The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has used a variety of different names over the years, which consists of initial changes to represent the various companies that have controlled the title at different times. Originally, it was simply known as the Texas Heavyweight Championship until its name was changed after the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1948. For most of the title's existence, at least until the early 1990s, it was defended almost exclusively within the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Fort Worth,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

and

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

areas of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. From the 1930s to the mid-1960s, these cities and the surrounding towns were within the territory operated by Ed McLemore, which was known simply as Southwest Sports, Inc. at the time. After McLemore's death, the territory came under the control of

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champio ...

and was renamed as Big Time Wrestling. However, the promotion would be renamed

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...

in the early 1980s, which is the name the territory is best remembered under today. The championship remained an NWA affiliated title until February 1986. In 1986, WCCW withdrew from the NWA and changed their name to the World Class Wrestling Association, while still promoting under the WCCW banner. The title became the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship at this time. In August 1989, the title became the USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship in the

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestlin ...

when WCCW was transformed into the USWA. It was renamed the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship in July 1990 after the WCWA split from the USWA, then became the USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship again from January 1991 until February 1992, when it became inactive. It then reverted to its original name when awarded to NWA Southwest, where it was used until that promotion shut down in September 2011. It then went to NWA Houston, where it was subsequently merged with the NWA Lone Star Heavyweight Championship in a title unification match when Jax Dane defeated

Raymond Rowe Raymond Rowe Sr. (born August 21, 1984) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Erik. He is also known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH), where he and his ta ...

, NWA Lone Star Champion Ryan Genesis and NWA Texas Champion Scott Summers to unify the titles on December 14, 2012, in

Cypress, Texas Cypress is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Cypress area is located along U.S. Highway 290 (Northwest Freeway) is twenty-f ...

. The title was brought back in 2021 when

Devon Nicholson Devon Nicholson is a Canadian professional wrestler who has wrestled under the names of Kid Nichols, Hannibal and Blood Hunter. He is also a professional wrestling promoter, running the Great North Wrestling company, and has a YouTube channel, Th ...

bough it from a private owner. He used the title in the promotion Southwest Wrestling Entertainment, where Nicholson (wrestling as The Blood Hunter)] defeated Gangrel (wrestler), Gangrel in the finals of a battle royal-based tournament to become the first champion in 8 years. However, he vacated the title the next year and sold the belt to a private collector.

Championship tournaments

NWA Texas Championship Tournament (1967)

The NWA Texas Championship Tournament was a one-night single elimination tag team tournament held in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

on May 2, 1967, for the vacant NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship.

NWA Texas Championship Tournament (1984)

The NWA Texas Championship Tournament was a one-night single elimination tournament held in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

on June 23, 1984, for the vacant NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. †Kerry Von Erich was originally in the bracket set to face Ric Flair in the final round. But his injury prevented him from competing, and thus was replaced by Gino Hernandez

WCCW Texas Championship Tournament (1987)

The WCCW Texas Championship Tournament was a one-night single elimination tournament held in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

on January 12, 1987, for the vacant WCCW Texas Heavyweight Championship.

USWA Texas Championship Tournament (1991)

The USWA Texas Championship Tournament was a one-night single elimination tournament held in

on January 25, 1991, to crown the first-ever USWA Texas Heavyweight Champion.

Title history

Combined reigns

Key

Footnotes

References

;General reference * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nwa Texas Heavyweight Championship Global Wrestling Federation championships United States Wrestling Association championships World Class Championship Wrestling championships National Wrestling Alliance state wrestling championships Professional wrestling in Texas