NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Encyclopedia
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling
world heavyweight championship
in the National Wrestling Alliance
. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt
's 1905 title and Frank Gotch
's 1908 version. This effectively makes it the oldest surviving wrestling championship in the world. The title has been competed for in such well-known promotions as World Championship Wrestling
(WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling
(ECW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
(TNA).
With many "territories" appearing across the United States
, the NWA was formed in 1948 as an overall governing wrestling body. Like franchises, these territories had the option of NWA membership. The promotion owners had to recognize the NWA heavyweight, junior heavyweight, and light heavyweight champions as world champions while retaining their own ownership and top champion.
, comprised 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 the champion would make in different regions.
On June 14, 1957 in Chicago, Lou 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 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
. Carpentier would also be able to make appearances in the US as champion while Thesz was on an overseas tour. However as a result of various disputes within 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 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 wrestled a match in Omaha, Nebraska on August 9, 1958. The title change was recognized by those NWA affiliate promotions that would later evolve into the American Wrestling Association
(AWA) in 1960. This disputed version of the NWA World Heavyweight Title was later known as the World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version). The title was unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 7, 1963. The AWA title continued to exist until the AWA ceased operations in 1991.
The Boston NWA affiliate known as the Atlantic Athletic Commission arranged a match between Killer Kowalski
and Carpentier in 1958. Kowalski's victory created what was after known as the ACC World Heavyweight Title and later the Big Time Wrestling (Boston) World title which was active until 1975.
The NAWA/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 a match to Freddie Blassie which created the basis for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version)
. The title ceased to exist when the WWA returned to the NWA on October 1, 1968.
, was the major wrestling promotion in the northeast United States in the early 1960s. Vincent J. McMahon
's Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the precursor to the WWWF, seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance 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 "Nature Boy" 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 the time. Capitol Wrestling Corporation executives held majority control over the NWA while in NWA board of directors at the time. Following Lou Thesz's World Heavyweight Championship win, Capitol Wrestling Corporation seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation. "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was then recognized as the first WWWF World Heavyweight Champion
.
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, Flair lost and regained the belt without the official sanctioning of the NWA. In most cases (such as the case of Jack Veneno
), these "switches" are ignored. However, as of 1998, the NWA recognized the Flair-Race switches that had occurred in March 1984 in New Zealand and Singapore.
As the 1980s drew to a close, Jim Crockett Promotions
(the main NWA territory) made a failed bid to go national and almost filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to compete with the WWF. Ted Turner
purchased the company, because it was a high rated program on his WTBS
cable station. Completing the deal in November 1988, Turner began changing the company to his World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) vision. WCW stayed in the NWA, but Turner slowly phased out the NWA name. The NWA organization existed only on paper at this point; on television it was portrayed that the NWA World Heavyweight Championship simply became the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
.
Due to a falling out with WCW Executive Vice-President Jim Herd
, Flair was fired from WCW in 1991 while still being recognized as the NWA Champion. Flair took the NWA belt with him, because it was his belt (It was a design JCP had ordered for him in 1985, when he started displaying it), as well the fact that WCW and Herd had the $25,000 bond Flair had paid on it. (See The $25,000 deposit below) 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 the NWA board of directors shortly after he signed with the WWF in September 1991; a board had been 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, the "Real World's Heavyweight Champion" angle was dropped. WCW, which had subsequently filed a lawsuit against the WWF to prevent them from using the Big Gold Belt on television, eventually dropped the action. Flair stated on the 2008 released Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection DVD that the $25,000 he initially deposited with additional interest totaling $38,000 was never paid back to him, and as a result, Flair kept the "Big Gold Belt".
During Flair's departure from WCW, the company had made a new WCW World title belt. After a year hiatus, the NWA board authorized WCW and New Japan Pro Wrestling
to hold a tournament for the vacant title. New Japan's annual G1 Climax
tournament was chosen to decide a new NWA World Champion using the Big Gold Belt, now owned by WCW. Turner's company still maintained its WCW World Championship, thus having two World Heavyweight titles present in 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 belt from Barry Windham
in July 1993; that same year, WCW recoginized the Ric Flair-Tatsumi Fujinami
NWA title changes in 1991. Disputes between WCW management and the NWA Board reached the breaking point in the summer of 1993 over a variety of issues, not the least of which was a storyline by WCW to have the title switched to Rick Rude.
