Zero-One_United_States_Heavyweight_Championship
Zero-One United States Heavyweight Championship
Professional wrestling championship
The Zero-One United States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Zero1. It was created on January 6, 2003, with Steve Corino defeating Masato Tanaka.[1] In addition to Japan, it has recently been frequently defended in various independent companies in the United States.
The title was created at a time when the company was known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One, originally naming it the Zero-One United States Heavyweight Championship; on July 4, 2004, following Zero-One joining the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the title was renamed the NWA/Zero-One United States Heavyweight Championship. On October 26, 2004, Zero-One left the NWA, removing its initials from the title and renaming it the Zero-One United States Openweight Championship. When the promotion's name was changed to Zero1-Max in 2005, the championship title followed. On March 25, 2007, the title again switched its name, this time to the Zero1-Max International Championship;[2] however, on June 13, 2007, the International title was apparently stricken from the record, and was reverted to the US title.[1] On April 12, 2008, it was renamed back to its original title by Steve Corino, in honor of Zero1-Max's late founder Shinya Hashimoto.[2] There have been a total of 11 recognized champions who have had a combined 18 official reigns.