Difference between revisions of "NWA World Heavyweight Championship"
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Revision as of 05:55, November 18, 2021
The NWA World Heavyweight Championship is the main singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. It has been defended since the NWA's launch in 1948, although the title traces its origins back to the original World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, which was established in North America with George Hackenschmidt's defeat of Tom Jenkins to become the first champion on May 4, 1905.
The current champion is Trevor Murdoch, who won the title by defeating Nick Aldis at the NWA 73rd Anniversary Show on August 29, 2021.
Championship history
Note: Only officially recognized championship reigns are listed here.
| Champion | Reign | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orville Brown | 1 | July 14, 1948 | Des Moines, Iowa | The NWA was founded in July 1948 and Brown, the reigning Midwest Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion, was recognized as the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion |
| Lou Thesz (Martin Thesz) | 1 | November 27, 1949 | N/A | Thesz, the reigning National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion, was awarded the NWA World title on this date after Orville Brown was unable to appear for a title unification match due to suffering career-ending injuries in a car accident on November 1, 1949; Thesz became the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion in 1952 by virtue of winning several title unification bouts during the years that followed his 1949 win |
| Whipper Billy Watson (William Potts) | 1 | March 15, 1956 | Toronto, Ontario | Watson wins the title by countout |
| Lou Thesz | 2 | November 9, 1956 | St. Louis, Missouri | Thesz wins the title by countout; Édouard Carpentier defeats Thesz on June 14, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois when Thesz cannot continue due to a back injury, with some NWA promoters recognizing Carpentier as champion while other promoters continue to recognize Thesz; official recognition is returned to Thesz when Carpentier's recognition as champion was withdrawn in August 1957 after Montreal promoter Eddie Quinn left the NWA, with Carpentier's disputed reign not officially recognized thereafter |
| Dick Hutton | 1 | November 14, 1957 | Toronto, Ontario | |
| Pat O'Connor | 1 | January 9, 1959 | St. Louis, Missouri | O'Connor is also recognized as the first AWA World Heavyweight Champion during this reign, although he never defends that title |
| Buddy Rogers (Herman Rohde Jr.) | 1 | June 30, 1961 | Chicago, Illinois | Bruno Sammartino defeats Rogers on August 2, 1962 in Toronto, Ontario, but Sammartino refuses the title because Rogers had wrestled with an injury |
| Lou Thesz | 3 | January 24, 1963 | Toronto, Ontario | NWA promoters in the Northeastern US refuse to recognize Thesz' one-fall win and continue to recognize Rogers as champion, later breaking away from the NWA to form the World Wide Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) with Rogers as its first champion |
| Gene Kiniski | 1 | January 7, 1966 | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Dory Funk Jr. | 1 | February 11, 1969 | Tampa, Florida | |
| Harley Race | 1 | May 24, 1973 | Kansas City, Kansas | |
| Jack Brisco (Freddie Joe Brisco) | 1 | July 20, 1973 | Houston, Texas | |
| Giant Baba (Shohei Baba) | 1 | December 2, 1974 | Kagoshima, Japan | |
| Jack Brisco | 2 | December 9, 1974 | Toyohashi, Japan | |
| Terry Funk | 1 | December 10, 1975 | Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Harley Race | 2 | February 6, 1977 | Toronto, Ontario | |
| Dusty Rhodes (Virgil Runnels Jr.) | 1 | August 21, 1979 | Tampa, Florida | |
| Harley Race | 3 | August 26, 1979 | Orlando, Florida | |
| Giant Baba | 2 | October 31, 1979 | Nagoya, Japan | |
| Harley Race | 4 | November 7, 1979 | Amagasaki, Japan | |
| Giant Baba | 3 | September 4, 1980 | Saga, Japan | |
| Harley Race | 5 | September 9, 1980 | Ōtsu, Japan | |
| Tommy Rich (Thomas Richardson) | 1 | April 27, 1981 | Augusta, Georgia | |
| Harley Race | 6 | May 1, 1981 | Gainesville, Georgia | |
| Dusty Rhodes | 2 | June 21, 1981 | Atlanta, Georgia | |
| Ric Flair (Richard Fliehr) | 1 | September 17, 1981 | Kansas City, Kansas | Former NWA World Champion Lou Thesz was the guest referee in this match; The Midnight Rider (Dusty Rhodes under a mask due to being under suspension in Florida) defeats Flair in Miami, Florida on February 9, 1982, but is forced to return the title by NWA President Bob Geigel, who told Rider to either unmask or return the belt due to NWA rules of the time forbidding masked wrestlers from holding the title |
