AWA World Women's Championship

AWA World Women's Championship
Details
PromotionAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA)
Date established1954
Date retired1991
Statistics
First champion(s)June Byers
Most reignsCandi Devine
(4 times)
Longest reignKay Noble
(3,127 days)
Shortest reignCandi Devine
(3 days)

The AWA World Women's Championship was the women's professional wrestling title in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) from 1961 until 1990.

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 June Byers August 20, 1954 House show Atlanta, GA 1 2563 Byers defeated Mildred Burke for the NWA World Women's Championship and continues to be recognized by AWA after it splits from NWA in 1960. [1]
2 Penny Banner August 26, 1961 House show Angola, IN 1 493 AWA ceased to recognize June Byers as women's champion after she no-showed a title defense. Banner won a battle royal to become the new AWA World Women's Champion.
— Vacated January 1, 1963 — — — — The AWA vacated the championship on January 1, 1963, but June Byers continued to be recognized as champion by the NWA until she retired in January 1964.
3 Kay Noble April 13, 1963 House show Saint Paul, MN 1 3127 Defeated Kathy Starr to win the vacant championship. [2]
4 Vivian Vachon November 4, 1971 House show Winnipeg, Manitoba 1 651
5 Betty Nicoli August 16, 1973 House show Winnipeg, Manitoba 1 587
— Vacated March 27, 1975 — — — — The championship was vacated when Betty Nicoli retired.
6 Candi Devine November 2, 1984 House show Minneapolis, MN 1 [Note 1] Devine won a battle royal to win the vacant championship.
7 Sherri Martel September 28, 1985 SuperClash Chicago, IL 1 5 [3]
— Vacated October 3, 1985 — — — — The championship was vacated for undocumented reasons.
8 Candi Devine October 14, 1985 House show Memphis, TN 2 3 Devine was awarded the championship without title match.
9 Sherri Martel October 17, 1985 House show Winnipeg, Manitoba 2 91 [4]
10 Candi Devine January 16, 1986 House show Winnipeg, Manitoba 3 163 [5]
11 Sherri Martel June 28, 1986 Battle by the Bay Oakland, CA 3 391
— Vacated July 24, 1987 — — — — The championship was vacated when Sherri Martel went to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
12 Madusa Miceli December 27, 1987 AWA Championship Wrestling Las Vegas, NV 1 335 Defeated Candi Devine to win the vacant championship. [6][7]
13 Wendi Richter November 26, 1988 House show Bloomington, MN 1 [Note 2] [8]
— Vacated N/A — — — — The championship was vacated when Wendi Richter left the promotion; she was still advertised as champion for the show where Devine wins the vacant title.
14 Candi Devine December 6, 1989 House show Toronto, ON 4 [Note 3] Devine defeated Judy Martin to win the vacant championship; Monster Ripper defeated Devine on July 7, 1990 at the WWC 17th Anniversary show in Bayamón, Puerto Rico to claim the title,[9] but Ripper was never officially recognized as champion by the AWA.
— Deactivated January 12, 1991 — — — — The championship retired when the AWA closed. [10]

Combined reigns

¤ The exact length of a title reign is uncertain; the combined length may not be correct.
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
days
1 Kay Noble 1 3,127
2 June Byers 1 2,563
3 Candi Devine 4 859–918¤
4 Vivian Vachon 1 651
5 Betty Nicoli 1 587
6 Penny Banner 1 493
7 Sherri Martel 3 487
8 Wendi Richter 1 370–375¤
9 Madusa Miceli 1 335

Notes

  1. ^ The exact date that Devine won the championship is unknown, meaning that her reign lasted between 302 and 331 days.
  2. ^ The exact date the championship was vacated is unknown, which means the title reign lasted between 370 and 375 days.
  3. ^ The exact date the AWA ceased operating is unknown, putting the reign at somewhere between 391 and 421 days.

References

  1. ^ Hoops, Brian (August 20, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (August 20): June Byers wins NWA Women's belt, Michael Shane wins TNA X-Division title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  2. ^ Hoops, Brian (April 13, 2016). "Daily pro wrestling history (04/13): Samoa Joe wins TNA World Title; Terry Funk wins ECW World Title". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on July 12, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "SuperClash I". Pro Wrestling History. September 28, 1985. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  4. ^ Hoops, Brian (October 17, 2016). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (10/17): Triple H vs. Steve Austin at No Mercy 1999". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Hoops, Brian (January 16, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/16): Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton win WCW Tag Team Titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  6. ^ Hoops, Brian (December 27, 2016). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (12/27): Kevin Nash ends Goldberg's streak at Starrcade". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "CvC: Made In USA, the Greatest Women's Champion is Debra Miceli". Bleacher Report. July 30, 2009. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Hoops, Brian (November 26, 2015). "Daily pro wrestling history (11/26): Scott Steiner wins WCW World Title, WCW vs. WWF on PPV". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  9. ^ ClassicsWWC (2012-07-23), WWC: Monster Ripper vs. Candi Devine (1990), archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2018-01-23
  10. ^ Hoops, Brian (February 4, 2008). "PWTorch.com Nostalgia: AWA History: The Rise, The Fall and the Legacy". PWTorch.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.