NWA World's Heavyweight Championship
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The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
(NWA), an American
professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...
. Although formally established in 1948, its lineage has been traditionally traced back to the first
World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...
, which traces its lineage to the title first awarded to
George Hackenschmidt Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt (1 August 1877 – 19 February 1968) was an Estonian Strongman (strength athlete), strongman, wrestling, amateur and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, writer, and Philosophy of sport, sports philoso ...
in 1905. This effectively makes it the oldest surviving wrestling championship in the world. The title began as a governing body's world championship and has been competed for in multiple major promotions around the world, including the
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...
(which seceded from the NWA and became
World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...
, now WWE),
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...
(AJPW),
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
(NJPW),
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...
(TNA),
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
(ROH),
Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...
(CZW) and the now-defunct
American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...
(AWA),
Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...
(JCP, later called
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (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 National W ...
, WCW),
Eastern Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
(ECW, which seceded from the NWA and later became Extreme Championship Wrestling),
World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...
(WCCW), and many other defunct wrestling promotions. In October 2017, the NWA governing body was purchased by
Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alter ...
and gradually evolved into a stand alone wrestling promotion with the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship as its premier title.


History


Territory era (1948–1985)

With many territorial promotions appearing across the United States, the NWA was formed in 1948 as a professional wrestling governing body. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was created that same year. Like franchises, these territories had the option of NWA membership. Member promotions had to recognize the NWA World Heavyweight Champion as world champion while retaining the ability to promote their own top championships. Every year, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion would travel to each territory and defend the title against the territories' top contender or champion. The purpose of the NWA world champion was to make the top wrestlers of each territory look good, while still upholding the credibility of the world title. The NWA's
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
, composed mostly of territory owners, decided when the title changed hands via a vote. By the late 1950s, however, the system began to break down. As
Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...
continued to hold the title, other popular wrestlers such as
Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...
became frustrated over the lack of change. There were also disputes over the number of appearances the champion would make in different regions. On June 14, 1957, in Chicago, Thesz defended the world title against Canadian wrestler
Édouard Carpentier Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz (July 17, 1926 – October 30, 2010) was a French and Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, gymnast, and member of the French Resistance during World War II, known by his ring name, Édouard Carpent ...
in a
two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
. Thesz and Carpentier split the first two falls. In the third fall, Thesz was disqualified by referee Ed Whalen who raised Carpentier's hand in victory. The NWA later voided the title change based on the disqualification. Thesz defeated Carpentier by disqualification in a Montreal rematch on July 24. It had been planned that the NWA would present Thesz and Carpentier as rival champions in different cities following a similar pattern to the successful title dispute matches between Thesz and
Leo Nomellini Leo Joseph Nomellini (June 19, 1924 – October 17, 2000) was an Italian-American professional football player and professional wrestler. He played college football for the Minnesota Gophers and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the ...
in 1955. Carpentier would also be able to make appearances in the U.S. as champion while Thesz was on an overseas tour. However, as a result of various disputes within the NWA, Carpentier's manager, wrestling promoter
Eddie Quinn Edmund R. Quinn (May 22, 1906 – December 14, 1965) was an American manager and professional wrestling promoter in Canada and the United States. He grew up in Massachusetts and organized boxing and wrestling events in New England and such cities ...
, left the organization in August making Carpentier unavailable to the NWA. The organization dealt with the situation by announcing 71 days after Carpentier's win in Chicago that it did not recognize Carpentier's win and had never recognized it. Quinn started promoting Carpentier as the true NWA world champion based on the match with Thesz. In 1958, Quinn started shopping Carpentier around to promoters interested in leaving the NWA. A victory over Carpentier could give a local champion a credible claim to the world championship of wrestling. Verne Gagne, who had been trying to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion for some time, defeated Carpentier in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 9, 1958. This was recognized as a title change by NWA affiliate promotions in the state – these promotions would later evolve into the
