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61-560: The NWA National Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the U.S.-based, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The championship was established in January 1980 as the top singles title of Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), a prominent NWA-affiliated promotion. Until its September 1986 deactivation, the title remained Georgia-based—across 3 different owners (GCW; Championship Wrestling from Georgia , and Jim Crockett Promotions ). The title

122-594: A few isolated championship matches. On rare occasions, a male wrestler will compete in championship matches for championships generally contested exclusively in the women's division. Such examples include Harvey Wippleman becoming the only male to capture the WWF Women's Championship in 2000, and Eric Young winning one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship in 2012. Gimmick match classifications sometimes factor into

183-624: A gender specification, though Chyna defeating Jeff Jarrett to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship in 1999 and Tessa Blanchard defeating Sami Callihan to win the Impact World Championship in 2020 are notable exceptions. In promotions featuring only a single gender (such as Women of Wrestling or Shimmer Women Athletes ), gender classifications are often unnecessary as well. Titles specifically designated for women may fall into any of

244-787: A hardcore championship is the FTW Championship in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which is primarily contested in FTW Rules matches . A past such title is WWE Hardcore Championship , which was active from 1998 to 2002. In recent years, style-based championships have centered around what is known as "scientific" or technical wrestling. Examples of this include the NXT Heritage Cup (which is specifically contested under "British Round Rules") in WWE 's NXT brand, and

305-553: A knee infection. In All Elite Wrestling , when a champion gets injured, a match is held to determine an interim champion until the lineal champion is cleared to compete, after which a match is held between the two to crown an undisputed champion. For example, Jon Moxley became interim AEW World Champion in June 2022 after then-lineal champion, CM Punk, was sidelined with a foot injury. When Punk returned in August, Moxley defeated him in

366-466: A match to become the undisputed champion. These interim reigns are not recognized as official reigns. However, if the lineal champion's injury renders them indefinitely sidelined, they can forfeit the championship and the interim champion becomes the lineal champion. An example of this happened in November 2022, when it was announced that then-lineal AEW Women's World Champion , Thunder Rosa relinquished

427-416: A measure of their performance ability and drawing power. The most accomplished or decorated wrestlers tend to be revered as legends. American wrestler Ric Flair has had multiple world heavyweight championship reigns spanning over three decades. Japanese wrestler Último Dragón once held and defended a record 10 titles simultaneously . Professional wrestling's championship belts are modeled similarly to

488-754: A severe injury and despite the championship being quite important. In 1998, Shane Douglas kept the ECW World Heavyweight Championship while sidelined. In 2005, Trish Stratus kept the WWE Women's Championship while sidelined with a herniated disk for four months. In 2012, CM Punk kept the WWE Championship while undergoing and recovering from knee surgery. In 2015, Ryback kept the WWE Intercontinental Championship while recovering from

549-489: A short, TV-friendly time limit, usually 10 or 15 minutes. These titles were originally introduced during a time when weekly TV shows were seen as a vehicle to promote the money-making live shows, where major title defenses took place. Television titles provided a championship that would be defended on the weekly television shows. Examples of a television championship include the AEW TNT Championship (named after

610-470: A unification match between his company's NWA United States Champion Nikita Koloff , and NWA National Champion Wahoo McDaniel , which Koloff won. The National title was deactivated afterwards. In May 1997, the title was reactivated and promoted by various NWA-affiliated, independent promotions across the United States. During this period it was considered the third most important heavyweight title in

671-635: A version was established in St Joseph with Gagne again as inaugural champion, lasted nearly a decade until it was last claimed by former World champion Lou Thesz in 1967. Five more versions were created of the title in the early 1960s. Prior to Capitol Wrestling leaving the National Wrestling Alliance and becoming the WWWF , the company hosted a version of the championship for several months in 1960-1961. The only holder of this title

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732-421: A wrestler and defended in sanctioned matches, but are not recognized as legitimate titles by the promotion. Examples of unsanctioned championships include: NWA United States Heavyweight Championship The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was founded in 1948 after six professional wrestling promoters decided to join together and form a governing body to oversee the various members, later referred to as

793-567: Is WWE's NXT Heritage Cup , which is represented with a trophy. The fate of a title depends on the champion's condition and the importance of the title to the promotion (e.g. Gregory Helms held the WWE Cruiserweight Championship , despite being sidelined with an injury, because the Cruiserweight Championship was not a major championship). The champion may be forced to vacate his or her title if

