The NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was 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 ...

championship promoted in Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), a territory- promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

Title history

On October 13, 1970, the championship was introduced as the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship during a taping of ''Championship Wrestling.''''Championship Wrestling'' was a television program for JCP that began airing on local WGHP television markets in 1964. It was announced that the

Missouri Mauler Larry "Rocky" Hamilton (April 1, 1931 – July 20, 1996), better known by his ring name the Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as Florida Championship Wrestling and Jim ...

had defeated the defending champion Pat O'Connor in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to win the title; this title change was fictitious and a storyline to introduce the championship to the promotion; nevertheless, O'Connor's reign is denoted as the first official reign. Because it was fictitious, further information regarding O'Connor's reign is unavailable. On the September 6, 1973 taping of ''Championship Wrestling'', JCP owner

Jim Crockett, Jr. James Allen Crockett Jr. (August 10, 1944 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional wrestling promoter. From 1973 to 1989, he was part owner of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), a wrestling company affiliated with the National Wrestling Allian ...

announced the retirement of the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship and the establishment of the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. At the time of this change,

Jerry Brisco Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco (born September 19, 1946) is an American retired professional wrestler. Brisco is best known for his time in the wrestling promotion WWE, where he was a backstage producer, and, during the 1990s, an on-screen character ...

was in his fourth reign as the NWA Eastern Heavyweight Champion, and as a result of never losing the title, he was recognized as the first NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. Because Brisco's fourth reign did not end, being awarded the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title is not counted as a new reign overall in the title's history. By 1974, JCP was also known as "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" (MACW), which is why all of its championships included "Mid-Atlantic" in their names. On December 26, 1986, Ron Garvin, after winning JCP's version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship with

Barry Windham Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). ...

, vacated the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship and handed the belt to Crockett, Jr. on a taping of ''World Championship Wrestling''.''World Championship Wrestling'' was a television program for JCP that began airing on WTBS television markets in 1981. Crockett, Jr. deactivated the championship for unknown reasons, and eventually, JCP was sold to

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he ...

in 1988, thus becoming the new promotion,

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

. In the late 1990s, NWA gave a group of promoters permission to establish a territory called "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling"; however, this territory has not claimed any connection to the original JCP/MACW. As a result, their prime championship, called the MACW Heavyweight Championship, has no connection to this original championship or its lineage.

Reigns

Overall, there were 63 reigns among 29 wrestlers. Fifteen of those reigns occurred while the title was called the "NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship" while 46 reigns occurred under the "NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship" name. Johnny Valentine ranks first in combined reigns by the length of 504 days with 2 reigns total.

Wahoo McDaniel Edward Hugh McDaniel (June 19, 1938 – April 18, 2002) was an American Choctaw- Chickasaw professional American football player and professional wrestler better known by his ring name Wahoo McDaniel. He is notable for having held the NWA Un ...

had the most reigns with seven. Ken Patera's second reign was the longest in the title's history at 334 days. All title changes occurred at JCP–promoted events: live events, pay-per-view events, and on televised events that aired on broadcast delay. {{Professional wrestling title history middle , sort number = 59.5 , type=vacated , date = {{dts, 1985, 7, 15 , days = {{{age in days nts, 1985, 7, 15, 1985, 11, 28 , notes =Buzz Tyler was stripped of the championship after he left JCP; title was declared vacant as a result. {{Professional wrestling title history middle , number = 60 (48) , champion = {{sortname, Krusher, Khrushchev, Barry Darsow , reign = 1 , date = {{dts, 1985, 11, 28 , days = {{age in days nts, 1985, 11, 28, 1986, 1, 11 , location =Greensboro, North Carolina , event = Starrcade (1985) , notes =Krusher Khrushchev defeated Sam Houston in a tournament final to win the vacant championship. {{Professional wrestling title history middle , number = 61 (49) , champion = {{sortname, Sam, Houston, Sam Houston (wrestler) , reign = 1 , date = {{dts, 1986, 1, 11 , days = {{age in days nts, 1986, 1, 11, 1986, 3, 18 , location =Atlanta, Georgia , event = ''World Championship Wrestling''
, notes =This title change aired on broadcast delay.
Khrushchev legitimately injured his knee during this match; he would miss six months of action. {{Professional wrestling title history middle , number = 62 (50) , champion = Black Bart , reign = 1 , date = {{dts, 1986, 3, 18 , days = {{age in days nts, 1986, 3, 18, 1986, 9, 2 , location =Mooresville, North Carolina , event = Live event , notes = {{Professional wrestling title history middle , number = 63 (51) , champion = {{sortname, Ron, Garvin , reign = 1 , date = {{dts, 1986, 9, 2 , days = {{age in days nts, 1986, 9, 2, 1986, 12, 26 , location =Spartanburg, South Carolina , event = Live event , notes =After winning JCP's version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship with

