The CZW World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion. The championship was created and debuted on March 27, 1999 at CZW's The Staple Gun event.[1] The first time the championship changed hands on foreign soil was on April 15, 2001, when Wifebeater defeated John Zandig for the championship in Birmingham, England at a live event.[1]
Title reigns are determined by professionally wrestling matches, usually of the hardcore/ultraviolent type. All title changes happen at live events, which are usually released on DVD. The inaugural champion was Nick Gage, whom CZW recognized to have become the champion after defeating twenty other men in a battle royal on March 27, 1999 at CZW's The Staple Gun event.[1] As of April 2024, Zandig holds the record for most reigns, with six.[1] At 718 days, Joe Gacy's third reign is the longest in the title's history.[1] The current champion is Rich Swann, who is in his first reign.
Title history
| 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 | Nick Gage | March 27, 1999 | The Staple Gun | Mantua Township, NJ | 1 | 56 | Gage won a 20-man battle royal to become the first champion. | [2] |
| 2 | John Zandig | May 22, 1999 | Madness | Mantua Township, NJ | 1 | 28 | This was a four-way dance, also involving John Kronus and Justice Pain. | [3] |
| 3 | Nick Gage | June 19, 1999 | Down in Flames | Mantua Township, NJ | 2 | 91 | [4] | |
| 4 | Wifebeater | September 18, 1999 | September Slam | Mantua Township, NJ | 1 | 63 | [5] | |
| 5 | John Zandig | November 20, 1999 | The War Begins | Mantua Township, NJ | 2 | 245 | This was an I Quit Barbed Wire Strap match. | [6] |
| 6 | Lobo | July 22, 2000 | No Rules, No Limits | Sewell, NJ | 1 | 49 | [7] | |
| 7 | Justice Pain | September 9, 2000 | Cage of Death II...After Dark | Sewell, NJ | 1 | 172 | This was a Cage of Death match. | [8] |
| 8 | Nick Berk | February 28, 2001 | Destruction in Dover | Dover, Delaware | 1 | <1 | [9] | |
| 9 | Yoshihiro Tajiri | February 28, 2001 | Destruction in Dover | Dover, Delaware | 1 | <1 | [9] | |
| 10 | John Zandig | February 28, 2001 | Destruction in Dover | Dover, Delaware | 3 | 46 | [9] | |
| 11 | Wifebeater | April 15, 2001 | CZW | Birmingham, England | 2 | 27 | ||
| 12 | John Zandig | May 12, 2001 | Stretched in Smyrna | Smyrna, Delaware | 4 | 33 | This was a Ultraviolent Deathmatch. | [10] |
| 13 | Wifebeater | June 14, 2001 | CZW | Aguascalientes, Mexico | 3 | 23 | ||
| 14 | Justice Pain | July 7, 2001 | A New Beginning | Sewell, NJ | 2 | 308 | [11] | |
| 15 | The Messiah | May 11, 2002 | High Stakes | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 28 | This was a high stakes match which includes first, Messiah's relationship with Kristi Myst, second Nick Mondo's career, and last Adam Flash's CZW Iron Man Championship in a four-way match. | [12] |
| 16 | Justice Pain | June 8, 2002 | Best of the Best II | Philadelphia, PA | 3 | 7 | This was a three-way match where Adam Flash serve as Special Guest Referee and Nick Mondo's CZW Iron Man Championship also on the line. | [13] |
| 17 | John Zandig | June 15, 2002 | IWW | Dublin, Ireland | 5 | <1 | This was a Barbed Wire Gaelic Deathmatch. | [14] |
| 18 | Justice Pain | June 15, 2002 | IWW | Dublin, Ireland | 4 | 182 | This was a Barbed Wire Gaelic Deathmatch. | [15] |
| 19 | The Messiah | December 14, 2002 | Cage of Death IV | Philadelphia, PA | 2 | 315 | This was an Iron man rules match. | [16] |
| 20 | John Zandig | October 25, 2003 | Shockwave | Pistoia, Italy | 6 | 133 | [17] | |
| 21 | The Messiah | March 6, 2004 | Overdrive | Philadelphia, PA | 3 | 336 | This was a Taipei & Bed of Nails Death match. | [18] |
| 22 | Ruckus | February 5, 2005 | Only the Strong: Scarred 4 Life | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 308 | ||
| 23 | Super Dragon | December 10, 2005 | Cage of Death VII: Living in Sin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 63 | [19] | |