854-564: Is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations . Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches , in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalries. These narratives create feuds between the various competitors, which cast them as villains and heroes (heels and faces respectively). The bookers in a company will place the title on the most accomplished performer, or whom they believe will generate fan interest in terms of event attendance and television viewership. Professional wrestling portrays

915-427: Is becoming increasingly rare as champions are needed to be present in regular tours even when titles are not defended. Professional wrestling championships are often split up into various different classifications, each of which designate varying levels of importance to the belts. The world heavyweight championship (also just world championship) is the name given to the championship that is typically presented as being

976-472: Is often implicitly understood. Other tag team championships include 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 formats, which are often explicitly stated within the championship name to distinguish them from the 2-on-2 championships. Some teams may invoke what is called the Freebird Rule , in which a stable of three or more wrestlers are all officially recognized as champion, allowing any pairing of the stable's members to defend

1037-556: Is scripted, there is no promotion or group of people that recognize one official world title of the industry (the closest was the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship during the territory days during the mid to late 20th century). Instead, each promotion can promote their top title as a world title, with some of them promoting title matches around the world to claim the designation. Some promotions may even recognize multiple world championships, such as

1098-497: Is the case with WWE, as due to the large size of its roster, the promotion splits its roster into what they call brands where talent exclusively perform and their two main brands ( Raw and SmackDown) each have their own world championship. The first widely recognized world heavyweight championship was the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship , created in 1905, and the inaugural champion

1159-500: Is very common for these variations to be the second most prestigious championship in a promotion, but exceptions have existed, like the now defunct WWE European Championship , which served as the company's tertiary singles championship, and the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship , which many NWA territories created versions of and promoted as their most prestigious championship whenever

1220-632: The NWA -affiliated promotion, Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), from 1980 until 1986. Contrary to its name, the title was defended almost exclusively in just one state, Georgia. When World Wrestling Entertainment (then called, the World Wrestling Federation ) purchased GCW ( Black Saturday (1984) ) in July 1984, then-champion The Spoiler signed with the WWF (which even, briefly, recognized

1281-688: The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship , and NWA World Women's Championship . Corgan transformed the NWA from a governing body, to a wrestling promotion—one seeking to proudly revive and preserve the mood, look, and feel of the 1970s/1980s, Georgia/Mid-Atlantic era of wrestling. In October 2018, the NWA announced the National title would be rebooted on the NWA 70th Anniversary Show , with an eight-man, championship tournament featuring: Jay Bradley ; Colt Cabana ; Sammy Guevara ; Mike Parrow; Scorpio Sky ; Sam Shaw ; Ricky Starks; and Willie Mack . The championship

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1342-464: The NWA territories . The NWA Board of Directors agreed to all recognize one over all NWA World Heavyweight Championship and one NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship across all promotions. Beyond those two championships the Board allowed each promotion to create and promote whatever championship they wanted to. For example, in 1949 the first of many NWA World Tag Team Championships was created in

1403-557: The ROH Pure Championship in Ring of Honor (which is contested under "Pure Wrestling Rules"). A variation that was prominent in the 1980s and 1990s and made a return in the 2020s is a "television championship" or "iron man championship", which involves more frequent title defenses as well as the stipulations that the belt can only change hands on television (as opposed to non-televised house shows ) with title matches having

1464-560: The TNA Digital Media Championship , which was created in 2021 to reflect TNA 's online platforms or WWE's Speed Championship which is named after the X (Twitter) exclusive streaming show WWE Speed . In 2021, AEW introduced the first TV title specifically for female wrestlers, the AEW TBS Championship , named for the network that is the home of Dynamite as of January 5, 2022, serving as

1525-649: The Tri-State Wrestling Alliance and FMW as late as the early 1990s.) This left the Mid-Atlantic version as the only version active in the NWA. The title remained the primary championship within the Mid-Atlantic territory until 1986 when Crockett gained control of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The United States title then became the secondary championship of the promotion. After Ted Turner bought

