The AWA World Women's Wrestling Championship

Hikaru

The AWA World Women's Wrestling Championship has a long and varied history.

The first AWA World Women's Wrestling Champion was June Byers.
After the AWA split from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), she was recognized as the Champion. Mainly because of the infamous 1954 wrestling match in Atlanta, Georgia where Byers beat the NWA World Women's Champion Mildred Burke in what became one of the greatest women's bouts of all time.

In 1960, Penny Banner won a battle royal to become the new AWA World Women's Champion. The AWA had stripped Byers of her title due to not showing up for a title defense.
In 1963, the AWA vacated the title. But the NWA continued to be recognize June Byers as champion until she retired in January 1964.

On April 13, 1963, Kay Noble defeated Kathy Starr to become the new AWA Women's Wrestling Champion.

The title was then held by Vivian Vachon, Betty Nicoli, Candi Devine and Sherri Martel. Sherri and Candi swapped the title back and forth until Sherri finally was stripped of the title for leaving the AWA to go to the WWF in 1987.

On December 27, 1987 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Madusa Miceli defeated Candi to take the belt.
Then Wendi Richter defeated Madusa, and held the belt until she too was stripped of the title for leaving the AWA.

On December 6, 1989 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Candi Devine got the belt once again when she defeated Judy Martin.

When the AWA closed in January 1991, the title was retired.

However, in 1999, Dale Gagner revived the belt when he started the independent promotion AWA Superstars of Wrestling, re-licensing the AWA name.
The AWA Superstars of Wrestling awarded the title to former champion Sherri Martel.
On June 19, 2007 the belt was retired again after the passing of Sherri Martel on June 15.

The title was last held by Nanae Takahashi, who is now recognized as the first holder of the newly created AWA Japan Women's Championship.
Jamie D. defeated Nanae Takahashi to take the belt, and Jamie was in turn defeated by Saki Maemura.

Then on December 16, 2007 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hikaru defeated Maemura in a hair versus title match to become the first Hawaii Championship Wrestling World Women's champion.
After that, Hawaii Championship Wrestling folded in July 2008.

However, I checked and the Hawaii Championship Wrestling site has a page up that says " Under Construction, Coming Soon" so the title may be revived again.

Sherri Martel. part 2

After training under The Fabulous Moolah, Larry Zbyszko helped her join the AWA. He felt she had a little bit of potential and thought she just needed to learn how to do wrestling interviews.

She eventually debuted the AWA, and on September 28, 1985 at SuperClash she defeated Candi Devine for the AWA World Women's Championship. Later that year, the title was taken from Martel and awarded to Devine, but Martel regained the title on October 17, 1985.

On April 20, 1986 Martel won a battle royal at WrestleRock '86 that included Devine, Debbie Combs, Rose Devine, Joyce Grable, Kat LeRoux, Despina Montegas, Misty Blue Simmes, and Luna Vachon. On May 10, 1986 she helped Buddy Rose and Doug Somers win the AWA World Tag Team Championship. Having previously vacated the AWA Women's Championship, Martel defeated Devine on June 28, 1986 to begin her third reign as champion.

In the spring of 1987, Martel began managing Kevin Kelly. Her most memorable moment as his manager came when she interfered in an arm wrestling match between Kelly and Tommy Rich on ESPN's AWA Championship Wrestling. Rich got immediate revenge by cornering the escaping Martel and ripping her dress off to reveal a strapless pink teddy and black stockings. In the following weeks, Rich would come to ringside during Kelly's matches and taunt Martel with her stolen dress.

On May 2, 1987 Martel defeated Madusa Miceli at SuperClash 2.

Former AWA wrestler Jesse Ventura then referred her to the WWF. Martel credited Vince McMahon for being the one who molded her in the WWF.

Womens Pro Wrestling - Debbie Combs

Debbie Combs
Wrestlers Name: Darling Debbie,Debbie Dahl,Debbie Combs,Lady Satan,Princess Dee
Born: April 18, 1949, Resides Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Pro Wrestling Training by Cora Combs
Pro Wrestling Debut: 1975

Debbie Szestecki is a professional wrestler better known as Debbie Combs. Her mother Cora Combs was also a professional wrestler. Combs dated Randy Savage for five years while they were working for Angelo Poffo’s ICW (before he eventually married Miss Elizabeth).