| 24 | Ruckus | February 11, 2006 | Seven Years Strong: Settling the Score | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2 | 91 | Christopher Daniels won the CZW Championship by pinning Derek Frazier in a three way tournament match at Best of the Best 6, but refused the championship, wanting to win it by pinning Ruckus one on one later in the tournament in a losing effort. | |
| 25 | Chris Hero | May 13, 2006 | Best of the Best 6 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 119 | [20] | |
| 26 | Eddie Kingston | September 9, 2006 | Down with the Sickness 4-Ever: A Tribute to Chris Ca$h | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 91 | ||
| 27 | Justice Pain | December 9, 2006 | Cage of Death VIII: Coming Undone | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 5 | 217 | ||
| 28 | Ruckus | July 14, 2007 | Best of the Best 7 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 3 | 147 | ||
| 29 | Nick Gage | December 8, 2007 | Cage of Death IX | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 3 | 217 | ||
| 30 | Drake Younger | July 12, 2008 | A Tangled Web | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 567 | ||
| 31 | B-Boy | January 30, 2010 | High Stakes | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 14 | ||
| 32 | Jon Moxley | February 13, 2010 | CZW 11th Anniversary Show | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 175 | ||
| 33 | Nick Gage | August 7, 2010 | Southern Violence | Lumberton, North Carolina | 4 | 7 | ||
| 34 | Jon Moxley | August 14, 2010 | Tangled Web 3 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2 | 182 | [21] | |
| 35 | Robert Anthony | February 12, 2011 | CZW 12th Anniversary Show | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 56 | ||
| 36 | Devon Moore | April 9, 2011 | Best of the Best X | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 301 | This was a six-man tag match between Devon Moore and The Briscoe Brothers, and Robert Anthony and Philadelphia's Most Wanted (Joker and Sabian); where The Briscoes' CZW Tag Team Championship were also on the line. | |
| 37 | Scotty Vortekz | February 4, 2012 | CZW Super Saturday | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1 | 35 | ||
| 38 | Masada | March 10, 2012 | CZW Aerial Assault | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 518 | Won title in a four-way match also involving against DJ Hyde and Devon Moore | |
| 39 | Drew Gulak | August 10, 2013 | CZW Tangled Web 6 | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 273 | ||
| 40 | Biff Busick | May 10, 2014 | CZW Proving Grounds | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 161 | Helped by Sozio as part of "The Front". | |
| 41 | Sozio | October 18, 2014 | CZW Tangled Web 7 | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 56 | Turned on his former stablemate Biff Busick | |
| 42 | BLK Jeez | December 13, 2014 | CZW Cage of Death | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 238 | This was a Cage of Death also included Biff Busick and Drew Gulak. | |
| 43 | Matt Tremont | August 8, 2015 | CZW Heat | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 399 | ||
| 44 | Jonathan Gresham | September 10, 2016 | Down With The Sickness 2016 | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 91 | This was a Four Way Boards Of Nails Carpet Stripes Pains Of Glass Death Match including Greg Excellent and Joe Gacy.[22] | |
| 45 | Joe Gacy | December 10, 2016 | Cage Of Death 18 | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 154 | [23] | |
| 46 | Lio Rush | May 13, 2017 | Sacrifices | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 13 | ||
| 47 | Davey Richards | May 26, 2017 | Defy 3: Swerve City | Seattle, Washington | 1 | 43 | This title change took place at an event held by Defy Wrestling. | |
| 48 | Shane Strickland | July 8, 2017 | Evilution | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 126 | This was a four-way match, also including Joe Gacy and Lio Rush and contested for the Defy Wrestling Championship. | |
