List of NWA World Heavyweight Champions
Title history

List of NWA World Heavyweight Champions

Section Title: Title history
Table Section Text: None

No.	Champion	Championship change	Reign statistics	Notes	Ref.

Date	Event	Location	Reign	Days	Days recog.

National Wrestling Alliance

1	Orville Brown	July 14, 1948	House show	Des Moines, Iowa	1	501	501	In July 1948, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was founded and Brown was recognized as the first official NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

2	Lou Thesz	November 27, 1949	N/A	N/A	1	1,941	2,300	Awarded when Brown suffered career-ending injuries in an automobile accident on November 1, 1949. Thesz had earlier won the National Wrestling Association's World Heavyweight Championship on July 10, 1948 from Wild Bill Longson.

†	Leo Nomellini	March 22, 1955	House show	San Francisco, California	1	115	—	Defeated Thesz by countout in the second fall and disqualification in the third fall. California Athletic Commission recognized the title change by disqualification, but both wrestlers continued to claim the title.

†	Lou Thesz	July 15, 1955	House show	Toronto, Ontario	2	244	—	Defeated Nomellini in a rematch.

3	Billy Watson	March 15, 1956	House show	Toronto, Ontario	1	239	239	Won the match and the championship by count out.

4	Lou Thesz	November 9, 1956	House show	St. Louis, Missouri	2(3)	217	370

†	Édouard Carpentier	June 14, 1957	House show	Chicago, Ilinois	1	40	—	Carpentier was awarded the title when Thesz could not continue the match due to a back injury. In some territories, Thesz continued to be recognized as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, while in others Carpentier was billed as the champion.

†	Lou Thesz	July 24, 1957	House show	Montreal, Quebec	4	113	—	Thesz won a rematch against Carpentier by disqualification. The NWA initially continued to recognize Carpentier as the champion, but voided any recognition of Carpentier as champion when he withdrew the claim for the title when Montreal promoter Eddie Quinn quit the NWA in August 1958.

5	Dick Hutton	November 14, 1957	House show	Toronto, Ontario	1	421	421

6	Pat O'Connor	January 9, 1959	House show	St. Louis, Missouri	1	903	903

7	Buddy Rogers	June 30, 1961	House show	Chicago, Ilinois	1	145	573	On August 2, 1962, Bruno Sammartino defeated Rogers in Toronto, but refused to accept the title because Rogers had wrestled with an injury.

†	Killer Kowalski	November 22, 1961	House show	Montreal, Quebec	1	425	—	Kowalski defeated Rogers on November 21 after Rogers broke his ankle in the first fall. He was only recognized as champion in some states such as Texas until January 21, 1963 when he lost a rematch to Rogers in New York City.

†	Bobo Brazil	August 18, 1962	House show	Newark, New Jersey	1	73	—	Brazil refused the title because of a groin injury that Rogers had claimed to have. However, on September 6, 1962, Brazil was declared champion because a doctor had determined that Rogers had not suffered an injury.

†	Buddy Rogers	October 30, 1962 (defeat of Brazil)	House show	Toledo, Ohio	2	86	—	Rogers was widely, though not universally, considered champion again after his wins over Brazil and Kowalski. Kowalski disputed that Rogers had won the title, arguing that the match had not been for the title.

†	Buddy Rogers	January 21, 1963 (defeat of Kowalski)	House show	New York City, New York	2	3	—

8	Lou Thesz	January 24, 1963	House show	Toronto, Ontario	3(5)	1,079	1,079	Promoters in the northeast United States refused to recognize Rogers' one-fall loss to Thesz, thus breaking away from the NWA to form the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).

9	Gene Kiniski	January 7, 1966	House show	St. Louis, Missouri	1	1,131	1,131

10	Dory Funk Jr.	February 11, 1969	House show	Tampa, Florida	1	1,563	1,563

11	Harley Race	May 24, 1973	House show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	57	57

12	Jack Brisco	July 20, 1973	House show	Houston, Texas	1	500	500

13	Giant Baba	December 2, 1974	House show	Kagoshima, Japan	1	7	7

14	Jack Brisco	December 9, 1974	House show	Toyohashi, Japan	2	366	366

15	Terry Funk	December 10, 1975	House show	Miami Beach, Florida	1	424	424

16	Harley Race	February 6, 1977	House show	Toronto, Ontario	2	926	926

17	Dusty Rhodes	August 21, 1979	House show	Tampa, Florida	1	5	5

18	Harley Race	August 26, 1979	House show	Orlando, Florida	3	66	66

19	Giant Baba	October 31, 1979	House show	Nagoya, Japan	2	7	7

20	Harley Race	November 7, 1979	House show	Amagasaki, Japan	4	302	302

21	Giant Baba	September 4, 1980	House show	Saga, Japan	3	5	5

22	Harley Race	September 9, 1980	House show	Otsu, Japan	5	230	230

23	Tommy Rich	April 27, 1981	House show	Augusta, Georgia	1	4	4

24	Harley Race	May 1, 1981	House show	Gainesville, Georgia	6	51	51

25	Dusty Rhodes	June 21, 1981	House show	Atlanta, Georgia	2	88	88

26	Ric Flair	September 17, 1981	House show	Kansas City, Kansas	1	631	631	On February 9, 1982 in Miami, The Midnight Rider (Dusty Rhodes under a mask due to being under suspension in Florida) defeated Flair for the title, but he returned it when NWA President Bob Geigel asked Rider to unmask or return the championship belt as NWA rules then forbade masked wrestlers from holding it.

