WCWA World Heavyweight Championship
WCWA World Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship belt used from 1986 to 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Details | |||||||||||||||||||||
Promotion | World Class Wrestling Association | ||||||||||||||||||||
Date established | June 6, 1966[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Date retired | 1990[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally created in June 1966 by WCWA's predecessor NWA Big Time Wrestling (BTW), billed as the local version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship before being renamed the NWA American Heavyweight Championship in May 1968.[1] In 1982, Big Time Wrestling rebranded themselves as "World Class Championship Wrestling" (WCCW) and the championship was renamed the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship.[2] In 1986 WCCW withdrew from the National Wrestling Alliance, creating the World Class Wrestling Association, replacing the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship with the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship, replacing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as the top title recognized by the promotion.[2] In 1989, the WCWA championship was unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship to become the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship as WCWA merged with the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) to become the United States Wrestling Association.[3] In 1990 WCWA split from the USWA, but the promotion folded without determining a WCWA World Heavyweight Champion. As it is a professional wrestling championship, the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was not won by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match.[a]
The first recognized Texas-based NWA United States Champion was Fritz Von Erich, introducing the championship to his Southwest Sports promotion as the top championship in his territory.[1][b] Fritz Von Erich would go on to win the championship a record setting 20 times. At the time it was not unusual for the promoter, if he was also an active wrestler, to hold the championship multiple times, being that he would always be available to work shows and face off against various "outsiders". Fritz' last reign was on June 4, 1982 – 16 years after his first title victory.[1] Rick Rude was the last WCCW American Heavyweight Champion and announced as the first WCWA World Heavyweight Champion on February 21, 1986.[1][2] Jerry Lawler was the final champion, winning it on April 14, 1989, followed by the announcement that the championship had been unified with the AWA World Heavyweight Champion in September 1990.[3] The longest confirmed reign, Fritz Von Erich's fifth reign over all, lasted from March 27, 1967 to April 5, 1968 for a total of 375 days.[1][2] Von Erich's final reign was also the shortest in history, as he vacated moments after winning it in the main event of the Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show.[5][6] With his last title victory Fritz became the oldest champion, at 52 years of age. Fritz's second-youngest son, Mike Von Erich, was the youngest champion at just (20 years, 5 months, 2 days).[1][2] At 200 lb (91 kg), Mike was the lightest champion, while King Kong Bundy, tipping the scale at 450 lb (200 kg) was the heaviest.
Title history
[edit]No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||||
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Texas version) | ||||||||||
1 | Fritz Von Erich | June 6, 1966 | House show | Texas | 1 | 3 | Defeated Brute Bernard to become the first champion | [1] | ||
Johnny Valentine | June 9, 1966 | House show | Texas | 1 | 56 | [1] | ||||
3 | Fritz Von Erich | August 4, 1966 | House show | Texas | 2 | 133 | [1] | |||
Championship history is unrecorded from August 4, 1966 to December 15, 1966. | ||||||||||
4 | Fritz Von Erich | December 15, 1966 | House show | Texas | 3 | 97 | [1] | |||
4 | Brute Bernard | March 1967 | House show | Texas | 1 | 5 | Sometime after March 22, 1967 | [1] | ||
