NWA World Heavyweight Title (original) (raw)
| × date The format is either YYYY-MM-DD or YY-MM-DD. [ ] Following the name of the champion(s): Indicates the number of times the wrestler has held that title at that point. [...] Indicates a gap in the listing where title changes are not known.* If used next to the names of the wrestlers, they may, in fact, not have held the title in the period indicated. If used next to the dates or places, either they are possibly wrong or the title changes are fictitious. < Title was held or changed hands no later than this. In these cases, it is known that a wrestler held the title at a certain time but not when he/she won it. + Broadcast date; the actual recording date is unknown. @ Order uncertain. Different titleholders may be known for the same year, for example, but it is not known who held the title before whom. # Unofficial or disputable claims. These are usually matches that certainly took place, but where there is doubt that the wrestler shown should be recognized as a true title holder. These listings are also italicized in HTML files × Code Country AFGAfghanistan ALBAlbania ALGAlgeria ANDAndorra ANGAngola ANTAntigua and Barbuda ARGArgentina ARMArmenia ARUAruba ASAAmerican Samoa AUSAustralia AUTAustria AZEAzerbaijan BAHBahamas BANBangladesh BARBarbados BDIBurundi BELBelgium BENBenin BERBermuda BHUBhutan BIHBosnia and Herzegovina BIZBelize BLRBelarus BOLBolivia BOTBotswana BRABrazil BRNBahrain BRUBrunei BULBulgaria BURBurkina Faso CAFCentral African Republic CAMCambodia CANCanada CAYCayman Islands CGORepublic of the Congo CHAChad CHIChile CHNChina CIVIvory Coast CMRCameroon CODDemocratic Republic of the Congo COKCook Islands COLColombia COMComoros CPVCape Verde CRCCosta Rica CROCroatia CUBCuba CYPCyprus CZECzech Republic DENDenmark DJIDjibouti DMADominica DOMDominican Republic ECUEcuador EGYEgypt ERIEritrea ESAEl Salvador ESPSpain ESTEstonia ETHEthiopia FIJFiji FINFinland FRAFrance FSMFederated States of Micronesia GABGabon GAMThe Gambia GBRGreat Britain GBSGuinea-Bissau GEOGeorgia GEQEquatorial Guinea GERGermany GGYGuernsey GHAGhana GREGreece GRNGrenada GUAGuatemala GUIGuinea GUMGuam GUYGuyana HAIHaiti HKGHong Kong, China HONHonduras HUNHungary INAIndonesia INDIndia IRIIran IRLIreland IRQIraq ISLIceland ISRIsrael ISVVirgin Islands ITAItaly IVBBritish Virgin Islands JAMJamaica JORJordan JPNJapan KAZKazakhstan KENKenya KGZKyrgyzstan KIRKiribati KORKorea, South KOSKosovo KSASaudi Arabia KUWKuwait LAOLaos LATLatvia LBALibya LBNLebanon LBRLiberia LCASaint Lucia LESLesotho LIELiechtenstein LTULithuania LUXLuxembourg MADMadagascar MARMorocco MASMalaysia MAWMalawi MDAMoldova MDVMaldives MEXMexico MGLMongolia MHLMarshall Islands MKDNorth Macedonia MLIMali MLTMalta MNEMontenegro MONMonaco MOZMozambique MRIMauritius MTNMauritania MYAMyanmar NAMNamibia NCANicaragua NEDNetherlands NEPNepal NGRNigeria NIGNiger NORNorway NRUNauru NZLNew Zealand OMAOman PAKPakistan PANPanama PARParaguay PERPeru PHIPhilippines PLEPalestine PLWPalau PNGPapua New Guinea POLPoland PORPortugal PRKKorea, North (DPR of Korea) PURPuerto Rico QATQatar ROURomania RSASouth Africa RUSRussia RWARwanda SAMSamoa SENSenegal SEYSeychelles SGPSingapore SKNSaint Kitts and Nevis SLESierra Leone SLOSlovenia SMRSan Marino SOLSolomon Islands SOMSomalia SRBSerbia SRISri Lanka SSDSouth Sudan STPSão Tomé and Príncipe SUDSudan SUISwitzerland SURSuriname SVKSlovakia SWESweden SWZSwaziland SYRSyria TANTanzania TGATonga THAThailand TJKTajikistan TKMTurkmenistan TLSEast Timor TOGTogo TPETaiwan (Republic of China) TTOTrinidad and Tobago TUNTunisia TURTurkey TUVTuvalu UAEUnited Arab Emirates UGAUganda UKRUkraine URUUruguay USAUnited States UZBUzbekistan VANVanuatu VENVenezuela VIEVietnam VINSaint Vincent and the Grenadines YEMYemen ZAMZambia ZIMZimbabwe | [ 日本語 ] |