| Harley Race | 7 | June 10, 1983 | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Ric Flair | 2 | November 24, 1983 | Greensboro, North Carolina | This was a steel cage match at Starrcade 1983, with former NWA World Champion Gene Kiniski as guest referee |
| Harley Race | 8 | March 20, 1984 | Wellington, New Zealand | |
| Ric Flair | 3 | March 23, 1984 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Kerry Von Erich (Kerry Adkisson) | 1 | May 6, 1984 | Irving, Texas | |
| Ric Flair | 4 | May 24, 1984 | Yokosuka, Japan | |
| Dusty Rhodes | 3 | July 26, 1986 | Greensboro, North Carolina | |
| Ric Flair | 5 | August 9, 1986 | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Ron Garvin (Roger Barnes) | 1 | September 25, 1987 | Detroit, Michigan | |
| Ric Flair | 6 | November 26, 1987 | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Rick Steamboat (Richard Blood) | 1 | February 20, 1989 | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Ric Flair | 7 | May 7, 1989 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Sting (Steve Borden) | 1 | July 7, 1990 | Baltimore, Maryland | |
| Ric Flair | 8 | January 11, 1991 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Flair was also recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion with this win |
| Tatsumi Fujinami | 1 | March 21, 1991 | Tokyo, Japan | Fujinami's title win was originally ignored in the United States by WCW, but has since been retroactively recognized by the NWA |
| Ric Flair | 9 | May 19, 1991 | St. Petersburg, Florida | Flair's title win was originally ignored in the United States by WCW, presented as one continuous reign from his win over Sting, but has since been retroactively recognized by the NWA |
| Vacant | September 8, 1991 | N/A | Flair is stripped of the title upon signing with the WWF | |
| Masahiro Chono | 1 | August 12, 1992 | Tokyo, Japan | Defeats Rick Rude in the final of New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual G1 Climax tournament |
| The Great Muta (Keiji Muto) | 1 | January 4, 1993 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Barry Windham | 1 | February 21, 1993 | Asheville, North Carolina | |
| Ric Flair | 10 | July 18, 1993 | Biloxi, Mississippi | |
| Vacant | September 15, 1993 | N/A | Flair is stripped of recognition as champion by the NWA shortly after WCW withdraws from the NWA on September 1, 1993 | |
| Shane Douglas (Troy Martin) | 1 | August 27, 1994 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Defeats 2 Cold Scorpio in a tournament final |
| Vacant | August 27, 1994 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Douglas refuses to accept the title and vacates it minutes after winning it | |
| Chris Candido | 1 | November 19, 1994 | Cherry Hill, New Jersey | Defeats Tracy Smothers in a tournament final |
| Dan Severn | 1 | February 24, 1995 | Erlanger, Kentucky | |
| Naoya Ogawa | 1 | March 14, 1999 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Gary Steele (Gary Harvey) | 1 | September 25, 1999 | Charlotte, North Carolina | This was a three-way match also involving Brian Anthony |
| Naoya Ogawa | 2 | October 2, 1999 | Thomaston, Connecticut | |
| Vacant | July 2, 2000 | N/A | Ogawa vacates the title to train for a match against MMA fighter Rickson Gracie | |
| Mike Rapada | 1 | September 19, 2000 | Tampa, FL | Defeats Jerry Lynn in a tournament final |
| Sabu (Terry Brunk) | 1 | November 14, 2000 | Tampa, Florida | |
| Mike Rapada | 2 | December 22, 2000 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Steve Corino | 1 | April 24, 2001 | Tampa, Florida | |
| Vacant | October 13, 2001 | St. Petersburg, Florida | Title is held up when Corino loses a match to Shinya Hashimoto by referee stoppage due to injury | |
| Shinya Hashimoto | 1 | December 15, 2001 | McKeesport, Pennsylvania | Defeats Steve Corino and Gary Steele in a round-robin three-way match |
| Dan Severn | 2 | March 9, 2002 | Tokyo, Japan | Severn wins the title via fast count |
| Vacant | May 28, 2002 | N/A | Severn is stripped of the title for being unable to schedule a title match on June 19, 2002 at NWA Total Nonstop Action's inaugural PPV event | |
| Ken Shamrock | 1 | June 19, 2002 | Huntsville, Alabama | Defeats Malice in the final of a Gauntlet for the Gold tournament at the inaugural NWA-TNA PPV event |
