The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion .
150-434: Although formally established in 1948, its lineage has been traditionally traced back to the first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship , which traces its lineage to the title first awarded to George Hackenschmidt in 1905. This effectively makes it the oldest surviving wrestling championship in the world. The title began as a governing body's world championship and has been competed for in multiple major promotions around
300-527: A green screen with footage of fans at sports bars who were supposedly watching the matches live inserted on the screen using Chroma-Key. The pilot can be viewed in the "WWE Hidden Gems" section of the "Vault" menu on WWE Network . In 1996, Dale Gagner, a former AWA employee but no relation to Verne despite the similar surname, removed the "r" from his name and formed an organization in Minnesota known as AWA Superstars of Wrestling . In April 2007, WWE filed
450-592: A lawsuit against Gagner, citing trademark infringement, as WWE owned all AWA properties due to their purchase after the AWA's closure. In a move to sidestep WWE, former AWA wrestler Jonnie Stewart trademarked the name "American Wrestling Alliance" but the United States Patent and Trademark Office later indicated that the request was abandoned in February 2008. In October 2008, the lawsuit against Gagner
600-699: A new World Heavyweight Championship , the WWE made allusions to other titles including those of WCW , the NWA and the original World Heavyweight Championship , amalgamating the history of the championships. As affirmed by WWE, the World Heavyweight Championship is not a continuation of the NWA World Heavyweight , WCW World Heavyweight or the original World Heavyweight Championship, but rather its successor. Due to its relation to
750-603: A 50/50 split instead. Gagne refused, and kept the belt from him. However, Hogan did admit in his autobiography My Life Outside the Ring that he still intended to stay with AWA and that Gagne had planned to book him in steel cage matches with Bockwinkel in an effort to expand the AWA to the New York market, but he decided to leave when Vincent K. McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) offered him
900-818: A Domed Globe design. During the mid-1990s, the NWA World Tag Team Championship was represented by Domed Globe belts, which were used during the NWA's partnership with IWA Japan . Numerous other championship belts have used the Domed Globe design, with some being NWA-sanctioned championships (such as the NWA Women's Pacific Championship ) and others being unauthorized by the NWA (such as the FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship ). The fifth design
1050-407: A Montreal rematch on July 24. It had been planned that the NWA would present Thesz and Carpentier as rival champions in different cities following a similar pattern to the successful title dispute matches between Thesz and Leo Nomellini in 1955. Carpentier would also be able to make appearances in the U.S. as champion while Thesz was on an overseas tour. However, as a result of various disputes within
1200-518: A couple of years later, and production was transferred to Minneapolis station KMSP-TV . During the AWA's existence, it produced or had a hand in production of several TV programs: In 1985, Gagne began airing weekly programming on ESPN , hoping to help the promotion compete with the national exposure already enjoyed by the WWF on USA Network and the NWA member Jim Crockett Promotions on TBS . However, weekly AWA shows were not treated with any priority by
1350-603: A dispute between NWA President Dennis Coralluzzo and ECW owner Tod Gordon , after the match, Douglas threw the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt down and picked up the ECW Heavyweight Championship belt, proclaiming himself ECW World champion. Almost immediately thereafter ECW withdrew from the NWA and became Extreme Championship Wrestling , with Coralluzzo stripping Douglas of the NWA title. Despite this blow to
1500-540: A licensing deal with the NWA and its affiliated promotions, with NWA-TNA receiving control over the NWA World Heavyweight and NWA World Tag Team titles. While working out a cable deal, the Jarretts put NWA-TNA on weekly pay-per-view during the company's first two years of existence. The NWA World Heavyweight Champion at the time, Dan Severn, was unable to appear on the inaugural NWA-TNA PPV card, and he
1650-636: A match to Freddie Blassie which created the basis for the Los Angeles version of the WWA World Heavyweight Championship . The title ceased to exist when the WWA returned to the NWA on October 1, 1968. The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which later evolved into today's WWE , was the major wrestling promotion in the northeast United States in the early 1960s. Vincent J. McMahon 's Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC),
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#17327872922901800-424: A new title belt of similar design. In February 1989, Larry Zbyszko , a one-time employee and Verne's son-in-law, returned to the AWA and won the vacated World Title in an 18-man Battle Royal, eliminating Tom Zenk to end the match. It was also during this time that Joe Blanchard replaced Blackburn as AWA President. Zbyszko's first title reign would last for a little over one year. During this time, he would defend
1950-470: A one-third interest in the promotion to his son Dennis and Wally Karbo . Stecher died on October 9, 1954, and control of the promotion passed to Karbo and Dennis. Verne Gagne, an amateur wrestling champion, had become a well-known and popular wrestler nationally in the 1950s as a result of his appearances on the DuMont Network . He aspired to become NWA World Champion , but political sentiment within
2100-738: A period of 23 days - 1,027 days, depending on which iteration of the title is deemed official. Joe Stecher was able to defeat both Wladek Zbyszko and Ed Lewis to unify both titles in 1920. On April 15, 1925, Stanislaus Zbyszko defeated previous champion Wayne Munn to win the championship. However, Munn continued to be recognized as the World Heavyweight Champion in Michigan and in Illinois. Ed Lewis defeated Wayne Munn on February 2, 1928, in Michigan City, Indiana for
2250-577: A relationship with Memphis-based promoter Jerry Jarrett and the CWA and even allowed Mid-Southern territory legend Jerry "The King" Lawler to win the AWA World Title from Hennig in May 1988. This was after the AWA flirted for months with the idea of giving Greg the belt, even awarding the belt to Gagne at a couple of house shows, only to return it to Hennig on a technicality. It was widely speculated that
2400-400: A result, he lost the financial resource he was using to keep the AWA up and running and had no choice but to shut down the promotion. In an interview during the late 1990s with Minneapolis television station KARE , Gagne spoke of the devoted fan base in Minnesota and joked about how he may promote again some day, but nothing ever materialized. In 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment purchased
2550-595: A role in the hit film Rocky III , Hogan rapidly caught on as a babyface with AWA fans, and became the AWA's top draw. But even as his popularity grew to unprecedented levels, Gagne refused to make him the AWA World Heavyweight Champion, as Hogan was a powerhouse wrestler. He recognized Hogan's showmanship and charisma and was well aware of his potential drawing power, but still believed a wrestling company should be built around one of its best technical wrestlers (e.g., himself and Bockwinkel). On
2700-406: A roll of dimes. After further review by on-air AWA President Blackburn, and following weeks of speculation by AWA fans, the decision was upheld and Hennig was the new champion. Gagne pushed Hennig and The Midnight Rockers throughout 1987 and into 1988, but the WWF came calling and all three of his top stars would soon be gone. During 1987, in an attempt to remain relevant and survive, Gagne renewed
2850-561: A series of AWA-related pay-per-views were produced. Titled AWA Classic Wrestling , they featured compilations of old AWA footage, hosted by Greg Gagne and Todd Okerlund (son of Gene Okerlund), with occasional appearances by Verne Gagne. The pay-per-views ceased following the acquisition of the AWA tape library by World Wrestling Entertainment . The AWA World Tag Team Tournament was a one-night single elimination tag team tournament held in Saint Paul, Minnesota , on January 15, 1962, for
