10 Obscure International Wrestling Championships
9. Canadian Championship (WCW)
When Lance Storm made the leap from the extreme ballrooms of Extreme Championship Wrestling to the bright lights of WCW, the move was seen by many as a big deal. Storm himself was widely viewed as one of the best workers in the business at the time and, as such, WCW made a conscious effort to push him accordingly in what they saw as the second-coming of fellow Canadian icon, Bret Hart.
At a time when many stellar workers and potential superstars were being criminally misused in WCW (“Fat Chick Thrilla” Mike Awesome, anyone?), the Atlanta faithful really outdid themselves in their push of the former Impact Player. Immediately winning the WCW United States Championship, Storm would rename the championship in favour of his homeland; rechristening the title the WCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship, complete with overlaid Maple Leaf stickers on the belt’s faceplates.
Following suit, Storm would continue his winning ways by bagging both the Cruiserweight and Hardcore Championships in succession; renaming them the “100 Kilos and Under” Championship and the Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title - or “poop” as the acronym would spell (...ah, Russo). While the rebranded titles were short-lived, they did a lot to elevate Storm as a character and made him one of the premier stars of latter-day WCW television.
The anti-American gimmick also did a lot to get him over as a credible heel and immediately made him and his Team Canada faction a force to be reckoned with; drawing further comparisons to Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation’s anti-US gimmick of ‘97. Hart’s appearance at New Blood Rising further fuelled this comparison and Storm (a Hart Dungeon graduate himself) was seen by many as the heir apparent to Bret Hart as WCW’s Canadian standout.
Storm was arguably one of WCW’s biggest heels at this point and given high profile matches (and victories) throughout much of 2000. Storm also challenged Booker T for his WCW World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions during this period; giving further exposure and credibility to his re-christened Canadian Championships.
As leader of Team Canada, Storm would eventually give up his 100 Kilos and Under Championship and Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title to fellow Team Canada members, Elix Skipper and Carl Ouellet respectively. Ouellet would hold the gold for just over half an hour before losing it to Norman Smiley, while Skipper would lose his title to Mike Sanders two months later; with both championships returning to their former titles in the process.
Meanwhile, Storm would hold the Canadian Heavyweight Championship (WCW US Title) until Halloween Havoc 2000, where he would lose his gold to Misfit in Action alumnus, Bill DeMott, then wrestling as General Hugh G. Rection (Damn it, Russo!). Much like the other Canadian Titles, the US Championship would return to its former name immediately after the loss.