GCW United States Title
The GCW United States Title was the original secondary singles title in Global Championship Wrestling. The title was introduced on March 30, 1963 in a 8-man tournament. The title was scrapped on March 18, 1975.
1 Title History
1.1 Names
Name | Years |
---|---|
GCW United States Title | 1963-1975 |
1.2 Reigns
# | Wrestler | Reigns | Date | Days Held | Location | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Danny Hodge | 1 | March 30, 1963 | 56 | Baltimore, MD | Live event | This was the finals of a 8-man tournament. Hodge defeated The Sheik in the finals. |
2 | Gene Kiniski | 1 | May 25, 1963 | 196 | Washington, DC | Live event | - |
3 | Bobo Brazil | 1 | December 7, 1963 | 28 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
4 | Ernie Ladd | 1 | January 4, 1964 | 196 | Washington, DC | Live event | - |
5 | Danny Hodge | 2 | July 18, 1964 | 56 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
6 | Ernie Ladd | 2 | September 12, 1964 | 224 | New York, NY | Live event | On January 30, 1965 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Edouard Carpentier defeated Ernie Ladd by countout. Due to the crowd nearly rioting, referee Greg Massie handed Carpentier the United States Title, though he is not officially recognized as a champion. |
7 | Edouard Carpentier | 1 | April 24, 1965 | 252 | New York, NY | Live event | Ernie Ladd's manager, Jack Davis, was suspended in a cage above the ring for this match. |
8 | Luke Graham | 1 | January 1, 1966 | 476 | Boston, MA | Live event | - |
9 | Antonio Inoki | 1 | April 22, 1967 | 140 | Baltimore, MD | Live event | - |
10 | Luke Graham | 2 | September 9, 1967 | 196 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
- | Vacant | - | March 23, 1968 | - | Baltimore, MD | Live event | Luke Graham vacated the title to focus on winning the World Title. |
11 | Chief Jay Strongbow | 1 | March 23, 1968 | 280 | Baltimore, MD | Live event | Strongbow won an 18-man battle royal to win the vacant title, lastly eliminating Ernie Ladd. |
12 | The Sheik | 1 | December 28, 1968 | 182 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
13 | Pedro Morales | 1 | June 28, 1969 | 14 | Boston, MA | Live event | The Princess, The Sheik's manager, threw in the towel, thus awarding this match to Morales. |
14 | Johnny Valentine | 1 | July 12, 1969 | 168 | New York, NY | Live event | Pedro Morales vacated the title after being unable to compete in a scheduled title defense against The Sheik. Johnny Valentine was named the top contender and wrestled The Sheik for the vacant championship. |
15 | Pedro Morales | 2 | December 27, 1969 | 112 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
16 | Johnny Valentine | 2 | April 18, 1970 | 112 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
17 | Dory Funk Jr. | 1 | August 8, 1970 | 28 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
18 | Johnny Valentine | 3 | September 5, 1970 | 131 | Toronto, ON, CA | Live event | - |
19 | Karl Gotch | 1 | January 14, 1971 | 275 | Washington, DC | Live event | - |
20 | Wahoo McDaniel | 1 | October 16, 1971 | 277 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
21 | Pedro Morales | 3 | July 19, 1972 | 54 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
22 | Billy Robinson | 1 | September 11, 1972 | 135 | Greensboro, NC | Live event | - |
23 | Billy Graham | 1 | January 24, 1973 | 335 | Boston, MA | Live event | - |
24 | Luke Graham | 3 | December 25, 1973 | 142 | New York, NY | Live event | - |
25 | Harley Race | 1 | May 16, 1974 | 242 | Baltimore, MD | Live event | - |
- | Vacant | - | January 13, 1975 | - | Baltimore, MD | Live event | Harley Race was stripped of the title after winning the World Title. |
26 | Dory Funk Jr. | 2 | January 13, 1975 | 64 | Baltimore, MD | Live event | Funk Jr. won a 16-man battle royal to win the vacant title, lastly eliminating Nikolai Volkoff. After a match with Volkoff on March 18, 1975 ended in a double pin, the US Title was declared vacant and subsequently scrapped and replaced by the Intercontinental Title. |
2 List of top combined reigns
(does not include current reign)
Rank | Wrestler | # of Reigns | Combined Days |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Luke Graham | 3 | 814 |
2 | Ernie Ladd | 2 | 420 |
3 | Johnny Valentine | 3 | 411 |
4 | Billy Graham | 1 | 335 |
5 | Chief Jay Strongbow | 1 | 280 |
6 | Wahoo McDaniel | 1 | 277 |
7 | Karl Gotch | 1 | 275 |
8 | Edouard Carpentier | 1 | 252 |
9 | Harley Race | 1 | 242 |
10 | Gene Kiniski | 1 | 196 |
11 | The Sheik | 1 | 182 |
12 | Pedro Morales | 3 | 180 |
13 | Antonio Inoki | 1 | 140 |
14 | Billy Robinson | 1 | 135 |
15 | Danny Hodge | 2 | 112 |
16 | Dory Funk Jr. | 2 | 82 |
17 | Bobo Brazil | 1 | 28 |