On September 1, 1993, WCW withdrew their membership from the NWA but kept the 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 it did possess a right to the physical title belt and its historical lineage by a goodwill agreement between prior boards of directors and WCW (and its prior incarnation Jim Crockett Promotions). Per this 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 as the Big Gold Belt for a short time, until it became known as 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.
Despite losing WCW as its flagship program, the NWA picked up new members and remained in existence as a legal entity. After nearly a year, the organization scheduled a tournament to crown a new champion, and brought back the "Domed Globe" belt from the '70s to early '80s to represent this new champion.
(ECW) territory became the most televised wrestling show still within the NWA. As such, the NWA decided to hold the tournament for the vacated NWA World Heavyweight Championship through ECW. The tournament was held at the ECW Arena in August 1994 and won by ECW Heavyweight Champion
Shane Douglas
. (At the time, the ECW title was considered a regional title). Douglas appeared proud to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion, until he turned and threw the belt down and started slandering the NWA, then picked up the ECW Heavyweight title and proclaimed himself ECW World Heavyweight Champion
. Almost immediately thereafter ECW withdrew from the NWA and became Extreme Championship Wrestling
. In the 2005, ECW documentary Forever Hardcore, Douglas claimed that part of the reason that he decided to toss down the NWA title was because of derogatory and slanderous comments that then-NWA head Dennis Coralluzzo had allegedly been making regarding his professionalism.
hosted by promoter Dennis Coralluzzo and Smoky Mountain Wrestling
. This tournament was won by Chris Candido
and the title soon was recognized and defended in such independent promotions as Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the United States Wrestling Association
. Holding the belt for a few months, he dropped the belt to Ultimate Fighting Championship
's (UFC) Dan Severn
in February 1995. Severn held the belt continuously for four years, but only made sporadic defenses due to his UFC commitments. 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 territories.
Jeff Jarrett
, winning the vacant title by defeating Barry Windham on Monday Night Raw
. The NWA's deal with the WWF never accomplished its intended purpose and McMahon ended it. The NWA belt went back to being defended on the independent circuit and remaining NWA territories.
, and the title picture became slightly more competitive. The champions nonetheless remained wrestlers from independents, regardless of whether they were from North America (Severn, Mike Rapada
, Sabu), Asia (Ogawa, Shinya Hashimoto
), or Europe (Gary Steele
). The situation continued until early 2002, when Severn was able to regain the title from Hashimoto in Japan, albeit with controversy.
and Jerry Jarrett
formed NWA:Total Nonstop Action
(NWA:TNA). The Jarretts worked out a licensing deal with the NWA and affiliated their promotion with the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team titles. While working out a cable deal, the Jarretts put NWA:TNA on weekly pay-per-view. Due to booking conflict with a mixed martial arts
card, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion at the time, Dan Severn, was unable to appear on the inaugural TNA card, and he was stripped of the NWA title. Ken Shamrock
was then declared the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion after winning a battle royal. In 2004, NWA:TNA withdrew from the NWA, but retained the rights to use the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team titles on their shows while being obliged to adhere to rulings of the NWA board of directors. The agreement ended on May 13, 2007 with the TNA creating its own Championship Titles.
, a tournament, entitled Reclaiming the Glory, to fill the title vacancy left after the end of the NWA's relationship with TNA Wrestling. Sixteen men competed for the championship, with Adam Pearce
finally 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 the same problems that had plagued the "new" NWA in the past. 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. Pearce's main foe in early defenses was Sean "XPac" Waltman
, and the two wrestled numerous times over the title. Later, Pearce resumed his feud with Albright, which is yet ongoing today with both men exchanging the Number One Contendership.
(ROH) pay per view, Pearce revealed the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the conclusion of his match, making it officially recognized in Ring of Honor. Following the event it was announced that on June 27, Ring of Honor World Champion
, Nigel McGuinness
would take on NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Pearce title for title at "Battle For Supremacy" in Dayton, Ohio. The match ended in a disqualification when the NWA rule of throwing an opponent over the top rope was enforced, therefore both men retained their respective titles, causing the crowd in Dayton to chant "Dusty Finish".
Brent Albright
defeated Adam Pearce in New York, New York
at the ROH Death Before Dishonor VI event on August 2, 2008 to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This was the first time that the title changed hands in New York City. Then on September 20, 2008, Pearce began his second reign as champion by defeating Albright at the Ring of Honor "Glory by Honor VII" event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He would lose the title one month later to Blue Demon, Jr.
