The PWP Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by Pro Wrestling Pride.[1] It was the second championship incorporated by Pro Wrestling Pride; behind the PWP Catch Division Championship. As the companies main championship, it is usually competed for in the main event of each show.
| PWP Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||||||||
| Promotion | Pro Wrestling Pride (PWP) | ||||||||||||
| Date established | April 28, 2013 | ||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Bram (wrestler) | ||||||||||||
| Date won | 25 June 2017 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
The Championship was established on the companies 5th show, in Teignmouth, Devon in the main event. Chris Andrews would become the first champion, in a four-way match for the championship; defeating 'Wild Boar' Mike Hitchman, PJ Jones & The UK Dominator.
PWP Heavyweight Wrestling
editUnlike the catch division championship, the Heavyweight championship in Pro Wrestling Pride is designed to be fought over by heavyweight wrestlers, rather than the no-limits PWP Catch Division Championship. This is suggested by the lightest wrestler to hold the championship – PJ Jones weighing in at 211 lbs,[2] and the heaviest being Steve Griffiths at 305lbs.[3]
It is also unusual for the championship to be defended in gimmick matches, unlike other championships. The belt is usually contested under regular match rules; with the only exceptions being best two out of three falls matches, a lumberjack match,[4] and a loser leaves town match.[5] Certain tournaments in Pro Wrestling Pride win number one contendership for the championship, including the Prizefighters tournament, and the King of Christmas Rumble winner. To date, only Steve Griffiths has won the championship this way.[6]
Since its inception, the championship has been challenged for by likes of James Storm,[7] Hardcore Holly,[8] Rhyno[9] and Billy Gunn.[10]
Unlike the catch division championship (trophy), and the tag team championships (medallions), the heavyweight championship has always been represented as a traditional championship belt.
Title History
editThe full history of the championship is listed below. As the championship is currently on hiatus; the current championship reign of Bram is being accumulated; however, it may not be accurate. The championship status as of 22 November 2024.[11][12]
Championship Lineage
edit| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defences | Number of successful defences |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defences | ||||
| 1 | Chris Andrews | April 28, 2013 | PWP Debut Show | Teignmouth, Devon | 1 | 119 | 1 | Defeated Mike Hitchman, PJ Jones and The UK Dominator to become the inaugural champion | |
| 2 | Mike Mason | August 25, 2013 | Unnamed | Exmouth, Devon | 1 | 180 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Danny Walsh | February 21, 2014 | Adrenaline Rush Tour – Day 1 | Babbacombe, Devon | 1 | 1 | 0 | This was a No Disqualification match | |
| 4 | Mike Mason | February 22, 2014 | Adrenaline Rush Tour – Day 2 | Exeter, Devon | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Danny Walsh | February 23, 2014 | Adrenaline Rush Tour – Day 3 | Chudleigh, Devon | 2 | 160 | 3 | This was a Last Man Standing Loser Leaves Town match. | |
| 6 | PJ Jones | August 2, 2014 | PWP Nevermore... Never Again – Raven's Last UK Stand | Torquay, Devon | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 7 | UK Dominator | June 22, 2014 | PWP Nevermore... Never Again – Raven's Last UK Stand | Torquay, Devon | 1 | 169 | 2 | Cashed in a Money in the Bank contract won earlier that night. | |
| 8 | Chris Andrews | January 18, 2015 | PWP One Night Only | Exeter, Devon | 2 | 105 | 1 | This was a lumberjack match. | |
| 9 | Steve Griffiths | March 5, 2015 | PWP 2nd Anniversary Show | Exeter, Devon | 1 | 136 | 3 | ||
| 10 | Mr. Kennedy | July 19, 2015 | PWP Heroes & Legends | Paignton, Devon | 1 | 42 | 0 | This was a Two out of three falls match | [13][14] |
| 11 | Steve Griffiths | August 30, 2015 | PWP Inner City Showdown | Truro, Cornwall | 2 | 301 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Eddie Ryan | June 26, 2016 | PWP One of A Kind | Taunton, Somerset | 1 | 126 | 5 | [15] | |
| 13 | Bram | October 30, 2016 | PWP Undisputed 2 | Taunton, Somerset | 1 | 42 | 0 | This was a six-man elimination match, also including Doug Williams, Chris Andrews, James Baker and John Harding | |
| 14 | Ultimo Tiger | December 11, 2016 | Heroes & Legends 4 | Paignton, Devon | 1 | 146 | 0 | This was a No Disqualification match | |
| 15 | Bram | May 6, 2017 | PWP Live In Falmouth | Falmouth, Cornwall | 2 | 2,747+ | 6 | This was a No Disqualification match. | |
Combined reigns
editThe total list of combined championship days held. As of 22 November 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bram† | 2 | 606+ |
| 2 | Chris Andrews | 2 | 224 |
| 3 | Steve Griffiths | 2 | 378 |
| 4 | Mike Mason | 2 | 181 |
| 5 | The UK Dominator | 1 | 169 |
| 6 | Danny Walsh | 1 | 161 |
| 7 | Ultimo Tiger | 1 | 145 |
| 8 | Eddie Ryan | 1 | 126 |
| 9 | Mr. Kennedy | 1 | 49 |
| 10 | PJ Jones | 1 | <1 |
Triple Crown Champion
editIn professional wrestling, a triple crown champion is a wrestler that has won three of a promotions championships; specifically, a world championship, secondary singles championship and tag team championship. To date, only one wrestler has won the PWP Heavyweight, PWP Catch & PWP tag team Championships – Ultimo Tiger, "completing" the triple crown with his win of the Heavyweight Championship in December 2016. He had previously won the other two championships in 2014, winning the tag team championships with his 'Wrestling Time' partner Darren Saviour.
| Champion | Primary championship | Tag team championship | Secondary championship |
|---|---|---|---|
| PWP Heavyweight Championship | PWP Tag Team Championship | PWP Catch Division Championship | |
| Ultimo Tiger | December 11, 2016 | October 5, 2014 (with Darren Saviour)[16] |
May 17, 2014 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Orchard, Jonathan. "A Full Year of Pro Wrestling Pride". Archived from the original on 2017-10-20.
- ^ Kriekenbohm, Philip. "PJ Jones << Cagematch". Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "Ringside World – Big Grizzly". Ringside World Magazine. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ Orchard, Johnathan. "Pro Wrestling Pride 18th Exeter". Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "10 Questions with Pretty Boy Danny Walsh". The Indy Corner. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "Pride Promotions Christmas Chaos 2". Believe In Geek. Archived from the original on 2017-10-20.
- ^ "#Announcement: PWP Live in Plymouth with James Storm". Hashtag Wrestling. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ Orchard, Johnathan. "Pro Wrestling Pride Heroes and Legends". Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "American Wrestling Superstar Rhino to appear in Exeter One night only!". Exeter Daily. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "The interview, Big Grizzly". Kayfabe Today. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ Kreikenburg, Philip. "PWP Heavyweight Championship << Titles Database << CAGEMATCH". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ^ "Results – Pro Wrestling Pride". Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- ^ "SUNDAY EVENTS: U.S. stars headline big U.K. show". Pro Wrestling Torch.
- ^ "Ken Anderson – Online World of Wrestling". Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
- ^ "Live Pro Wrestling TV stars Raven & Grado in Plymouth". One Plymouth Magazine. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "titles < Ultimo Tiger < Cagematch".