3000-463: A series of matches dubbed the "Seven Levels of Hate" – a best of seven series between the two wrestlers. The fourth match of the series was a two out of three falls contest held on July 21, 2012, in Kansas City, Missouri. The NWA sanctioned the match as a world championship match and Pearce emerged victorious to become a five-time world champion. Both wrestlers were tied at three matches apiece when
3150-489: A signed agreement between the previous NWA President Seiji Sakaguchi and WCW. Per this court ruling, the title belt dropped the recognition as being the NWA World Heavyweight title but continued to be billed as the World Heavyweight Championship by WCW. Soon after, the Big Gold Belt was defended without any company affiliation, even being referred to simply as the Big Gold Belt for a short time, until it became known as
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#17327872922903300-466: A six-week notice upon leaving the company for booking and syndication -based reasons, most of the talent reportedly told Gagne that McMahon offered them more money to not work out their notices and previously-scheduled appearance dates, which has been disputed by McMahon. Of the talent to leave AWA for the WWF in this time, only Heenan worked out his notice in good faith to the Gagne family. The sting of
3450-572: A tour of Japan and left with the championship belt. Hansen argued that he was booked as AWA Champion in Japan and was therefore fulfilling his commitment. Gagne disagreed and awarded the AWA Championship to Bockwinkel, using one of the tag team title belts on a temporary basis. Gagne threatened legal action if Hansen continued to keep the belt and it was returned to the AWA as a result (although according to Bockwinkel on The Spectacular Legacy of
3600-621: A year, the organization planned to scheduled a tournament to crown a new champion and brought back the "Ten Pounds of Gold" to represent this new champion. By 1994, the Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) territory became the NWA's most televised affiliated wrestling promotion. The NWA decided to hold an NWA World Title Tournament through ECW at the ECW Arena in August 1994, which was won by Shane Douglas . Due to
3750-569: Is commonly referred to as the " Big Gold Belt ". In 1985, Jim Crockett Jr. of Jim Crockett Promotions commissioned Charles Crumrine, a silversmith in Reno, Nevada specializing in rodeo-style belt buckles, to produce the new design. The belt made its debut in February 1986. When WCW left the NWA in 1993, the Big Gold Belt continued serving as the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship , then
3900-441: Is commonly referred to as the "Ten Pounds of Gold" or the “Domed Globe Belt”. It is the design most commonly identified with the title. It has also been referred to on Championship Wrestling from Hollywood , NWA Powerrr , and in other NWA-related media as "Sweet Charlotte", a nickname coined by Adam Pearce in 2008 as a nod to the hometown of Ric Flair , one of the belt's most famous holders. The original Ten Pounds of Gold belt
4050-520: Is often referred to as the " Lou Thesz Belt". The championship belt, which was a holdover from Thesz's reign as the National Wrestling Association's champion , consisted of seven plates and a leather strap. The main plate had a royal crown, a wrestling ring, and a five-pointed star in a vertical alignment, top to bottom down the center. A belt with a similar design was given to Rikidōzan when he defeated Thesz in 1958 to claim
4200-539: The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD, Bischoff revealed that one of the main reasons the AWA shut down was that Gagne was leveraging money against a valuable property he owned along Lake Minnetonka . Local officials wanted to turn the property into a park. Gagne fought the decision for several years, but eventually lost the eminent domain case, leading to the creation of Lake Minnetonka Regional Park . As
4350-644: The ACC World Heavyweight Championship and later Boston's Big Time Wrestling (BTW) Heavyweight Championship. The "Crown" version of the championship belt debuted in 1959. The North American Wrestling Alliance (NAWA, later the Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA)) in Los Angeles recognized Carpentier as NWA champion in July 1959 as part of gradually splitting from the NWA. On June 12, 1961, Carpentier lost
4500-727: The Minnesota -based territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1948 onward, before breaking away from the NWA and becoming an independent territory in 1960. Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Anton Stecher , brother and manager of former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Stecher , was a founding member of the NWA in 1948 and had promoted wrestling in Minneapolis since 1933 through his Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club. In 1952, he sold
4650-526: The NWA 70th Anniversary Show , the New Year's Clash pop-up event , and the 2019 Crockett Cup . By July 2019, the NWA would begin to transition into a singular wrestling promotion, with the NWA announcing television tapings in Atlanta for a new standalone weekly series. The series was later revealed as NWA Powerrr , which has since hosted occasional NWA World's Heavyweight Championship matches. During
NWA World's Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
4800-690: The NWA International Heavyweight Championship , which Rikidōzan in turn held until his death in 1963. Rikidōzan's NWA International Heavyweight Championship design subsequently inspired the designs of All Japan Pro Wrestling 's PWF World Heavyweight Championship and Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship . In 1992, Thesz lent the original "Lou Thesz Belt" to the Union of Professional Wrestling Forces International (UWFi) to represent their Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship . Nobuhiko Takada and Super Vader were
4950-563: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship 's lineage . The first recognized World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion was George Hackenschmidt , who officially won the championship on May 4, 1905, by defeating Tom Jenkins in New York City . The championship remained active for the next 51 years, with the last recognized reign being disputed between Lou Thesz and Édouard Carpentier after a match between
5100-784: The National Wrestling Alliance World Championship (which was awarded to him on November 27, 1949) and the Los Angeles version of the world title, Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium World Heavyweight Championship , which he won on May 21, 1952, by defeating Baron Michele Leone). Whipper Billy Watson won the title on March 15, 1956, by defeating Thesz by countout . Thesz won the title back from Watson on November 9, 1956. Édouard Carpentier defeated Lou Thesz by disqualification on June 14, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois once Thesz could not continue
5250-740: The SmackDown brand, refusing to face designated number one contender Triple H , who was a member of the Raw brand . Triple H was awarded the newly established title. This championship was a successor to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, split via the WWE Championship. It was represented by the same Big Gold Belt once used for the WCW and NWA championships, and was awarded by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff ,
5400-569: The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD , Gagne denied bias against Hogan and defended his actions by reasoning that he believed that Hogan's pursuit of the title was the draw for the audience and that "we really didn't need him to be champion". On two occasions, Gagne went so far as to tease AWA title wins for Hogan, only to return the title to Bockwinkel via technicalities. The first was on April 18, 1982. Hogan defeated Bockwinkel with
5550-573: The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in February 1995. Severn held the belt continuously for four years, appearing on both wrestling and UFC events with the NWA World championship belt. Although Severn had attempted to go the "traveling champion" route done by former champions Thesz, Dory Funk, Jr. , Harley Race , and Terry Funk , the competition level was relatively minor due to the lack of strong NWA territories. It
5700-468: The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship . This title was recognized as the championship of a fictitious entity known as "WCW International", which served as a replacement for the NWA Board, until the title was unified with the main WCW title on June 23, 1994. Despite losing WCW as its flagship promotion, the NWA picked up new members and remained in existence as a governing body. After nearly