.
25,000 security deposit to the NWA treasurer to ensure that the champion did not leave the NWA with the belt. When the champion lost the title, the deposit was returned, plus any interest
that has accumulated over time. There were a few exceptions where Ric Flair
and Dusty Rhodes
declined the return of their deposit whenever they dropped the title because they knew that they were going to get the belt back in the future. However, when Flair was fired from WCW in 1991, the NWA would not return his deposit (as he was technically no longer an NWA employee, since WCW was still affiliated with the NWA at that time). Flair retaliated by taking the belt with him to the WWF and appearing on TV with it. On the Ric Flair DVD he said he gave the original title belt to Triple H as a gift. However, Ric Flair also has said in a shoot interview with Highspots that Hulk Hogan has the original belt
holds the record with ten championships. Lou Thesz
holds the record for most cumulative days as champion, with his three reigns totaling 3,749 days. Thesz's first reign is the longest in the history of the title, as he held the title for 1,941 days. Shane Douglas
holds the record for shortest reign, as he vacated the championship immediately after winning it in favor of the newly-created ECW World Heavyweight Championship
in 1994; Douglas was the reigning NWA-Eastern Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Champion and the action split ECW from the NWA.
As of July 31, 2011, the champion is Adam Pearce
who is in his fourth reign. Pearce won the title at the Ohio State Fair
in Columbus, Ohio
by defeating NWA National Heavyweight Champion
Chance Prophet, NWA North American Heavyweight Champion
Shaun Tempers, and Jimmy Rave
in a four way match. Pearce was to face reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion The Sheik
at the event, but the NWA vacated the title on July 11, 2011 saying that The Sheik was refusing to defend the title against Pearce. Sheik claims that he was never booked for the title defense.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
world heavyweight championship
Championship (professional wrestling)
A Championship or "title" in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations.Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries...
in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Hackenschmidt
Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt was an early 20th-century Estonian strongman and professional wrestler, and the first free-style heavyweight champion of the world. He launched his professional career in Russia and lived most of his life in London, England, where he gained the nickname of 'The...
's 1905 title and Frank Gotch
Frank Gotch
Frank Alvin Gotch was an American professional wrestler of German ancestry, the first American to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and credited for popularizing professional wrestling in the United States...
's 1908 version. This effectively makes it the oldest surviving wrestling championship in the world. The title has been competed for in such well-known promotions as World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
(ECW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(TNA).
With many "territories" appearing across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the NWA was formed in 1948 as an overall governing wrestling body. Like franchises, these territories had the option of NWA membership. The promotion owners had to recognize the NWA heavyweight, junior heavyweight, and light heavyweight champions as world champions while retaining their own ownership and top champion.
Early history
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 world champion was to make the top contender look good and still hold the title. The NWA board of directorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, comprised 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
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was a United States professional wrestler and 18-time world heavyweight champion, most notably holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days , longer than anyone else in history...
continued to hold the title, other popular wrestlers such as Verne Gagne
Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne , is a retired American professional wrestler, football player, and professional wrestling trainer and promoter. He was the former owner/promoter of the American Wrestling Association , based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was the predominant promotion throughout...
became frustrated over the lack of change. There were also disputes over the number of appearances the champion would make in different regions.
On June 14, 1957 in Chicago, Lou Thesz defended the world title against Canadian wrestler Édouard Carpentier
Édouard Carpentier
Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz was a Québécois professional wrestler better known by his ring name Édouard Carpentier. In a career that spanned from the 1950s into the 1970s, he garnered several world championships.-Early life:...
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 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
Leo Nomellini
Leo Joseph Nomellini was a Hall of Fame American football player with the San Francisco 49ers. He was born at Lucca in Italy. He was a two-time All-American at the University of Minnesota and the 49ers' first-ever NFL draft choice in 1950.Nomellini played every 49ers game for 14 seasons, 174...
. Carpentier would also be able to make appearances in the US as champion while Thesz was on an overseas tour. However as a result of various disputes within the NWA, Carpentier's manager, wrestling promoter Eddie Quinn
Eddie Quinn
Edmund R. Quinn was a professional wrestling promoter in Canada and the United States better known as Eddie Quinn. He grew up in Massachusetts and organized boxing and wrestling events in New England and such cities as St. Louis, Missouri, Chicago, Illinois, and Montreal, Quebec...
