Following the name of the champion(s): Indicates the number of times the wrestler has held that title at that point.
[...]
Indicates a gap in the listing where title changes are not known.
*
If usednext to the names of the wrestlers, they may, in fact, not have held the title in the period indicated. If usednext to the dates or places, either they are possibly wrong or the title changes are fictitious.
<
Title was held or changed hands no later than this. In these cases, it is known that a wrestler held the title at a certain time but not when he/she won it.
+
Broadcast date; the actual recording date is unknown.
@
Order uncertain. Different titleholders may be known for the same year, for example, but it is not known who held the title before whom.
#
Unofficial or disputable claims. These are usually matches that certainly took place, but where there is doubt that the wrestler shown should be recognized as a true title holder. These listings are alsoitalicized in HTML files
AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Title
JonnieStewart
1996-06-06
Rochester, MN
Defeats LarryGligorovich when DaleGagne (DaleGagner) and Stewart have supposedly purchased the rights to the AWA name (not the promotion itself) and starts his own promotion; the promoters claims the lineage linked to VerneGagne'sAWA World Heavyweight Title.
King KongBundy
1999-03-31
Oshkosh, WI
Stripped for no defense.
DaleGagne (DaleGagner)
2000-07-29
Pine Bluff, AR
Promoter names himself the champion.
The Patriot (DannyDominion)
2000-07-29
Pine Bluff, AR
LarryGligorovich
2000-07-29
Pine Bluff, AR
EricPriest
2001-06-03
Hillside, IL
EvanKaragias
2002-03-22
Casa Grande, AZ
DannyDominion[2]
2002-05-02
Cottonwood, AZ
EvanKaragias [2]
2002-05-04
Lemoore, CA
MattWiese
2002-10-19
Mercedes, TX
Vacant in 03 when Horshu (MattWiese) signs a developmental deal with WWE and is unavailable to drop the title.
EvanKaragias [3]
2003-07-06
Lemoore, CA
Defeats EricPriest; stripped in 04.
Ōmori Takao
2005-01-23
Tōkyō, JPN
Defeats SteveCorino in a tournament final.
SteveCorino
2005-06-11
Bay City, MI
Also defeats LarryZbyszko, the last champion of the Verne Gange era who continued to claim the title as of 95-01, on 05-06-25 in Viena, GA.
TNT (GregBownds) defeats Corino on 07-03-23 in Cardiff, AUS, but the title is returned to Corino when the AWA board claims "international paperwork for this title match can not be located, and therefore the title change can not be validated."
Ōmori Takao [3]
2007-04-01
Yokohama, JPN
Tanaka Masato
2007-10-26
Tōkyō, JPN
Stripped on 07-12-07 when ZERO1-Max withdraws its affiliation with AWA; ZERO1-Max continues to recognize its ownWorld Title with Tanaka as the champion.
Awarded for claiming that he has never lost the originalAWA World Heavyweight Title after the AWA closes in 91; BrianLogan defeats Zbyszko and RickyLandell in a 3-way match on 08-04-18 in Fayetteville, WV, but the AWA affiliates later splits into two groups: Gagner's AWA Stars continuing to recognize Zbyszko as the champion andAmerican Wrestling Affiliates with Logan as the champion.