American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...
(AWA) in 1960. This disputed Nebraska version of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was later known simply as the Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship. The title was unified with the
AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...
on September 7, 1963. The Boston NWA affiliate known as the Atlantic Athletic Commission (AAC) arranged a match between
Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...
and Carpentier in 1958. Kowalski's victory created what was after known as the ACC World Heavyweight Championship and later Boston's Big Time Wrestling (BTW) Heavyweight Championship. The "Crown" version of the
championship belt A championship belt is a large, extravagantly designed belt used primarily in combat sports as an award, similarly to trophies in other sports. There are several companies in the business of constructing championship belts. The first belt given ...
debuted in 1959. The North American Wrestling Alliance (NAWA, later the Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA)) in Los Angeles recognized Carpentier as NWA champion in July 1959 as part of gradually splitting from the NWA. On June 12, 1961, Carpentier lost a match to
Freddie Blassie Frederick Kenneth Blassie (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate","Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Ellio ...
which created the basis for the Los Angeles version of the
WWA World Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their wor ...
. The title ceased to exist when the WWA returned to the NWA on October 1, 1968. The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which later evolved into today's
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
, was the major wrestling promotion in the northeast United States in the early 1960s.
Vincent J. McMahon Vincent James McMahon (July 6, 1914 – May 24, 1984), also referred to as Vince McMahon Sr., was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, later known as the World Wide Wrestli ...
's
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...
(CWC), the precursor to the WWWF, seceded from the NWA for a variety of reasons including the selection of the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and the number of dates wrestled by the champion in the promotion. Ostensibly, the dispute was over Buddy Rogers losing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Lou Thesz in one fall instead of a best-of-three; the format in which NWA World Heavyweight Championship matches were traditionally decided at the time. This one fall match was sanctioned by NWA promoters, despite objections from CWC executives, who held majority control over the NWA board of directors at the time. Following Lou Thesz's World Heavyweight Championship win, CWC seceded from the NWA and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Rogers was then recognized as the first WWWF World Heavyweight Champion. The "Ten Pounds of Gold" (also known as the "Domed Globe Belt") version of the
championship belt A championship belt is a large, extravagantly designed belt used primarily in combat sports as an award, similarly to trophies in other sports. There are several companies in the business of constructing championship belts. The first belt given ...
debuted on July 20, 1973, having been first presented to
Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AW ...
by then-NWA President
Sam Muchnick Samuel Muchnick (born Jeshua Muchnick, August 22, 1905 – December 30, 1998) was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri. He is often regarded as wrestling's equivalent of Pete Rozelle (the forward-thinking commissio ...
. When
Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...
wrestler
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
won the NWA World title in 1981, he traveled to other NWA territories and defended the belt. He would drop the belt and regain it, as the NWA board of directors decided. On more than one occasion, however, Flair lost and regained the belt without the official sanctioning of the NWA. In most cases (such as the case of
Jack Veneno Jack Veneno ("Jack the Venom"; born Rafael Antonio Sánchez; May 2, 1942 – April 6, 2021) was a Dominican professional wrestler and politician. Professional wrestling career He became interested in wrestling as a teen, watching the Mexican l ...
's championship victory), these switches continue to be ignored by the NWA. However, since 2015, the NWA has occasionally recognized the unauthorized Flair-Race switches that had occurred in March 1984 in New Zealand and Singapore.


Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1988)

By early 1985,
Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...
(JCP) controlled many NWA territories and limited championship matches to performers under contract with JCP thus making the title exclusive to the promotion. The " Big Gold Belt" version of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt debuted on February 14, 1986, at Battle of the Belts II, an event co-promoted by
Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...
and JCP. At the event, NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
successfully defended the title against
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 the World Wrestling Federation (W ...
. It was during this time that JCP made a failed bid to go national and almost filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to compete with the WWF.
Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its ass ...
purchased the company, because it had a high rated program airing on the WTBS cable station. Completing the deal in November 1988, Turner began changing the company to
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (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 National W ...
(WCW), which maintained a partnership with the NWA and continued promoting the NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair.