, 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 the NWA. A victory over Carpentier could give a local champion a credible claim to the world championship of wrestling.
Verne Gagne
Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne , is a retired American professional wrestler, football player, and professional wrestling trainer and promoter. He was the former owner/promoter of the American Wrestling Association , based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was the predominant promotion throughout...
who had been trying to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion for some time wrestled a match in Omaha, Nebraska on August 9, 1958. The title change was recognized by those NWA affiliate promotions that would later evolve into the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
(AWA) in 1960. This disputed version of the NWA World Heavyweight Title was later known as the World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version). The title was unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 7, 1963. The AWA title continued to exist until the AWA ceased operations in 1991.
The Boston NWA affiliate known as the Atlantic Athletic Commission arranged a match between Killer Kowalski
Killer Kowalski
Władek "Killer" Kowalski was a Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the NWA and WWF, and was a known heel wrestler...
and Carpentier in 1958. Kowalski's victory created what was after known as the ACC World Heavyweight Title and later the Big Time Wrestling (Boston) World title which was active until 1975.
The NAWA/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 a match to Freddie Blassie which created the basis for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version)
WWA World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version)
The WWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Los Angeles-based World Wrestling Association...
. The title ceased to exist when the WWA returned to the NWA on October 1, 1968.
World Wide Wrestling Federation
The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which later evolved into World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, was the major wrestling promotion in the northeast United States in the early 1960s. Vincent J. McMahon
Vincent J. McMahon
Vincent James "Vince" McMahon, better known as Vince McMahon, Sr. was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for founding the American promotion, World Wide Wrestling Federation, which is now known as WWE.-Early life:Vincent James McMahon was born on July 6, 1914 in Harlem,...
's Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the precursor to the WWWF, seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance 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 "Nature Boy" 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 the time. Capitol Wrestling Corporation executives held majority control over the NWA while in NWA board of directors at the time. Following Lou Thesz's World Heavyweight Championship win, Capitol Wrestling Corporation seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation. "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was then recognized as the first WWWF World Heavyweight Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
.
World Championship Wrestling
When Ric FlairRic Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
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, Flair lost and regained the belt without the official sanctioning of the NWA. In most cases (such as the case of Jack Veneno
Jack Veneno
Jack Veneno was a Dominican wrestler also known as "El hijo de Doña Tatica" who worked for many years on Colorvision channel 9 during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, on a wrestling show called Lucha Libre Internacional...
), these "switches" are ignored. However, as of 1998, the NWA recognized the Flair-Race switches that had occurred in March 1984 in New Zealand and Singapore.
As the 1980s drew to a close, Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
(the main NWA territory) made a failed bid to go national and almost filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to compete with the WWF. Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
purchased the company, because it was a high rated program on his WTBS
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
cable station. Completing the deal in November 1988, Turner began changing the company to his World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) vision. WCW stayed in the NWA, but Turner slowly phased out the NWA name. The NWA organization existed only on paper at this point; on television it was portrayed that the NWA World Heavyweight Championship simply became the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
The World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation . It existed within WCW between 1991 and 2001. Following the acquisition of WCW by World Wrestling...
.
Due to a falling out with WCW Executive Vice-President Jim Herd
Jim Herd
Jim Herd is a former professional wrestling executive. Herd was the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling from 1988 to 1992, following Turner Broadcasting's acquisition of the NWA-affiliated Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988. His tenure however received much criticism from...
, Flair was fired from WCW in 1991 while still being recognized as the NWA Champion. Flair took the NWA belt with him, because it was his belt (It was a design JCP had ordered for him in 1985, when he started displaying it), as well the fact that WCW and Herd had the $25,000 bond Flair had paid on it. (See The $25,000 deposit below) 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 the NWA board of directors shortly after he signed with the WWF in September 1991; a board had been reconstituted, as most members had gone out of business or been bought out by JCP/WCW. Flair displayed the "Big Gold Belt
Big Gold Belt
The Big Gold Belt is a historic professional wrestling championship belt that has represented multiple world championships throughout its history. It was originally designed in 1985 by silversmith Charles Crumrine and commissioned by Jim Crockett Promotions for NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric...
