# SSW Heavyweight Championship

The Southern States Wrestling (SSW) Heavyweight Championship is the primary professional wrestling championship in Southern States Wrestling. It was first won by The Tennessee Equalizer when he defeated George Hiatt in Elizabethton, Tennessee on February 16, 1991. The title is generally defended in the Southern United States, most often in its home base in East Tennessee, but also as far away as Virginia and West Virginia. In August 2004, then champion Ray Idol began wrestling for rival promotion NWA Championship Wrestling. Although he was immediately stripped of the title, Idol continued defending a different NWA Championship Wrestling-version under the SSW name. However, this was short-lived and the title became a regular title within the main promotion. There are 41 recognized champions with a total of 69 title reigns and 8 vacancies. Wayne Adkins is the current Champion in his second reign. He won the title off of Lord Murphy Costigan at a house show in Kingsport.
Key :
| No. | Overall reign number |
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Championship change | Championship change | Reign statistics | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. |
| No. | Champion | Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Notes | Ref. |
| 1 | Tennessee Equalizer | February 16, 1991 | House show | Elizabethton, Tennessee | 1 | 146 | Defeated George Hiatt to become the inaugural champion. | |
| 2 | Skyfire | July 12, 1991 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 111 | | |
| 3 | Stan Lee | October 31, 1991 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 250 | | |
| 4 | Wayne Rogers | July 7, 1992 | House show | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 185 | | |
| 5 | G.Q. Stratus | January 8, 1993 | House show | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 196 | | |
| 6 | Jimmy Golden | March 30, 1993 | House show | Weber City, Virginia | 1 | 115 | | |
| 7 | Wayne Rogers | July 23, 1993 | House show | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 2 | 218 | | |
| 8 | Mike Samson | February 26, 1994 | House show | Morristown, Tennessee | 1 | 69 | | |
| 9 | The Mongolian Stomper | May 6, 1994 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 186-216 | This reign's length is uncertain. | |
| — | Vacated | September 1994 | — | — | — | — | The Mongolian Stomper vacated the title somewhere in September after he announced his retirement from professional wrestling due to a legitimate injury. Therefore, his reign's exact length is uncertain. | |
| 10 | Chic White | October 1, 1994 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 97 | Defeated Danny Christian to win the vacant title. | |
| 11 | Steve Flynn | January 6, 1995 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 75 | | |
| 12 | Mike Samson | March 21, 1995 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 2 | 143 | | |
| 13 | Steve Flynn | August 11, 1995 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 2 | 57 | | |
| 14 | Iron Man | October 7, 1995 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 104 | | |
| 15 | Eddie Bruiser | January 19, 1996 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 42 | Defeated Iron Man by forfeit due to Iron Man not showing up to the defense. | |
| 16 | Tennessee Equalizer | March 1, 1996 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 2 | 227 | | |
| 17 | Danny Christian | September 2, 1996 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 33 | | |
| 18 | K. C. Thunder | October 5, 1996 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 118 | | |
| 19 | Dan Cooley | January 31, 1997 | House show | Shawsville, Virginia | 1 | 68 | | |
| — | Vacated | April 9, 1997 | — | — | — | — | Title was declared vacated after Dan Cooley was stripped out of it due to unknown circumstances. | |
| 20 | Steve Flynn | May 2, 1997 | House show | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 3 | 122 | Defeated Frank Parker in a tournament final to win the vacant title. | |
| — | Vacated | September 1, 1997 | — | — | — | — | Steve Flynn was stripped of the championship after he failed to appear for a scheduled title defense. The title was subsequently vacated. | |
