NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship (New Zealand version)

The New Zealand version of the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship defended in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Dominion Wrestling Union from 1929 to 1953 and in All Star Pro Wrestling from 1968 to 1990. It was first won in 1929 by Canadian wrestler George Walker, who claimed the title upon his arrival in New Zealand, and defended the belt for seven years before leaving for a rival promotion in 1935. It was the second oldest championship after the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship and had 36 officially recognized champions during its 60-year history.[1]

Title history

# Order in reign history
Reign The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed
Event The event in which the title was won
— Used for vacated reigns so as not to count it as an official reign
N/A The information is not available or is unknown
+ Indicates the current reign is changing daily

Reigns

# Wrestlers Reign Date Days
held		 Location Event Notes Ref.
1 George Walker 1 1929 N/A New Zealand Live event Claims title upon arriving in New Zealand. [1][2]
2 Earl McCready 1 1935 N/A New Zealand Live event McCready is recognized as champion after Walker leaves the Dominion Wrestling Union for a rival promotion; he later legitimised his claim to the title when he defeated Walker in Wellington on 9 November 1937. [1][3]
3 John Katan 1 8 July 1940 30 Wellington Live event [1][4][5]
4 Lofty Blomfield 1 7 August 1940 33 Wellington Live event [1]
5 John Katan 2 9 September 1940 15 Auckland Live event [1]
6 Earl McCready 2 24 September 1940 N/A Dunedin Live event [1]
— Vacated — 1953 — N/A N/A The championship is vacated when Earl McCready leaves New Zealand and the title subsequently remained inactive for the next 15 years. [1]
7 George Gordienko 1 1968 N/A Auckland Live event [1]
8 John Da Silva 1 18 March 1968 192 Auckland Live event [1][6]
9 Gordon Nelson 1 1968 N/A N/A Live event [1]
10 John Da Silva 2 26 September 1968 1,253 Wellington Live event [1]
11 Robert Bruce 1 2 March 1972 563 Upper Hutt Live event [1]
12 John Da Silva 3 16 September 1973 177 New Plymouth Live event [1]
13 Abdullah the Butcher 1 12 March 1974 N/A N/A Live event [1][7]
14 John Da Silva 4 1974 N/A N/A Live event [1]
15 Bulldog Brower 1 1974 N/A N/A Live event [1]
16 John Da Silva 5 1975 N/A N/A Live event [1]
17 Robert Bruce 2 1975 N/A N/A Live event [1]
18 John Da Silva 6 1976 N/A N/A Live event [1]
19 Don Muraco 1 1977 N/A N/A Live event [1]
20 King Curtis Iaukea 1 1977 N/A N/A Live event [1]
21 Rick Martel 1 26 May 1977 N/A Auckland Live event [1][8]
22 Ali Vaziri 1 1977 N/A N/A Live event [1]
23 Tommy Seigler 1 1977 N/A N/A Live event [1]
— Vacated — 1978 — N/A N/A The championship is vacated when Seigler leaves New Zealand. [1]
24 Les Thornton 1 January 1978 N/A N/A Live event [1]
25 Chris Markoff 1 1978 N/A N/A Live event [1]
26 Ron Miller 1 1978 N/A Auckland Live event [1]
27 Jack Claybourne 2 April 1978 N/A Australia Live event [1]
28 Toru Tanaka 1 13 June 1978 9 Christchurch Live event [1][9]
29 Steve Rickard 1 22 June 1978 28 Auckland Live event [1]
30 Toru Tanaka 2 20 July 1978 28 Auckland Live event [1]
31 Steve Rickard 2 17 August 1978 42 Auckland Live event [1][10]
32 Mad Dog Martin 1 28 September 1978 N/A Auckland Live event [1]
33 Leo Burke 1 1979 N/A N/A Live event [1]
34 Rick Martel 2 19 March 1979 70 Auckland Live event Defeated Mad Dog Martin to win the vacant title. [1][8][11]
35 Ripper Collins 1 28 May 1979 84 Auckland Live event [1]
36 Peter Maivia 1 20 August 1979 14 Auckland Live event [1][12]
37 Mr. Fuji 1 3 September 1979 N/A Auckland Live event [1][13]
38 Rick Martel 3 N/A N/A N/A Live event [1][8]
— Vacated — 1980 — N/A N/A The championship is vacated when Martel leaves New Zealand. [1]