5850-734: The WCW World Heavyweight Championship (which it is most commonly known for), and eventually as the World Heavyweight Championship in WWE . Also in WWE, the Big Gold Belt was used in tandem to represent the then- Undisputed WWF Championship after the former WCW Championship was unified with the then-WWF World Championship in 2001, and then again in tandem to represent the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after
6000-661: The WWF . Turner Broadcasting purchased the company, because it had a high rated program airing on the WTBS cable station. Completing the deal in November 1988, Turner began changing the company to World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which maintained a partnership with the NWA and continued promoting the NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. WCW stayed in the NWA, but Turner slowly phased out
6150-506: The WWF World Heavyweight Championship . As McMahon and his Connecticut -based WWF attempted to end pro wrestling's regional era in the mid-1980s (by establishing the WWF as a national promotion), Gagne made several decisions that caused his AWA to lose momentum in the emerging wrestling promotion war, including overemphasizing his son Greg Gagne in AWA storylines (which led to charges of nepotism within
NWA World's Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
6300-451: The "Domed Globe Belt") version of the championship belt debuted on July 20, 1973, having been first presented to Harley Race by then-NWA President Sam Muchnick . When Jim Crockett Promotions wrestler Ric Flair won the NWA World title in 1981, he traveled to other NWA territories and defended the belt. He would drop the belt and regain it, as the NWA board of directors decided. On more than one occasion, however, Flair lost and regained
6450-460: The 1990s. The AWA would become inactive in the fall of 1990 (the last television taping occurred on August 11). As a result, Zbyszko signed with WCW. As his last official act, Gagne stripped the already-departed Zbyszko of the AWA World Title in December 1990. In 1991, Gagne and his inactive promotion officially filed for bankruptcy. Gagne did promote two cards in Minnesota in May 1991, featuring
6600-504: The AWA , Hansen had run over the belt with his truck before returning it ). The AWA also had a brief relationship with the European promotion Catch Wrestling Association , through which its promoter, wrestler Otto Wanz , was given a brief AWA World Title reign in 1982. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, AWA television production was headquartered at Minneapolis independent station WTCN-TV , then owned by Metromedia . The ring announcer
6750-464: The AWA and CWA, and Lawler would challenge WCCW Heavyweight champion Kerry Von Erich to a title unification match at SuperClash III in December. Super Clash III was the AWA's first venture into the Pay-Per-View market and wrestling's first collaborative PPV between several promotions. However, after months of hype, the end results were somewhat contentious and relatively unsuccessful. Following
6900-567: The AWA began to lose audiences, as the WWF was gaining wrestling superiority due to the success of WrestleMania I . Later in the year, as this struggle against the WWF progressed, Karbo also sold all his stock to Gagne as well. In September 1985, Pro Wrestling USA would respond to McMahon's rising success by promoting the first SuperClash . Despite this success, the Pro Wrestling USA collaboration did not last, as Gagne accused David Crockett of trying to sign away AWA talent over to
7050-560: The AWA forged an alliance with several NWA promoters, including Jim Crockett Promotions , Mid-South Wrestling , Pacific Northwest Wrestling , World Class Championship Wrestling , and the Continental Wrestling Association . This new promotion was known as Pro Wrestling USA and came about in an attempt to establish a national presence to compete against the WWF. The AWA was also able to sign top wrestlers like Sgt. Slaughter and Bob Backlund . By 1985, however,
7200-518: The AWA had working agreements with Japanese promotions International Wrestling Enterprise (1969 to 1980), then All Japan Pro Wrestling (1980 to 1988, although the relationship was strained in 1986 by the AWA Title debacle surrounding Stan Hansen ), and, near the end, New Japan Pro-Wrestling . On June 29, 1986, in Denver, Colorado , Hansen refused to lose the AWA World Title to Bockwinkel prior to
7350-491: The AWA title against Gagne. The NWA ignored the challenge. O'Connor was stripped of the AWA title and it was awarded to Gagne on August 16, 1960. While O'Connor was considered the first AWA Champion, he didn't wrestle in the AWA until later in the 1960s (when he teamed with Wilbur Snyder to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship ). Gagne was an amateur wrestling champion who had earned a spot on
7500-478: The AWA to return to the World Wrestling Federation shortly after WrestleMania VI , and Colonel DeBeers took over as the team captain for the Snipers (the team name was changed to "DeBeers' Diamondcutters" and Slaughter was said on air to have "gone AWOL " to explain his departure). Babyfaces and heels alike were assigned to teams, forcing bitter rivals to work together, and due to main talent losses many of
7650-429: The Big Gold Belt on television, eventually dropped the action because the belt was returned to WCW in July 1992. In August 1992, the NWA board authorized WCW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling to hold a tournament to decide a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion using the Big Gold Belt, now returned to WCW by the WWF. Turner's company still maintained its WCW World Championship, thus having two World Heavyweight titles present in
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#17327872922907800-677: The Michigan/Illinois World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship version. Joe Stetcher then defeated Zbyszko to become widely recognized champion. The dispute ended when Lewis defeated Stetcher on February 21, 1928. Gus Sonnenburg won the title from Lewis on January 4, 1929, but the recognition of being the world champion by the wrestling section of the National Boxing Association was withdrawn from Sonnenberg for failing to meet real title contenders. Lewis won
7950-545: The Midwest region. Relationships were also developed with existing promotions in Houston , Memphis and San Antonio . Gagne's westward expansion into traditional NWA territories was made possible due to relationships and business partnerships he had forged for decades—more the result of other promoters struggling to survive rather than by purchase or hostile takeover by Gagne. The AWA would also benefit from, among other things,
8100-607: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship (renamed the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship) and the NWA World Women's Championship , would be vacated in the months following the acquisition. On October 20, 2017, the NWA debuted the YouTube series, Ten Pounds of Gold , focused primarily around the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion at the time Tim Storm , chronicling his travels across the United States, and defenses of
8250-605: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship against wrestlers from other NWA territories . A brand new TNA World Heavyweight Championship was first won by Kurt Angle who won it at the 2007 edition of Sacrifice by defeating Cage and Sting. This title however neither claimed lineage to nor was linked to the Original World Heavyweight Championship. WWE created a new World Heavyweight Championship following its first brand split , when then-WWE "Undisputed" Champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to
8400-452: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship . On June 19, 2002, TNA crowned the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion under their banner after Ken Shamrock won a Gauntlet for the Gold match at TNA's first weekly pay-per-view . On May 13, 2007, the NWA severed ties with TNA after the then-current NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Christian Cage , refused to defend
8550-630: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was later known simply as the Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship . The title was unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 7, 1963. The Boston NWA affiliate known as the Atlantic Athletic Commission (AAC) arranged a match between Killer Kowalski and Carpentier in 1958. Kowalski's victory created what was after known as
8700-428: The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship. The first design was only held by the very first NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, Orville Brown . This belt consisted of one metal plate with a picture frame at the center. It had gemstones of various sizes around the edges of the belt, with the center featuring larger stones. The belt was retired after Orville's accident, and it remains with the Brown family. The second design