| Ron Killings | 1 | August 7, 2002 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Jeff Jarrett | 1 | November 20, 2002 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| A.J. Styles (Allen Jones) | 1 | June 11, 2003 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Jeff Jarrett | 2 | October 22, 2003 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| A.J. Styles | 2 | April 21, 2004 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Ron Killings | 2 | May 19, 2004 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Jeff Jarrett | 3 | June 2, 2004 | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| A.J. Styles | 3 | May 15, 2005 | Orlando, Florida | MMA fighter Tito Ortiz was the guest referee in this match |
| Raven (Scott Levy) | 1 | June 19, 2005 | Orlando, Florida | Wins a five-way "King of the Mountain" match also involving Abyss, Monty Brown and Sean Waltman |
| Jeff Jarrett | 4 | September 15, 2005 | Windsor, Ontario | |
| Rhino (Terry Gerin) | 1 | October 23, 2005 | Orlando, Florida | |
| Jeff Jarrett | 5 | October 25, 2005 | Orlando, Florida | |
| Christian Cage (William Reso) | 1 | February 12, 2006 | Orlando, Florida | |
| Jeff Jarrett | 6 | June 18, 2006 | Orlando, Florida | Wins a King of the Mountain match also involving Abyss, Ron Killings and Sting |
| Sting | 2 | October 22, 2006 | Plymouth, Michigan | |
| Abyss (Chris Parks) | 1 | November 19, 2006 | Orlando, Florida | Wins the title by disqualification; becomes the first masked wrestler to win the title after the NWA repeals its mask rule for its World Heavyweight Champions |
| Christian Cage | 2 | January 14, 2007 | Orlando, Florida | Wins a three-way match also involving Sting |
| Vacant | May 13, 2007 | Orlando, Florida | The NWA withdraws recognition of Cage as champion after TNA Wrestling and the NWA end their working agreement; Kurt Angle defeats Cage and Sting in a three-way match on this date to gain recognition as the first TNA World Heavyweight Champion | |
| Adam Pearce | 1 | September 1, 2007 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico | Defeats Brent Albright in a tournament final; Pearce had originally lost to Bryan Danielson in the semifinals, but Danielson withdrew from the tournament due to a detached retina and Pearce took his place in the final, with Danielson as the guest referee |
| Brent Albright | 1 | August 2, 2008 | New York City, New York | |
| Adam Pearce | 2 | September 20, 2008 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Blue Demon Jr. | 1 | October 25, 2008 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| Adam Pearce | 3 | March 14, 2010 | Charlotte, North Carolina | Wins a three-way elimination match also involving Phill Shatter |
| Colt Cabana (Scott Colton) | 1 | March 6, 2011 | West Hollywood, California | |
| The Sheik (Joseph Cabibbo) | 1 | April 23, 2011 | Jacksonville, Florida | |
| Vacant | July 11, 2011 | N/A | Sheik is stripped of the title for refusing to face Adam Pearce on July 31, 2011 | |
| Adam Pearce | 4 | July 31, 2011 | Columbus, Ohio | Defeats Chance Prophet, Jimmy Rave and Shaun Tempers in a four-way match for the vacant title |
| Colt Cabana | 2 | April 8, 2012 | Glendale, California | |
| Adam Pearce | 5 | July 21, 2012 | Kansas City, Kansas | This was match four of a seven-match series between Pearce and Cabana |
| Vacant | October 27, 2012 | Berwick, Australia | Pearce vacated the title and left the NWA after the Alliance refused to allow him to defend the title in the final match of his best-of-seven series against Cabana; Cabana defeated Pearce on this date in the deciding match but also refused the title afterward | |
| Kahagas | 1 | November 2, 2012 | Clayton, New Jersey | Wins a nine-man elimination match, last eliminating Damien Wayne |
| Rob Conway (Robert Conway Jr.) | 1 | March 16, 2013 | San Antonio, Texas | Conway substituted for the injured Jax Dane |
| Satoshi Kojima | 1 | January 4, 2014 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Rob Conway | 2 | June 2, 2014 | Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan (Hiroyoshi Yamamoto) | 1 | February 14, 2015 | Sendai, Japan | |
| Jax Dane (Jackson Laymon) | 1 | August 29, 2015 | San Antonio, Texas | |
| Tim Storm (Tim Scoggins) | 1 | October 21, 2016 | Sherman, Texas | |
| Nick Aldis | 1 | December 9, 2017 | Sewell, New Jersey | |
| Cody Rhodes (Cody Runnels) | 1 | September 1, 2018 | Hoffman Estates, Illinois | |
| Nick Aldis | 2 | October 21, 2018 | Nashville, Tennessee | This was a two-out-of-three falls match at the NWA 70th Anniversary Show |
| Trevor Murdoch (William Mueller) | 1 | August 29, 2021 | St. Louis, Missouri |