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NATIONAL WRESTLING ALLIANCE
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
(as of 2024-08-31)
| Orville Brown | 1948-07 | |
|---|---|---|
| Has been recognized as world champion by the following organizations in the midwest: National Wrestling Alliance in Des Moines, IA, headed by Pinkie George Midwest Wrestling Association in Kansas City, KS Recognized as the first champion when the National Wrestilng Alliance is founded in 48-07 in Waterloo, IA by Pinkie George with five other promoters. | ||
| Lou Thesz | 1949-11-27 | |
| Unifies following world heavyweight titles: National Wrestling Association title, having defeated Bill Longson on 48-07-20 in Indianapolis, IN National Wrestling Alliance title, awarded on 49-11-27 when champion Orville Brown cannot wrestle in the unification match scheduled on 11-25 in St. Louis, MO due to injury suffered in an automobile accident on 11-01 Los Angeles version, defeating Baron Michele Leone on 52-05-21 in Los Angeles, CA. | ||
| Leo Nomellini # | 19_55-03-22_ | San Francisco, CA |
| Defeats Thesz by countout in the second round and disqualification in the third round; California Athletic Commission recognizes the title change by disqualification (San Francisco Examiner, 55-03-23), but both Thesz and Nomellini continue to claim the title. | ||
| Lou Thesz # | 19_55-07-15_ | St. Louis, MO |
| Defeats Nomelini in rematch; billed locally as a title defense by Thesz. | ||
| Whipper Billy Watson | 1956-03-15 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
| Wins by count out. | ||
| Lou Thesz [2] | 1956-11-09 | St. Louis, MO |
| Edouard Carpentier # | 1957-06-14 | Chicago, IL |
| Wins when Thesz cannot continue due to a back injury; loses to Thesz by DQ on 57-07-24 in Montreal, QC but continues to be recognized by the NWA. | ||
| Lou Thesz # | 1957-08-25 | |
| Carpentier withdraws his claim to the title when Montreal promoter Eddie Quinn leaves NWA; NWA voids all recognition of Carpentier as champion on 57-08-25; Carpentier continues to be recognized as world champion in Nebraska and New England and by World Wrestling Association in Los Angeles to legitimate the lineages of their world titles. | ||
| Dick Hutton | 1957-11-14 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
| Pat O'Connor | 1959-01-09 | St. Louis, MO |
| Buddy Rogers | 1961-06-30 | Chicago, IL |
| Bruno Sammartino defeats Rogers on 62-08-02 in Toronto, ON but refuses the title as Rogers is injured during the match. | ||
| Bobo Brazil # | 1962-08-18 | Newark, NJ |
| Wins when Rogers is counted out claiming a groin injury; Brazil refuses the victory stating that he would accept the title by pinfall only (Paterson Evening News, Paterson, NJ, 62-08-20); however, it is announced on 62-09-06 that Brazil is the new champion because nothing has been found wrong with Rogers by the doctor; after Rogers is injured due to the attack by Karl Gotch and Bill Miller on 62-08-31 in Columbus, OH and cancels several matches, Brazil is briefly billed as the world champion in some towns including Commack, NY (Daily News, New York, NY 62-09-18) and Hagerstown, MD (The Daily Mail, 63-10-05) but eventually recognized as the United States champion by 62-10-09. | ||