5 | Fritz Von Erich | March 27, 1967 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 4 | 375 | [1] | |||
6 | The Spoiler | April 5, 1968 | House show | Houston, Texas | 1 | [c] | [1] | |||
— | Vacated | April 1968 | — | — | — | — | Title held up due to interference by manager Gary Hart | [1] | ||
NWA American Heavyweight Championship | ||||||||||
7 | Fritz Von Erich | June 3, 1968 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 5 | [c] | Von Erich won a rematch against The Spoiler | [1] | ||
8 | Kenji Shibuya | 1968 | House show | Texas | 1 | [d] | [1] | |||
9 | Fritz Von Erich | July 26, 1968 | House show | Houston, Texas | 6 | 258 | [1] | |||
10 | Baron Von Raschke | April 10, 1969 | House show | N/A | 1 | 19 | [1] | |||
11 | Fritz Von Erich | April 29, 1969 | House show | N/A | 7 | 3 | [1] | |||
12 | Johnny Valentine | May 2, 1969 | House show | Houston, Texas | 2 | [e] | [1] | |||
13 | Fritz Von Erich | June 1969 | House show | N/A | 8 | [c] | [1] | |||
14 | Johnny Valentine | June 9, 1969 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 3 | 56 | [1] | |||
15 | Fritz Von Erich | August 4, 1969 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 9 | 1 | [1] | |||
— | Vacated | August 5, 1969 | — | — | — | — | Title held up after match against Johnny Valentine in Dallas, TX due to interference by Wahoo McDaniel | [1] | ||
16 | Fritz Von Erich | October 21, 1969 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 10 | 94 | Von Erich won a rematch against Johnny Valentine | [1] | ||
17 | Johnny Valentine | January 23, 1970 | House show | Houston, Texas | 4 | 21 | [1] | |||
18 | Fritz Von Erich | February 13, 1970 | House show | Houston, Texas | 11 | 94 | [1] | |||
19 | Boris Malenko | May 18, 1970 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 1 | 15 | Defeated Mil Máscaras in tournament final | [1] | ||
20 | Fritz Von Erich | June 2, 1970 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 12 | [c] | [1] | |||
21 | Baron von Raschke | June 1970 | House show | Texas | 2 | [c] | [1] | |||
22 | Fritz Von Erich | June 14, 1970 | House show | Texas | 13 | 187 | [1] | |||
23 | Toru Tanaka | December 18, 1970 | House show | Houston, Texas | 1 | 66 | [1] | |||
24 | Fritz Von Erich | February 22, 1971 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 14 | 1 | [1][7] | |||
25 | Toru Tanaka | February 23, 1971 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 2 | 10 | [1] | |||
26 | Wahoo McDaniel | March 5, 1971 | House show | Houston, Texas | 1 | 281 | [1][8] | |||
27 | The Spoiler | December 11, 1971 | House show | San Antonio, Texas | 2 | 196 | [1] | |||
28 | Billy Red Lyons | June 24, 1972 | Parade of Champions | Irving, Texas | 1 | 14 | [1] | |||
29 | Johnny Valentine | July 8, 1972 | House show | Corpus Christi, Texas | 5 | 237 | [1] | |||
30 | The Missouri Mauler | March 2, 1973 | House show | Chicago, Illinois | 1 | 158 | Awarded when Valentine goes to Japan | [1] | ||
31 | Fritz Von Erich | August 7, 1973 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 15 | 231 | [1] | |||
32 | The Texan | March 26, 1974 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 1 | 21 | [1] | |||
33 | Fritz Von Erich | April 16, 1974 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 16 | 228 | [1] | |||
34 | Vacant | November 30, 1974 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 2 | After a match against Blackjack Lanza | [1] | |||
35 | Blackjack Lanza | December 2, 1974 | House show | Texas | 1 | 27 | [1] | |||
36 | Fritz Von Erich | December 29, 1974 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 17 | 736 | [1] | |||
37 | Bruiser Brody | January 3, 1977 | House show | Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 99 | [1] | |||
38 | Fritz Von Erich | April 12, 1977 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 18 | 1 | [1] | |||
39 | Bruiser Brody | April 13, 1977 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 2 | 103 | [1] | |||
40 | Captain USA | July 25, 1977 | House show | Fort Worth, Texas | 1 | 67 | [1][9] | |||
41 | Ox Baker | September 30, 1977 | House show | Houston, Texas | 1 | 73 | [1] | |||
42 | Fritz Von Erich | December 12, 1977 | House show | Fort Worth, Texas | 19 | 273 | [1] | |||
