American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling used their AWA World Heavyweight Championship to provide the unpredictability that pro-wrestling fans enjoy, and an opportunity that all pro-wrestlers desire. When the championship became vacant and American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling President Dale Gagne was ready to crown a new champion, instead of handing the title over to someone or holding a tournament on a card featuring his individual branch of the AWA (Wrestling Superstars Live), he crowned a new AWA World Heavyweight Champion in 2005 in an international fashion, by sanctioning Japan's ZERO1 (which had recently left the NWA and joined the AWA) to host the event where the new champion would be decided. The tournament featured recognized talent from both Japan (Masato Tanaka, Kensuke Sasaki, Takao Omori, and Kohei Sato) and the United States (former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino and former ECW star Simon Diamond). In the end, Takao Omori came out on top.
The blueprint of American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling was that each sanctioned organization was treated as an equal, with the holder of the title being a touring champion. The next AWA World Heavyweight Champion could have come from Wrestling Superstars Live. They could have come from AWA/River City Wrestling, where talent was being groomed to be the stars of tomorrow. They could have come from Rocky Mountain Championship Wrestling, where wrestlers were making names for themselves. They could have come from American Wrestling Association Supreme, where The Prophet was making an impact years before becoming OVW Television Champion as Outlaw. Or they could have come from one of the 8 other promotions in the AWA. In fact, Takao Omori made an appearance on the February 12, 2005 edition of, "CWF Championship Wrestling", the weekly television program of AWA-affiliate Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic, with plans on defending the AWA World Heavyweight Championship against a CWF top contender in the Mid-Atlantic territory during his upcoming tour in the United States- The Mid-Atlantic territory has seen many major stars such as Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and Billy Graham, all drawn to the area for its reputation of a high level of competition. The AWA featured the excitement and surprisea that pro-wrestling fans wanted.
Pro-wrestling fans were looking for something new, and American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling was filling that void, providing an alternative for them, as well as for talent. Then-future WWE Hall of Famer Larry Zbyszko became AWA World Heavyweight Champion in February 2008, former WWE Superstar Eric Watts became AWA International Champion in February 2005, and then-future WWE Hall of Famers Mick Foley and The Honky Tonk Man had appeared for the AWA as well. Also, ZERO1 hosted MAX @CORE.1 in March 2005 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, and the card included former WWE Superstar Brian Kendrick (as Spanky), then-TNA stars Alex Shelley and Sonjay Dutt, Steve Corino, and former ECW star CW Anderson, all familiar faces to America-based fans. In addition, the event featured a tournament qualifying match for the AWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. With ZERO1 as an affiliate, the AWA had a noteworthy international presence, linked to a Strong Style Japan-based company, making their championships amongst the most legitimate world titles in wrestling.
While ZERO1 was representing American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling in Japan, the governing body's most prominent representative in the United States was Michigan-based affiliate Ultimate Championship Wrestling (UCW), which had a roster that featured major names such as then-future WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner, former WWE Superstars Doink The Clown, Warlord, and The Barbarian, and former WCW star nWo Sting. I worked as a publicist/columnist for UCW and the AWA in 2004-2005, and nWo Sting was a big part of UCW during this time. He became the leader of his own faction ("Next Order") and captured the UCW Heavyweight Championship. nWo Sting was a touring champion, defending the championship in promotions outside of UCW, which increased its legitimacy.
American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling left a mark on the industry as a governing body. Eventually, as WWE began consolidating the tape library and trademarks of the original American Wrestling Association, a settlement was reached in October 2008. To comply with the legal agreement, Dale Gagne closed the governing body and began focusing solely on Wrestling Superstars Live.
Although American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling no longer exists today, a remnant of it still exists in the pro-wrestling industry. ZERO1 severed ties with them in December 2007, and Masato Tanaka was the AWA World Heavyweight Champion at that time. The Championship was then renamed the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship, with Tanaka being the first Champion.
This is the reason why "AWA" is written on the belt.
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