" on WWF television, calling himself the "Real World's Heavyweight Champion." After winning the WWF Championship, the "Real World's Heavyweight Champion" angle was dropped. WCW, which had subsequently filed a lawsuit against the WWF to prevent them from using the Big Gold Belt on television, eventually dropped the action. Flair stated on the 2008 released Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection DVD that the $25,000 he initially deposited with additional interest totaling $38,000 was never paid back to him, and as a result, Flair kept the "Big Gold Belt".
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
to hold a tournament for the vacant title. New Japan's annual G1 Climax
G1 Climax
The G1 Climax professional wrestling tournament is a weeklong event held each August by the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. The G1 draws standing room only crowds each night, record receipt gates and generates front-page coverage on the sports sections of several of the daily newspapers in Tokyo...
tournament was chosen to decide a new NWA World Champion using the Big Gold Belt, now owned by WCW. Turner's company still maintained its WCW World Championship, thus having two World Heavyweight titles present in the same promotion. The tournament was won by Japanese wrestler Masahiro Chono
Masahiro Chono
, is a Japanese professional wrestler. He primarily wrestles for New Japan Pro Wrestling , but has also made appearances for the now defunct World Championship Wrestling, as a member of the New World Order. Chono was also known as Mister Black Jack when he first started as a villain. He is a...
. From 1992 to 1993, the NWA belt was defended in Japan and on WCW television. Flair returned to WCW and regained the belt from Barry Windham
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....
in July 1993; that same year, WCW recoginized the Ric Flair-Tatsumi Fujinami
Tatsumi Fujinami
is a Japanese professional wrestler who is famous for his gimmick as "The Dragon." He is the one who is credited for inventing the Dragon Sleeper and the Dragon Suplex...
NWA title changes in 1991. Disputes between WCW management and the NWA Board reached the breaking point in the summer of 1993 over a variety of issues, not the least of which was a storyline by WCW to have the title switched to Rick Rude.
On September 1, 1993, WCW withdrew their membership from the NWA but kept the 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 it did possess a right to the physical title belt and its historical lineage by a goodwill agreement between prior boards of directors and WCW (and its prior incarnation Jim Crockett Promotions). Per this 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 as the Big Gold Belt for a short time, until it became known as the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
The World Championship Wrestling International World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Championship Wrestling . "WCW International" referred to a fictional international subsidiary of World Championship Wrestling...
. This title was recognized as the championship of a fictitious entity known as WCW International, which served as a replacement for the NWA Board.
Despite losing WCW as its flagship program, the NWA picked up new members and remained in existence as a legal entity. After nearly a year, the organization scheduled a tournament to crown a new champion, and brought back the "Domed Globe" belt from the '70s to early '80s to represent this new champion.
Eastern / Extreme Championship Wrestling
After WCW withdrew from the NWA, their Eastern Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
(ECW) territory became the most televised wrestling show still within the NWA. As such, the NWA decided to hold the tournament for the vacated NWA World Heavyweight Championship through ECW. The tournament was held at the ECW Arena in August 1994 and won by ECW Heavyweight Champion
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
. (At the time, the ECW title was considered a regional title). Douglas appeared proud to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion, until he turned and threw the belt down and started slandering the NWA, then picked up the ECW Heavyweight title and proclaimed himself ECW World Heavyweight Champion
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
. Almost immediately thereafter ECW withdrew from the NWA and became Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
. In the 2005, ECW documentary Forever Hardcore, Douglas claimed that part of the reason that he decided to toss down the NWA title was because of derogatory and slanderous comments that then-NWA head Dennis Coralluzzo had allegedly been making regarding his professionalism.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling and United States Wrestling Association
Despite this blow to the organization, the NWA held another tournament in November 1994; in Cherry Hill, New JerseyCherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census...
hosted by promoter Dennis Coralluzzo and Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette...
. This tournament was won by Chris Candido
Chris Candido
Christopher Raul Candito was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Chris Candido...
and the title soon was recognized and defended in such independent promotions as Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the United States Wrestling Association
United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association or USWA was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded by former CWA owner Jerry Jarrett.-Foundation:...
. Holding the belt for a few months, he dropped the belt to Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
's (UFC) Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
in February 1995. Severn held the belt continuously for four years, but only made sporadic defenses due to his UFC commitments. Although Severn had attempted to go the "traveling champion" route done by former champions Thesz, Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Ernest Funk Jr. known professionally as Dory Funk, Jr. is a professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is the son of Dory Funk Sr. and brother of Terry Funk. He is credited with the invention of the Texas cloverleaf submission hold and runs the Funking Conservatory, a professional...