1586-638: The WWF . The closures of the Detroit and San Francisco territories in October 1980 and January 1981 spelled the end for each of their versions of the title, last held by The Sheik and Dusty Rhodes respectively. (The Sheik continued to claim the title in the Kentucky-based independent International Championship Wrestling in 1981-1984 and continued to wear the title belt for appearances in promotions such as

1647-522: The home network of AEW's Rampage and Collision broadcasts plus other AEW programming) and the ROH World Television Championship . A modern take on the traditional TV title are internet championships. As professional wrestling began having events on streaming and online platforms, some promotions modified their television championships to be promoted as internet championships to reflect this. Examples of this include

1708-538: The "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission), the main regulatory body in Mexico: Gender occasionally plays a role in the classifications of championship belts. Due to professional wrestling being a male dominated sport, only women's titles are given official gender classifications. Generally, only men are allowed to win the championships without

1769-542: The "legitimacy" of their own titles, although cross-promotion does happen. When one promotion absorbs or purchases another, the titles from the defunct promotion may continue to be defended in the new promotion or be decommissioned, usually through championship unification . Behind the scenes , the bookers in a company will place the title on the most accomplished performer, or those the bookers believe will generate fan interest in terms of event attendance and television viewership. Lower ranked titles may also be used on

1830-681: The Los Angeles territory . The earliest version of the NWA United States Heavyweight championship was promoted by Fred Kohler Enterprises . It was known as the Chicago version from 1953 until 1959 and was later known as the Detroit version from 1959 until 1980. Various versions of an "American" or "United States" title had existed going back to 1881 . The Detroit version was the primary singles championship within

1891-966: The NWA American Heavyweight Championship in May 1968. Later, when WCCW pulled out of the NWA in 1986, the championship was renamed the World Class Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship. The title was briefly unified by Jerry Lawler with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1988-1989 and continued as the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship until the demise of the USWA in 1997. The most well known version of

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1952-657: The NWA Detroit promotion. Over the course of its existence, the title was held by well known names such as Bobo Brazil , The Sheik , Wilbur Snyder , Johnny Valentine , and multi-time AWA World Heavyweight Champions Verne Gagne and Dick the Bruiser . At around the same time, a version of the US title was established in the Rocky Mountains territory. First held by Gagne, it lasted until 1961. Five years later in 1958,

2013-709: The NWA National Heavyweight Championship. The NWA currently recognizes 94 individual National Championship reigns. The inaugural champion was Austin Idol . The longest reigning champion is Phil Shatter , who held the title from January 17, 2009 to February 19, 2011, for a total of 763 days. Ricky Murdock holds the record for longest combined reigns (2) at 817 days. Killer Tim Brooks has the shortest reign. Damien Wayne , Phil "Nitro" Monahan, Greg Anthony , Lou Marconi , Paul Orndorff , Tommy Rich , Larry Zbyszko , and Masked Superstar have

2074-682: The NWA World Heavyweight Champion was not around. Another common classification of championships are by weight classes . Given the scripted nature of professional wrestling matches, weight classes are not always strictly adhered to. Typically, promotions prefer to have a heavyweight title as their top prize, with other designations, such as cruiserweight , middleweight , or light-heavyweight titles. Promotions often have one sub-heavyweight classification, while others sometimes may have more. Mountevans' committee (a governing body that instilled rules for professional wrestling in

2135-562: The NWA, after the World and North American titles. In October 2017, Billy Corgan 's company Lightning One, Inc., purchased the National Wrestling Alliance 's intellectual and physical properties. At that point, all pre-existing NWA affiliation agreements with other promotions were ended; most NWA-branded championships (including the National) would be vacated in the months that immediately followed. The only two championships not vacated were

2196-485: The UK) created seven formal weight divisions: Classifying championships into weight classes is also common practice in the lucha libre promotions of Mexico . Lucha libre has a detailed weight class system patterned after boxing. Each weight class has an official upper limit, but examples of wrestlers who are technically too heavy to hold their title can be found. The following weight classes exist in lucha libre, as defined by

2257-458: The championship belts in boxing , and other combat sports such as mixed martial arts . They are made of elaborately designed plates of gold or other precious metals , usually bearing the name of the title and the wrestling promotion, and is on a leather strap. The color and designs vary with each title and promotion. A wrestler may win a sanctioned championship and redesign the belt itself. Some (such as John Cena 's Spinner Belt) later became

