AWA World Heavyweight Championship



In the Classic Era, the AWA World Heavyweight Championship was the top title in the Heavyweight class of the American Wrestling Association.

History
Prior to the start of the Classic Era, the AWA was formed out of a dispute with the National Wrestling Alliance over who the real World Heavyweight Champion was. At the start of the era, the Champion was Verne Gagne.

In 1988, Jerry Lawler won the title from Curt Hennig. Later that year, at AWA SuperClash in Chicago, Lawler would unify this title with the WCWA Heavyweight Championship, defeating their Champion, Kerry Von Erich in a unification bout. This reign would last until early 1989, when Lawler was stripped of the AWA title over a scheduling dispute. Lawler and the league he was a part of at the time, the Championship Wrestling Association would keep the belt however and refer to it as the Unified Heavyweight Championship, an identity it would keep as the CWA merged into the United States Wrestling Association out of Texas, itself born from the ashes of the WCWA.

This title would remain active until 1990, when its Champion at the time, Larry Zbyszko signed with World Championship Wrestling and the league itself folding soon after.

List of Champions

 * Verne Gagne (1973-75)(1980-81)
 * Nick Bockwinkel (1975-80)(1981-82)(1982-84)(1986-87)
 * Otto Wanz (1982)
 * Jumbo Tsuruta (1984)
 * Rick Martel (1984-85)
 * Stan Hansen (1985-86)
 * Curt Hennig (1987-88)
 * Jerry Lawler (1988-89)
 * Larry Zbyszko (1989-90)(1990)
 * Mr Saito (1990)