Canadian International Heavyweight Championship

Canadian International Heavyweight Championship
Details
PromotionLutte Internationale (1976–1987)
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2024–present)
Date establishedMarch 29, 1976
Current champion(s)PCO
Date wonJuly 20, 2024
Other name(s)
  • Canadian World Championship
  • Canadian International Heavyweight Championship
    (1976–1987)
  • International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship
    (2024–present)
Statistics
First champion(s)Serge Dumont
Most reignsDino Bravo (7 reigns)
Longest reignPCO (115+ days)
Shortest reignA. J. Francis (35 days)
Oldest championPCO (56 years old)
Youngest championA. J. Francis (38 years old)

The Canadian International Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale (International Wrestling). It was the successor to the Montreal Athletic Commission's MAC World Heavyweight Championship (later renamed the International Heavyweight Championship), which was retired after the Commission's promotion, the International Wrestling Association, closed in 1975. The title was promoted from 1976 until Lutte Internationale closed in 1987, upon which the title was retired.

In 2024, the title was revived by the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as the International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship by A. J. Francis, with the explanation that Francis purchased the rights to the title and declared himself champion. This occurred on June 15, 2024 in Cicero, Illinois during the Impact! tapings which aired on June 27.[1][2] The current champion is PCO in his first reign. He defeated Francis in a Montreal Street Fight at Slammiversary on July 20, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec.[3]

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
Lutte Internationale
 1  Serge Dumont  March 29, 1976  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  127 Defeated Johnny Rougeau.  
 2  Billy Two Rivers  August 3, 1976  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  160     
 3  Serge Dumont  September 1976  IW show N/A 2  N/A     
 4  Johnny Rougeau  September 1976  IW show N/A 1  N/A     
Championship history is unrecorded from September 1976 to February 1980.
 5  Edouard Carpentier  1980  IW show N/A 1  N/A Unknown who Carpentier defeated for the title.  
 6  Java Ruuk  February 11, 1980  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  189     
 7  Edouard Carpentier  August 18, 1980  IW show N/A 2  40     
 8  Pierre Lefebvre  September 27, 1980  IW show N/A 1  3     
 9  Dino Bravo  September 30, 1980  IW show N/A 1  107 Unknown who Bravo defeated for the title.  
 10  Michel Dubois  January 12, 1981  IW show N/A 1  159     
 11  Dino Bravo  June 20, 1981  IW show Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 2  N/A     
 12  Sailor White  January 1982  IW show N/A 1  N/A     
 13  Dino Bravo  July 1982  IW show N/A 3  N/A     
— Vacated  July 1982 — N/A — —
 14  Billy Robinson  August 16, 1982  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  147 Defeated Rick Martel in tournament final.  
 15  The Destroyer  January 10, 1983  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  2     
 16  Billy Robinson  January 12, 1983  IW show Quebec City, Quebec, Canada 2  54     
 17  Dino Bravo  March 7, 1983  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 4  N/A    [4]
 18  Rick Martel  June 1983  IW show N/A 1  N/A     
 19  Dino Bravo  September 21, 1983  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 5  384     
 20  King Tonga  October 9, 1984  IW show Hull, Quebec, Canada 1  125     
 21  Dino Bravo  February 11, 1985  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 6  91 Special referee—Verne Gagne. [5]
— Vacated  May 13, 1985 — N/A — —
 22  Dino Bravo  May 28, 1985  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 7  398 Defeated King Tonga; recognized by the WWF during their takeover of the Montreal office. [6]
 23  The Great Samu  June 30, 1986  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  126     
 24  David Schultz  November 3, 1986  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  77     
 25  Hercules Ayala  January 19, 1987  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  27    [7]
 26  Abdullah the Butcher  February 15, 1987  IW show Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1  197    [8]
— Deactivated  August 31, 1987 — N/A — — Title retired upon the closing of Lutte Internationale.  
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)
27 A. J. Francis June 15, 2024 Impact! Cicero, Illinois, United States 1 35 Title revived by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as the International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, with the explanation that Francis bought the rights to the title and declared himself as champion.
This episode aired on tape delay on June 27, 2024. 		[1][2]
28 PCO July 20, 2024 Slammiversary Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1 161+ This was a Montreal Street Fight. This was also for Francis' TNA Digital Media Championship. [3]

References

  1. ^ a b "TNA iMPACT! on AXS TV Results: June 27, 2024". TNA Wrestling.com. TNA Wrestling. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Thomas, Jeremy. "AJ Francis Proclaims Himself International Heavyweight Champion On TNA Impact". 411 Mania. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Powell, Jason (July 20, 2024). "TNA Slammiversary results: Powell's live review of Moose vs. Joe Hendry vs. Josh Alexander vs. Nic Nemeth vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Steve Maclin in an elimination match for the TNA Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Hoops, Brian (March 7, 2020). "Daily Pro Wrestling history (03/07): Bruno Sammartino vs. Giant Baba". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Hoops, Brian (February 11, 2017). "On this day in pro wrestling history (Feb 11): AJ Styles wins the IWGP Title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  6. ^ F4W Staff (May 28, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 28): Hulk Hogan vs. Nick Bockwinkel, Bruno vs. Superstar Graham double DQ". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Hoops, Brian (January 19, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/19): Ric Flair wins WWF title in 1992 Royal Rumble". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  8. ^ Hoops, Brian (February 15, 2017). "On this day in pro wrestling history (Feb 15): Eddie Guerrero wins the WWE Championship". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 15, 2017.