Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The AWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship was a short-lived mid-card professional wrestling title contested for in the American Wrestling Association promotion. The title was primarily defended in Canada, part of the Commonwealth Realm, hence the British Empire name. The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), becoming an independent territory in the late 1950s.