World Championship Wrestling (1988–1993)

WCW stayed in the NWA, but Turner slowly phased out the NWA name. The NWA organization existed only on paper at this point; on television, it was portrayed that, by early 1991, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship had become the
WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...
. Due to a falling out with WCW Executive Vice-President
Jim Herd Jim Herd (born James Herd; March 24, 1939) is an American former television production executive and professional wrestling executive. He served as the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1988 to 1992, following T ...
, WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair was fired from WCW on July 1, 1991, while still being recognized as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Flair took the NWA belt with him because WCW and Herd had not returned the $25,000 bond Flair had paid on the belt. After Flair's departure from WCW, the company had made a new, separate WCW World title belt. A match was held for the vacated WCW World Heavyweight Championship within two weeks of the departure, but no mention was made of the NWA title. Flair was stripped of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship by NWA's board of directors shortly after he signed with the WWF in September 1991; an NWA board had to be reconstituted, as most members had gone out of business or been bought out by JCP/WCW. Flair displayed the Big Gold Belt on WWF television, calling himself the "Real World's Heavyweight Champion". After winning the WWF Championship, Flair's "Real World's Heavyweight Champion" belt was dropped. WCW, which had subsequently filed a lawsuit against the WWF to prevent them from using the Big Gold Belt on television, eventually dropped the action because the belt was returned to WCW in July 1992. In August 1992, the NWA board authorized WCW and
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
to hold a tournament to decide a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion using the Big Gold Belt, now returned to WCW by the WWF. Turner's company still maintained its WCW World Championship, thus having two World Heavyweight titles present in the same promotion. The tournament was won by Japanese wrestler
Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese retired Professional wrestling in Japan, professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of New World Order (professional wrestling), nWo Japan, Tea ...
. From 1992 to 1993, the NWA belt was defended in Japan and on WCW television. Flair returned to WCW and regained the NWA belt from
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 the World Wrestling Federation (W ...
in July 1993; that same year, WCW recognized the Ric Flair-
Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese Puroresu, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a legends contract. Fujinami is best known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. ...
NWA title changes from 1991. Disputes between WCW management and the NWA board began emerging in the summer of 1993 over a variety of issues, primarily a storyline by WCW that would have had the NWA title switch to
Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who performed for many Professional wrestling promotion, promotions, incl ...
. On September 1, 1993, WCW withdrew their membership from the NWA but kept the NWA title belt which they owned. A court battle decided that WCW could not continue to use the letters "NWA" to describe or promote the belt, but ruled that WCW did possess a right to the physical Big Gold Belt and its historical lineage per a signed agreement between the previous NWA President
Seiji Sakaguchi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and judoka, Sakaguchi holds a 7th dan red and white belt in judo. Sakaguchi was a mainstay of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and also competed for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the Nati ...
and WCW. Per this court ruling, the title belt dropped the recognition as being the NWA World Heavyweight title but continued to be billed as the World Heavyweight Championship by WCW. Soon after, the Big Gold Belt was defended without any company affiliation, even being referred to simply as the Big Gold Belt for a short time, until it became known as the
WCW International World Heavyweight Championship The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1993 and 1994. Although it was owned and controlled by WCW, the cha ...
. This title was recognized as the championship of a fictitious entity known as "WCW International", which served as a replacement for the NWA Board, until the title was unified with the main WCW title on June 23, 1994.


ECW, WWF, and the independent circuit (1993–2002)