, Garvin vacated the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship and handed it to Jim Crockett Jr. on the December 26, 1986 taping of ''World Championship Wrestling''. The title was deactivated afterwards for unknown reasons by Crockett Jr., and JCP was then sold to

in 1988. As a result, Ron Garvin was the final wrestler to hold the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title. {{BundleEnd

Combined reigns

;Key {, class="wikitable" , - !style="background: #e3e3e3;", Symbol !style="background: #e3e3e3;", Meaning , - , style="background-color:#bbeeff", ¤ , The exact length of at least one title reign is uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used. , - {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" !style="background:#e3e3e3", Rank !style="background:#e3e3e3", Wrestler !style="background:#e3e3e3", # of reigns !style="background:#e3e3e3", Combined days , - , {{sort, 01, 1 , {{sortname, Johnny, Valentine , {{sort, 03, 3 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", 504¤
The exact date on which Johnny Valentine won his first reign is unknown, which means that it lasted between {{age in days nts, 1974, 1, 31, 1975, 3, 9 and {{age in days nts, 1974, 1, 1, 1975, 3, 9 days. , - , {{sort, 02, 2 , {{sortname, Ken, Patera , {{sort, 02, 2 , 495 , - , {{sort, 03, 3 , {{sortname, Jerry, Brisco , {{sort, 04, 4 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", 440¤
The exact date on which Jerry Brisco lost his fourth championship reign is unknown, which means that it lasted between {{age in days nts, 1973, 7, 3, 1974, 1, 1 and {{age in days nts, 1973, 7, 3, 1974, 1, 31 days. , - , {{sort, 04, 4 , {{sortname, Ric, Flair , {{sort, 04, 4 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", 408¤ , - , {{sort, 05, 5 , {{sort, Missouri Mauler,