, Harley Race
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
, and Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
, the competition level was relatively minor due to the lack of strong territories.
World Wrestling Federation
In 1998, Dan Severn became part of Cornette's NWA faction in the WWF. Trying to get back in the national spotlight, the NWA made a deal with Vince McMahon Jr. to appear on WWF television. Part of Cornette's NWA stable was NWA North American ChampionNWA North American Heavyweight Championship
The NWA North American Heavyweight Championship is the second most prestigious title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was created in 1994 after World Championship Wrestling withdrew from the NWA. There were other versions of this title before this one was created...
Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
, winning the vacant title by defeating Barry Windham on Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
. The NWA's deal with the WWF never accomplished its intended purpose and McMahon ended it. The NWA belt went back to being defended on the independent circuit and remaining NWA territories.
Independent circuit
In 1999, Severn lost the title to former Olympic judoka Naoya OgawaNaoya Ogawa
Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese former world judo champion, Olympic silver medalist, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist...
, and the title picture became slightly more competitive. The champions nonetheless remained wrestlers from independents, regardless of whether they were from North America (Severn, Mike Rapada
Mike Rapada
Michael Rapada best known as "The Colorado Kid" Mike Rapada is an American professional wrestler.-Career:Mike Rapada started out in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It took three months, but eventually he convinced Jeff Jarrett to hire him...
, Sabu), Asia (Ogawa, Shinya Hashimoto
Shinya Hashimoto
, was a Japanese professional wrestler. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid 1980s and dominated the promotion in the 1990s....
), or Europe (Gary Steele
Gary Steele
Gary Steele is a retired British professional wrestler, who has competed in European and North American promotions and has been a popular longtime mainstay of NWA UK Hammerlock since the mid-1990s...
). The situation continued until early 2002, when Severn was able to regain the title from Hashimoto in Japan, albeit with controversy.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
In 2002, JeffJeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
and Jerry Jarrett
Jerry Jarrett
Jerry W. Jarrett is an American promoter and former professional wrestler, and the father of wrestler Jeff Jarrett. He is the co-founder and former part-owner of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
formed NWA:Total Nonstop Action
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(NWA:TNA). The Jarretts worked out a licensing deal with the NWA and affiliated their promotion with the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team titles. While working out a cable deal, the Jarretts put NWA:TNA on weekly pay-per-view. Due to booking conflict with a mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
card, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion at the time, Dan Severn, was unable to appear on the inaugural TNA card, and he was stripped of the NWA title. Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
was then declared the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion after winning a battle royal. In 2004, NWA:TNA withdrew from the NWA, but retained the rights to use the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team titles on their shows while being obliged to adhere to rulings of the NWA board of directors. The agreement ended on May 13, 2007 with the TNA creating its own Championship Titles.
Reclaiming the Glory
On May 22, 2007, the NWA announced through a statement on their official website, and through a video posted on YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, a tournament, entitled Reclaiming the Glory, to fill the title vacancy left after the end of the NWA's relationship with TNA Wrestling. Sixteen men competed for the championship, with Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion in his fourth reign and the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also a former PWG Champion....
finally winning the belt by defeating Brent Albright
Brent Albright
Brent Alan Albright is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on Friday Night SmackDown! as Gunner Scott...
on September 1, 2007 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Bayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...
. Pearce was active in defending the championship, but suffered from the same problems that had plagued the "new" NWA in the past. 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. Pearce's main foe in early defenses was Sean "XPac" Waltman
Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ...
, and the two wrestled numerous times over the title. Later, Pearce resumed his feud with Albright, which is yet ongoing today with both men exchanging the Number One Contendership.
Ring of Honor
On June 7, 2008 at the Ring of HonorRing of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
(ROH) pay per view, Pearce revealed the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the conclusion of his match, making it officially recognized in Ring of Honor. Following the event it was announced that on June 27, Ring of Honor World Champion
ROH World Championship
The Ring of Honor World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Ring of Honor. The championship has also been through other companies in cooperation with ROH through the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance , the governing body of many independent wrestling...
