The British Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the XWA. The championship was originally created and contested for in the Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) but moved to XWA when the former company became defunct. It has also been contested for in Ring of Honor (ROH) due to a working relationship between them and FWA.
History
The first Champion was Mark Sloan, who defeated Paul Glory in a tournament final on 11 July 1999. Jody Fleisch was the first person to win the belt twice after being stripped of it, while American wrestler Christopher Daniels was the first non-British person to win the belt and go on to defend it on foreign soil.
Originally the belt was mostly defended under two out of three falls match rules, as was the tradition in British wrestling. This changed on 12 April 2005, when champion Alex Shane signed a cast-iron contract to make new FWA British Title rules official and permanent making all future championship matches simply one fall.
On 13 May 2006 the FWA British Heavyweight Title belt was stolen from the Morecambe Dome immediately following the FWA event at the venue during an FWA versus All-Star Wrestling show. Due to being stolen a new belt had to be created. When the FWA was forced to retire in its interpromotional war with International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom, the XWA carried the lineage of the championship simply renaming it the British Heavyweight Championship and using the same physical belt. However, in April 2009, XWA founder Greg Lambert announced the creation of a new British Heavyweight Championship that did not bear the FWA initials and gave the original belt back to Alex Shane in time for the resurrection of the FWA.
On 17 February 2018 Rhia O’Reilly became the first woman to hold the title, defeating Cara Noir in an inter-promotional show with Pro Wrestling: EVE.
Reigns No.ChampionReignDateDays heldLocationEventNotesRef. Mark SloanPortsmouth, HampshireNo SurprisesAlex ShaneBirmingham, West MidlandsBlack Country ChaosGuy ThunderHertford, HertfordshireLive eventVacantN/AJustin RichardsHalifax, West YorkshireEvil IntentionsVacantBolton, Greater ManchesterWhen Thunder StrikesDoug WilliamsPortsmouth, HampshireHigh PotentialFlash BarkerWalthamstow, LondonUrban LegendsJody FleischPortsmouth, HampshireNo SurprisesVacantN/AJody FleischBethnal Green, LondonBritish UprisingChristopher DanielsWalthamstow, LondonLondon CallingDoug WilliamsPhiladelphia, PANight of ChampionsAlex ShaneCoventry, West MidlandsBritish Uprising 3Hade VansenHoddesdon, HertfordshireNew FrontiersRobbie BrooksideMorecambe, LancashireSummer ClassicJonny StormMorecambe, LancashireWar On The Shore 3Stevie KnightMorecambe, LancashireVendetta 2008Sam SlamMorecambe, LancashireLast Fight at the Prom 2008SpudMorecambe, LancashireLast Fight at the Prom 2009Johnny PhereMorecambe, LancashireWar On The Shore 6Alex ShaneMorecambe, LancashireWar On The Shore 6Johnny PhereMorecambe, LancashireLast Fight At The Prom 2011VacantMorecambe, LancashireXWA vs GPW VendettaDamian O'ConnorSudbury, SuffolkXWA RevivalLion KidColchester, EssexXWA 42: The Summer SupershowThomas DawkinsColchester, EssexXWA 44: Go Big!VacantColchester, EssexXWA 45: GoldrushCara NoirColchester, EssexXWA 45: GoldrushRhia O'ReillyBethnal Green, LondonXWA 51: WrestleFriends: Equal Fights!MalikBethnal Green, LondonXWA 54: Everything Stops At 3 O'ClockRetired07 October 2018
Combined reigns RankChampionNo. ofreignsCombined days1Doug Williams 2 9092 Damian O'Connor 1 6533 Alex Shane 2 5784 Thomas Dawkins/Cara Noir 4695 Jonny Storm 1 4556 Lion Kid 3997 Sam Slam 3718 Johnny Phere 2 2949 Robbie Brookside 1 26610 Justin Richards 25911 Mark Sloan 23112 Spud 20313 Hade Vansen 16014 Rhia O'Reilly15 Christopher Daniels 14816 Flash Barker 12817 Stevie Knight 6318Malik 5019 Jody Fleisch 2 1820 Guy Thunder 1 8
See also
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom
References
External links XWA British Heavyweight Championship