43 | Bruiser Brody | September 11, 1978 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 3 | 105 | [1] | |||
44 | Kevin Von Erich | December 25, 1978 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 1 | 97 | [1] | |||
45 | The Spoiler | April 1, 1979 | House show | Puerto Rico | 3 | 42 | [1] | |||
46 | Wahoo McDaniel | May 13, 1979 | House show | Houston, Texas | 2 | 20 | [1][10] | |||
47 | The Spoiler | June 2, 1979 | House show | Houston, Texas | 4 | 64 | Awarded due to injury to Wahoo McDaniel | [1][11] | ||
48 | El Halcón | August 5, 1979 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 1 | 63 | [1] | |||
49 | The Spoiler | October 7, 1979 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 5 | 54 | [1] | |||
50 | Bruiser Brody | November 30, 1979 | House show | Houston, Texas | 4 | 33 | [1] | |||
51 | Ox Baker | January 2, 1980 | House show | San Francisco, California | 2 | 10 | [1][12] | |||
52 | Kevin Von Erich | January 12, 1980 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 2 | 99 | [1] | |||
53 | Toru Tanaka | April 20, 1980 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 3 | 8 | [1] | |||
54 | Kevin Von Erich | April 28, 1980 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 3 | 21 | [1] | |||
55 | Gino Hernandez | May 19, 1980 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 1 | 74 | [1] | |||
56 | El Halcón | August 1, 1980 | House show | Houston, Texas | 2 | 14 | [1] | |||
57 | Gino Hernandez | August 15, 1980 | House show | Houston, Texas | 2 | 127 | [1] | |||
— | Vacated | December 20, 1980 | — | — | — | — | Title held up after match against Kevin Von Erich | [1] | ||
58 | Kerry Von Erich | December 28, 1980 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 1 | [f] | Subbed for injured Kevin and won rematch against Hernandez | [1] | ||
59 | Ken Patera | 1981 | House show | Texas | 1 | [c] | [1] | |||
60 | The Masked Superstar | 1981 | House show | Texas | 1 | [c] | [1] | |||
61 | Kerry Von Erich | 1981 | House show | Texas | 2 | [c] | [1] | |||
62 | Ernie Ladd | May 11, 1981 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 1 | 24 | [1][13] | |||
63 | Kerry Von Erich | June 4, 1981 | House show | New Orleans, Louisiana | 3 | 113 | [1] | |||
64 | The Great Kabuki | September 25, 1981 | House show | Lawton, Oklahoma | 1 | 92 | [1] | |||
65 | Bugsy McGraw | December 26, 1981 | House show | Columbus, Ohio | 1 | 72 | [1] | |||
WCCW American Heavyweight Championship | ||||||||||
66 | Kerry Von Erich | March 8, 1982 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 4 | 58 | [1] | |||
67 | King Kong Bundy | May 5, 1982 | N/A | Lawton, Oklahoma | 1 | 30 | [1][14] | |||
68 | Fritz Von Erich | June 4, 1982 | Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show | Irving, Texas | 20 | 0 | [1][5][6] | |||
— | Vacated | June 4, 1982 | — | — | — | — | Fritz won the title in his retirement match and vacated it immediately | [1][5][6] | ||
69 | King Kong Bundy | June 15, 1982 | House show | N/A | 2 | 82 | Awarded when Fritz retired | [1] | ||
70 | Kevin Von Erich | September 5, 1982 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 4 | 138 | [1][15] | |||
71 | Terry Gordy | January 21, 1983 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 1 | 42 | [1] | |||
72 | Kevin Von Erich | March 4, 1983 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 5 | 129 | [1] | |||
— | Vacated | July 11, 1983 | House show | — | — | — | Title held up after match against Jimmy Garvin | [1] | ||
73 | Jimmy Garvin | July 25, 1983 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 1 | 122 | Won rematch against Kevin Von Erich[9] | [9] | ||
74 | Chris Adams | November 24, 1983 | Thanksgiving Star Wars | Dallas, Texas | 1 | 31 | [1][16][17] | |||
75 | Jimmy Garvin | December 25, 1983 | Christmas Star Wars | Dallas, Texas | 2 | 36 | [1][18] | |||
76 | Chris Adams | January 30, 1984 | Wrestling Star Wars | Ft. Worth, Texas | 2 | 63 | [1][19] | |||
77 | Jimmy Garvin | April 2, 1984 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 3 | 2 | [1] | |||
78 | Chris Adams | April 4, 1984 | House show | Texas | 3 | [c] | [1] | |||
