NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Adam Pearce with the title belt (2010)
- NWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship
The NWA World Heavyweight Championship ( to German NWA World Heavyweight Title ) is the highest single title, the National Wrestling Alliance will award wrestler and he is also the most historic title in wrestling. To derive from this title from another as a "world title " recognized "World Championships ". Today, this title also just as world titles (NWA World Title ) is called.
The awarding of this title as follows in the usual wrestling a previously developed storyline.
- 3.1 Records
- 3.2 Title History
History
The history of the " NWA World Heavyweight Championship Wrestling " can be traced back by tradition to the first " World Heavyweight Championship". Thus, the first title holder Georg Hackenschmidt (1905 ) and Frank Gotch were (1908 ).
The late 1920s, was introduced in the National Wrestling Association 's first " NWA World Title " which was derived from the 1928 incurred AWA title. For this first NWA title, the current World Cup originated in a row.
Since there are many independent territories was in the early days of pro- wrestling, which extended over the whole United States, was established in July 1948, the National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA), the umbrella organization. The territories now had the opportunity to join the NWA. But in return they had to recognize the NWA title as their parent and sole "World Title". This meant that was his own world title set or can be converted into a regional title.
Today the title in a U.S., a Canadian and a Mexican version is active. But while the Canadian and Mexican versions represent only national title, shall imply the U.S. as a world title.
Controversies of the early period
Each year, came the NWA World Champion in each area and defended his title against that country's top challenger or regional champion. The task of Champions was to look good and the challengers to retain the title anyway. The NWA Board of Directors comprised primarily of the owners of the regional leagues together and it was agreed, when and if a title should change. The former champion won his title usually days or weeks later back again. Due to the controversy over Lou Thesz, who declined to give his title protested Verne Gagne by retiring his American Wrestling Association ( AWA) of the NWA and the AWA Championship declared a World Title, making this a direct competitor of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was.
Gagne's retreat was the model for an identical approach of the World Wide Wrestling Federation ( WWWF, now WWE) and Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ), the independently made themselves until years later. The WWWF left the NWA by " Nature Boy " Buddy Rogers the title to Lou Thesz after only one pinfall gave instead ROCHE in a best of three, such as rules of the NWA title matches at that time actually. Vincent J. McMahon refused to recognize Thesz as World Champion and as the WWWF left the NWA. McMahon realized Rogers continue as champion and appointed him WWWF World Heavyweight Champion after winning a fictitious tournament for the new title in Rio de Janeiro.
1980
As Ric Flair won the NWA World Title in 1981, he enjoyed greater popularity than ever before. Although Vincent K. McMahon's WWF began to be larger, the reign of the strong Champions Flair was an important factor for the recognition of the belt as a World Title and the retained even in the wake of the rapid rise of the WWF competitiveness of the NWA. Flair continued the tradition of the title defenses in all territories even further than the WWF itself broke away from their territory and began to organize across the United States.
In the late 1980s tried Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, in vain to expand the then main promotion of the NWA nationwide in cooperation with Georgia Championship Wrestling. Both organized under the banner of World Championship Wrestling / Georgia Championship Wrestling (short form World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) ) and thus had to sign almost bankrupt. Georgia Championship Wrestling came into the possession of the rival World Wrestling Federation and the media mogul Ted Turner purchased Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling because they achieved good ratings on its transmitter WTBS. As the deal in November 1988 was perfect, Turner began to make the league according to his ideas. Crockett and Turner had agreed that the new league should now organize under the name NWA World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ). Turner, however, urged the name of the umbrella organization from 1991 slowly more and more into the background and now organized under the banner of World Championship Wrestling. Turner had spread through his channels, that the NWA was the same now with the WCW and he was unceremoniously into the rename of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
1990
After a dispute with the Vice - President of WCW with respect to its outstanding salaries Finally, in 1991 as still reigning WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair left the promotion and took the title belt, which dated from the NWA- time with. The WCW officials, however, had then left to flair the belt as collateral for the outstanding salary payments and flair finally looked at him as a " legitimate " property. So Flair finally came (although he was still under contract with WCW and this was a change flairs never intended in a different league ) in the WWF and was called " the rightful champion," and challenged the former title-holder of the WWF. His feuds with Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage are legendary today. In television recordings of the NWA belt had to be done always unrecognizable, but the WWF was doing this deliberately primitive, since only the supposedly located on the belt NWA logo " watered down" or was ausgepixelt by computer animation. The flair of the supported former NWA and WCW nunmehrige belt ever possessed no logo, was not even perceived by most viewers, since all the belt of the former WWF had a corresponding leagues logo at the ausgepixelten point of the belt.
But after a total of 38,000 U.S. dollars to him paid by the WCW, Flair gave back the belt to WCW and returned a short time later back in this league. But this while had forgiven her now vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship title new and equipped with a new belt. With the return of the (old ) NWA belt WCW now had two world titles in their ranks. In 1993, the WCW he finally retired from the NWA and retained the title belt, he had become in the meantime useless for NWA. The audience identified this belt only as WCW World title and not as the highest NWA Championship. Then came the " title unification fight" for the two belts, Ric Flair and Sting disputed with each other. Sting "won " the fight and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was thus definitively lost its used since 1985 belt. This has now been used in WCW only for the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship and later for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
The NWA, which had in the meantime lost all member promotions from their wedding, held in 1994 a tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Shane Douglas won the title, but refused it because the promotion Eastern Championship Wrestling seceded from the NWA and their own World Title, the ECW World Championship established. After another tournament until Chris Candido and then Dan Severn held the title, the latter rarely defended him in his four-year reign. The once prestigious title disappeared into obscurity and was not more than World Title recognized by the media as Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
2000
Founded in 2002 Jeff and Jerry Jarrett NWA -TNA ( Total Nonstop Action ) and negotiated with the NWA, they were allowed to use the Tag Team Championship, the NWA World Heavyweight and the NWA World. As the reigning champion Dan Severn could not attend on the first Pay Per View of the new promotion, given the title was stripped and re- fought in a Gauntlet Match. First champions in the NWA -TNA was Ken Shamrock. After the NWA in May 2007 stopped its partnership with TNA title has been declared up to a tournament title in summer 2007 for vacant. This tournament won Adam Pearce. He defeated Brent Albright in " Reclaiming the Glory" tournament final which was held in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Pearce replaced Bryan Danielson was originally planned as an opponent of Albright. 2008 could Blue Demon Jr. defeated in he chaired NWA Mexico Pearce and win the title. After about 15 months, but this had to hand in a title match at Pearce again.
Current title holder
The current NWA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Conway in his first reign. He could defeat on 16 March 2013 in NWA BOW A Monster 's Ball in San Antonio the previous title holder Kahagas in a match for the title.