2318-602: The championship to have existed is the Mid-Atlantic version. It was created by and defended in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) run by Jim Crockett Jr. Introduced on January 1, 1975, Harley Race became the inaugural champion. The title quickly replaced the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship as the top singles title in the promotion. The Sheik , then-holder of the Detroit version of

2379-411: The championship. This rule is most commonly applied to the standard 2-on-2 tag team championship, though it has also been applied to the other variants. Tag team championships are also often combined with regional modifiers, gimmick modifiers, gender modifiers, and weight class modifiers to further distinguish them. In such cases, the primary title is usually called the world tag team championship , with

2440-574: The company and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in November 1988, the title continued to be used and recognized as secondary to the World Championship. WCW began to pull itself away from the NWA, demonstrated by the company changing the name of the title to the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in January 1991. From the final break of WCW from the NWA in late 1993 until 2016

2501-487: The counterpart to the male TNT Championship. Sister promotion ROH introduced a similar title for their women's division, ROH Women's World Television Championship . Tag team championships are yet another different form of wrestling title. Some consider it to be a style championship, but tag team championships are unique in their ability to include multiple wrestlers on teams competing for multiple belts. The most common form of tag team championships are in 2-on-2 format, which

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2562-520: The creation of title belts. In these classifications, special skills in a certain type of match or a certain style of wrestling is the signature of the division, and the champion is considered to be the most skilled wrestler at that specific style. Gimmick championships often take very differing forms. A common variation is the "hardcore championship", a title often defended in weapons-filled and bloody competitions with fewer rules (count outs and disqualifications are not usually allowed). An active example of

2623-510: The injury becomes too severe and the championship is too important. In May 2015, Daniel Bryan vacated the WWE Intercontinental Championship due to a major concussion and a year before, he had to vacate the world title due to neck surgery. In November 2015, Seth Rollins vacated the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to a knee injury that required surgery. However, a champion may keep their title despite

2684-576: The most prestigious of those contested within a promotion. The wrestler holding a championship with this name is most commonly referred to as the "world heavyweight champion" or "world champion" (though some promotions may use synonymous/alternate terms, such as the AAA Mega Championship of Lucha Libre AAA World Wide or the Undisputed WWE Championship , the premier title of WWE ). Since professional wrestling

2745-661: The most reigns with 3 apiece. The current champion is Mims, who is in his first reign. He won the vacant title by defeating Burchill , Bryan Idol and Carson Drake at NWA 76th Anniversary Show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 31, 2024. Previous champion Thom Latimer vacated the title in order to challenge for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship . As of November 28, 2024. Professional wrestling championship Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s A championship or title in professional wrestling

2806-432: The official belt design. Others (such as Stone Cold Steve Austin 's Smoking Skull Belt, Edge 's Rated-R Spinner, Daniel Bryan 's eco-friendly belt, and The Fiend Bray Wyatt 's Universal title with his face on it) were not used after their respective title reign. While rare, there are cases of championships being represented with items other than belts, such as championship trophies, medals, crowns, etc. An example of this

2867-521: The only version of the title active in the NWA belonged to NWA Wildside which had a version of the title 1995-2005. Meanwhile, the former Mid Atlantic version was eventually acquired by the WWF in 2001 as part of its purchase of WCW. It was later unified with the WWF Intercontinental Championship in October 2001 before being relaunched as the WWE United States Heavyweight Championship in 2003. In February 2016,

2928-552: The other categories listed here (e.g. women's world titles or women's tag team titles). Andy Kaufman once used gender classifications to his advantage, turning inter-gender competitions into a unique wrestling side-show. Kaufman declared himself the "Inter-Gender Champion of the World", and offered $ 1,000 to any woman who could pin him. None were successful during the run of the gimmick; though in other promotions such as WCW and WWE , women have successfully pinned men, most notably in

2989-413: The other championships seen as secondary titles. Examples of 2-on-2 tag team championships: Examples of 3-on-3 tag team championships: Examples of 4-on-4 tag team championships: Examples of 5-on-5 tag team championships: The concept of championships, and their central role in wrestling, allows for the potential for angles . One such angle is an unsanctioned championship title. These are claimed by