8850-425: The NWA and renamed itself Extreme Championship Wrestling. The title was decommissioned after ECW's bankruptcy in 2001 and subsequent purchase by WWE, then reactivated and competed for on the ECW brand of WWE from 2006 to 2010 when it was retired for the final time, with Ezekiel Jackson being the final holder of the title. TNA formed in May 2002 and established a partnership with the NWA, allowing TNA control of
9000-411: The NWA announced a tournament, titled Reclaiming the Glory, to fill the title vacancy left after the end of the NWA's relationship with TNA . Sixteen men competed for the championship, with Adam Pearce , filling in for an injured Bryan Danielson , winning the belt by defeating Brent Albright on September 1, 2007, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Pearce was active in defending the championship but suffered from
9150-764: The NWA backstage at numerous Pro Wrestling USA shows. The AWA released an AWA Remco Action Figure line with the toy company Remco and a series of 30 minute videos entitled "Wrestling Classics", primarily featuring wrestlers such as Sgt. Slaughter, the Road Warriors, Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal , and World Champion Martel. Despite falling behind the WWF and NWA as a major promotion throughout 1986 and 1987, Gagne still managed to find and/or develop legitimate young talent like Scott Hall (later known as Razor Ramon ), The Midnight Rockers ( Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty ), "Bull Power" Leon White (later known as Big Van Vader ), The Nasty Boys ( Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags ), and Madusa Miceli during that timeframe. With
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#17327872922909300-460: The NWA belt with him because WCW and Herd had not returned the $ 25,000 bond Flair had paid on the belt. After Flair's departure from WCW, the company had made a new, separate WCW World title belt. A match was held for the vacated WCW World Heavyweight Championship within two weeks of the departure, but no mention was made of the NWA title. Flair was stripped of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship by NWA's board of directors shortly after he signed with
9450-431: The NWA governing body was purchased by Billy Corgan and gradually evolved into a stand alone wrestling promotion with the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship as its premier title. With many territorial promotions appearing across the United States, the NWA was formed in 1948 as a professional wrestling governing body. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was created that same year. Like franchises, these territories had
9600-405: The NWA in 1993, when Flair's NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign continued to be recognized as the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship. The two titles were unified in June 1994. The title was briefly defended in WWF following WWF's purchase of WCW in 2001 before being unified into the WWF Championship and retired. Chris Jericho unified the WCW World Heavyweight Championship with
9750-441: The NWA name. The NWA organization existed only on paper at this point; on television, it was portrayed that, by early 1991, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship had become the WCW World Heavyweight Championship . Due to a falling out with WCW Executive Vice-President Jim Herd , WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair was fired from WCW on July 1, 1991, while still being recognized as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Flair took
9900-484: The NWA prevented it. In 1959, Dennis sold his majority stake in the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club to Karbo and Gagne. They then became co-owners of the promotion. In 1960, after unsuccessfully lobbying the NWA for a title match between Gagne and the NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor , Gagne and Karbo led certain territories out of the NWA forming the AWA. The AWA unilaterally recognized NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor as AWA World Champion and gave him 90 days to defend
10050-415: The NWA underwent another major change. In August 2012, International Wrestling Corp, LLC, a holding company run by Houston-based attorney and wrestling promoter R. Bruce Tharpe, sued the NWA, two of its recent Executive Directors (Robert Trobich and David Baucom) and its then-parent company, Pro Wrestling Organization LLC, claiming insurance fraud regarding the NWA's liability insurance policy. A settlement
10200-420: The NWA's Minnesota member territory withdrew from the NWA and established the American Wrestling Association. The first champion was Pat O'Connor , who was recognized upon the AWA's secession from the NWA as O'Connor held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as well, which he won on January 9, 1959. The creation of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship along with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship would pave
10350-492: The NWA, Carpentier's manager, wrestling promoter Eddie Quinn , left the organization in August making Carpentier unavailable to the NWA. The organization dealt with the situation by announcing 71 days after Carpentier's win in Chicago that it did not recognize Carpentier's win and had never recognized it . Quinn started promoting Carpentier as the true NWA world champion based on the match with Thesz. In 1958, Quinn started shopping Carpentier around to promoters interested in leaving
10500-477: The NWA. A victory over Carpentier could give a local champion a credible claim to the world championship of wrestling. Verne Gagne, who had been trying to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion for some time, defeated Carpentier in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 9, 1958. This was recognized as a title change by NWA affiliate promotions in the state – these promotions would later evolve into the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1960. This disputed Nebraska version of
10650-438: The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship. There were a total of 28 reigns and 3 vacancies. The first recognized World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion was George Hackenschmidt, who officially won the championship on May 4, 1905, by defeating Tom Jenkins in New York City, New York, the championship remained active for the next 51 years with the last recognized reign beginning on November 9, 1956. Ed Lewis holds
10800-689: The New York Athletic Commission. However, it was announced that Baba and Shikat would face each other on May 5, 1936, at the Madison Square Garden for the world title. Baba went on to win the bout and thus be recognized as the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Bronko Nagurski won the title on June 29, 1937. Nagurski was recognized as the undisputed World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion by The Ring magazine . Londos won
10950-550: The October 15, 2019 episode of Powerrr , it was announced that the NWA would be holding a pay-per-view (PPV) called Into the Fire on December 14, 2019. This would be the first PPV event produced exclusively by the NWA without another promotion or production company’s involvement. At the event, NWA World's Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis defeated James Storm to remain the champion. There have been six belt designs used to represent
11100-723: The U.S. team at the 1948 Summer Olympics ; he ran the AWA with a conservative sensibility, firmly believing that sound technical wrestling should be the basis of a pro-wrestling company. Starting in the 1970s, Gagne trained his newcomer wrestlers from his farm in Chanhassen, Minnesota . Under Gagne and Karbo, the AWA became one of the most successful and expansive single territories in North America, promoting shows in such major cities as Minneapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee , Chicago , Omaha , Winnipeg , Denver , Salt Lake City , Las Vegas , San Francisco , Phoenix and throughout
11250-645: The WWF Championship at WWF Vengeance 2001 . The ECW World Heavyweight Championship 's origin is attributed to a tournament which was held to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1994 in NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling . On August 27, 1994, Shane Douglas participated and won the tournament and discarded the NWA World Heavyweight Championship proclaiming himself the new Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion. After this event ECW withdrew from