Despite losing WCW as its flagship promotion, the NWA picked up new members and remained in existence as a governing body. After nearly a year, the organization planned to scheduled a tournament to crown a new champion and brought back the "Ten Pounds of Gold" to represent this new champion. By 1994, the
Eastern Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
(ECW) territory became the NWA's most televised affiliated wrestling promotion. The NWA decided to hold an
NWA World Title Tournament The NWA World Title Tournament was a live supercard held by the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States–based professional wrestling promotion NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on August 27, 1994. The event featured a tournament for t ...
through ECW at the
ECW Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named XPW Arena, New A ...
in August 1994, which was won by
Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, manager, and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship ...
. Due to a dispute between NWA President Dennis Coralluzzo and ECW owner
Tod Gordon Tod Gordon (born June 19, 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American businessman. Gordon is the president of Carver W. Reed Co. Inc, a Philadelphia jewelry store and loan office that was established in 1860. He is also the founder of de ...
, after the match, Douglas threw the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt down and picked up the ECW Heavyweight Championship belt, proclaiming himself ECW World champion. Almost immediately thereafter ECW withdrew from the NWA and became
Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
, with Coralluzzo stripping Douglas of the NWA title. Despite this blow to the organization, the NWA held another tournament three months later in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, hosted by Coralluzzo and
Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
(SMW) owner
Jim Cornette James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...
.
Chris Candido Christopher Barrett Candito (March 21, 1972 – April 28, 2005) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Candito is best remembered for his tenures with professional wrestling promotion, promotions such as World Championship ...
won this tournament and the title was recognized and defended in promotions such as SMW and 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 Champions ...
. Candido held the belt for a few months before dropping it to
Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Beast", is an American retired professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of ...
of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
(UFC) in February 1995. Severn held the belt continuously for four years, appearing on both wrestling and UFC events with the NWA World championship belt. Although Severn had attempted to go the "traveling champion" route done by former champions Thesz,
Dory Funk, Jr. Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter of the ...
,
Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AW ...
, and
Terry Funk Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...
, the competition level was relatively minor due to the lack of strong NWA territories. It was during this time, Severn had a customized NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt made exclusively for him. Trying to get back in the national spotlight, the NWA made a deal in 1997 with Vincent K. McMahon to appear on
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWF) television. In 1998, NWA World champion Dan Severn became part of Jim Cornette's NWA faction. Also part of Cornette's NWA faction was NWA North American Champion
Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...
, who won the vacant title by defeating
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 the World Wrestling Federation (W ...
on ''
Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...
''. The NWA's deal with the WWF never accomplished its intended purpose of reestablishing the NWA as a major force in wrestling and McMahon ended it in less than a year. The NWA belt went back to being defended on the
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...
and in the remaining NWA territories. In 1999, Severn lost the title to former Olympic judoka
Naoya Ogawa (born 31 March 1968) is a Japanese world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships (second only behind Yasuhiro Yamashita), an ...
, and the title picture became slightly more competitive. The champions nonetheless remained wrestlers from independent promotions, regardless of whether they were from North America (Severn,
Mike Rapada Michael Rapada (born August 28, 1964), best known as "The Colorado Kid" Mike Rapada, is an American professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Mike Rapada started out in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It took three months, but eventuall ...
, Sabu), Asia (Ogawa,
Shinya Hashimoto was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and actor. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the " Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the mid-1980s and dominated the p ...
), or Europe (
Gary Steele Gary Harvey (born 1 May 1973) is a British retired professional wrestler better known as Gary Steele, who has competed in European, North American and Japanese promotions and has been a popular longtime mainstay of NWA UK Hammerlock since the ...
).


Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2007)

