SWA World Championship
Current design of the title (2016 – present)
Details
PromotionWorld Wonder Ring Stardom
Date establishedMay 21, 2016[1]
StatusVacant
(as of November 3, 2022)
Other name(s)
SWA Undisputed World Women's Championship
Statistics
First champion(s)Io Shirai[1]
Most reignsAll titleholders
(1 time)
Longest reignToni Storm
(612 days)
Shortest reignBea Priestley
(43 days)
Oldest championSyuri
(31 years, 281 days)
Youngest championToni Storm
(20 years, 279 days)[2]
Heaviest championViper
(94 kg (207 lb))
Lightest championIo Shirai
(54 kg (119 lb))[3]

The SWA World Championship (SWA世界王座, SWA Sekai Ōza) is a women's professional wrestling championship promoted by the Japanese World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. Though the Japanese name of the title translates to "SWA World Championship", the title is also being internationally referred to as the "SWA Undisputed World Women's Championship".[4] The title is currently vacant as previous champion Mayu Iwatani relinquished it on November 3, 2022.

Title history

The title was created on May 21, 2016, during Stardom's three-day European tour, as the flagship title for a newly established international alliance called the Stardom World Association (SWA) (スターダム・ワールド・アソシエーション, Sutādamu Wārudo Asoshiēshon).[1][5] Promotions in the alliance include Stardom, British Empire Wrestling (BEW), the French Association Biterroise de Catch (ABC), the Mexican Women Wrestling Stars (WWS) and the Spanish Revolution Championship Wrestling (RCW).[6] Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won as a result of a scripted match. The rules of the championship state that only wrestlers from countries other than the reigning champion can challenge it. For example, as long as the title had a Japanese champion, no other Japanese wrestler could challenge for it.[7] On the same date, Io Shirai became the inaugural champion after defeating Toni Storm in the tournament finals.[1]

On September 17, 2020, the championship was vacated after the previous titleholder, Jamie Hayter, was unable to travel to Stardom due to COVID-19 restrictions.[8] On September 17, Bea Priestley won the title by defeating Momo Watanabe.[9] On January 8, 2022, Syuri vacated the title due to being a triple champion and to focus on the World of Stardom Championship and the Goddess of Stardom Championship.[10] Thekla would win the vacant title on same date after defeating Mina Shirakawa.[11] On November 3, Mayu Iwatani relinquished the title in order to pursue after the newly established IWGP Women's Championship.[12]

Reigns

Former and the longest reigning champion, Toni Storm

As of April 15, 2024, there have been nine reigns between nine wrestlers and three vacancies. Io Shirai was the inaugural champion. Toni Storm has the longest reign at 612 days while also having the most defenses, with 15 times. Bea Priestley has the shortest at 43 days. Syuri is the oldest champion at 31 years old, while Storm is the youngest at 20 years old.

The championship is currently vacated, as the previous title holder Mayu Iwatani relinquished the title on November 3, 2022 at Hiroshima Goddess Festival in order to focus on the IWGP Women's Championship.

