SWA World Championship explained

Championshipname:SWA World Championship
Vacated:November 3, 2022
Promotion:World Wonder Ring Stardom
Created:May 21, 2016
Mostreigns:All titleholders
(1 time)
Firstchamp:Io Shirai
Longestreign:Toni Storm
(612 days)
Shortestreign:Bea Priestley
(43 days)
Oldest:Syuri
Youngest:Toni Storm
(20 years, days)[1]
Heaviest:Viper
(94kg (207lb))
Lightest:Io Shirai
(54kg (119lb))[2]
Pastnames:
  • SWA Undisputed World Women's Championship

The is a women's professional wrestling championship promoted by the Japanese World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. Though the Japanese name of the title translates to "SWA World Championship", the title is also being internationally referred to as the "SWA Undisputed World Women's Championship".[3] The title is currently vacant as previous champion Mayu Iwatani relinquished it on November 3, 2022.

Title history

The title was created on May 21, 2016, during Stardom's three-day European tour, as the flagship title for a newly established international alliance called the . Promotions in the alliance include Stardom, British Empire Wrestling (BEW), the French Association Biterroise de Catch (ABC), the Mexican Women Wrestling Stars (WWS) and the Spanish Revolution Championship Wrestling (RCW).[4] Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won as a result of a scripted match. The rules of the championship state that only wrestlers from countries other than the reigning champion can challenge it. For example, as long as the title had a Japanese champion, no other Japanese wrestler could challenge for it.[5] On the same date, Io Shirai became the inaugural champion after defeating Toni Storm in the tournament finals.

On September 17, 2020, the championship was vacated after the previous titleholder, Jamie Hayter, was unable to travel to Stardom due to COVID-19 restrictions. On September 17, Bea Priestley won the title by defeating Momo Watanabe. On January 8, 2022, Syuri vacated the title due to being a triple champion and to focus on the World of Stardom Championship and the Goddesses of Stardom Championship. Thekla would win the vacant title after defeating Mina Shirakawa. On November 3, Mayu Iwatani relinquished the title in order to pursue after the newly established IWGP Women's Championship.

Reigns

As of,, there have been nine reigns between nine wrestlers and three vacancies. Io Shirai was the inaugural champion. Toni Storm has the longest reign at 612 days while also having the most defenses, with 15 times. Bea Priestley has the shortest at 43 days. Syuri is the oldest champion at 31 years old, while Storm is the youngest at 20 years old.

The championship is currently vacated, as the previous title holder Mayu Iwatani relinquished the title on November 3, 2022 at Hiroshima Goddess Festival in order to focus on the IWGP Women's Championship.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: http://wwr-stardom.com/?new01=5%E2%98%85star-gp2016%E5%8F%82%E6%88%A6%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B . https://web.archive.org/web/20171027004053/http://wwr-stardom.com/?new01=5%E2%98%85star-gp2016%E5%8F%82%E6%88%A6%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B . ja:5★Star GP2016参戦外国人選手 . October 27, 2017 . live . July 4, 2014 . July 26, 2016 . . Japanese.
  2. Web site: http://wwr-stardom.com/?stars=io . https://web.archive.org/web/20160719170002/http://wwr-stardom.com/?stars=io . ja:〜天空の逸女〜 紫雷イオ . July 19, 2016 . May 21, 2014 . July 26, 2016 . . Japanese.
  3. Web site: SWA世界選手権 . January 26, 2020 . . Japanese . January 7, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230107072934/https://wwr-stardom.com/title_history/swa-champion/ . live .
  4. Web site: The Stardom World Association (SWA) is an alliance between the promoters of Stardom, WWS, RCW, ABC Catch, and BEW. . May 21, 2016 . July 26, 2016 . We Are Stardom . . November 8, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201108163141/https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/734065853646446592 . live .
  5. Meltzer . Dave . Dave Meltzer . July 11, 2016 . July 11, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Preview for massive UFC weekend, including UFC 200, plus tons of news . . . 1083-9593 . 55 . The rules of the SWA title are that the champion can only defend against wrestlers from other countries. So if Shirai is the champion, nobody from Japan can get a shot. If Storm wins, nobody from New Zealand can get a shot..