, Nigel McGuinness
Nigel McGuinness
Steven Haworth is an English professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Desmond Wolfe and Nigel McGuinness. As McGuinness he first gained notoriety working for Ring of Honor in the United States and Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan...
would take on NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Pearce title for title at "Battle For Supremacy" in Dayton, Ohio. The match ended in a disqualification when the NWA rule of throwing an opponent over the top rope was enforced, therefore both men retained their respective titles, causing the crowd in Dayton to chant "Dusty Finish".
Brent Albright
Brent Albright
Brent Alan Albright is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on Friday Night SmackDown! as Gunner Scott...
defeated Adam Pearce in New York, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the ROH Death Before Dishonor VI event on August 2, 2008 to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This was the first time that the title changed hands in New York City. Then on September 20, 2008, Pearce began his second reign as champion by defeating Albright at the Ring of Honor "Glory by Honor VII" event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He would lose the title one month later to Blue Demon, Jr.
Blue Demon, Jr.
Blue Demon, Jr. is a Mexican luchador and professional wrestler. He is the allegedly adopted son of the legendary original Blue Demon and is the first Mexican and the second masked wrestler to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Blue Demon, Jr.'s real name is unknown.-Origins and heritage...
.
$25,000 deposit
During the glory days of the NWA, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion was required to place a US$United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
25,000 security deposit to the NWA treasurer to ensure that the champion did not leave the NWA with the belt. When the champion lost the title, the deposit was returned, plus any interest
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
that has accumulated over time. There were a few exceptions where Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
and Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
declined the return of their deposit whenever they dropped the title because they knew that they were going to get the belt back in the future. However, when Flair was fired from WCW in 1991, the NWA would not return his deposit (as he was technically no longer an NWA employee, since WCW was still affiliated with the NWA at that time). Flair retaliated by taking the belt with him to the WWF and appearing on TV with it. On the Ric Flair DVD he said he gave the original title belt to Triple H as a gift. However, Ric Flair also has said in a shoot interview with Highspots that Hulk Hogan has the original belt
Reigns
The NWA currently recognizes 84 individual World Heavyweight Championship reigns. Ric FlairRic Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
holds the record with ten championships. Lou Thesz
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was a United States professional wrestler and 18-time world heavyweight champion, most notably holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days , longer than anyone else in history...
holds the record for most cumulative days as champion, with his three reigns totaling 3,749 days. Thesz's first reign is the longest in the history of the title, as he held the title for 1,941 days. Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
holds the record for shortest reign, as he vacated the championship immediately after winning it in favor of the newly-created ECW World Heavyweight Championship
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
in 1994; Douglas was the reigning NWA-Eastern Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Champion and the action split ECW from the NWA.
As of July 31, 2011, the champion is Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is the current NWA World Heavyweight Champion in his fourth reign and the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also a former PWG Champion....
who is in his fourth reign. Pearce won the title at the Ohio State Fair
Ohio State Fair
The Ohio State Fair is one of the largest state fairs in the United States. In 2011 the attendance was 833,000, the fair's highest attendance since 2004. The state fair contributes as much as 280 million dollars to the state economy...
in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
by defeating NWA National Heavyweight Champion
NWA National Heavyweight Championship
The original version NWA National Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in the NWA-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1980 until 1986...
Chance Prophet, NWA North American Heavyweight Champion
NWA North American Heavyweight Championship
The NWA North American Heavyweight Championship is the second most prestigious title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was created in 1994 after World Championship Wrestling withdrew from the NWA. There were other versions of this title before this one was created...
Shaun Tempers, and Jimmy Rave
Jimmy Rave
James Guffey is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jimmy Rave. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
in a four way match. Pearce was to face reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion The Sheik
Joseph Cabibbo
Joseph Cabibbo is an American professional wrestler, who is currently wrestling under the ring name The Sheik. He is a one-time former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and Pro Wrestling Zero1 World Heavyweight Champion....
at the event, but the NWA vacated the title on July 11, 2011 saying that The Sheik was refusing to defend the title against Pearce. Sheik claims that he was never booked for the title defense.
External links
- Official NWA World Heavyweight Title History
- Wrestling-Titles.com - NWA World Heavyweight Title History
- Official announcement of the end of NWA ties with TNA
- The NWA's website announcement of the Reclaiming the Glory tournament and bracket
- The NWA's official video announcement of the tournament and pairings
- CygyWrestling.com - NWA World Heavyweight Title History
- Solie's Vintage Wrestling- Title Histories- NWA World Heavyweight Title