11400-464: The WWF expansion was not shouldered by the AWA alone. The Mid-Atlantic , Georgia , and Florida territories of the NWA also lost top stars such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper , Greg "The Hammer" Valentine , Jack Brisco , Jerry Brisco , Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat , "Cowboy" Bob Orton , Barry Windham , and Mike Rotunda to the WWF during that same time. Despite this talent raid, the AWA went on to have another successful year in 1984, mainly because of
11550-552: The WWF in September 1991; an NWA board had to be reconstituted, as most members had gone out of business or been bought out by JCP/WCW. Flair displayed the Big Gold Belt on WWF television, calling himself the "Real World's Heavyweight Champion". After winning the WWF Championship, Flair's "Real World's Heavyweight Champion" belt was dropped. WCW, which had subsequently filed a lawsuit against the WWF to prevent them from using
11700-518: The World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship in 2013. The Big Gold Belt was eventually retired in August 2014. The sixth design was a customized belt commissioned for Dan Severn during his first reign as NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, to celebrate the NWA's 50th anniversary. The NWA currently recognizes 102 individual World's Heavyweight Championship reigns. World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (original version) The World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship
11850-554: The age of 22 years, 103 days. The final reign was disputed between Lou Thesz and Edouard Carpentier. All matches were held at house shows . The standard Championship belt has three plates on a black leather strap. Various promotions have been home to world heavyweight championships with origins that can also be traced back to the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. The National Wrestling Alliance Worlds Heavyweight Championship assumed
12000-588: The agreement ended, with TNA creating its own World and Tag Team championships. During this agreement, TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett would hold the title the most often with six reigns, followed by A.J. Styles with three, and lastly Ron Killings and Christian Cage with two reigns each. During the TNA years, a title change unauthorized by the NWA took place on an International Wrestling Association event in Puerto Rico, where Ray González pinned Jarrett to win
12150-515: The arena as the new AWA World champion. Six days later on AWA television, AWA President Stanley Blackburn stripped Hogan of the title and returned it to Bockwinkel. The second such occasion was on a "Super Sunday" card in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1983. Hogan again pinned Bockwinkel, was awarded the belt and announced as the new champion. This time, Blackburn came to the ring moments after the match and tried to have Hogan retroactively disqualified for throwing
12300-540: The arrival of The Road Warriors and an angle uniting longtime heel Jerry Blackwell with Greg and feuding with former manager Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey . Although aging, most of the AWA's longtime core talent still remained. Stars like Bockwinkel, Ray "The Crippler" Stevens , The Crusher , Dick the Bruiser , Baron von Raschke , Mad Dog Vachon , and Larry Hennig were all still active at this time despite all being in their 40s or 50s. In response to McMahon's expansion,
12450-555: The assets of the AWA from the Gagnes. All footage of the AWA is owned by WWE. WWE released The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA on November 21, 2006. The DVD includes a documentary on the amateur and professional career of Verne Gagne, the rise and fall of the AWA over its 30-year history, along with numerous interviews and features with Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Jim Brunzell , Michael Hayes , Baron von Raschke , Greg Gagne, Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan , Gene Okerlund and Nick Bockwinkel. Abroad,
12600-484: The belt featured a modified version of the older Canadian Red Ensign rather than the official Canadian flag, the Maple Leaf , which had been adopted in 1965. The belt originally had a red suede/velvet strap along with a nameplate. The nameplate was only used once, by Jack Brisco , before it was removed from the design. The red leather strap was replaced with a black laced leather strap soon into Brisco's reign due to
12750-609: The belt without the official sanctioning of the NWA. In most cases (such as the case of Jack Veneno 's championship victory), these switches continue to be ignored by the NWA. However, since 2015, the NWA has occasionally recognized the unauthorized Flair-Race switches that had occurred in March 1984 in New Zealand and Singapore. By early 1985, Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) controlled many NWA territories and limited championship matches to performers under contract with JCP thus making
12900-405: The cable network, sometimes being delayed, preempted by live programming, or suffering from occasional changes in time slot, making it difficult for fans to tune in on a regular basis. On February 26, 2008, ESPN Classic began reairing AWA Championship Wrestling episodes, circa 1986-1990. The AWA ran only one pay-per-view card, SuperClash III, during its 30-year run. However, From 1999 to 2002,
13050-399: The champion over the top rope a few minutes before the pinfall occurred. However, this match had been booked as a no disqualification match, which prevented this, so Blackburn simply stripped Hogan of the title and once again handed it back to Bockwinkel. The crowd (which had exploded in cheers when Hogan appeared to have won) almost rioted when learning that Hogan was once again cheated out of
13200-462: The champion would make in different regions. On June 14, 1957, in Chicago, Thesz defended the world title against Canadian wrestler Édouard Carpentier in a two out of three falls match . Thesz and Carpentier split the first two falls. In the third fall, Thesz was disqualified by referee Ed Whalen who raised Carpentier's hand in victory. The NWA later voided the title change based on the disqualification. Thesz defeated Carpentier by disqualification in
13350-498: The championship before being stripped of the title later on the same event. While the González title change was initially ignored by both the NWA and TNA, beginning in 2015, the NWA has occasionally recognized González as a former NWA champion. This makes González the first Caribbean wrestler to be recognized as NWA World champion (the reigns of Caribbean wrestlers Jack Veneno and Carlos Colón remain unrecognized). On May 22, 2007,
13500-572: The championship belt proclaiming he won it in a ( apocryphal ) tournament in Brazil in April 1963. He lost the championship to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, 1963, after suffering a heart attack shortly before the match. To accommodate Rogers' condition, the match was booked to last under a minute. Sammartino would retain the title for seven years, eight months and one day (2,803 days), until losing it to Ivan Koloff , making Sammartino's reign
13650-415: The championship. Continuing to operate as a governing body, Billy Corgan's NWA worked collaboratively with various promotions to sanction Storm's championship matches. On December 9, 2017, Nick Aldis won the championship from Storm on a Combat Zone Wrestling show. Since the championship change, Ten Pounds of Gold focused on "The Aldis Crusade", a series of 20 title defenses over the course of 60 days in
13800-501: The company) and failing to make Hogan the top star of his company when he had the chance. Frustrated by Gagne's business decisions, Hogan accepted an offer from rival promoter McMahon to wrestle for the WWF, in December 1983. One month later, Hogan became the WWF World Heavyweight Champion . He and the WWF soon became a mainstream media phenomenon and virtually synonymous with professional wrestling in much of
13950-483: The conclusion of his match, with the championship receiving official recognition from ROH shortly after. On October 25, 2008, Blue Demon Jr. became the first Mexican professional wrestler, as well as first masked luchador , to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when he defeated champion Adam Pearce in Mexico City. In early-to-mid-2012, NWA champion Colt Cabana and Adam Pearce began facing each other in