39 Ron Miller 2 May 1980 N/A Australia Live event Won tournament. [1]
40 Larry O'Day 1 14 July 1980 14 Auckland Live event [1]
41 Ron Miller 3 28 July 1980 93 Auckland Live event [1]
42 Steve Rickard 3 29 October 1980 176 Auckland Live event [1]
43 Jos LeDuc 1 23 April 1981 7 Auckland Live event [1]
44 Mark Lewin 1 30 April 1981 70 Auckland Live event [1]
45 Jos LeDuc 2 9 July 1981 35 Auckland Live event [1]
46 Steve Rickard 4 13 August 1981 35 Auckland Live event [1]
47 Butcher Brannigan 1 17 September 1981 7 Auckland Live event [1]
48 Steve Rickard 5 24 September 1981 252 Auckland Live event [1]
49 Baron Karl Von Krupp 1 3 June 1982 28 Auckland Live event [1]
50 Steve Rickard 6 1 July 1982 70 Auckland Live event [1]
51 Ox Baker 1 9 September 1982 N/A Auckland Live event [1]
52 Al Perez 1 September 1982 N/A N/A Live event [1]
53 King Kamata 1 7 October 1982 N/A Auckland Live event [1]
54 Al Perez 2 October 1982 N/A Auckland Live event [1]
55 Pat O'Connor 2 4 November 1982 N/A Auckland Live event [1]
— Vacated — 1983 — N/A N/A [1]
56 Butcher Brannigan 2 1983 N/A N/A Live event [1]
57 Ricky Rickard 1 1983 N/A N/A Live event [1]
58 Larry O'Day 2 1983 N/A N/A Live event [1]
59 Steve Rickard 7 1983 N/A N/A Live event [1]
60 Zar Mongol 1 1983 N/A N/A Live event [1]
61 Steve Rickard 8 1983 N/A N/A Live event [1]
— Vacated — 1983 — N/A N/A The championship is vacated and remains inactive for several years. [1]
62 Siva Afi 1 13 July 1990 N/A Auckland Live event Defeated Canadian Stockman in tournament final. [1]
— Deactivated — 1990 — N/A N/A The title is retired.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 "British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Title". The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo. Wrestling-Titles.com. 2003. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  2. ↑ Austin, Tex (January 1934). "News of the Mat". Ring Magazine. The New WAWLI Papers (Wrestling As We Liked It) No. 547. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Oliver, Greg (27 September 2000). "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Earl McCready". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  4. ↑ Sokolyk, K.W. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: John Katan". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  5. ↑ Woodward, Buck (9 November 2009). "This Day In History: The Most Talked About Match In Wrestling History - The Montreal Screwjob". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  6. ↑ Marinez, Ryan; Buck Woodward (18 March 2009). "This Day In History: The Final WCW PPV, Saturday Night's Main Event Returns And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Abdullah the Butcher". Bios. Oklafan.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Rick Martel". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  9. ↑ Gamble, Ron (3 June 2003). "Official 411 Wrestling Almanac For June (Part 1)". Columns. 411mania.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  10. ↑ Martinez, Ryan (17 August 2008). "This Day In History: Shane Douglas And The Dudley Boyz Win Gold At Hardcore Heaven And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  11. ↑ Woodward, Buck (19 March 2010). "This Day In History: WCW's Last Nitro Before The Buyout, The First And Last WCW Uncensored Events And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  12. ↑ Slagle, Steve (2000). "High Chief Peter Maivia". Photos & Bios: The Stories Behind the Stars. Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  13. ↑ Martinez, Ryan (3 September 2009). "This Day In History: NWA At The Omni, WCCW Star Wars, Cadillac Tournament, Battle Of Los Angeles And More". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
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