Abandoned: The History of the Two WCW Women's Championships
Throughout history, professional wrestling has seen many championships.
In WWF/E, there are six major titles. Not many know that the company has had a total of at least 19 different titles, 13 of which have been abandoned for one reason or another.
The other two major companies owned by WWE are WCW and ECW, which have at least 15 abandoned and forgotten titles between them.
For as long as it takes, I will be concentrating on those forgotten titles.
Each slide will feature the champion, who they defeated, where and when they won it, the length of their title reign, any special circumstances that happened during their reign, and a bit of commentary.
Belts with a lengthy history will get their own articles and may be broken up into two depending on the length. Titles with a short history may be featured in a standard article, but if theyโre really short theyโll be at the end of another title.
For this edition of Abandoned, I present the two womenโs titles of WCW.
The first popped up in 1996 and was the WCW Womenโs World Heavyweight Championship.
The title was created as a joint venture between World Championship Wrestling and a Japanese womenโs wrestling promotion named GAEA Japan.
The title only stuck around for a year and saw only two champions.
Akira Hokuto
1 of 7Defeated: Medusa
Where: Nashville, TN
When: Dec. 29, 1996
Title Reign: 168 days
Hokuto defeated Medusa in an eight-woman tournament final to become the first WCW Womenโs World Heavyweight Champion.
WCW, and Jim Crockett Promotions before them, recognized two regional NWA womenโs titles but JCP never had their own title. Each one travelled from territory to territory being defended against that region's top woman wrestler.
Years later, WCW revived their womenโs division and created this title as well as one other.
Akira Hokuto was a huge star in her native Japan and won many titles throughout her career. She was a member of GAEA Japan at the time of the venture with WCW and was given the distinction of becoming the first womenโs champion of WCW.
The title was declared vacant, though, on June 15, 1997, when Hokuto left the United States.
Devil Masami
2 of 7Defeated: Zero
Where: Kawasaki, Japan
When: Sept. 20, 1997
Title Reign: ~three months
The title returned to GAEA Japan and Devil Masami defeated Zero to become the new champion.
During her reign as champion, it was mentioned in December by Mike Tenay during an episode of WCW Nitro that Akira Hokuto was still the reigning champion despite the title not being seen in WCW since she left the country.
Even though WCW apparently still recognized Hokuto as champion, GAEA Japan recognized Masami as the champion.
She wouldnโt hold the title for long, though, as the WCW Womenโs World Heavyweight Championship was abandoned by the end of the year when WCW and GAEA Japan broke ties.
WCW Women's World Cruiserweight Championship
3 of 7The second title they had for their womenโs division was the WCW Womenโs World Cruiserweight Championship.
The title was created in 1997 with a weight limit of 130 pounds. This title was also a joint venture between WCW and GAEA Japan.
Like the heavyweight title, the cruiserweight title didnโt have much staying power. It was abandoned the same time as the heavyweight title.
It saw only three champions and was mostly seen in Japan.
Toshie Uematsu
4 of 7Defeated: Malia Hosaka
Where: Huntsville, Ala.
When: April 7, 1997
Title Reign: 103 days
Uematsu defeated Hosaka in a tournament final to become the first WCW Womenโs World Cruiserweight Champion.
She won the title on an episode of WCW Nitro but the match wasnโt shown to the television audience. To see the match, you had to watch WCW Main Event, which had become a recap show by that time.
It has been speculated that this was a title solely created for GAEA Japan and was never intended to be used in the States.
Yoshiko Tamura
5 of 7Defeated: Toshie Uematsu
Where: Yokohama, Japan
When: July 19, 1997
Title Reign: 63 days
Tamura would hold titles all throughout Japan competing in All-Japan Pro Wrestling, NEO, as well as GAEA Japan.
She would retire from professional wrestling in 2010.
Sugar Sato
6 of 7Defeated: Yoshiko Tamura
Where: Kawasaki, Japan
When: Sept. 20, 1997
Title Reign: ~three months
Sugar Sato would also hold titles throughout Japan in her career, but she unfortunately wouldnโt hold this title for long.
The WCW Womenโs World Cruiserweight Championship was abandoned by the end of the year when WCW and GAEA Japan broke ties.
Final Thoughts
7 of 7Both of WCWโs womenโs titles were very short-lived. Womenโs wrestling was something that was well respected in Japan, so it made sense that the titles were mostly kept there.
WCW never really featured womenโs wrestling too much. The only time you saw a woman was if she was a valet/manager or a Nitro Girl.
Towards the end of WCWโs existence, they rebuilt their womenโs division. Many of the women you saw accompanying wrestlers to the ring were now in the ring themselves.
WCWโs last ditch effort of a division included the likes of Medusa, Mona (later Molly Holly), Daffney, Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson. They even brought in former WWF womenโs champions Sherri Martel, Bertha Fey and Lelani Kei.
Despite all the potential they had, including the training of the Nitro Girls, neither of the womenโs titles were revived.
Both the WCW Womenโs World Heavyweight and Cruiserweight Championships are gone and forgotten.
Thanks for reading! Come back on Sunday for the ninth edition of Abandoned when I present the ECW World Heavyweight Championship!
Past Installments
WWE Womenโsโ WWE Europeanโ ECW Television โWCW Hardcoreโ WCW US Tag TeamโWWF Martial ArtsโWWF International
Sources
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