Former CZW World Heavyweight Champion Rickey Shane Page, posing with championship belt

The CZW World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion. The championship was created and debuted on March 27, 1999 at CZW's The Staple Gun event.[1] The first time the championship changed hands on foreign soil was on April 15, 2001, when Wifebeater defeated John Zandig for the championship in Birmingham, England at a live event.[1]

Title reigns are determined by professionally wrestling matches, usually of the hardcore/ultraviolent type. All title changes happen at live events, which are usually released on DVD. The inaugural champion was Nick Gage, whom CZW recognized to have become the champion after defeating twenty other men in a battle royal on March 27, 1999 at CZW's The Staple Gun event.[1] As of April 2024, Zandig holds the record for most reigns, with six.[1] At 718 days, Joe Gacy's third reign is the longest in the title's history.[1] The current champion is Rich Swann, who is in his first reign.

Title history

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
1 Nick Gage March 27, 1999 The Staple Gun Mantua Township, NJ 1 56 Gage won a 20-man battle royal to become the first champion. [2]
2 John Zandig May 22, 1999 Madness Mantua Township, NJ 1 28 This was a four-way dance, also involving John Kronus and Justice Pain. [3]
3 Nick Gage June 19, 1999 Down in Flames Mantua Township, NJ 2 91 [4]
4 Wifebeater September 18, 1999 September Slam Mantua Township, NJ 1 63 [5]
5 John Zandig November 20, 1999 The War Begins Mantua Township, NJ 2 245 This was an I Quit Barbed Wire Strap match. [6]
6 Lobo July 22, 2000 No Rules, No Limits Sewell, NJ 1 49 [7]
7 Justice Pain September 9, 2000 Cage of Death II...After Dark Sewell, NJ 1 172 This was a Cage of Death match. [8]
8 Nick Berk February 28, 2001 Destruction in Dover Dover, Delaware 1 <1 [9]
9 Yoshihiro Tajiri February 28, 2001 Destruction in Dover Dover, Delaware 1 <1 [9]
10 John Zandig February 28, 2001 Destruction in Dover Dover, Delaware 3 46 [9]
11 Wifebeater April 15, 2001 CZW Birmingham, England 2 27
12 John Zandig May 12, 2001 Stretched in Smyrna Smyrna, Delaware 4 33 This was a Ultraviolent Deathmatch. [10]
13 Wifebeater June 14, 2001 CZW Aguascalientes, Mexico 3 23
14 Justice Pain July 7, 2001 A New Beginning Sewell, NJ 2 308 [11]
15 The Messiah May 11, 2002 High Stakes Philadelphia, PA 1 28 This was a high stakes match which includes first, Messiah's relationship with Kristi Myst, second Nick Mondo's career, and last Adam Flash's CZW Iron Man Championship in a four-way match. [12]
16 Justice Pain June 8, 2002 Best of the Best II Philadelphia, PA 3 7 This was a three-way match where Adam Flash serve as Special Guest Referee and Nick Mondo's CZW Iron Man Championship also on the line. [13]
17 John Zandig June 15, 2002 IWW Dublin, Ireland 5 <1 This was a Barbed Wire Gaelic Deathmatch. [14]
18 Justice Pain June 15, 2002 IWW Dublin, Ireland 4 182 This was a Barbed Wire Gaelic Deathmatch. [15]
19 The Messiah December 14, 2002 Cage of Death IV Philadelphia, PA 2 315 This was an Iron man rules match. [16]
20 John Zandig October 25, 2003 Shockwave Pistoia, Italy 6 133 [17]
21 The Messiah March 6, 2004 Overdrive Philadelphia, PA 3 336 This was a Taipei & Bed of Nails Death match. [18]
22 Ruckus February 5, 2005 Only the Strong: Scarred 4 Life Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 308
23 Super Dragon December 10, 2005 Cage of Death VII: Living in Sin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 63 [19]
24 Ruckus February 11, 2006 Seven Years Strong: Settling the Score Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 91 Christopher Daniels won the CZW Championship by pinning Derek Frazier in a three way tournament match at Best of the Best 6, but refused the championship, wanting to win it by pinning Ruckus one on one later in the tournament in a losing effort.
25 Chris Hero May 13, 2006 Best of the Best 6 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 119 [20]
26 Eddie Kingston September 9, 2006 Down with the Sickness 4-Ever: A Tribute to Chris Ca$h Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 91
