The WSL World Heavyweight Championship was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in the

Wrestling Superstars Live Wrestling Superstars - Live! was a governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctioned various championships. It was founded in 1996 by Dale Gagner and Jonnie Stewart. History In 1996, Dale Gagner and his as ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

. It was originally known as the AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship.

History

In 1996, Dale Gagner and his associate Jonnie Stewart, former

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 owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

(AWA) employees, filed corporate papers to license the AWA name in the state of Minnesota and formed an organization known as AWA Superstars of Wrestling. In April 2007

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWE) filed a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

against Dale Gagner and Jonnie Stewart, citing

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...

, as WWE owned all American Wrestling Association properties due to their purchase after the AWA's closure. In October 2008, the

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

ruled that although Gagner and Stewart had licensed the AWA in the state of Minnesota, they had never filed for a federal trademark and ruled in favor of WWE. The court ruling prohibits Gagner and his associate from exploiting or trading on the AWA name or any other derivatives. As a result, the organization was renamed to

. Due to there being no connection to the American Wrestling Association, Wrestling Superstars Live championship reigns are recognized from 1996 and forward.

Title history

* Wrestling Superstars Live considers Zbyszko's reign before and his reign after his loss to Brian Logan to be one continuous reign.
† Unofficial title changes not recognized by Wrestling Superstars Live.

Combined reigns

American Wrestling Affiliates / Championship Wrestling Alliance

Combined reigns

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wsl World Heavyweight Championship Pro Wrestling Zero1 championships World heavyweight wrestling championships World professional wrestling championships Wrestling Superstars Live