American Heavyweight Championship

On this page, you find the full Title History for the American Heavyweight Championship, with all Championship Info, Statistics, the Belt Design changes through the years, and the full list of Title Reigns, along with dates, events, and reign durations.

The American Heavyweight Championship was a secondary title contested in Independent Circuit, by men wrestlers.

The championship was first established on January 19, 1881.

The American Heavyweight Championship was retired on January 1, 1924, when it was unified into the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (Original).

American Heavyweight Championship: Title History

For the Title History of the championship in which this title was unified into, see the page for the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (Original).

American Heavyweight Championship: Title Reigns

N.	Image	Champion	Reign
	Deactivated into the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship January 1, 1924 37232+ days Title Abandoned
26		Wladek Zbyszko January 8, 1917 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania \| Live Show 2549 days Still/again champion as of September 22, 1922 (or a different reign, possibly by winning a tournament which has started on February 21, 1922).	2549 days
25		Dr. Benjamin Roller July 10, 1914 Rock Island, Illinois \| Live Show 913 days Ed "Strangler" Lewis defeats Roller during an international tournament on January 15, 1916, in New York City (title may not be on the line).	913 days
24		William Demetral October 21, 1913 Lexington, Kentucky \| Live Show 262 days	262 days
23		Ed Lewis 1 September 18, 1913 Lexington, Kentucky \| Live Show 33 days	33 days
22		Dr. Benjamin Roller July 4, 1913 Benton Harbor, Michigan \| Live Show 76 days	76 days
21		Charlie Cutler March 25, 1912 Chicago, Illinois \| Live Show 466 days Jess Westergaard (Reimer) defeats Ordemann on January 7, 1913, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to claim a title but loses to Cutler on January 22, 1913, in Dallas, Texas.	466 days
20		Henry Ordemann December 14, 1911 Minneapolis, Minesota \| Live Show 102 days	102 days
19		Jess Reimer November 7, 1911 Des Moines, Iowa \| Live Show 37 days	37 days
18		Charlie Cutler March 25, 1911 Buffalo, New York \| Live Show 227 days	227 days
17		Dr. Benjamin Roller March 6, 1911 Chicago, Illinois \| Live Show 19 days	19 days
16		Charlie Cutler February 1, 1911 Minneapolis, Minesota \| Live Show 33 days	33 days
15		Henry Ordemann October 25, 1910 Minneapolis, Minesota \| Live Show 99 days Defeats Charlie Cutler and awarded the title by special referee Frank Gotch.	99 days
		Vacant January 1, 1910 297 days Gotch vacates the title after two years as a double crown champion to concentrate on the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship he won from George Hackenschmidt on April 3, 1908, in Chicago, Illinois.	297 days
14		Frank Gotch 3 December 17, 1906 Kansas City, Missouri \| Live Show 1111 days	1111 days
13		Fred Beell December 1, 1906 New Orleans, Luisiana \| Live Show 16 days	16 days
12		Frank Gotch 2 May 23, 1906 Kansas City, Missouri \| Live Show 192 days	192 days
11		Tom Jenkins March 15, 1905 New York City, New York \| Live Show 434 days European Champion George Hackenschmidt defeated American Heavyweight Champion, Tom Jenkins, on May 4, 1905, in New York City to become the recognized as the 1st World Heavyweight Champion.	434 days
10		Frank Gotch 1 January 27, 1904 Bellingham, Washington \| Live Show 413 days	413 days
9		Tom Jenkins April 3, 1903 Buffalo, New York \| Live Show 299 days	299 days
8		Dan McLeod December 25, 1902 Worcester, Massachusetts \| Live Show 99 days Jenkins forfeited the title to McLeod after having blood poisoning in his leg during their match.	99 days
7		Tom Jenkins November 7, 1901 Cleveland, Ohio \| Live Show 413 days	413 days
6		Yusuf İsmail June 20, 1898 Chicago, Illinois \| Live Show 1235 days	1235 days
5		Dan McLeod October 26, 1897 Indianapolis, Indiana \| Live Show 237 days	237 days
4		Martin Burns 1 April 20, 1895 Chicago, Illinois \| Live Show 920 days	920 days
3		Evan "Strangler" Lewis April 11, 1887 Chicago, Illinois \| Live Show 2931 days Lewis unified the American Catch-as-Catch Can Championship and the American Greco-Roman Heavyweight Championship by defeating Ernest Roeber on March 2, 1893, in a 3 out of 5 falls match with alternating Greco-Roman match and Catch-as-Catch can matches. The two titles became known as the American Heavyweight Wrestling Championship.	2931 days
2		Joe Acton August 7, 1882 New York City, New York \| Live Show 1708 days Has defeated Tom Cannon on December 9, 1881, in London, England, for the Catch-as-Catch-Can Title; Bibby is billed as champion for a match against Greco-Roman champion William Muldoon on September 3, 1882, in Elmira, NY.	1708 days
1		Edwin Bibby January 19, 1881 New York City, New York \| Live Show 565 days Defeats Duncan C. Ross in a catch-as-catch-can match for "the championship of America".	565 days

American Heavyweight Championship: Names & Belt Designs

- American Heavyweight ChampionshipJanuary 19, 1881January 1, 1924

American Heavyweight Championship: Statistics

Promotions History
Promotion from to
PromotionINDY January 19, 1881 January 1, 1924

Promotion	from	to
PromotionINDY	January 19, 1881	January 1, 1924

Promotion Independent Circuit
GenderMale
Title TypeMidcard / Secondary
Date EstablishedJanuary 19, 1881
Date RetiredJanuary 1, 1924
Unified Into World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship

Most Number of Reigns

Rank	Wrestler	Reigns
	Frank Gotch	3
	Tom Jenkins	3
	Dr. Benjamin Roller	3
	Charlie Cutler	3
	Dan McLeod	2
6	Henry Ordemann	2

Most Combined Days

Rank	Wrestler	Days
	Evan "Strangler" Lewis	2931
	Wladek Zbyszko	2549
	Frank Gotch	1716
	Joe Acton	1708
	Yusuf İsmail	1235

Longest Reigns

Wrestler	Reign	Days
Evan "Strangler" Lewis	April 11, 1887 - April 20, 1895	2931
Wladek Zbyszko	January 8, 1917 - January 1, 1924	2549
Joe Acton	August 7, 1882 - April 11, 1887	1708
Yusuf İsmail	June 20, 1898 - November 7, 1901	1235
Frank Gotch	December 17, 1906 - January 1, 1910	1111