, {{sort, 02, 2 , 347 , - , {{sort, 06, 6 , {{sortname, Wahoo, McDaniel , {{sort, 07, 7 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", 341¤ , - , {{sort, 07, 7 , {{sortname, Greg, Valentine , {{sort, 02, 2 , 266 , - , {{sort, 08, 8 , {{sortname, Jack, Brisco , {{sort, 06, 6 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", 253¤
The exact date on which Jack Brisco lost his second reign in unknown, which means that it lasted between {{age in days nts, 1972, 4, 10, 1972, 4, 25 and {{age in days nts, 1972, 4, 10, 1972, 5, 25 days. , - , {{sort, 09, 9 , {{sortname, Jim, Brunzell , {{sort, 02, 2 , 237 , - , {{sort, 10, 10 , {{sortname, Ivan, Koloff , {{sort, 03, 3 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", {{sort, 238, 237¤
The exact date on which Ivan Koloff was awarded the championship by Dick Slater took place between December 14 and December 31, 1983, which means that his second reign lasted between {{age in days nts, 1983, 12, 31, 1984, 1, 25 and {{age in days, 1983, 12, 14, 1984, 1, 25 days. , - , {{sort, 11, 11 , {{sort, Funk, Dory, Dory Funk, Jr./The Masked Outlaw , {{sort, 02, 2 , 233 , - , {{sort, 12, 12 , {{sortname, Roddy, Piper , {{sort, 02, 2 , 207 , - , {{sort, 13, 13 , {{sortname, Ron, Bass, dab=wrestler , {{sort, 01, 1 , 199 , - , {{sort, 14, 14 , {{sortname, Rick, Steamboat , {{sort, 02, 2 , 188 , - , {{sort, 15, 15 , The Iron Sheik , {{sort, 01, 1 , 174 , - , {{sort, 16, 16 , Black Bart , {{sort, 01, 1 , 168 , - , {{sort, 17, 17 , {{sortname, Rip, Hawk , {{sort, 04, 4 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", 147¤
The exact date on which Rip Hawk won his second reign is unknown, although it is confirmed in sources that it took place between April 25, 1972 and May 25, 1972. As a result, his reign lasted between {{age in days, 1972, 5, 25, 1972, 6, 13 and {{age in days nts, 1972, 4, 25, 1972, 6, 13 days. , - , {{sort, 18, 18 , Angelo Mosca, Jr. , {{sort, 03, 3 , 136 , - , {{sort, 19, 19 , {{sortname, Rufus, Jones, Rufus R. Jones , {{sort, 01, 1 , 120 , - , {{sort, 20, 20 , {{sortname, Ron, Garvin , {{sort, 01, 1 , 115 , - , {{sort, 21, 21 , {{sortname, Buzz, Tyler , {{sort, 01, 1 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", 107¤
The exact date on which Buzz Tyler was stripped of the championship is unknown, which means that his only reign lasted between {{age in days nts, 1985, 3, 16, 1985, 7, 1 and {{age in days nts, 1985, 3, 16, 1985, 7, 31 days. , - , {{sort, 22, 22 , {{sortname, Paul, Jones, Paul Jones (wrestler) , {{sort, 02, 2 , 85 , - , {{sort, 23, 23 , {{sort, Miller, Danny Miller , {{sort, 01, 1 , 67 , - , {{sort, 24, 24 , {{sortname, Sam, Houston, Sam Houston (wrestler) , {{sort, 01, 1 , 66 , - , {{sort, 25, 25 , {{sortname, Ole, Anderson , {{sort, 01, 1 , 55 , - , {{sort, 26, 26 , {{sortname, Ray, Stevens, Ray Stevens (wrestler) , {{sort, 01, 1 , 33 , - , {{sort, 27, 27 , {{sortname, Tony, Atlas , {{sort, 01, 1 , 28 , - , {{sort, 28, 28 , {{sortname, Dick, Slater , {{sort, 01, 1 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", {{sort, 029, 28¤
The exact date on which Dick Slater awarded Ivan Koloff the championship is unknown, which means that his only reign lasted between {{age in days nts, 1983, 12, 3, 1983, 12, 14 and {{age in days nts, 1983, 12, 3, 1983, 12, 31 days. , - , {{sort, 29, 29 , {{sortname, Pat, O'Connor, Pat O'Connor (wrestler) , {{sort, 01, 1 , style="background-color:#bbeeff", {{sort, 01, 1¤

Footnotes

{{reflist, group=Note

References

;General (title history) *{{cite web, url=http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/Almanac/mid_a_history/mid_a_title_history/mid-a_title_history.htm, title=Mid-Atlantic Wrestling: The Definitive History of the Mid-Atlantic Championship, last=Bourne, first=Dick, publisher=Mid-Atlantic Gateway, access-date=July 27, 2009, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217125022/http://midatlanticgateway.com/Almanac/mid_a_history/mid_a_title_history/mid-a_title_history.htm, archive-date=December 17, 2010 *{{cite web, url=http://solie.org/titlehistories/mahtnwa.html, title=NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title History, work=Wrestling Title Histories by Gary Will and Royal Duncan, publisher=Solie.org, access-date=August 1, 2009 ;General (television programming) *{{cite web, url=http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/Almanac/tv_history/tv_studios/wghp/studio_wghp.htm, title=WGHP-8 High Point, NC, publisher=Mid-Atlantic Gateway, access-date=July 29, 2009, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816004552/http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/Almanac/tv_history/tv_studios/wghp/studio_wghp.htm, archive-date=August 16, 2009 *{{cite web, url=http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/Almanac/tv_history/tv_studios/wral/studio_wral.htm, title=WRAL Studio Wrestling: Television History on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, last=Thatcher, first=Les, work=Mid-Atlantic Magazine (1977), publisher=Mid-Atlantic Gateway, access-date=2009-07-27, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401152911/http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/Almanac/tv_history/tv_studios/wral/studio_wral.htm, archive-date=2009-04-01 *{{cite web, url=http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/Almanac/tv_history/tv_studios/wpcq/studio_wpcq.htm, title=WPCQ - Charlotte, NC, publisher=Mid-Atlantic Gateway, access-date=July 27, 2009, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118015222/http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/Almanac/tv_history/tv_studios/wpcq/studio_wpcq.htm, archive-date=November 18, 2008 ;Specific {{reflist

External links