In June 2002,
Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes ...
and
Jerry Jarrett Jerry Winston Jarrett (September 4, 1942 – February 14, 2023) was an American businessman, professional wrestling promoter, and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, he was a key figure in the history ...
formed NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA; was known as Impact Wrestling 2017-2024). The Jarretts worked out a licensing deal with the NWA and its affiliated promotions, with NWA-TNA receiving control over the NWA World Heavyweight and NWA World Tag Team titles. While working out a cable deal, the Jarretts put NWA-TNA on weekly
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
during the company's first two years of existence. The NWA World Heavyweight Champion at the time, Dan Severn, was unable to appear on the inaugural NWA-TNA PPV card, and he was stripped of the NWA title.
Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...
was then declared the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion after winning a
Gauntlet for the Gold A Gauntlet for the Gold match is a professional wrestling match used in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA - though from 2017-2024 it was known as Impact Wrestling). Match format Different from the other gauntlet matches, in which one competito ...
battle royal. In 2004, NWA-TNA withdrew from the NWA, dropping the NWA from their promotion name and becoming known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). However, TNA retained the rights to use the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team titles until May 13, 2007, when the agreement ended, with TNA creating its own
World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...
and
Tag Team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
championships. During this agreement, TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett would hold the title the most often with six reigns, followed by A.J. Styles with three, and lastly
Ron Killings Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under his real name, stylized as Ron Killings and R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...
and
Christian Cage William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Christian Cage and is the leader of The Patriarch ...
with two reigns each. During the TNA years, a title change unauthorized by the NWA took place on an International Wrestling Association event in Puerto Rico, where
Ray González Ramón González Rivera (born May 4, 1972), better known by his ring name Ray González, is a Puerto Rican Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and businessman. He has performed in the World Wrestling Council (WWC) and International Wres ...
pinned Jarrett to win the championship before being stripped of the title later on the same event. While the González title change was initially ignored by both the NWA and TNA, beginning in 2015, the NWA has occasionally recognized González as a former NWA champion. This makes González the first Caribbean wrestler to be recognized as NWA World champion (the reigns of Caribbean wrestlers
Jack Veneno Jack Veneno ("Jack the Venom"; born Rafael Antonio Sánchez; May 2, 1942 – April 6, 2021) was a Dominican professional wrestler and politician. Professional wrestling career He became interested in wrestling as a teen, watching the Mexican l ...
and Carlos Colón remain unrecognized).


Return to the independent circuit (2007–2017)

On May 22, 2007, the NWA announced a tournament, titled Reclaiming the Glory, to fill the title vacancy left after the end of the NWA's relationship with
TNA TNA may refer to: Organisations * Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka * The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya * The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body * Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade union ...
. Sixteen men competed for the championship, with
Adam Pearce Adam John Pearce (born June 24, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler and executive employed by WWE as Director of Live Events, producer, trainer, and on-screen general manager of the Raw brand. Pearce is a former five-time NW ...
, filling in for an injured
Bryan Danielson Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...
, winning the belt by defeating
Brent Albright Brent Albright (born November 28, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on ''SmackDown!'' as Gunner Scott. Aside from WWE, Albright is a o ...
on September 1, 2007, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Pearce was active in defending the championship but suffered from the same problems that had plagued other champions in the post-1980s NWA: a lack of stable promotions within the NWA made it difficult to have a "traveling champion", so most of Pearce's defenses took place in the NWA Pro promotion owned by David Marquez and John Rivera. On June 7, 2008, at the
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
(ROH) event,
Respect is Earned II Respect Is Earned II was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on June 7, 2008 from the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It did not, however, air on pay-per ...
, Pearce revealed the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt at the conclusion of his match, with the championship receiving official recognition from ROH shortly after. On October 25, 2008, Blue Demon Jr. became the first Mexican professional wrestler, as well as first masked ''luchador'', to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when he defeated champion Adam Pearce in Mexico City. In early-to-mid-2012, NWA champion
Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...
and Adam Pearce began facing each other in a series of matches dubbed the "Seven Levels of Hate" – a best of seven series between the two wrestlers. The fourth match of the series was a two out of three falls contest held on July 21, 2012, in Kansas City, Missouri. The NWA sanctioned the match as a world championship match and Pearce emerged victorious to become a five-time world champion. Both wrestlers were tied at three matches apiece when the NWA underwent another major change. In August 2012, International Wrestling Corp, LLC, a holding company run by Houston-based attorney and wrestling promoter R. Bruce Tharpe, sued the NWA, two of its recent Executive Directors (Robert Trobich and David Baucom) and its then-parent company, Pro Wrestling Organization LLC, claiming insurance fraud regarding the NWA's liability insurance policy. A settlement was negotiated that transferred the rights to the NWA from Pro Wrestling Organization LLC to International Wrestling Corp, LLC. After 64 years, the new organization moved from a membership model to a licensing model, licensing the NWA brand name to wrestling promotions which caused many promotions to immediately cut ties with the NWA, including some of the largest remaining NWA affiliated promotions. With both Cabana and Pearce even at three victories in their “Seven Levels of Hate” series, the final match was scheduled for October 27, 2012, in Melbourne, Australia, at an NWA Warzone Wrestling event. Pearce wanted the NWA to sanction the match as a world title match, as they had done earlier. The NWA, however, refused to do this and did not want Pearce and Cabana to go forward with the match. They did anyway, with Cabana winning the match. Pearce and Cabana both broke
kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...
after the match, with Pearce saying that Cabana was the rightful champion and Cabana saying that he did not want the title as it was about the past and he was about the future. Pearce declared he did not want the title either and left it in the ring as the two exited the arena.