| Buddy Rogers # | 1962-10-30 | Toledo, OH |
| Defeats Brazil to retain the title (Toledo Blade, 62-10-28 & 10-31); Killer Kowalski defeats Rogers on 62-11-21 in Montreal, QC after Rogers' ankle is broken in first fall; Kowalski is recognized as champion in some places including Texas; Rogers defeats Kowalski on 63-01-21 in New York, NY in what is most likely a non-title match (no mention of the title on the newspapers). | ||
| Lou Thesz [3] | 1963-01-24 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
| Promoters in northeast refuse to recognize Rogers's one-fall loss to Thesz and start World Wide Wrestling Federation with Rogers as the first WWWF World Heavyweight champion; Thesz defeats Rogers in a two-out-of-three-falls rematch on 63-02-07 in Toronto, ON; defeats Kowalski on 63-02-01 in Houston, TX; unifies AWA (Alliance) World Title, defeating Karl Krauser on 64-09-07 in Columbus, OH and WWA World Title, defeating Dory Funk Jr. on 65-01-04 in Albuquerque, NM. | ||
| Gene Kiniski | 1966-01-07 | St. Louis, MO |
| Dory Funk Jr. | 1969-02-11 | Tampa, FL |
| Harley Race | 1973-05-24 | Kansas City, KS |
| Jack Brisco | 1973-07-20 | Houston, TX |
| Giant Baba | 1974-12-02 | Kagoshima, JPN |
| Jack Brisco [2] | 1974-12-09 | Toyohashi, JPN |
| Terry Funk | 1975-12-10 | Miami, FL |
| Harley Race [2] | 1977-02-06 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
| Dusty Rhodes | 1979-08-21 | Tampa, FL |
| Harley Race [3] | 1979-08-26 | Orlando, FL |
| Giant Baba [2] | 1979-10-31 | Nagoya, JPN |
| Harley Race [4] | 1979-11-07 | Amagasaki, JPN |
| Giant Baba [3] | 1980-09-04 | Saga, JPN |
| Harley Race [5] | 1980-09-09 | Ohtsu, JPN |
| Tommy Rich | 1981-04-27 | Augusta, GA |
| Harley Race [6] | 1981-05-01 | Gainsville, GA |
| Dusty Rhodes [2] | 1981-06-21 | Atlanta, GA |
| Ric Flair | 1981-09-17 | Kansas City, KS |
| Wrestles to a double count-out against WWF Heavyweight champion Bob Backlund on 82-07-04 in Atlanta, GA; on 82-12-19 in Santo Domingo, DOM, Flair allows himself to be pinned by Jack Veneno to avoid the riot from the audience, but the title is returned to Flair when Veneno is not willing to leave the country to defend it although continues to claim the world title in DOM as of 92-03; Midnight Rider (Dusty Rhodes under mask) defeats Flair on 83-02-09 in Miami, FL but returns the belt when asked to indentify himself by NWA President Bob Geigel. | ||
| Harley Race [7] | 1983-06-10 | St. Louis, MO |
| Ric Flair [2] | 1983-11-24 | Greensboro, NC |
| Harley Race # | 1984-03-20 | Wellington, NZL |
| Flair claims a fast count. | ||
| Ric Flair # | 1984-03-22 | |
| Announced as the champion by the NWA which voids Race's title win; defends against Race on 84-03-25 in Geylang, SIN. | ||
| Kerry Von Erich | 1984-05-06 | Irving, TX |
| Ric Flair [3] | 1984-05-24 | Yokosuka, JPN |
| Wrestles to a double count-out against AWA World heavyweight champion Rick Martel on 85-10-21 in Tōkyō, JPN. | ||
| Dusty Rhodes [3] | 1986-07-26 | Greensboro, NC |
| Ric Flair [4] | 1986-08-09 | St. Louis, MO |
| Ronnie Garvin | 1987-09-25 | Detroit, MI |
| Ric Flair [5] | 1987-11-26 | Chicago, IL |
| Ricky Steamboat | 1989-02-20 | Chicago, IL |
| Ric Flair [6] | 1989-05-07 | Nashville, TN |
| Sting | 1990-07-07 | Baltimore, MD |
| Ric Flair [7] | 1991-01-11 | E. Rutherford, NJ |
| Fujinami Tatsumi | 1991-03-21 | Tōkyō, JPN |
| Ric Flair [8] | 1991-05-19 | St. Petersburg, FL |