79 | Jimmy Garvin | April 1984 | House show | Texas | 4 | 18 | [1] | |||
80 | Gino Hernandez | May 18, 1984 | House show | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 3 | 77 | [1] | |||
81 | Mike Von Erich | August 3, 1984 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 1 | 31 | [1] | |||
82 | Gino Hernandez | September 3, 1984 | Labor Day Star Wars | Ft. Worth, Texas | 4 | 56 | [20] | [1][21] | ||
83 | Kerry Von Erich | October 29, 1984 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 5 | 102 | [1] | |||
84 | Chris Adams | February 8, 1985 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 4 | 147 | Aired February 16, 1985 on WCCW Episode #164 | [1] | ||
85 | Iceman King Parsons | July 5, 1985 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 1 | 122 | [1] | |||
86 | Rick Rude | November 4, 1985 | House show | Ft. Worth, Texas | 1 | 242 | On the March 1, 1986 episode of WCCW (Episode #218), WCWA representative Ken Mantell declares Rude the WCWA World Champion. | [2] | ||
WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (February 21, 1986) | ||||||||||
87 | Chris Adams | July 4, 1986 | Independence Day Star Wars | Dallas, Texas | 5 | 77 | Highlights aired on WCCW Episode #237 | [2][22] | ||
88 | Black Bart | September 19, 1986 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 1 | 23 | After Adams leaves WCWA, Bart is awarded the title with kayfabe explanation that he "won the title out on the West Coast" (Los Angeles). Aired on WCCW Episode #248 | [2] | ||
89 | Kevin Von Erich | October 12, 1986 | 3rd Cotton Bowl Extravaganza | Dallas, Texas | 6 | 313 | Match aired on WCCW Episode #251 | [2][23][24] | ||
90 | Al Perez | August 21, 1987 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 1 | 198 | Won by forfeit | [2] | ||
91 | Kerry Von Erich | March 6, 1988 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 6 | 19 | [2] | |||
92 | Iceman King Parsons | March 25, 1988 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 2 | 44 | [2] | |||
93 | Kerry Von Erich | May 8, 1988 | 5th Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions | Irving, Texas | 7 | 168 | [25] | [2][26][27] | ||
94 | Jerry Lawler | October 23, 1988 | House show | Memphis, Tennessee | 1 | 12 | [2] | |||
95 | Kerry Von Erich | November 4, 1988 | House show | Dallas, Texas | 8 | 35 | [2] | |||
96 | Tatsumi Fujinami | December 9, 1988 | House show | Tokyo, Japan | 1 | 1 | Won by TKO when Von Erich was bleeding too heavily to continue | [2] | ||
97 | Kerry Von Erich | December 10, 1988 | House show | N/A | 9 | 3 | Fujinami refuses the title and returned it to Von Erich | [2] | ||
98 | Jerry Lawler | December 13, 1988 | SuperClash III | Chicago, Illinois | 2 | 113 | Lawler, the reigning AWA Champion, defeated WCWA Champion Kerry Von Erich to unify the titles. In January 1989, Lawler was stripped of the AWA title but was continued to be recognized as USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion by WCWA and CWA. | [2][28][29] | ||
— | Vacated | April 5, 1989 | House show | — | — | — | WCWA declares the title vacant after a match against Kerry Von Erich. | [2] | ||
99 | Jerry Lawler | April 14, 1989 | House show | N/A | 3 | [g] | Lawler defeats Kerry Von Erich in rematch. On April 25, Lawler also regains the USWA title. | [2] | ||
— | Deactivated | September 1990 | — | — | — | — | World Class Championship Wrestling ends business relationship with USWA and later closes down. |
See also
[edit]Explanatory notes
[edit]- ^ Hornbaker (2016) p. 550: "Professional wrestling is a sport in which match finishes are predetermined. Thus, win–loss records are not indicative of a wrestler's genuine success based on their legitimate abilities – but on now much, or how little they were pushed by promoters"[4]
- ^ The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship was recognized by all NWA territories as the champion would travel the US to visit the promotions.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The length of the reign is uncertain
- ^ One of the dates for this championship is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 1 and 52 days.