| 21 | Johnny Thunder | September 1, 1997 | House show | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 54 | This was a tag team match in which Thunder pinned Otto Schwanz to win the vacant title. | |
| 22 | The War Machine | October 25, 1997 | House show | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 49 | This was a four corners match also involving Johnny Thunder, Steve Flynn and Ricky Harrison. | |
| 23 | Ricky Harrison | December 13, 1997 | SSW | Mountain City, Tennessee | 1 | 118 | | |
| 24 | Buddy Landel | April 10, 1998 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | <1 | | |
| 25 | Beau James | April 10, 1998 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 1 | 7 | | |
| 26 | Ricky Harrison | April 17, 1998 | SSW | Fall Branch, Tennessee | 2 | 274 | This was a loser leaves the company match. | |
| 27 | Beau James | January 16, 1999 | SSW | Kingsport, Tennessee | 2 | 140 | | |
| 28 | Iron Cross | June 5, 1999 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 124 | | |
| 29 | The War Machine | October 7, 1999 | House show | Johnson City, Tennessee | 2 | 148 | | |
| 30 | Tracy Smothers | March 3, 2000 | House show | Saltville, Virginia | 1 | 190 | | |
| 31 | Iron Cross | September 9, 2000 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 2 | 128 | | |
| 32 | Stan Sierra | January 15, 2001 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 11 | | |
| 33 | Brian Overbay | January 26, 2001 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | <1 | Won the title by forfeit. | |
| 34 | Steve Phillips | January 26, 2001 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 15 | | |
| 35 | Brian Overbay | February 10, 2001 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 2 | 111 | Overbay was awarded the title via referee's reverse decision. | |
| 36 | Ricky Harrison | June 1, 2001 | SSW | Kingsport, Tennessee | 3 | 207 | | |
| 37 | Beau James | December 25, 2001 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 3 | 186-217 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 38 | Heinrich Von Keller | July 2002 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 31-62 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| — | Vacated | September 1, 2002 | — | — | — | — | The title was declared vacated after Von Keller was stripped of it due to attacking a local televisiob sponsor. | |
| 39 | Jesse Taylor | October 15, 2002 | SSW | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 71 | Defeated Beau James in tournament final to win the vacant title. | |
| 40 | Scotty McKeever | December 25, 2002 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 47-75 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 41 | Jesse Taylor | February 2003 | House show | Beaver, West Virginia | 2 | 70-98 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 42 | Robbie Cassidy | May 9, 2003 | House show | Greeneville, Tennessee | 1 | 59 | | |
| 43 | Jesse Taylor | July 7, 2003 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 3 | 59 | | |
| 44 | Brad Batten | September 4, 2003 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 26-57 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 45 | Beau James | October 2003 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 4 | 0-92 | James was awarded the title via forfeit. The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 46 | Ray Idol | January 2004 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 0-220 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 47 | John Noble | August 7, 2004 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 57 | Noble was awarded the title after Idol left for rival promotion, NWA Championship Wrestling. Idol's stripping was not recognized as a vacancy but as an official title change without a proper match taking place. | |
| 48 | Beau James | October 3, 2004 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 5 | 173 | | |
| 49 | Danny Ray | March 25, 2005 | Event held at the National Guard Armory | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | N/A | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| — | Vacated | 2005 | — | — | — | — | The title was vacated somewhere in 2005 due to unknown circumstances. | |
| 50 | Wayne Adkins | September 27, 2008 | SSW | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 61 | Defeated Ryan Dookie in a tournament final to win the vacant title. | |