27 Justice Pain December 9, 2006 Cage of Death VIII: Coming Undone Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 5 217
28 Ruckus July 14, 2007 Best of the Best 7 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 3 147
29 Nick Gage December 8, 2007 Cage of Death IX Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 3 217
30 Drake Younger July 12, 2008 A Tangled Web Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 567
31 B-Boy January 30, 2010 High Stakes Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 14
32 Jon Moxley February 13, 2010 CZW 11th Anniversary Show Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 175
33 Nick Gage August 7, 2010 Southern Violence Lumberton, North Carolina 4 7
34 Jon Moxley August 14, 2010 Tangled Web 3 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 182 [21]
35 Robert Anthony February 12, 2011 CZW 12th Anniversary Show Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 56
36 Devon Moore April 9, 2011 Best of the Best X Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 301 This was a six-man tag match between Devon Moore and The Briscoe Brothers, and Robert Anthony and Philadelphia's Most Wanted (Joker and Sabian); where The Briscoes' CZW Tag Team Championship were also on the line.
37 Scotty Vortekz February 4, 2012 CZW Super Saturday Indianapolis, Indiana 1 35
38 Masada March 10, 2012 CZW Aerial Assault Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 518 Won title in a four-way match also involving against DJ Hyde and Devon Moore
39 Drew Gulak August 10, 2013 CZW Tangled Web 6 Voorhees, New Jersey 1 273
40 Biff Busick May 10, 2014 CZW Proving Grounds Voorhees, New Jersey 1 161 Helped by Sozio as part of "The Front".
41 Sozio October 18, 2014 CZW Tangled Web 7 Voorhees, New Jersey 1 56 Turned on his former stablemate Biff Busick
42 BLK Jeez December 13, 2014 CZW Cage of Death Voorhees, New Jersey 1 238 This was a Cage of Death also included Biff Busick and Drew Gulak.
43 Matt Tremont August 8, 2015 CZW Heat Voorhees, New Jersey 1 399
44 Jonathan Gresham September 10, 2016 Down With The Sickness 2016 Voorhees, New Jersey 1 91 This was a Four Way Boards Of Nails Carpet Stripes Pains Of Glass Death Match including Greg Excellent and Joe Gacy.[22]
45 Joe Gacy December 10, 2016 Cage Of Death 18 Voorhees, New Jersey 1 154 [23]
46 Lio Rush May 13, 2017 Sacrifices Voorhees, New Jersey 1 13
47 Davey Richards May 26, 2017 Defy 3: Swerve City Seattle, Washington 1 43 This title change took place at an event held by Defy Wrestling.
48 Shane Strickland July 8, 2017 Evilution Voorhees, New Jersey 1 126 This was a four-way match, also including Joe Gacy and Lio Rush and contested for the Defy Wrestling Championship.
49 Joe Gacy November 11, 2017 Night of Infamy Sewell, New Jersey 2 <1
50 Rickey Shane Page November 11, 2017 Night of Infamy Sewell, New Jersey 1 154 This was Page's Ultimate Opportunity Coin match.[24]
51 Maxwell Jacob Friedman April 14, 2018 Best of the Best 17 Sewell, New Jersey 1 225
— Vacated November 25, 2018 - - — — Maxwell Jacob Friedman stripped of the title due to injury.
52 Mance Warner December 9, 2018 Cage of Death 20 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1 125 Warner defeated Rickey Shane Page in a Cage of Death match to win the title.
53 Anthony Greene April 13, 2019 Best of the Best 18 Voorhees, New Jersey 1 <1 This was a Fatal 4 Way match also including Anthony Gangone and B-Boy. [25]
54 David Starr April 13, 2019 Best of the Best 18 Voorhees, New Jersey 1 <1 [25]
55 John Silver April 13, 2019 Best of the Best 18 Voorhees, New Jersey 1 153 Defeated Starr in the finals of the Best of the Best tournament. [25]
56 Joe Gacy September 13, 2019 Down with the Sickness 2019 Voorhees, New Jersey 3 718 This was triple threat match also including Conor Claxton.
— Vacated August 31, 2021 — — — — Joe Gacy stripped of the title due to signing to WWE.
57 Rich Swann May 20, 2023 CZW Best of the Best Havre de Grace, Maryland 1 317+ Defeated Fred Yehi in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant title. [26]

Combined reigns

Current champion, Rich Swann

As of April 1, 2024.

† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
days
1 Justice Pain 5 886
2 Joe Gacy 3 872
3 The Messiah 3 679
4 Drake Younger 1 567
5 Ruckus 3 546
6 Masada 1 518
7 John Zandig 6 485
8 Matt Tremont 1 399
9 Nick Gage 4 371
10 Jon Moxley 2 357
11 Devon Moore 1 301
12 Drew Gulak 1 273
13 Rich Swann † 1 317+
14 BLK Jeez 1 238
15 Maxwell Jacob Friedman 1 225
16 Biff Busick 1 161
17 Rickey Shane Page 1 154
18 John Silver 1 153
19 Shane Strickland 1 126
20 Mance Warner 1 125
21 Chris Hero 1 119
22 Wifebeater 3 113
23 Eddie Kingston 1 91
Jonathan Gresham 1 91
25 Super Dragon 1 63
26 Robert Anthony 1 56
Sozio 1 56
28 Lobo 1 49
29 Davey Richards 1 43
30 Scotty Vortekz 1 35
31 B-Boy 1 14
32 Lio Rush 1 13
33 Anthony Greene 1 <1
David Starr 1
Nick Berk 1
Yoshihiro Tajiri 1

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e "CZW World Heavyweight Championship reign history". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  2. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 27, 1999). "CZW The Staple Gun - Event @ CZW Arena in Mantua, New Jersey, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 22, 1999). "CZW May Madness - Event @ CZW Arena in Mantua, New Jersey, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 19, 1999). "CZW Down In Flames - Event @ CZW Arena in Mantua, New Jersey, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  5. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 18, 1999). "CZW September Slam - Event @ CZW Arena in Mantua, New Jersey, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 20, 1999). "CZW The War Begins - Event @ CZW Arena in Mantua, New Jersey, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 22, 2000). "CZW No Rules, No Limits - Event @ Champs Soccer Arena in Sewell, New Jersey, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  8. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 9, 2000). "CZW Cage Of Death II ... After Dark - Event @ Champs Soccer Arena in Sewell, New Jersey, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 28, 2001). "CZW Destruction In Dover - Event @ Froggy's Bar And Grill in Dover, Delaware, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  10. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 12, 2001). "CZW Stretched In Smyrna - Event @ Smyrna Firehouse in Smyrna, Delaware, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  11. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 7, 2001). "CZW A New Beginning - Event @ Champs Arena in Sewell, New Jersey, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  12. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 11, 2002). "CZW High Stakes - Event @ Viking Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 8, 2002). "CZW Best Of The Best II - Event @ Viking Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  14. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 15, 2002). "IWW - Event @ National Basketball Arena in Dublin, Ireland". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  15. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 15, 2002). "IWW - Event @ National Basketball Arena in Dublin, Ireland". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  16. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 14, 2002). "CZW Cage Of Death 4 - Event @ Viking Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  17. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (October 25, 2003). "CZW Shockwave - Event @ Palasport Arena in Pistoia, Italien". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  18. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 6, 2004). "CZW Overdrive - Event @ New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  19. ^ Vetter, Chris (2006-01-31). "Tape review: CZW, "Cage of Death 7," December 10, 2005, with violent main event, plus Hero, Super Dragon, Ruckus, Sabin". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  20. ^ Vetter, Chris (2006-06-22). "Tape Review: CZW, "Best of the Best 6," May 13, 2006, with Hero, Ruckus, Aries, Strong, Dutt, B-Boy". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  21. ^ Magee, Bob (2010-08-15). "Combat Zone Wrestling 8/14 "Tangled Web 3" results". WrestleView. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  22. ^ "CZW Down With The Sickness 2016". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  23. ^ "CZW Cage Of Death 18". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  24. ^ "CZW 11/11/17 Night of Infamy Results". Pwponderings.com. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  25. ^ a b c PWPonderings (April 15, 2019). "CZW 04/13/19 Best of the Best 18 Results". pwponderings.com. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  26. ^ Daly, Wayne (May 21, 2023). "CZW Results: Best Of The Best 19 – Havre de Grace, MD (5/20)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved May 26, 2023.

External links

Combat Zone Wrestling
CZW World Heavyweight Champions
Categories