14100-404: The credibility of the world title. The NWA's board of directors , composed mostly of territory owners, decided when the title changed hands via a vote. By the late 1950s, however, the system began to break down. As Lou Thesz continued to hold the title, other popular wrestlers such as Verne Gagne became frustrated over the lack of change. There were also disputes over the number of appearances
14250-758: The dispute. Lewis then continued by winning the New York State Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Jack Sherry on October 10, 1932, for the vacant title. but lost it to Jim Browning . Danno O'Mahony won the title from Lewis on July 30, 1935. O'Mahony defeated Londos to win the New York State Athletic Commission world title. O'Mahony also won the AWA world title by defeating Ed Don George on July 30, 1935, in Boston, Massachusetts to become
14400-518: The event, the collaborative effort was over and Lawler was stripped of the title in January 1989. Lawler kept the AWA Title belt and continued promoting himself in Tennessee, Texas, and on the independent circuit as the unified World Heavyweight Champion. Lawler did this in an attempt to leverage PPV revenue from Gagne that was allegedly owed to him, but Gagne never paid him and eventually commissioned
14550-457: The final match was scheduled for October 27, 2012, in Melbourne, Australia, at an NWA Warzone Wrestling event. Pearce wanted the NWA to sanction the match as a world title match, as they had done earlier. The NWA, however, refused to do this and did not want Pearce and Cabana to go forward with the match. They did anyway, with Cabana winning the match. Pearce and Cabana both broke kayfabe after
14700-408: The former President of WCW. WWE asserts its legacy extends back to the title created in 1905. Like the original World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, the title was not prefixed with the name of a promotion, though the physical belt had the WWE logo on it. It would be reunified with the WWE Championship by Randy Orton on December 15, 2013 . In 2023 Seth Rollins was crowned as the winner of
14850-478: The help of a foreign object that Bockwinkel's manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan had interjected into the match. After the three count, the belt was awarded to Hogan and he was announced as the new champion. Heenan informed the referee of the object and the referee questioned Hogan about this, but the blood on Hogan's face was evidence that the object had also been used on him. The ref stood by his decision and Hogan left
15000-425: The idea of the younger Gagne as heavyweight champion did not play well with AWA fans, who seemed more interested in the involvement of Verne and Larry Hennig in the feud than they did with Greg actually winning the title, so Verne decided to go with Lawler instead. Michaels and Jannetty would drop the titles to Badd Company around that same time. Facing financial trouble of their own, WCCW then allied themselves with
15150-504: The last time the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship was unified and to date has never been fully unified again. The Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship was later unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship . Thesz defeated Carpentier in a rematch by disqualification on July 24, 1957, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for the title. The title was unofficially retired on July 24, 1957 and its lineage continued over to
15300-501: The longest continuous world championship reign in men's wrestling history. The WCW World Heavyweight Championship 's origin is traced back to a match which took place on January 11, 1991, where Ric Flair defeated Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. When WCW pulled out of the NWA in early 1991, Flair was recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion. The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship can be traced back to an incident in WCW's final split with
15450-602: The match due to a back injury. The NWA rules stated that a title could not change on a disqualification and Carpentier awarded the NWA world title back to Thesz. Carpentier was still recognized as the World Heavyweight Champion in Omaha, Nebraska and in Boston, Massachusetts . He was then later recognized as the World Heavyweight Champion by Worldwide Wrestling Associates in Los Angeles, California . This ended
15600-598: The match, with Pearce saying that Cabana was the rightful champion and Cabana saying that he did not want the title as it was about the past and he was about the future. Pearce declared he did not want the title either and left it in the ring as the two exited the arena. On May 1, 2017, Billy Corgan 's company, Lightning One, Inc., purchased the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), including its name, rights, trademarks, and championships. Corgan's ownership took effect on October 1, 2017. At that point, all existing NWA affiliation agreements were ended and all NWA championships, except
15750-484: The material lacking durability. The original Domed Globe Belt was retired in 1986; Ric Flair retained possession of the original belt. It is currently located at WWE 's Connecticut headquarters . This design was revived in 1994 with a new belt that continues to represent the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship presently. In 2021, the NWA replaced the Australian flag side plate with a United Kingdom flag side plate, at
15900-421: The national consciousness, vaulting past the AWA and NWA as the premier promotion in wrestling. Hogan wasn't alone in leaving the AWA. Some of the AWA's other top talent, including announcer "Mean Gene" Okerlund , manager Heenan, and wrestlers Adrian Adonis , Ken Patera , Tito Santana , Jim Brunzell , David Schultz , Wendi Richter and Jesse Ventura also jumped to the WWF. As the AWA required talent to place
16050-460: The only wrestlers to hold the belt in UWFi, as Thesz withdrew from UWFi in 1995 due to his disagreement over the company co-promoting with New Japan Pro-Wrestling , taking the belt with him. The third design is sometimes referred to as the "Crown Belt". It had a prominent royal crown at its top, a globe underneath it, and the letters "NWA" horizontally across the center behind two wrestlers. The design
16200-540: The option of NWA membership. Member promotions had to recognize the NWA World Heavyweight Champion as world champion while retaining the ability to promote their own top championships. Every year, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion would travel to each territory and defend the title against the territories' top contender or champion. The purpose of the NWA world champion was to make the top wrestlers of each territory look good, while still upholding
16350-612: The organization, the NWA held another tournament three months later in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, hosted by Coralluzzo and Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) owner Jim Cornette . Chris Candido won this tournament and the title was recognized and defended in promotions such as SMW and the United States Wrestling Association . Candido held the belt for a few months before dropping it to Dan Severn of
16500-539: The original world championship's position as the preeminent wrestling championship, and claimed its lineage. Most of the following championships, all based in North America, arose out of the NWA championship. "World" heavyweight championships in Japan , Mexico , and the US Independent circuit were created ex novo after promotions started. The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was established in May 1960, after
16650-426: The participants were jobbers , such as Jake Milliman , Tom Stone , etc. The winners of Team Challenge matches would earn points for their team; at some unspecified point the highest scoring team would share one million dollars , within the story line. Some of the earlier TCS matches took place in a TV studio without an audience; the announcers claimed it was part of an effort to stop wrestlers from interfering, but it
16800-492: The precursor to the WWWF, seceded from the NWA for a variety of reasons including the selection of the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and the number of dates wrestled by the champion in the promotion. Ostensibly, the dispute was over Buddy Rogers losing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Lou Thesz in one fall instead of a best-of-three; the format in which NWA World Heavyweight Championship matches were traditionally decided at
