8 | [16] | |
4 | Rick Rude | March 24, 1994 | House show | Kyoto, Japan | 2 | 24 | [17] | |
5 | Sting | April 17, 1994 | Spring Stampede 1994 | Rosemont, Illinois | 1 | 14 | [18] | |
— | Rick Rude | May 1, 1994 | Wrestling Dontaku 1994 | Fukuoka, Japan
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3 | 21 | Later, this victory was reversed due to use of the belt as a weapon and Rude's entire reign became unrecognized by WCW. However, Rude had already defended the title on the April 21, 1994 taping of WCW Saturday Night, which was shown via tape delay on May 14. This reign is currently recognized by WWE. | [19][20] |
— | Vacated
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May 22, 1994 | Slamboree 1994 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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— | — | Sting was notified of the reversal at Slamboree, but refused the title, leaving it vacant. | [11] |
6 | Sting | May 22, 1994 | Slamboree 1994 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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2 | 32 | Sting defeated Big Van Vader for the vacant championship later that same night. | [21] |
7 | Ric Flair | June 23, 1994 | Clash of the Champions XXVII
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North Charleston, South Carolina | 2 | <1 | [22] | |
— | Unified | June 23, 1994 | — | — | — | — | The championship was retired following its unification with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. |
Combined reigns
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
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1 | Rick Rude | 3 | 202 |
2 | Ric Flair | 2 | 63 |
3 | Sting | 2 | 46 |
4 | Hiroshi Hase | 1 | 8 |
Footnotes
- ^ Lawler 2002, p. 113.
- Canoe.ca. Archived from the originalon May 22, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ^ "WCW World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ^ a b c "NWA World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ^ Hornbaker 2007, p. 341.
- ^ Reynolds & Baer 2003, pp. 136–137.
- ^ Woodward, Buck (January 16, 2009). "PWInsider Q&A: WCW International World Title, Maryse, MVP and More". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- Canoe.ca. Archived from the originalon December 22, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ Shields 2010, p. 110.
- ^ "Slamboree". The History of WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ a b "'WCW International' World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 18, 1993). "WCW Beach Blast 1993 - Pay Per View @ Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ "WCW 1993". Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ^ "Wrestling Observer 1993". Wrestling Observer Newlletter. September 27, 1993. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 19, 1993). "WCW Fall Brawl 1993 - Pay Per View @ Astro Arena in Houston, Texas, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 16, 1994). "NJPW Hyper Battle 1994 - Tag 10 - TV-Show @ Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 24, 1994). "NJPW Hyper Battle 1994 - Tag 16 - TV-Show @ Kyoto Prefectural Gymnasium in Kyoto, Japan". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 17, 1994). "WCW Spring Stampede 1994 - Pay Per View @ Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 1, 1994). "NJPW Wrestling Dontaku In Fukuoka Dome - TV-Show @ Fukuoka Dome in Fukuoka, Japan". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 24, 1994). "WCW Saturday Night - TV-Show @ Centre Stage Theatre in Georgia, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 22, 1994). "WCW Slamboree 1994 - "A Legends' Reunion" - Pay Per View @ Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 23, 1994). "WCW Clash Of The Champions #27 - TV-Show @ McAllister Fieldhouse in Charleston, South Carolina, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
References
- Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ISBN 1550227416.
- ISBN 0743475577.
- ISBN 1550225847.
- Shields, Brian (2010). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. ISBN 145160467X.
External links
- WCW International World Heavyweight Title History at Cagematch.net