WSW World Heavyweight Championship
WSW World Heavyweight Championship belt (2018–2022)
Details
PromotionWorld Series Wrestling
Date established5 October 2005[1]
Current champion(s)Matt Cardona
Date won13 October 2023
Statistics
First champion(s)Rhino[1]
Most reignsAustin Aries, Johnny Downunder/Impact and Matt Cardona
(2 reigns)
Longest reignJeff Jarrett
(570 days)
Shortest reignBrian Cage and Johnny Impact
(1 day)
Oldest championAustin Aries
(40 years, 70 days)
Youngest championBryan Danielson
(26 years, 10 days)

The WSW World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship contested for in the heavyweight division of World Series Wrestling (WSW).

History

On 5 October 2005, during WSW's first show, Rhino became the inaugural champion by defeating Jeff Jarrett, during a tour that took part in Melbourne, Victoria.[1] Rhino held the championship for three days before losing it to Jarrett on 8 October.[2] On 1 May 2007, due to Jarrett's commitments with Total Nonstop Action (TNA), WSW stippred him of the championship.[2] on 1 June, Bryan Danielson won the vacant championship by defeating Nigel McGuinness.[2]

On 31 August 2007, the championship was deactivated as WSW went to hiatus. Ten years later, on 25 November 2017, Ricochet won the now reactivated championship after defeating Austin Aries and Brian Cage in a three-way match.[3] In 2019, the championship was vacated with the previous titleholder being Marty Scurll.[4][citation needed] On 8 July 2022, Johnny Downunder won the vacant championship after defeating Joey Janela in a no disqualification match.[5] Downunder has previously won the title under the ring name Johnny Impact.[6]

Reigns

The inaugural WSW World Heavywight Champion Rhino

As of 13 February 2024, there have been 15 reigns between 12 wrestlers and two vacancies. Rhino was the inaugural champion. Austin Aries, Johnny Downunder (also known as Johnny Impact) and Matt Cardona, share the record for most reigns at two. Aries is the oldest champion at 40 years old, while Bryan Danielson is the youngest at 26 years old. Jeff Jarrett's reign is the longest at 570 days, while Brian Cage and Impact's first reign was the shortest at one day.

Matt Cardona is the current champion in his second reign. He won the title by defeating Shawn Spears in a street fight at the final day of Full Throttle on 13 October 2023, in Sydney, New South Wales.

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days
1 Rhino 5 October 2005 International Assault Tour
Day 1 		Melbourne, Victoria 1 3 Defeated Jeff Jarrett to become inaugural champion. [1]
2 Jeff Jarrett 8 October 2005 International Assault Tour
Day 3 		Newcastle, New South Wales 1 570 [2]
— Vacated 1 May 2007 — — — — WSW stripped Jeff Jarrett of the championship due to his commitments with Total Nonstop Action (TNA). [2]
3 Bryan Danielson 1 June 2007 International Assault Tour
Day 1 		Kensington, New South Wales 1 2 Defeated Nigel McGuinness to win the vacant championship. [2]
4 Billy Kidman 3 June 2007 International Assault Tour
Day 3 		Newcastle West, New South Wales 1 89 [2]
— Deactivated 31 August 2007 — — — — The championship became inactive after WSW went to hiatus. [citation needed]
5 Ricochet 25 November 2017 International Assault Tour 2K17
Day 2 		Adelaide, South Australia 1 2 Defeated Austin Aries and Brian Cage in a three-way match to win the vacant championship. [3]
6 Austin Aries 27 November 2017 International Assault Tour 2K17
Day 4 		Penrith, New South Wales 1 207 [7]
7 Brian Cage 22 June 2018 International Assault Best of the Best 2K18
Day 1 		Ferntree Gully, Victoria 1 1 This was a three-way match, also involving Johnny Impact. [6]
8 Johnny Impact 23 June 2018 International Assault Best of the Best 2K18
Day 2 		Ferntree Gully, Victoria 1 1 [6]
9 Austin Aries 24 June 2018 International Assault Best of the best 2K18
Day 3 		Adelaide, South Australia 2 155 [6]
10 Robbie Eagles 26 November 2018 International Assault the Elite Takeover
Day 4 		Ferntree Gully, Victoria 1 208 [8]
11 Marty Scurll 22 June 2019 International Assault Zero Fear
Day 2 		Ferntree Gully, Victoria 1 N/A[a] [4]
— Vacated 2019 — — — — The championship was vacated for undocumented reasons. Marty Scurll was still a champion on 23 June. [citation needed]
12 Johnny Downunder 8 July 2022 Phoenix Rising
Day 1 		Adelaide, South Australia 2 246 Defeated Joey Janela in a no disqualification match to win the vacant championship. Downunder was previously known as Johnny Impact. [5]
13 Matt Cardona 11 March 2023 Unleash Hell
Day 2 		Melbourne, Victoria 1 209 [9]
14 Shawn Spears 6 October 2023 Full Throttle
Day 1 		Melbourne, Victoria 1 7 [10]
15 Matt Cardona 13 October 2023 Full Throttle
Day 6 		Sydney, New South Wales 2 123+

Combined reigns

Two-time and current WSW World Heavywight Champion Matt Cardona
† Indicates the current champion.
N/A The exact length of a title reign is too uncertain to calculate.
Rank Wrestler No. of
Reigns 		Combined
Days
1 Jeff Jarrett 1 540
2 Austin Aries 2 362
3 Matt Cardona † 2 332+
4 Johnny Downunder/Impact 2 247
5 Robbie Eagles 1 208
6 Billy Kidman 1 89
7 Shawn Spears 1 7
8 Rhino 1 3
9 Bryan Danielson 1 2
Ricochet 1 2
11 Brian Cage 1 1
12 Marty Scurll 1 N/A[a]

Notes

  1. ^ a b The length of the championship reign is too uncertain to calculate.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Arena Reports (6 October 2005). "10/5 WSW in Australia: Samoa Joe vs. Test, Styles vs. Daniels, Team 3D (Dudleys), Jarrrett". PWTorch.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Solie's Title Histories: WSW- World Series Wrestling". Solie's Vintage Wrestling. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b Phillips, Jim (19 May 2018). "World Series Wrestling: An Independent Foundation Fuels an International Future". The Gorilla Position. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b Apps, Jamie (23 June 2019). "#AndNEW: WSW World & Women's Champions on Zero Fear Tour". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b Tees, David (8 July 2022). "Janela vs Morrison, Cardona, Chelsea, Brian Cage, Flip Gordon, Taya & More: WSW Phoenix Rising Tour Night One on FITE.TV Report". PWInsider.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "WSW results: Impact title matches, Hangman Page vs. Joey Ryan". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. F4W Staff. 24 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  7. ^ Gallagher, Marilee (10 April 2018). "Match Point: Austin Aries vs Shane "Swerve" Strickland (4/13/18)". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  8. ^ Gallagher, Marilee (29 November 2018). "#AndNEW: Australian Star Robbie Eagles Wins Two Titles in Two Days". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  9. ^ Silverio, Ben F. (11 March 2023). "Matt Cardona Adds Another Championship To His Collection". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  10. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (8 October 2023). "WSW Full Throttle Results (10/6): Shawn Spears Faces Matt Cardona, Cassie Lee Returns To The Ring". Fightful. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.

External links

Professional wrestling in Australia
Categories