Professional Wrestling Championships – Claims to World Status
Article 1 of 10: Introduction
Author: Robert Wallace
Email: robert@wrestlingbooker.com
Summary: with so many pro wrestling promotions around each with their own titles that claim their own main belts to be world-championships it is hard to identify which ones have a valid claim to be the true World Championship. Add to this the lack of a global governing body and the lack of universally recognised criteria and it becomes impossible to definitively single one title out above the rest. This article explores the claims of the main contenders to this accolade and concludes by narrowing down the field of contenders to those fitting the criteria used herein.
Criteria:
In order to discuss the merits of each belt, a set of - at least loose - criteria must be specified. Following consultation with other wrestling fans I have decided to use the following five criteria as somewhat flexible definitions of a World Championship:
The belt should be defended regularly and currently, or at least occasionally, in more than one country and preferably several countries on more than one continent.
The belt should be contested fairly regularly by wrestlers of different nationalities.
The belt and its lineage should be viewed as prestigious by the wrestling community (both wrestlers and fans) around the world.
The belt should be the highest prize in any promotion in which it is contested.
The belt should be regularly contested by well-respected and accomplished wrestlers.
Contenders:
It would be impossible to list an explore every title that makes or could make a claim. I have therefore drawn up, in conjunction with some other wrestling fans, a short-list of those belts that seem to have a credible claim.
Titles which can make any plausible claim world status:
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
WWE Championship
World Heavyweight Championship
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
AWA World Heavyweight Championship
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
GHC Heavyweight Championship
AJPW Triple Crown World Heavyweight Championship
In this sequence of articles, I will explore each one of the above titles in turn highlighting the arguments for and against each title. In doing so I will detail how, if at all, each title can trace its lineage back to what is generally regarded to be the first point in history that an undisputed World Heavyweight Championship existed: 4th May 1905 in Madison Square Gardens when George Hackenschmidt (as the undisputed champion of Europe) defeated Tom Jenkins (as the undisputed champion of North America) by two falls no nil thus unifying the championships of the only professional wrestling continents to become the first Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World.
Article 1 - Introduction
Article 5 – AWA's claim
Article 6 – ECW's claim
Article 7 – IWGP'c claim
Article 8 – GHC's claim
Article 9 – AJPW's claim
Article 10 - Conclusion