Lightning One (2017–present)

On May 1, 2017,
Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alter ...
's company, Lightning One, Inc., purchased the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
(NWA), including its name, rights, trademarks, and championships. Corgan's ownership took effect on October 1, 2017. At that point, all existing NWA affiliation agreements were ended and all NWA championships, except the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (renamed the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship) and the
NWA World Women's Championship The NWA Women's World Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title was first held by Mildred Burke in 195 ...
, would be vacated in the months following the acquisition. On October 20, 2017, the NWA debuted the
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
series, ''Ten Pounds of Gold'', focused primarily around the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion at the time Tim Storm, chronicling his travels across the United States, and defenses of the championship. Continuing to operate as a governing body, Billy Corgan's NWA worked collaboratively with various promotions to sanction Storm's championship matches. On December 9, 2017,
Nick Aldis Nicholas Harry Aldis (born 6 November 1986) is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a producer and the on-screen general manager of the SmackDown brand. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wres ...
won the championship from Storm on a
Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...
show. Since the championship change, ''Ten Pounds of Gold'' focused on "The Aldis Crusade", a series of 20 title defenses over the course of 60 days in the spring of 2018 and concluding with a title defense against
Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...
in Wenzhou, China. ''Ten Pounds of Gold'', together with the ''
Being The Elite The Elite is a villainous professional wrestling stable appearing in the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group consists of co-leaders The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson), Kazuchika Okad ...
'' web series produced by
The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...
, then focused on the build towards a championship match between Aldis and Cody as part of the All In supercard event on September 1, 2018, where Cody would win the match and the championship. ''Ten Pounds of Gold'' continued to cover subsequent defenses at the
NWA 70th Anniversary Show The NWA 70th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling supercard that took place on October 21, 2018 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the first event produced under the NWA banner since William Patric ...
, the New Year's Clash pop-up event, and the 2019 Crockett Cup. By July 2019, the NWA would begin to transition into a singular wrestling promotion, with the NWA announcing television tapings in Atlanta for a new standalone weekly series. The series was later revealed as ''
NWA Powerrr ''NWA Powerrr'' is a professional wrestling streaming television program produced by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that premiered on October 8, 2019. , the series streams on X. Beginning July 29, 2025, the program will move to The Roku C ...
'', which has since hosted occasional NWA World's Heavyweight Championship matches. During the October 15, 2019 episode of ''Powerrr'', it was announced that the NWA would be holding a
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
(PPV) called Into the Fire on December 14, 2019. This would be the first PPV event produced exclusively by the NWA without another promotion or production company's involvement. At the event, NWA World's Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis defeated
James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He currently competes on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He sta ...
to remain the champion.


Belt designs

There have been six belt designs used to represent the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship.


1948–1949

The first design was only held by the very first NWA World's Heavyweight Champion,
Orville Brown Orville Brown (March 10, 1908 – January 24, 1981) was an American professional wrestler. He is a thirteen-time world champion and was recognized as the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1948. Brown's professional wrestling career end ...
. This belt consisted of one metal plate with a picture frame at the center. It had gemstones of various sizes around the edges of the belt, with the center featuring larger stones. The belt was retired after Orville's accident, and it remains with the Brown family.