16950-547: The profits which was made from matches that occurred in 1973 and 1974 between Superstar Billy Graham and Wahoo McDaniel. The promotion was briefly affiliated with International Championship Wrestling (ICW), which had broken away from NWA Tri-State in 1977, and recognized then AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel as the "real" world champion . Bockwinkel, accompanied by then manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , traveled to Mississippi several times to defend his title. After Gagne's retirement in 1981, he focused
17100-449: The promotion on Nick Bockwinkel , a loyal employee of several years who was a mat-wrestling technician like Gagne had been. Bockwinkel faced numerous challengers for the title during the early 1980s including eventual champions Rick Martel and Otto Wanz , champion Mad Dog Vachon , and perennial contenders Wahoo McDaniel , and Brad Rheingans , but perhaps his most famous opponent would be Hulk Hogan . Starting in 1982 and accelerated by
17250-557: The recognition of being the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion on January 30, 1904, in London, England by defeating Ahmed Madrali . Hackenschmidt defeated American Heavyweight Champion Tom Jenkins on May 4, 1905, in New York City to become the recognized world champion in North America. Frank Gotch won the title from Hackenschmidt on April 3, 1908, and he held the title for five years until his retirement on April 1, 1913. He
17400-423: The record for most reigns as the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion with four. Lewis also holds the record for most combined days as champion with 3,073 days, while Jim Londos holds the record for longest reign at 2,628 days. Stanislaus Zbyszko holds the record for shortest reign at 45 days and is also the oldest champion, winning at the age of 46 years, 15 days, while Joe Stecher is the youngest champion, winning at
17550-581: The request of then-champion Nick Aldis . The Mexican-based lower weight classes Domed Globe championship belts featured the flag of Mexico on their main plates instead of the U.S. flag. From 1995 to 1997, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship also had a Domed Globe design, as part of the J-Crown , with the U.S. flag in front; briefly during the 2010s, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship once again had
17700-401: The retirement of Bockwinkel, Gagne tapped Curt Hennig (later known as Mr. Perfect ) as his next champion and future of the company. Hennig, a talented and popular second generation wrestler, defeated Bockwinkel at Super Clash 2 . The overall card was relatively weak, but the title match was a critical success, although the title change was not without controversy, involving Larry Zbyszko and
17850-447: The return of Greg Gagne and Wahoo McDaniel and other stars such as Baron von Raschke , Buck Zumhofe , and The Destruction Crew ( Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom ), but he was unable to revive the promotion. Despite this, the AWA continued re-running matches in their weekly ESPN time slot, and on their syndicated All-Star Wrestling show. The company also managed to release a commercial tape ( Hulk Hogan's Highlights ) during 1991. On
18000-518: The same problems that had plagued other champions in the post-1980s NWA: a lack of stable promotions within the NWA made it difficult to have a "traveling champion", so most of Pearce's defenses took place in the NWA Pro promotion owned by David Marquez and John Rivera. On June 7, 2008, at the Ring of Honor (ROH) event, Respect is Earned II , Pearce revealed the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt at
18150-489: The same promotion. The tournament was won by Japanese wrestler Masahiro Chono . From 1992 to 1993, the NWA belt was defended in Japan and on WCW television. Flair returned to WCW and regained the NWA belt from Barry Windham in July 1993; that same year, WCW recognized the Ric Flair- Tatsumi Fujinami NWA title changes from 1991. Disputes between WCW management and the NWA board began emerging in
18300-627: The spring of 2018 and concluding with a title defense against Colt Cabana in Wenzhou, China. Ten Pounds of Gold , together with the Being The Elite web series produced by The Young Bucks , then focused on the build towards a championship match between Aldis and Cody as part of the All In supercard event on September 1, 2018, where Cody would win the match and the championship. Ten Pounds of Gold continued to cover subsequent defenses at
18450-452: The summer of 1993 over a variety of issues, primarily a storyline by WCW that would have had the NWA title switch to Rick Rude . On September 1, 1993, WCW withdrew their membership from the NWA but kept the NWA title belt which they owned. A court battle decided that WCW could not continue to use the letters "NWA" to describe or promote the belt, but ruled that WCW did possess a right to the physical Big Gold Belt and its historical lineage per
18600-606: The three titles, its lineage is connected with the earliest recognized world heavyweight championship . American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association ( AWA ) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo . The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club, originally founded in 1933, which served as
18750-604: The time left the NWA to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). This was after the WWWF refused to recognize Lou Thesz as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion after he beat Buddy Rogers in a one fall match – the NWA World Heavyweight Championship title matches usually followed a best-of-three fall format – Vincent J. McMahon , the WWWF's owner created the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship and awarded Rogers
18900-421: The time. This one fall match was sanctioned by NWA promoters, despite objections from CWC executives, who held majority control over the NWA board of directors at the time. Following Lou Thesz's World Heavyweight Championship win, CWC seceded from the NWA and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Rogers was then recognized as the first WWWF World Heavyweight Champion . The "Ten Pounds of Gold" (also known as
19050-608: The title again on April 13, 1931. Lewis was also AWA World Heavyweight Champion in Boston at the time, but lost that title by disqualification to Henri Deglane on May 4, 1931, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada . However, Lewis was still recognized as the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in Illinois. Lewis then defeated Wladek Zbyszko (who was widely considered the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion) on November 2, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois, ending
19200-592: The title again on November 18, 1938, and retired as the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion on January 28, 1946. Londos wrestled his last match on this date by defeating Lord Albert Mills. Lou Thesz won the title on May 21, 1952. Thesz unified three championships to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion in wrestling: the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship (which he won on July 20, 1948, by defeating Bill Longson ),
19350-547: The title against Zenk, Greg, Wahoo McDaniel , Ken Patera , Nikita Koloff , Brad Rheingans , The Trooper Del Wilkes , and Masa Saito . Zbyszko would eventually lose the title to Saito in February 1990 in front of 65,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome at the NJPW/AJPW Supershow. Zbyszko would regain the title in April 1990 at SuperClash IV . During 1989 and 1990, the AWA also pushed Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom as
19500-544: The title exclusive to the promotion. The " Big Gold Belt " version of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt debuted on February 14, 1986, at Battle of the Belts II, an event co-promoted by Championship Wrestling from Florida and JCP. At the event, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair successfully defended the title against Barry Windham . It was during this time that JCP made a failed bid to go national and almost filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to compete with
19650-424: The title picture became slightly more competitive. The champions nonetheless remained wrestlers from independent promotions, regardless of whether they were from North America (Severn, Mike Rapada , Sabu ), Asia (Ogawa, Shinya Hashimoto ), or Europe ( Gary Steele ). In June 2002, Jeff and Jerry Jarrett formed NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA; was known as Impact Wrestling 2017-2024). The Jarretts worked out
19800-401: The title to Johan Olin by countout, Olin started his own line, with both iterations of the title being defended. Ed Lewis defeated Olin while Earl Caddock defeated Stecher. Lewis and Wladek Zbyszko traded the title on multiple occasions between 1917 and 1919, making Zbyszko a three-time unofficial champion and Lewis a two-time unofficial champion, while Caddock debatably held the title for