| 51 | K. C. Thunder | November 27, 2008 | SSW | Kingsport, Tennessee | 2 | 43 | | |
| — | Vacated | January 9, 2009 | — | — | — | — | The title was vacated somewhere in 2005 due to unknown circumstances. | |
| 52 | Cody Ices | January 9, 2009 | SSW New Year's Bash | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 283 | This was a 15-man rumble match for the vacant title. | |
| 53 | Ray Idol | October 19, 2009 | SSW | Kingsport, Tennessee | 2 | 130 | | |
| 54 | Frank Parker | February 26, 2010 | SSW 19th Anniversary | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 94-124 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 55 | Ray Idol | June 2010 | House show | Kingsport, Tennessee | 3 | 148-178 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 56 | Frank Parker | November 25, 2010 | SSW 19th Annual Thanksgiving Night Extravaganza | Kingsport, Tennessee | 2 | 234 | Cagematch.net says this match was also for the SSW Young Guns Championship which was held by Beau James at the moment. However, the site recognizes Ray Idol as the Heavyweight champion instead of Beau James, not specifying a match where Parker took the title from James. Yet this title change appears to be real but no other evidence for this has been recorded. | |
| 57 | Ray Idol | July 17, 2011 | House show | Mt. Carmel, Tennessee | 4 | 140 | | |
| 58 | Frank Parker | November 24, 2011 | House show | Mt. Carmel, Tennessee | 3 | 234 | | |
| 59 | Beau James | July 15, 2012 | House show | Mt. Carmel, Tennessee | 6 | 76 | | |
| 60 | Eric Darkstorm | September 29, 2012 | House show | Mt. Carmel, Tennessee | 1 | 400 | | |
| 61 | Kyle Matthews | November 3, 2013 | House show | Mt. Carmel, Tennessee | 1 | 26 | | |
| 62 | Eric Darkstorm | November 29, 2013 | House show | Mt. Carmel, Tennessee | 2 | 140 | | |
| 63 | Kyle Kool | April 18, 2014 | House show | Rogersville, Tennessee | 1 | 162 | | |
| 64 | DeAndre Jackson | September 27, 2014 | SSW | Kingsport, Tennessee | 1 | 620 | | |
| — | Vacated | June 8, 2016 | — | — | — | — | | |
| 65 | Iron Cross | July 9, 2016 | House show | Gray, Tennessee | 3 | N/A | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 66 | Krunch The Equalizer | 2017 | House show | Gray, Tennessee | 1 | 0-189 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| 67 | Beau James | July 8, 2017 | House show | Gray, Tennessee | 7 | 176-281 | The exact length of this reign is uncertain. | |
| — | | 2018 | — | — | | | Cagematch.net shows an unknown status of the title from the beginning of 2018 until October but doesn't say if it is a vacancy or the continuation of James' reign. | |
| 68 | Beau James | October 8, 2018 | House show | Gray, Tennessee | 8 | 26 | | |
| 69 | Daniel Richards | November 3, 2018 | SSW | Gray, Tennessee | 1 | 2,155+ | | |

## Combined reigns

| † | Indicates the current champion |
| ¤ | The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest length is considered. |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days |
| 1 | Beau James | 8 | 784-1,012¤ |
| 2 | Daniel Richards † | 1 | 2,155+ |
| 3 | Eric Darkstorm | 2 | 640 |
| 4 | DeAndre Jackson | 1 | 620 |
| 5 | Ricky Harrison | 3 | 599 |
| 6 | Frank Parker | 3 | 562-592 |
| 7 | Ray Idol | 4 | 418-668¤ |
| 8 | Wayne Rogers | 2 | 403 |
| 9 | Tennessee Equalizer/Krunch The Equalizer | 3 | 373-562¤ |
| 10 | Cody Ices | 1 | 283 |
| 11 | Steve Flynn | 3 | 254 |
| 12 | Iron Cross | 3 | 252¤ |
| 13 | Stan Lee | 1 | 250 |
| 14 | Mike Samson | 2 | 212 |
| 15 | Jesse Taylor | 3 | 200-228¤ |
| 16 | The War Machine | 2 | 197 |
| 17 | G.Q. Stratus | 1 | 196 |
| 18 | Tracy Smothers | 1 | 190 |
| 19 | The Mongolian Stomper | 1 | 186-216¤ |
| 20 | Kyle Kool | 1 | 162 |
| 21 | K. C. Thunder | 2 | 121 |
| 22 | Jimmy Golden | 1 | 119 |
| 23 | Brian Overbay | 2 | 111 |
| 23 | Skyfire | 1 | 111 |
| 25 | Iron Man | 1 | 104 |
| 26 | Chic White | 1 | 97 |
| 27 | Dan Cooley | 1 | 68 |
| 28 | Wayne Adkins | 1 | 61 |
| 29 | Robbie Cassidy | 1 | 59 |
| 30 | John Noble | 1 | 57 |
| 31 | Johnny Thunder | 1 | 54 |
| 32 | Scotty McKeever | 1 | 47-75¤ |
| 33 | Eddie Bruiser | 1 | 42 |
| 34 | Danny Christian | 1 | 33 |
| 35 | Heinrich Von Keller | 1 | 31-62¤ |
| 36 | Brad Batten | 1 | 26-57¤ |
| 37 | Kyle Matthews | 1 | 26 |
| 38 | Steve Phillips | 1 | 15 |
| 39 | Stan Sierra | 1 | 11 |
| 40 | Buddy Landel | 1 | <1 |
| 41 | Danny Ray | 1 | N/A¤ |