| Stripped on 91-09-08 when Flair signs with WWF, where he claims the "Real World Heavyweight Title"; NWA World Heavyweight Title is vacant for the first time since the foundation of the NWA in 1948; Flair wins WWF World Heavyweight Title on 92-01-19 in Albany, NY; some reports say Lex Luger, who has won the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Title by defeating Barry Windham on 91-07-14 in Baltimore, MD, is briefly given recognition as NWA World champion by the NWA board, controlled by WCW Vice President Jim Herd; Luger is not recognized by NWA as a former champion. | ||
| Chōno Masahiro | 1992-08-12 | Tōkyō, JPN |
| Defeats Rick Rude in tournament final to win the vacant title. | ||
| Great Muta (Muto Keiji) | 1993-01-04 | Tōkyō, JPN |
| Barry Windham | 1993-02-21 | Asheville, NC |
| Ric Flair [9] | 1993-07-18 | Biloxi, MS |
| Recognition dropped by NWA in 93-09 after WCW withdraws from NWA; WCW continues to recognize "WCW International" World Heavyweight title with Flair as the champion. | ||
| Shane Douglas | 1994-08-27 | Phiadelphia, PA |
| Defeats Too Cold Scorpio in tournament final but refuses the belt; ECW immediately announces their withdrawal from the NWA. | ||
| Chris Candido | 1994-11-19 | Cherry Hill, NJ |
| Defeats Tracy Smothers in tournament final. | ||
| Dan Severn | 1995-02-24 | Erlanger, KY |
| Also wins UFC Superfight Title on 96-05-17. | ||
| Naoya Ogawa | 1999-03-14 | Yokohama, JPN |
| Gary Steele | 1999-09-25 | Charlotte, NC |
| Defeats Ogawa and Brian Anthony in a 3-way match. | ||
| Naoya Ogawa [2] | 1999-10-02 | Thomaston, CT |
| Vacates on 00-07-02. | ||
| Mike Rapada | 2000-09-19 | Tampa, FL |
| Defeats Jerry Flynn in 8-man tournament final. | ||
| Sabu | 2000-11-14 | Tampa, FL |
| Mike Rapada [2] | 2000-12-22 | Nashville, TN |
| Steve Corino | 2001-04-24 | Tampa, FL |
| Title held-up after the match against Hashimoto Shin-ya on 01-10-13 in St. Petersburg, FL when Corino is unable to continue due to injury. | ||
| Hashimoto Shin-ya | 2001-12-15 | McKeesport, PA |
| Defeats Corino and Gary Steele in a round-robin triangle match. | ||
| Dan Severn [2] | 2002-03-09 | Tōkyō, JPN |
| Referee gives a fast count; stripped on 02-05-28 by unanimous vote of the NWA Board of Directors for not being able to schedule a title defense on 02-06-19 in Huntsville, AL. | ||
| Ken Shamrock | 2002-06-19 | Huntsville, AL |
| Defeats Malice after the two become the finalists of a battle royal; Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is given a control of the title by the NWA Board of Directors after this point. | ||
| Ron Killings | 2002-08-07 | Nashville, TN |
| Jeff Jarrett | 2002-11-20 | Nashville, TN |
| Defeats Sting 03-05-25 in Auckland, NZL to unify WWA World Title. | ||
| A.J. Styles | 2003-06-11 | Nashville, TN |
| Jeff Jarrett [2] | 2003-10-22 | Nashville, TN |
| A.J. Styles [2] | 2004-04-21 | Nashville, TN |
| Ron Killings [2] | 2004-05-19 | Nashville, TN |
| Defeats Styles, Chris Harris, and Raven in a 4-way match. | ||
| Jeff Jarrett [3] | 2004-06-02 | Nashville, TN |
| Ray Gonzalez pins Jarrett on 05-04-16 in Caguas, PR (or 05-04-03 in San Juan, PR) but the decision is reversed after the match due to the unauthorized referee counting the pinfall while the originally sanctioned referee is knocked out; although there have been many other wrestlers with their victories overturned (simply booked not to win the title), Gonzalez is listed as a former champion in Wikipedia and other sites that copy the information from it including the old NWA official website in 15-02, resulting to confuse the site visitors. | ||
| A.J. Styles [3] | 2005-05-15 | Orlando, FL |
| Raven | 2005-06-19 | Orlando, FL |