1949–1959

The second design is often referred to as the "
Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...
Belt". The championship belt, which was a holdover from Thesz's reign as the National Wrestling Association's champion, consisted of seven plates and a leather strap. The main plate had a royal crown, a wrestling ring, and a five-pointed star in a vertical alignment, top to bottom down the center. A belt with a similar design was given to
Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu (professional wrestling ...
when he defeated Thesz in 1958 to claim the
NWA International Heavyweight Championship The NWA International Heavyweight Championship was a singles title recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance through its partnership with the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance, and later by All Japan Pro Wrestling. It is one of the three titles uni ...
, which Rikidōzan in turn held until his death in 1963. Rikidōzan's NWA International Heavyweight Championship design subsequently inspired the designs of
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...
's PWF World Heavyweight Championship and the main plate of the later
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. The current champion is Jun Saito, who is in his first reign. Title history The championship was established after the unifica ...
belt. In 1992, Thesz lent the original "Lou Thesz Belt" to the Union of Professional Wrestling Forces International (UWFi) to represent their Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship.
Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada (, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and the Uni ...
and Super Vader were the only wrestlers to hold the belt in UWFi, as Thesz withdrew from UWFi in 1995 due to his disagreement over the company co-promoting with
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
, taking the belt with him.


1959–1973

The third design is sometimes referred to as the "Crown Belt". It had a prominent royal crown at its top, a globe underneath it, and the letters "NWA" horizontally across the center behind two wrestlers. The design was later used to represent the
NWA United National Championship The NWA United National Championship (often abbreviated to UN Championship) was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance, and best known for being defended in All Japan Pro Wrestling. It was unified i ...
(which later became part of the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship), the Japanese version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship, the championships of Blue Demon Jr.'s NWA Mexico territory, the
Tenryu Project is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion. The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Genichiro Tenryu, who has owned and operated it since its creation in 2010. The Tenryu project is the successor to Tenryu's ...
's United National Tag Team Championship, and the current version of the
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Created in 1943, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World J ...
.


1973–1986, 1994–present

The fourth design is commonly referred to as the "Ten Pounds of Gold" or the “Domed Globe Belt”. It is the design most commonly identified with the title. It has also been referred to on ''
Championship Wrestling from Hollywood Championship Wrestling (formally known as Championship Wrestling from Hollywood (CWFH)) is an American professional wrestling promotion and television program created by David Marquez, who serves as the promotion's president and on-camera intervi ...
'', ''
NWA Powerrr ''NWA Powerrr'' is a professional wrestling streaming television program produced by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that premiered on October 8, 2019. , the series streams on X. Beginning July 29, 2025, the program will move to The Roku C ...
'', and in other NWA-related media as "Sweet Charlotte", a nickname coined by
Adam Pearce Adam John Pearce (born June 24, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler and executive employed by WWE as Director of Live Events, producer, trainer, and on-screen general manager of the Raw brand. Pearce is a former five-time NW ...
in 2008 as a nod to the hometown of
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
, one of the belt's most famous holders. The original Ten Pounds of Gold belt was made in 1973 by an unidentified jeweler in Mexico – similar belts were made for the NWA's Mexican-based World Light Heavyweight,
Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...
and
Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
titles. The Domed Globe NWA World Heavyweight title featured the flag of the United States on its main plate, as well as those of Mexico, Canada, Australia, and Japan on its side plates. The second side plate on the left side of the belt featured a modified version of the older
Canadian Red Ensign The Canadian Red Ensign () served as a nautical flag and civil ensign for Canada from 1892 to 1965, and later as the ''de facto'' flag of Canada before 1965. The flag is a British Red Ensign, with the Royal Union Flag in the canton (flag), canto ...
rather than the official Canadian flag, the Maple Leaf, which had been adopted in 1965. The belt originally had a red suede/velvet strap along with a nameplate. The nameplate was only used once, by
Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur wrestler and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship ...
, before it was removed from the design. The red leather strap was replaced with a black laced leather strap soon into Brisco's reign due to the material lacking durability. The original Domed Globe Belt was retired in 1986; Ric Flair retained possession of the original belt. It is currently located at
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
's Connecticut headquarters. This design was revived in 1994 with a new belt that continues to represent the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship presently. In 2021, the NWA replaced the Australian flag side plate with a United Kingdom flag side plate, at the request of then-champion
Nick Aldis Nicholas Harry Aldis (born 6 November 1986) is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a producer and the on-screen general manager of the SmackDown brand. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wres ...
. The Mexican-based lower weight classes Domed Globe championship belts featured the flag of Mexico on their main plates instead of the U.S. flag. From 1995 to 1997, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship also had a Domed Globe design, as part of the
J-Crown The J-Crown, also known as the , was a unified, multi-promotional professional wrestling championship initially created by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It was formed via the unification of eight (later seven) junior heavyweight and other lowe ...
, with the U.S. flag in front; briefly during the 2010s, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship once again had a Domed Globe design. During the mid-1990s, the
NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...
was represented by Domed Globe belts, which were used during the NWA's partnership with IWA Japan. Numerous other championship belts have used the Domed Globe design, with some being NWA-sanctioned championships (such as the NWA Women's Pacific Championship) and others being unauthorized by the NWA (such as the
FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship The FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship was world heavyweight championship in the wrestling promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling-Explosion (FMW-E) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion fo ...
).


