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AWA World Women's Championship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The AWA World Women's Championship was the female title in the American Wrestling Association from 1961 until 1990.
Silver-shaded lines in the history indicate periods of unknown lineage.
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Location: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June Byers | 1 | 1960 | Byers was recognized as the first AWA World Women's Champion after the AWA split from the National Wrestling Alliance. Byers had defeated Mildred Burke for the NWA World Women's Championship on August 20, 1954 in Atlanta, Georgia. | |
| The AWA vacated the title in 1963. Byers continued to be recognized as NWA Champion until she retired in January 1964. | ||||
| Kay Noble | 1 | April 13, 1963 | St. Paul, Minnesota | Defeated Kathy Starr. |
| Vivian Vachon | 1 | November 4, 1971 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | Defeated Betty Nicoli. |
| Betty Nicoli | 1 | August 16, 1973 | ||
| Candi Devine | 1 | November 1984 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Won a battle royal. The title was originally vacated in 85 but awarded back to Devine. AWA Superstars has since revised the title's history and merged the two reigns |
| Sherri Martel | 1 | September 28, 1985 | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Candi Devine | 2 | October 1985 | Title awarded. | |
| Sherri Martel | 2 | October 17, 1985 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Candi Devine | 3 | January 16, 1986 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | This was the last AWA card to be held in Winnipeg before the WWE took over the AWA's TV time in March 1986. |
| Sherri Martel | 3 | June 28, 1986 | Oakland, California | |
| Title vacated on July 25, 1987 when Martel goes to the World Wrestling Federation. | ||||
| Madusa Miceli | 1 | December 27, 1987 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Defeated Candi Devine. |
| Wendi Richter | 1 | November 26, 1988 | Bloomington, Minnesota | |
| Title vacated in December 1989 when Richter left the promotion. | ||||
| Candi Devine | 4 | December 6, 1989 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Defeated Judy Martin. |
| Title retired in January 1991 when the AWA closed. | ||||
The title was supposedly revived in 1999 in Dale Gagner's independent promotion AWA Superstars of Wrestling, who relicensed the AWA name. However, World Wrestling Entertainment has sued Gagner for the use of the AWA name, citing trademark infringement, as the WWE owns the AWA tape library, trademarks, and logos. AWA Superstars of Wrestling has claimed lineage for their world title to the classic AWA Women's title and control over the title history, but because there is no connection to the original organizations or individuals involved therein, no continuity in title reigns or even physical belts, and questionable legal use of the AWA name, the claims made by AWA Superstars of Wrestling are in historical dispute and in legal jeopardy. AWA Superstars of Wrestling awarded the title to Sherri Martel in 1999. The title was retired on June 19, 2007 in respect to Martel's death on June 15. The title was held last by Nanae Takahashi, who is now recognized as the first holder of the newly-created AWA Japan Women's Championship.