Following the name of the champion(s): Indicates the number of times the wrestler has held that title at that point.
[...]
Indicates a gap in the listing where title changes are not known.
*
If used next to the names of the wrestlers, they may, in fact, not have held the title in the period indicated. If used next to the dates or places, either they are possibly wrong or the title changes are fictitious.
<
Title was held or changed hands no later than this. In these cases, it is known that a wrestler held the title at a certain time but not when he/she won it.
+
Broadcast date; the actual recording date is unknown.
@
Order uncertain. Different titleholders may be known for the same year, for example, but it is not known who held the title before whom.
#
Unofficial or disputable claims. These are usually matches that certainly took place, but where there is doubt that the wrestler shown should be recognized as a true title holder. These listings are also italicized in HTML files
Billed as champion in Birmigham, ENG; possibly by winning a series of the world "heavyweight" championship matches against Bonnet le Bœuf in 76-10 in Manchester, ENG.
Joe Acton
1879-02-08
Chadderton, ENG
Said to have wrestled Bibby 6 times prior to this match at various weight limits with each winning 3 times; defeats Bibby with the 142lb limit in their 7th match on 79-02-08 (Bell's Life in London, 79-05-10); "champion wrestler of Lancashire" (The Nottinghamshire Guardian, Nottingham, 79-12-19); "has been the recognized Lancashire champion for a considerable period" (Liverpool Mercury, etc., 81-05-02).
Ike Smith
1881-04-30
Farnworth, ENG
Defeats Acton for the world championship in Lancashire style (The North-Eastern Daily, Middlesbrough, 81-05-02); billed as English champion in Pittsburgh, PA, USA as of 81-06-20.
World mixed style champion, defeats Tom McInerney, billed as American catch-as-catch-can champion, to claim the world catch-as-catch-can title.
Tom McInerney
1894-07-05
Liverpool, Merseyside, ENG
Billed as the world mixed style champion and loses to Cannon on 94-08-27 but continues to claim the world catch-as-catch-can title; still champion as of 94-10-08.
Evan Lewis
1897-07-17
Bolton, ENG
Defeats Joe Carroll; billed as American champion on 97-08-28 in Farnworth, ENG and defeats English champion Tom Clayton for another world title claim.
Jack Carkeek
1899-11-18
Liverpool, Merseyside, ENG
Defeats Joe Carroll in World Catch-As-Catch-Can Championship tournament final.
Tom McInerney [2]
1900-03-05
Liverpool, Merseyside, ENG
Jack Carkeek [2]
1900-04-09
Liverpool, Merseyside, ENG
Again defeats McIerney on 00-05-19 in New Brighton and 00-05-24 in Brighton; also wins an international heavyweight tournament, defeating Armand Cherpillod in the final on 04-01-11 in London; loses to Tom Jenkins on 05-01-10 in San Francisco, CA, USA (see American version).
Georg Hackenschmidt defeats Ahmed Madrali on 04-01-30 in London, ENG in a Graeco-Roman style match (The Observer, London, 04-01-31) but not a catch-as-catch-can style match as it has been believed for long time.
Billed as Central/Continental European champion, defeats British champion Ernest Baldwin for the world title when Sexton does not return to defend his title; still champion as of 53-03-25.