The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
in the
Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ...
during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the
NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), title for lighter wrestlers, board-controlled by the National Wrestling Alliance since December 1949.
It originally was used by va ...
, in use since 1939, was renamed the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Memphis version)'' in 1974. The title's name changed again in 1978, when it was renamed the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship due to a partnership with the
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...
. It was also called the Mid-Southern Heavyweight Championship in ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' and its sister publications, in order for this title to not be confused with
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...
's
version of the title.
The title was revived in the
United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...
from 1989 until 1997 when the USWA closed. It was known as the USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship and later simply the USWA Heavyweight Championship during that time; however, unlike the previous Southern title in Memphis, this one played a secondary role to the
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship
The USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship formed in 1988, which consisted of the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship from World Class Championship Wrestling and the AWA World Heavy ...
. It was revived in
Memphis Championship Wrestling as the MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship in 2000 and 2001. It was later revived and renamed in 2004 for use in
Memphis Wrestling as the Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship, where the last recorded champion was
Brian Christopher
Brian Christopher Lawler (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as "Too Sexy" Brian ...
, winning the championship on November 4, 2010, but with no recorded championship matches since then.
Memphis Wrestling held their last regular event in 2009.
Title history
United States Wrestling Association
Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Wrestling
Footnotes
References
{{NWA Mid-America championships
1974 establishments in Tennessee
American Wrestling Association championships
Continental Wrestling Association championships
Heavyweight wrestling championships
Memphis Championship Wrestling championships
National Wrestling Alliance championships
NWA Mid-America championships
Regional professional wrestling championships
United States Wrestling Association championships