Debbie Combs is a former NWA World Women's Wrestling Champion. There are conflicting facts about Combs' title reign. Either she defeated Penny Mitchell to become the champion in Kansas City, Missouri on April 10, 1987, or she was awarded the title after having won a tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii. There are match results from 1986 that list Combs as the NWA World Women's Champion.

The Kansas City promotion withdrew from NWA in 1987 and closed in 1988. The NWA vacated Combs' title and awarded Misty Blue Simmes the NWA United States Women's Wrestling Championship (a replacement of the prior NWA World Women's Championship held by Combs).

She also competed in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the mid-late 1980s. She wrestled against Sherri Martel as a face, and later turned heel and became tag-team partners with Madusa Miceli, feuuding with Heidi Lee Morgan and Brandi Mae.

She also wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), feuding with The Fabulous Moolah and Sherri Martel in 1986 and 1987 for the WWF Women's Wrestling Championship.

She returned to the WWF in 1994 to challenge Alundra Blayze. She wrestled Blayze once on an episode of Wrestling Challenge and was scheduled to face her at WrestleMania X, but was replaced by Leilani Kai.

Combs briefly competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the mid-1990s during their brief attempt at a women's division. On the March 31, 1997 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, Combs lost to WCW Women's Champion Akira Hokuto.

During her runs in the AWA, WWF and WCW, Combs never won their versions of the World Women's Title. Her only major title was the NWA World Women's Title, which she won prior to the NWA becoming WCW.

She was also president and matchmaker of Women’s Professional Wrestling (WPW).

Donna Christanello - Women of Wrestling

Donna Christanello (also billed as Donna Christenello and Donna Christianello) was a professional wrestler trained by The Fabulous Moolah.

She was active from the late 1960s through the 1980s. She frequently wrestled women such as Ann Casey, Vicki Williams, Evelyn Stevens and Leilani Kai throughout the 1970s. In 1969, she competed during an Australian tour wrestling with the likes of Toni Rose, Jessica Rodgers, Betty and Rita Boucher, Ramona Isbell, Marva Scott and Everlyn Stevens.

She was the frequent tag-team partner of Toni Rose. She and Rose won the World Women's Tag Team Wrestling Titles in 1970. In 1972, she competed at the Superbowl of Wrestling, where she and Rose defended the time World Women's Tag Team Wrestling Championships against Sandy Parker and Debbie Johnson. They eventually lost the titles in October 1974 to Joyce Grable and Vicki Williams in New York, NY.

There is also an unrecorded title change. Susan Green and Sandy Parker won the World Tag Team title from Christanello and Rose in November of 1971 in Hawaii, and lost them in February of 1972 to Christanello and Rose in Hong Kong.

They defended the titles in the NWA and AWA, and the titles were eventually integrated into the WWF.

During the mid-80's she competed in the WWF's women's division:

May 5, 1984, Philadelphia, PA - Spectrum - Susan Starr & Donna Christianello defeated Wendi Richter & Peggy Lee
June 5, 1984, Utica, NY - Peggy Lee & Donna Christianello defeated the Fabulous Moolah & Desiree Patterson
June 6, 1984, Buffalo, NY - War Memorial Auditorium - The Fabulous Moolah & Desiree Peterson defeated Donna Christianello & Judy Martin
June 9, 1984, Springfield, MA - Civic Center - The Fabulous Moolah & Desieree Peterson defeated Judy Martin & Donna Christianello
June 10, 1984, Englishtown, NJ - The Fabulous Moolah & Desiree Peterson defeated Donna Christanello & Judy Martin
August 19, 1984, Toronto, Ontario - Maple Leaf Gardens - Susan Green defeated Donna Christianello
August 20, 1984, Buffalo, NY - Memorial Auditorium - Susan Starr defeated Donna Christianello
August 21, 1984, Rochester, NY - War Memorial Auditorium - Susan Starr defeated Donna Christianello
August 1984, Erie, PA - Civic Center - Susan Starr defeated Donna Christianello
She wrestled as part of Sensational Sherri's team at the 1987 Survivor Series pay per view in the WWF. As a side note, Christanello (along with Moolah) was one of the people who helped train Sherri Martel how to wrestle.

She is retired from pro wrestling and currently resides in Columbia, South Carolina.

Donna Christianello is considered one of the greatest female wrestlers of her time, along with legends such as the Mildred Burke and The Fabulous Moolah.

Donna Christanello - Women of Wrestling, posted to http://womensprowrestling.blogspot.com/ on 11-7-2010