- ^ One of the dates for this championship is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 30 and 37 days.
- ^ One of the dates for this championship is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 4 and 131 days.
- ^ One of the dates for this championship is uncertain, which means that the reign lasted between 505 and 534 days.
References
[edit]General references
[edit]- Hornbaker, Tim (2016). "Statistical notes". Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 years of headlocks, body slams, and piledrivers (Revised ed.). New York: Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61321-808-2.
Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (1967-1968/05) - American Heavyweight Title (1968/05-1986/02)". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad "WCWA World Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ a b "Unified World Heavyweight Title [United States Wrestling Association]". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ^ Hornbaker 2016, p. 550.
- ^ a b c "Texas Stadium 1982 Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show". Pro Wrestling History. June 4, 1982. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Historical Cards: Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show (June 4, 1982. Irving, Texas)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 172. 2007 Edition.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (February 22, 2017). "Daily pro wrestling history (02/22): Sting defeats Hogan to win vacant WCW title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (March 5, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (03/05): The Hardy Boyz win WWF tag team gold". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ a b c Hoops, Brian (July 26, 2015). "On this day in history - Demon Vs. Santo, Gagne Vs. Kiniski". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (May 13, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 13): Rick Martel wins AWA gold, Kurt Angle wins TNA title, Nash & Hall beat one man to win tag titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (June 2, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (June 2): Hogan beats Inoki to win 1st IWGP tourney, HTM's Intercontinental title reign begins". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (January 12, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/12): The Outsiders win WCW Tag team titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (May 11, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 11): Von Erichs vs. Verne & Don Leo Jonathan, Shane Douglas vs 2 Cold Scorpio". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- ^ F4W Staff (May 5, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 5): Bruno Vs. Gorilla in Puerto Rico, 2nd annual Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hoops, Brian (September 5, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history: Gagne vs. Crusher loser leaves town, Von Erichs vs. Freebirds, Young Bucks vs. Machine Guns". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- ^ "Thanksgiving Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. November 24, 1983.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (November 24, 2019). "Daily Pro Wrestling history (11/24): The First Starcade". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ "Christmas Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. December 25, 1983.
- ^ "Wrestling Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. January 30, 1984.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (September 3, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (Sept. 3): Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk Texas Death Match, Great Muta vs. Sting, Ted DiBiase and Stan Hansen wins AJPW tag titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "Labor Day Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. September 3, 1984.
- ^ "Independence Day Star Wars". Pro Wrestling History. July 4, 1986.
- ^ "3rd Cotton Bowl Extravaganza". Pro Wrestling History. October 12, 1986. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ "Historical Cards: 3rd Cotton Bowl Extravaganza (October 12, 1986. Dallas, Texas)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 172. 2007 Edition.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (May 8, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (05/08): Edge wins WWE title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "Historical Cards: Parade of Champions 5 (May 8, 1988. Irving, Texas)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 173. 2007 Edition.
- ^ "5th Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions". Pro Wrestling History. May 8, 1988. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ "Historical Cards". 2007 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts. Kappa Publications. p. 159. 2007 Edition.
- ^ "SuperClash III". Pro Wrestling History. December 13, 1988. Retrieved April 4, 2015.