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Defenses
1 Io Shirai May 21, 2016 RCW Presents Stardom Europe Barcelona, Spain 1 64 2[13] Defeated Toni Storm in the finals of a nine-woman tournament to become the inaugural champion. [1][5]
2 Toni Storm July 24, 2016 Stardom×Stardom 2016: Osaka Manatsu no Saiten Osaka, Japan 1 612 15[14] [13][15][16]
3 Viper March 28, 2018 Stardom Dream Slam in Tokyo Tokyo, Japan 1 292 2[17] This was a title vs. title match, in which Viper also defended the ICW Women's Championship. [14]
4 Utami Hayashishita January 14, 2019 Stardom 8th Anniversary Tokyo, Japan 1 377 3[18] Viper also defended her EVE International Championship in this match. [17][19]
5 Jamie Hayter January 26, 2020 Stardom 9th Anniversary in Osaka Osaka, Japan 1 235 0[8] [18][20]
— Vacated September 17, 2020 — — — — — The championship was vacated since Jamie Hayter was unable to travel to Japan due to COVID-19 restrictions. [8]
6 Bea Priestley October 3, 2020 Yokohama Cinderella Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan 1 43 0[21] Defeated Momo Watanabe to win the vacant championship. [9]
7 Syuri November 15, 2020 Sendai Cinderella Sendai, Miyagi, Japan 1 419 9[22] [21]
— Vacated January 8, 2022 Stardom in Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan — — — Syuri voluntarily relinquished the title due to being a triple champion and to focus on the World of Stardom Championship and the Goddess of Stardom Championship. [10]
8 Thekla January 29, 2022 Nagoya Supreme Fight Nagoya, Japan 1 96 2 Defeated Mina Shirakawa to win the vacant championship. [11]
9 Mayu Iwatani May 5, 2022 Golden Week Fight Tour Fukuoka, Japan 1 182 3 [23]
— Vacated November 3, 2022 Hiroshima Goddess Festival Hiroshima, Japan — — — Mayu Iwatani voluntarily relinquished the title to focus on the IWGP Women's Championship. [12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 2016年5月21日　ヨーロッパツアー4日目. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). May 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  2. ^ 5★Star GP2016参戦外国人選手. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). July 4, 2014. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  3. ^ 〜天空の逸女〜 紫雷イオ. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  4. ^ "SWA世界選手権". World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 7, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  5. ^ a b 紫雷イオ世界制覇へ！各国で防衛戦構想. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). June 2, 2016. Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  6. ^ "The Stardom World Association (SWA) is an alliance between the promoters of Stardom, WWS, RCW, ABC Catch, and BEW". We Are Stardom. Twitter. May 21, 2016. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  7. ^ Meltzer, Dave (July 11, 2016). "July 11, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Preview for massive UFC weekend, including UFC 200, plus tons of news". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. p. 55. ISSN 1083-9593. The rules of the SWA title are that the champion can only defend against wrestlers from other countries. So if Shirai is the champion, nobody from Japan can get a shot. If Storm wins, nobody from New Zealand can get a shot.
  8. ^ a b c SWA世界選手権. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 7, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Richards, Alex (October 3, 2020). "Stardom Yokohama Cinderella 2020 News Roundup". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  10. ^ a b World Wonder Ring Stardom (January 8, 2022). "Syuri relinquished the SWA title. (No, it will not be defunct)". twitter.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  11. ^ a b スターダム✪STARDOM (January 29, 2022). "Thekla wins SWA World title". twitter.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  12. ^ a b スターダム✪STARDOM (November 3, 2022). 岩谷麻優がIWGP初代女子王座戦へ集中するため、SWA世界王座の返上を宣言！ 岩谷はIWGP初代女子王座トーナメント決勝戦に向けて全てを掛ける！. twitter.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  13. ^ a b 2016年7月21日　Stardom×Stardom2016～大阪真夏の祭典～. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). July 25, 2016. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  14. ^ a b 2018年3月28日　DREAM SLAM2018in Tokyo. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). March 28, 2018. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  15. ^ ＜スターダム＞イオＶ３ならず 小川社長は長期欠場勧告も示唆. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). July 25, 2016. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  16. ^ "Daily Update: Bayley at Battleground, Ronaldo meets McGregor, Hendo vs. Bisping 2". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. July 25, 2016. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  17. ^ a b 2019年1月14日　スターダム8周年記念日. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). January 14, 2019. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  18. ^ a b 2020年1月26日　スターダム９周年記念日 in 大阪. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). January 27, 2020. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  19. ^ Lambert, Jeremy. "Stardom 8th Anniversary Results From Tokyo (1/14/19): Viper Loses Two Titles". Fightful Wrestling. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  20. ^ Lindsey, Philip (January 26, 2020). "Jamie Hayter wins STARDOM SWA Championship". Bell To Belles. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  21. ^ a b 2020年11月15日　STARDOM SENDAI CINDERELLA 2020. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). November 15, 2020. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  22. ^ World Wonder Ring Stardom (July 10, 2021). "July 10 Osaka ◆SWA Title Match Syuri retained the title, defeating Unagi Syaka via KO with a Roundhouse Kick at 19:05". twitter.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  23. ^ スターダム✪STARDOM (May 5, 2022). 福岡女神祭り〜ばってんスターダム〜 5月5日（木）福岡国際センター ◆SWA世界選手権試合〈挑戦者〉岩谷麻優（17分26秒、ムーンサルト・プレス→片エビ固め）〈王者〉テクラ ※岩谷麻優は第9代目王者となる。. twitter.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.

External links

SWA World Champions
World Wonder Ring Stardom
Categories