3050-465: The performers who show potential, thus allowing them greater exposure to the audience. However, other circumstances may also determine the use of a championship. A combination of a championship's lineage, the caliber of performers as champion, and the frequency and manner of title changes, dictates the audience's perception of the title's quality, significance, and reputation. A wrestler's championship accomplishments can be central to their career, becoming

3111-803: The promotion is based, an example being WWE's United States Championship . Sometimes it may specify a specific state or territory, such as the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship . It is also common to be a smaller division of the world, an example being the WWE Intercontinental Championship , the AEW International Championship (previously known as the All-Atlantic Championship), or the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship . It

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3172-555: The structure of title match combat sports . Participants compete for a championship, and must defend it after winning it. These titles are represented physically by a championship belt that is worn or carried by the champion(s). In the case of team wrestling, there is a belt for each member of the team. Almost all professional wrestling promotions have one major title, and some have more. Championships are designated by divisions of weight, height, gender, wrestling style, and other qualifications. Typically, each promotion only recognizes

3233-558: The title came to the Toronto territory in and 1974 and was awarded the local version of the title. He defended this as a separate title from his Detroit version, holding it until 1977 except for brief losses to Thunderbolt Patterson in late 1976 and Bobo Brazil in early 1977, after which Maple Leaf Wrestling recognized the Mid-Atlantic version of the title from May 1978 until July 1984 when promoter Jack Tunney allied himself with

3294-510: The title due to a back injury she suffered in August. As a result, then-interim champion, Jamie Hayter , became the official champion. Before the 1980s when title matches were rare, some champions could keep their titles even when injured; Bruno Sammartino kept his WWWF World Heavyweight Championship from April to June 1976 despite being injured by a botched body slam from Stan Hansen . In Mexico , this situation still occurs, but in Japan , it

3355-409: The title was vacated by champion Tiger Jeet Singh after several years of intermittent activity. In 1966, Texas promoter/wrestler Jack Adkisson (aka Fritz Von Erich ) instituted a version of the title for his promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). Von Erich himself mostly held this title apart from losses to Johnny Valentine , Brute Bernard and The Spoiler . The title was renamed

3416-548: The title). Soon thereafter, Championship Wrestling from Georgia —started by former GCW booker Ole Anderson —launched and gained NWA affiliation. The title was awarded to Ted DiBiase . In 1985, Jim Crockett Promotions purchased the weekend TBS timeslots for wrestling from the WWF, producing its own version of the "World Championship Wrestling" TV show. JCP had also purchased Championship Wrestling from Georgia (taking over its Saturday morning time slot, as well), and began recognizing CWG's championships. Eventually, Crockett held

3477-754: Was Buddy Rogers , who vacated the title upon winning the NWA World title from Pat O'Connor in Chicago in June 1961. (The WWWF subsequently hosted its own United States Heavyweight Championship from 1963 to 1976.) Over the next three years, versions were also established in the Central States, Hawaii, San Francisco and Toronto territories. The Central States version was defended in the Central States Wrestling territory around Missouri . It existed from 1961 until 1968. The Hawaiian version

3538-597: Was George Hackenschmidt . The lineage of many prominent contemporary world championships can be traced back to the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, with the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship considered its direct successor , with many world championships having been spun of from the NWA's title. A very common championship variation. The championship usually specifies the location on where

3599-767: Was first held by Nick Bockwinkel in 1962 and became the North American title in 1968. The San Francisco version was defended in NWA San Francisco and, later, Big Time Wrestling . The title, which originated as the American Wrestling Alliance United States Championship and was renamed in 1968, existed from 1960 until 1981. The Toronto version was defended in Frank Tunney's Toronto -based Maple Leaf Wrestling . It existed from 1962 until 1973 when

3660-418: Was officially renamed the "NWA National Championship". A new title belt was commissioned: its design was a faithful restoration of the 1970s, Crockett/ Mid-Atlantic Wrestling version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship belt, with a few modern tweaks. In effect, the National title has become the second most important heavyweight title in the NWA. There have been six belt designs used to represent

3721-412: Was reactivated in May 1997 and promoted by a handful of NWA-affiliated independent promotions, until it was vacated in October 2017. In October 2018, the title was renamed the "NWA National Championship", reactivated, and the NWA (now a promotion, instead of a sanctioning body ) held an 8-person tournament to crown a new titleholder. The NWA National Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in

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