| Defeats Styles, Sean Waltman, Monty Brown, and Abyss in a "King of the Mountain" match. | ||
| Jeff Jarrett [4] | 2005-09-15 | Oldcastle, ON |
| Rhino | 2005-10-23 | Orlando, FL |
| Jeff Jarrett [5] | 2005-10-25 | Orlando, FL |
| Christian Cage | 2006-02-12 | Orlando, FL |
| Jeff Jarrett [6] | 2006-06-18 | Orlando, FL |
| Defeats Cage, Sting, Abyss, and Ron Killings in a "King of the Mountain" match. | ||
| Sting [2] | 2006-10-22 | Plymouth, MI |
| Abyss | 2006-11-19 | Orlando, FL |
| Wins by DQ. | ||
| Christian Cage [2] | 2007-01-14 | Orlando, FL |
| Defeats Abyss and Sting in a 3-way match; stripped by NWA on 07-05-13 after NWA and TNA discontinues the working agreement; Kurt Angle defeats Cage and Sting in what is billed as a "world heavyweight title match" by TNA later on the same day in Orlando, FL but is stripped of the title on the following day due to a controversial ending of the match. | ||
| Adam Pearce | 2007-09-01 | Bayamón, PR |
| Loses to Bryan Danielson in the semi-final of 16-man tournament which takes place starting from 07-06-02 in various locations in the U.S., but due to Danielson's eye injury, Pearce replaces him and defeats Brent Albright in the final. | ||
| Brent Albright | 2008-08-02 | New York, NY |
| Adam Pearce [2] | 2008-09-20 | Philadelphia, PA |
| Blue Demon Jr. | 2008-10-25 | Mexico City, MEX |
| Adam Pearce [3] | 2010-03-14 | Charlotte, NC |
| Defeats Demon and Phill Shatter in a 3-way match. | ||
| Colt Cabana | 2011-03-06 | Hollywood, CA |
| The Sheik (Joseph Cabibbo) | 2011-04-23 | Jacksonville, FL |
| Also defeats Sai Ryoji for "AWA" World Title in a double title match on 11-07-03 in Tōkyō; stripped on 11-07-11 for refusing the scheduled title defense against Adam Pearce on 11-07-31 in Columbus, OH. | ||
| Adam Pearce [4] | 2011-07-31 | Columbus, OH |
| Defeats Chance Prophet, Jimmy Rave, and Shaun Tempers in a 4-way match. | ||
| Colt Cabana [2] | 2012-04-08 | Glendale, CA |
| Adam Pearce [5] | 2012-07-21 | Kansas City, KS |
| Vacates on 12-10-27 in Berwick, AUS after losing to Colt Cobana in the last of a 7-match series between the two; originally scheduled as a title match; however, the ownership of NWA changes during the series, and the new management decides not to sanction the match. | ||
| Kahagas | 2012-11-02 | Clayton, NJ |
| Wins a 9-man elimination match, last eliminating Damien Wayne. | ||
| Rob Conway | 2013-03-16 | San Antonio, TX |
| Replaces Jax Dane, who is injured after being attacked by Scot Summers & Ryan Genesis earlier on the card, and defeats Kahagas | ||
| Kojima Satoshi | 2014-01-04 | Tōkyō, JPN |
| Rob Conway [2] | 2014-06-02 | Las Vegas, NV |
| Tenzan Hiroyoshi | 2015-02-14 | Sendai, JPN |
| Jax Dane | 2015-08-29 | San Antonio, TX |
| Tim Storm | 2016-10-21 | Sherman, TX |
| Nick Aldis | 2017-12-09 | Sewell, NJ |
| Cody (Cody Rhodes) | 2018-09-01 | Hoffman Estates, IL |
| Nick Aldis [2] | 2018-10-21 | Nashville, TN |
| Trevor Murdoch | 2021-08-29 | St. Louis, MO |
| Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) | 2022-02-12 | Oak Grove, KY |
| Vacates on 22-06-11 due to the injury suffered on 22-05-28. | ||
| Trevor Murdoch [2] | 2022-06-11 | Knoxville, TN |
| Defeats Nick Aldis, Thomas Latimer, and Sam Shaw in a 4-way match. | ||
| Tyrus (Brodus Clay) | 2022-11-12 | Chalmette, LA |
| Defeats Murdoch and Matt Cardona in a 3-way match. | ||
| EC3 (Michael Hutter) | 2023-08-27 | St. Louis, MO |
| Thom Latimer | 2024-08-31 | Philadelphia, PA |
The Records of the NWA World Heavyweight Title Matches
(1940s ~ present)
