// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the ACW Women's Championship belt say? I'm buckling under pressure.
| ACW Women's Championship | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||||||||
| Promotion | Awesome Championship Wrestling | ||||||||||||
| Date established | May 7, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Current champion | Steph De Lander | ||||||||||||
| Date won | March 14, 2026 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
The ACW Women's Championship is the top women's title in the Poughkeepsie-based promotion Awesome Championship Wrestling. The first champion was Indi Hartwell, who won it at Aftershock in an elimination match at Aftershock. Her victory ushered in the ACW Women's Division.[1] The current champion is Steph De Lander, who won it at the following year's Aftershock event by defeating Hartwell and J-Rod in a triple threat match.[2]
History
[edit]
ACW first revealed the championship design in a YouTube video posted on May 8, 2025.[3]
The ACW Women's Championship was first contested at Awesome Championship Wrestling's second-ever show ACW Aftershock. In the inaugural match to determine the champion, a six-pack tag-team elimination match was held between Tina San Antonio, Indi Hartwell, Vicki Venuto, Rebecca J. Scott, Tiara James, and Kelly Madan. The first elimination was scored by Tiara James on Kelly Madan, after she reversed a roll-up attempt for a three-count. James held onto the rope to assist in the elimination, which was missed by the referee. While James was celebrating her victory, San Antonio entered the ring and unsuccessfully attempted to pin her via backslide. San Antonio was defeated by Vicki Venuto after she entered the ring and hit her finisher. After both women entered the ring and had a sequence, James eliminated Scott after once again using her feet on the ropes as leverage to secure her pin, without the referee noticing. Hartwell would enter the ring after the elimination of Scott, and eventually eliminate James after hitting her finisher. Believing Venuto had been eliminated, Hartwell began to celebrate before being attacked from behind. The match would end when Hartwell again hit her finisher to pick up the three-count, becoming the promotion's first Women's Champion.[4]
Following her victory, Hartwell and Venuto would enter a feud ahead of ACW Fallout over the championship, which would be promoted by ACW's social media in April.
Steph De Lander left TNA Wrestling in March of 2026 after she had not wrestled since 2024 due to her neck injury.[5] She and ACW's social media accounts posted about her in-ring return on March 9.[6] De Lander posted a video to her social media, again challenging Hartwell for the ACW Women's Championship.[7] A triple-threat match between Indi Hartwell, Steph De Lander, and J-Rod was created. At ACW Aftershock, Hartwell delivered a promo before the match, hyping up her reign while also congratulating her "best friend" Steph De Lander, but warning that her title will not be taken.[8] Towards the end of the match, Vicki Venuto would run out to the ring and break up Hartwell's pin on De Lander by pulling the referee out. This would create chaos, allowing J-Rod to hit a massive spear on Indi Hartwell. J-Rod's pin attempt would be prevented by De Lander. The referee was distracted with the task of securing a turnbuckle pad, giving J-Rod the opportunity to take the title and attempt to hit De Lander across the head with it. She would miss, and hit Hartwell, taking her out of the rest of the match. Capitalizing, De Lander utilized her finishing maneuver on J-Rod and secured the victory for the championship.[9][10]
To follow up their match and continue the various feuds between the four participants, a tag team match was declared for ACW Reckoning between the teams of SDL & Hartwell against Venuto and Frost.[11][12]
While she has not yet defended her title as champion, De Lander is expected to appear on July 18's Indypendence Day show as champion.[13]
Reigns and statistics
[edit]| # | Wrestler | Reign | Date | Days
held |
Location | Event | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indi Hartwell | 1 | May 17, 2025 | 301 days | Poughkeepsie, New York | Aftershock 2025 | First ACW Women's Champion. | [1] |
| 2 | Steph De Lander | 1 | March 14, 2026 | 151 days | Poughkeepsie, New York | Aftershock 2026 | Def. Hartwell in a triple-threat. | [9] |
Combined reigns
[edit]| Rank | Wrestler | Reign(s) | Defenses | Combined days | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indi Hartwell  |
1 | 3 | 301 days | [1] |
| 2 | Steph De Lander |
1 | 0 | 151 days | [9] |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Wrestling, Awesome Championship (2025-05-18). "History Made: New ACW Women's Champion Indi Hartwell crowned at Aftershock". Awesome Championship Wrestling- This is Awesome!. Retrieved 2026-07-03.
- ↑ Gaydos, Ryan (2026-04-28). "Pro wrestling star Steph De Lander reveals how colleague's advice helped lead her to title triumph at ACW". Fox News. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ↑ Awesome Championship Wrestling (2025-05-08). FIRST LOOK: ACW Women’s Championship!. Retrieved 2026-07-03 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (2026-03-15). "Steph De Lander Wins ACW Women's Title". Fightful | WWE News, AEW News, Pro Wrestling Backstage News. Retrieved 2026-07-03.
- ↑ Upton, Felix (2026-03-15). "Steph De Lander Wins Championship In First Match Back After Injury Layoff". Ringside News. Retrieved 2026-07-03.
- ↑ Roy, Bishal (2026-03-10). "Steph De Lander Returning To The Ring On March 14". SEScoops. Retrieved 2026-07-03.
- ↑ Awesome Championship Wrestling (2026-03-12). Steph De Lander is coming to Poughkeepsie!. Retrieved 2026-07-03 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Awesome Championship Wrestling (2026-03-18). Steph De Lander makes her ACW debut, stepping back into the ring for the first time in over 2 years!. Retrieved 2026-07-03 – via YouTube.
- 1 2 3 Lambert, Jeremy (2026-03-15). "Steph De Lander Wins ACW Women's Title". Fightful | WWE News, AEW News, Pro Wrestling Backstage News. Retrieved 2026-07-03.
- ↑ Awesome Championship Wrestling (2026-05-05). ACW: Spotlight – Championship Chaos at Aftershock! Hartwell, Holliday, Santana, Kross & More. Retrieved 2026-07-03 – via YouTube.
- ↑ BODYSLAM. NET Pro Wrestling and MMA News & Results (2026-05-15). Vicious Vicki Venuto talks John Cena, ACW vs Indi Hartwell and SDL , Lodestone and TNA | KO3C. Retrieved 2026-07-03 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Bryan, John (2026-05-31). "ACW: Spotlight – Steph De Lander & Indi Hartwell vs. Vicious Vicki & Lady Frost". Awesome Championship Wrestling- This is Awesome!. Retrieved 2026-07-03.
- ↑ "Events". Awesome Championship Wrestling- This is Awesome!. Retrieved 2026-07-03.