19950-699: The title, and Bockwinkel later had to do damage control with the rabid crowd, telling the audience to calm down afterwards as well. Hogan attacked Bockwinkel and his manager Heenan. On the DVD The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA , it was revealed that Gagne planned to have Hogan win the belt that night, but only if he would give Gagne the bulk of the revenues that Hogan was earning from merchandise and his periodic main-event performances in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Outraged at being strongarmed, Hogan refused, but nonetheless offered
20100-421: The top tag team. In early 1989, Eric Bischoff , who was performing office work for the AWA at the time, mostly in sales and syndication, was placed in front of the camera to replace Larry Nelson as interviewer and occasional commentator. The AWA was Bischoff's first exposure to the world of pro wrestling. He would later become a dominant force in the industry, leading World Championship Wrestling to prominence in
20250-665: The two ended in a legitimate disqualification . George Hackenschmidt won a world championship tournament to become the first champion. Hackenschmidt won several other tournaments in Paris, France ; Hamburg, Germany ; Saint Petersburg, Russia ; Elberfeld, Germany ; and Berlin, Germany in the same year. He also won the European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Championship title from Tom Cannon on September 4, 1902, in Liverpool, England . He won
20400-498: The undisputed World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. On March 2, 1936, Dick Shikat beat O'Mahony in New York, but the AWA continued to recognize O'Mahony as champion, splintering the "undisputed" nature of the title once again. Ali Baba won the title on April 25, 1936. Four days later it was announced by The New York Times that Baba would not be recognized as the World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in New York State by
20550-622: The vacant AWA World Tag Team Championship . The AWA World Tag Team Tournament was a one-night single elimination tag team tournament held in Rochester, Minnesota , on October 1, 1989, for the vacant AWA World Tag Team Championship . The AWA held a "Team Challenge Series" from October 1, 1989, through August 11, 1990. All of the available wrestlers were divided into three teams: "Larry's Legends", headed by Larry Zbyszko , "Sarge's Snipers", originally headed by Sgt. Slaughter , and "Baron's Blitzers", headed by Baron von Raschke . Slaughter left
20700-421: The vacant title by defeating Barry Windham on Monday Night Raw . The NWA's deal with the WWF never accomplished its intended purpose of reestablishing the NWA as a major force in wrestling and McMahon ended it in less than a year. The NWA belt went back to being defended on the independent circuit and in the remaining NWA territories. In 1999, Severn lost the title to former Olympic judoka Naoya Ogawa , and
20850-498: The way for the creation of many other world championships in other wrestling promotions. The American Wrestling Association and the title became inactive in 1990 and the organization officially closed down in 1991 with the title also being decommissioned. The WWE Championship's origin can be traced back to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship after an incident in which the Capitol Wrestling Corporation at
21000-406: The win by eliminating DeBeers at the end, winning the series and the supposed one-million-dollar check for Larry's Legends. An unsold pilot for a weekly syndicated "Team Challenge Series" television show was taped in 1989 with hosts Ralph Strangis and Greg Gagne at "Satellite Base" calling matches recorded in an empty TV studio with no ring announcer. All wrestler entrances were done in front of
21150-631: The world, including the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (which seceded from the NWA and became World Wide Wrestling Federation , now WWE), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Ring of Honor (ROH), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and the now-defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP, later called World Championship Wrestling , WCW), Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW, later Extreme Championship Wrestling), World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), and many other defunct wrestling promotions. In October 2017,
21300-696: Was actually due to poor ticket sales for arena shows. The remainder of the matches took place at the Rochester Civic Center , where the AWA taped live matches for its television program from 1989-1990. The final match in the TCS was a Royal Rumble -style battle royal featuring Brad Rheingans , The Destruction Crew , Colonel DeBeers, the Texas Hangmen, the Trooper Del Wilkes , and several others. Jake Milliman again came away with
21450-451: Was during this time, Severn had a customized NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt made exclusively for him. Trying to get back in the national spotlight, the NWA made a deal in 1997 with Vincent K. McMahon to appear on World Wrestling Federation (WWF) television. In 1998, NWA World champion Dan Severn became part of Jim Cornette's NWA faction . Also part of Cornette's NWA faction was NWA North American Champion Jeff Jarrett , who won
21600-931: Was later used to represent the NWA United National Championship (which later became part of the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship), the Japanese version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship , the championships of Blue Demon Jr. 's NWA Mexico territory, the Tenryu Project 's United National Tag Team Championship , and the current version of the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship . The fourth design
21750-527: Was longtime Minneapolis - Saint Paul sports broadcaster Marty O'Neill, who also conducted the post-match interviews. O'Neill announced the matches for the local WTCN audience. But fans watching the syndicated version of the show heard commentary provided by Rodger Kent. In the mid-1970s, during a prolonged illness, O'Neill was occasionally replaced as ring announcer by program producer Al DeRusha and interviews were conducted by both Kent and Gene Okerlund . By 1979, Okerlund had permanently replaced O'Neill, who died
21900-454: Was made in 1973 by an unidentified jeweler in Mexico – similar belts were made for the NWA's Mexican-based World Light Heavyweight , Middleweight and Welterweight titles. The Domed Globe NWA World Heavyweight title featured the flag of the United States on its main plate, as well as those of Mexico, Canada, Australia, and Japan on its side plates. The second side plate on the left side of
22050-497: Was negotiated that transferred the rights to the NWA from Pro Wrestling Organization LLC to International Wrestling Corp, LLC. After 64 years, the new organization moved from a membership model to a licensing model, licensing the NWA brand name to wrestling promotions which caused many promotions to immediately cut ties with the NWA, including some of the largest remaining NWA affiliated promotions. With both Cabana and Pearce even at three victories in their “Seven Levels of Hate” series,
22200-410: Was stripped of the NWA title. Ken Shamrock was then declared the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion after winning a Gauntlet for the Gold battle royal. In 2004, NWA-TNA withdrew from the NWA, dropping the NWA from their promotion name and becoming known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). However, TNA retained the rights to use the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team titles until May 13, 2007, when
22350-408: Was the first recognized professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created in 1905 to identify the best catch as catch can wrestler in the world. The subsequent legacy of the championship is not linear, with the champion being disputed among various promotions until the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1948. The last several reigns are recognized by the NWA under
22500-447: Was the sixth longest reigning world heavyweight champion in history behind Bruno Sammartino , Jim Londos , Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne (who all held their world titles for over seven years) and Bob Backlund (who held his for nearly six years). Joe Stecher defeated American Heavyweight Champion Charlie Cutler to become the first widely recognized world heavyweight champion after the retirement of Frank Gotch. After Joe Stecher lost
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