1986–1993

The fifth design is commonly referred to as the " Big Gold Belt". In 1985,
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 Alli ...
of
Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...
commissioned Charles Crumrine, a silversmith in
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
specializing in rodeo-style belt buckles, to produce the new design. The belt made its debut in February 1986. When WCW left the NWA in 1993, the Big Gold Belt continued serving as the
WCW International World Heavyweight Championship The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1993 and 1994. Although it was owned and controlled by WCW, the cha ...
, then the
WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...
(which it is most commonly known for), and eventually as the World Heavyweight Championship in
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
. Also in WWE, the Big Gold Belt was used in tandem to represent the then- Undisputed WWF Championship after the former WCW Championship was unified with the then-WWF World Championship in 2001, and then again in tandem to represent the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after the World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the WWE Championship in 2013. The Big Gold Belt was eventually retired in August 2014.


1998

The sixth design was a customized belt commissioned for
Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Beast", is an American retired professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of ...
during his first reign as NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, to celebrate the NWA's 50th anniversary. Severn would wear this version of the belt during his brief appearance on WWF television during a brief inter-promotional angle between the NWA and WWF.


Reigns

The NWA currently recognizes 102 individual World's Heavyweight Championship reigns. The inaugural champion was
Orville Brown Orville Brown (March 10, 1908 – January 24, 1981) was an American professional wrestler. He is a thirteen-time world champion and was recognized as the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1948. Brown's professional wrestling career end ...
. The longest reigning champion is
Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...
, who held the title from November 27, 1949 to March 15, 1956, for a total of 2,300 days (6 years, 3 months, and 16 days); Thesz also holds the record for longest combined reign at 3,749 days.
Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, manager, and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship ...
has the record for the shortest reign as champion, for less than 1 day.
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
holds the record for most reigns with 9, The youngest champion is
Chris Candido Christopher Barrett Candito (March 21, 1972 – April 28, 2005) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Candito is best remembered for his tenures with professional wrestling promotion, promotions such as World Championship ...
who won the title at the age of 22, while the oldest champion is Tim Storm, who won it at the age of 51.
Thom Latimer Thomas Raymond Latimer (born 6 August 1986) is an English professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is the current NWA World's Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. Latimer began his ...
is the current champion, in his first reign. He won the title by defeating EC3 at NWA 76th Anniversary Show on August 31, 2024 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.


References


External links


Official NWA websiteOfficial NWA YouTube channelOfficial NWA Facebook page

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
at Cagematch.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Nwa World Heavyweight Championship Total Nonstop Action Wrestling championships Jim Crockett Promotions championships National Wrestling Alliance championships World Championship Wrestling (Australia) championships World Championship Wrestling championships World heavyweight wrestling championships World professional wrestling championships