| 49 | Joe Gacy | November 11, 2017 | Night of Infamy | Sewell, New Jersey | 2 | <1 | ||
| 50 | Rickey Shane Page | November 11, 2017 | Night of Infamy | Sewell, New Jersey | 1 | 154 | This was Page's Ultimate Opportunity Coin match.[24] | |
| 51 | Maxwell Jacob Friedman | April 14, 2018 | Best of the Best 17 | Sewell, New Jersey | 1 | 225 | ||
| — | Vacated | November 25, 2018 | - | - | — | — | Maxwell Jacob Friedman stripped of the title due to injury. | |
| 52 | Mance Warner | December 9, 2018 | Cage of Death 20 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | 125 | Warner defeated Rickey Shane Page in a Cage of Death match to win the title. | |
| 53 | Anthony Greene | April 13, 2019 | Best of the Best 18 | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | <1 | This was a Fatal 4 Way match also including Anthony Gangone and B-Boy. | [25] |
| 54 | David Starr | April 13, 2019 | Best of the Best 18 | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | <1 | [25] | |
| 55 | John Silver | April 13, 2019 | Best of the Best 18 | Voorhees, New Jersey | 1 | 153 | Defeated Starr in the finals of the Best of the Best tournament. | [25] |
| 56 | Joe Gacy | September 13, 2019 | Down with the Sickness 2019 | Voorhees, New Jersey | 3 | 718 | This was triple threat match also including Conor Claxton. | |
| — | Vacated | August 31, 2021 | — | — | — | — | Joe Gacy stripped of the title due to signing to WWE. | |
| 57 | Rich Swann | May 20, 2023 | CZW Best of the Best | Havre de Grace, Maryland | 1 | 346+ | Defeated Fred Yehi in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant title. | [26] |
Combined reigns
As of April 30, 2024.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justice Pain | 5 | 886 |
| 2 | Joe Gacy | 3 | 872 |
| 3 | The Messiah | 3 | 679 |
| 4 | Drake Younger | 1 | 567 |
| 5 | Ruckus | 3 | 546 |
| 6 | Masada | 1 | 518 |
| 7 | John Zandig | 6 | 485 |
| 8 | Matt Tremont | 1 | 399 |
| 9 | Nick Gage | 4 | 371 |
| 10 | Jon Moxley | 2 | 357 |
| 11 | Devon Moore | 1 | 301 |
| 12 | Drew Gulak | 1 | 273 |
| 13 | Rich Swann † | 1 | 346+ |
| 14 | BLK Jeez | 1 | 238 |
| 15 | Maxwell Jacob Friedman | 1 | 225 |
| 16 | Biff Busick | 1 | 161 |
| 17 | Rickey Shane Page | 1 | 154 |
| 18 | John Silver | 1 | 153 |
| 19 | Shane Strickland | 1 | 126 |
| 20 | Mance Warner | 1 | 125 |
| 21 | Chris Hero | 1 | 119 |
| 22 | Wifebeater | 3 | 113 |
| 23 | Eddie Kingston | 1 | 91 |
| Jonathan Gresham | 1 | 91 | |
| 25 | Super Dragon | 1 | 63 |
| 26 | Robert Anthony | 1 | 56 |
| Sozio | 1 | 56 | |
| 28 | Lobo | 1 | 49 |
| 29 | Davey Richards | 1 | 43 |
| 30 | Scotty Vortekz | 1 | 35 |
| 31 | B-Boy | 1 | 14 |
| 32 | Lio Rush | 1 | 13 |
| 33 | Anthony Greene | 1 | <1 |
| David Starr | 1 | ||
| Nick Berk | 1 | ||
| Yoshihiro Tajiri | 1 |
References
- General
- Westcott, Brian. "CZW Heavyweight Championship reign history". Solie.org. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "CZW championship reign histories". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (1999)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2000)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2001)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2002)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2003)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2004)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2005)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2006)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2007)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2008)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- "Combat Zone Wrestling show archives (2009)". CZWrestling.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-06. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- Specific
External links
- CZW World Heavyweight Title History at Cagematch.net
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