†	Jack Veneno	September 7, 1982	House show	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	1	<1	—	Jack Veneno defeated Flair in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, but as he refused to defend the title outside his native country.

†	Ric Flair	September 7, 1982	House show	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	—	—	—	The title returned to Flair later on due to the nature of the championship match. This is considered a continuation of Flair's previous reign

†	Carlos Colón	January 6, 1983	House show	San Juan, Puerto Rico	1	4	—	This title change is not recognized by the NWA. Colon's WWC World Heavyweight Championship was also on the line.

†	Ric Flair	January 10, 1983	House show	Miami, Florida	2	151	—	This title change is not recognized by the NWA. Victor Jovica defeated Flair on February 8, 1983 in Couva, Trinidad, but the decision was reversed three days later because Jovica's feet were on the rope during the pin.

27	Harley Race	June 10, 1983	House show	St. Louis, Missouri	7	167	167

28	Ric Flair	November 24, 1983	Starrcade	Greensboro, North Carolina	2(3)	117	164	This was a steel cage match. Former champion Gene Kiniski was the special referee.

†	Harley Race	March 20, 1984	House show	Wellington, New Zealand	8	3	—	This title change was recognized by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and also from NWA at least until 2011. NWA doesn’t recognise it anymore at least since 2017.

†	Ric Flair	March 23, 1984	House show	Kallang, Singapore	4	44	—	This title change was recognized by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and also from NWA at least until 2011. NWA doesn’t recognise it anymore at least since 2017.

29	Kerry Von Erich	May 6, 1984	1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions	Irving, Texas	1	18	18

30	Ric Flair	May 24, 1984	House show	Yokosuka, Japan	3(5)	793	793

Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling

31	Dusty Rhodes	July 26, 1986	The Great American Bash	Greensboro, North Carolina	3	14	14

32	Ric Flair	August 9, 1986	House show	St. Louis, Missouri	4(6)	412	412

33	Ron Garvin	September 25, 1987	NWA World Wide Wrestling	Detroit, Michigan	1	62	62

34	Ric Flair	November 26, 1987	Starrcade	Chicago, Ilinois	5(7)	452	452	On November 21, 1988 the NWA's flagship promotion Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) was purchased by Ted Turner and renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

35	Ricky Steamboat	February 20, 1989	Chi-Town Rumble	Chicago, Ilinois	1	76	76

36	Ric Flair	May 7, 1989	WrestleWar	Nashville, Tennessee	6(8)	426	426

37	Sting	July 7, 1990	The Great American Bash	Baltimore, Maryland	1	188	188

38	Ric Flair	January 11, 1991	House show	East Rutherford, New Jersey	7(9)	69	69	After this title win, Flair was also recognized as the first WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Of Flair's sixteen recognized world championships, WWE recognizes this reign as an NWA one, and not a WCW one.

39	Tatsumi Fujinami	March 21, 1991	Starrcade in Tokyo Dome	Tokyo, Japan	1	59	59	Briefly defended along with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This title change was originally ignored in the United States, but is retroactively recognized by WWE.

40	Ric Flair	May 19, 1991	SuperBrawl I	St. Petersburg, Florida	8(10)	112	112	This title change was originally ignored in the United States, presenting Flair's reign as one continuous reign. This title change was briefly recognized by WCW.

—	Vacated	September 8, 1991	—	—	—	—	—	Flair was stripped of the NWA title upon signing with the World Wrestling Federation.

41	Masahiro Chono	August 12, 1992	G1 Climax 1992 – Day 5	Tokyo, Japan	1	145	145	Defeated Rick Rude in the final of the G1 Climax tournament.

42	The Great Muta	January 4, 1993	Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome	Tokyo, Japan	1	48	48	Muta's IWGP Heavyweight Championship was also on the line

43	Barry Windham	February 21, 1993	SuperBrawl III	Asheville, North Carolina	1	147	147

44	Ric Flair	July 18, 1993	Beach Blast	Biloxi, Mississippi	9(11)	57	57

—	Vacated	September 13, 1993	—	—	—	—	—	Vacated when WCW withdrew from the NWA. WCW continued to recognize Flair as their WCW International World Heavyweight Champion.

National Wrestling Alliance

45	Shane Douglas	August 27, 1994	NWA World Title Tournament	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	1	<1	<1	Defeated 2 Cold Scorpio in tournament final.

—	Vacated	August 27, 1994	NWA World Title Tournament	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	—	—	—	Douglas threw the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt down immediately after winning it and declared that he did not want to be the organization's champion; Douglas then declared the NWA-ECW Heavyweight Championship, of which he was already in possession, to be a world championship.

46	Chris Candido	November 19, 1994	NWA World Heavyweight Title Tournament	Cherry Hill, New Jersey	1	97	97	Defeated Tracy Smothers in tournament final.

47	Dan Severn	February 24, 1995	House show	Erlanger, Kentucky	1	1,479	1,479

48	Naoya Ogawa	March 14, 1999	House show	Yokohama, Japan	1	195	195

49	Gary Steele	September 25, 1999	51st Anniversary Show	Charlotte, North Carolina	1	7	7	Gary Steele pinned Ogawa in a three-way match also involving Brian Anthony.

50	Naoya Ogawa	October 2, 1999	House show	Thomaston, Connecticut	2	274	274

—	Vacated	July 2, 2000	—	—	—	—	—	Ogawa vacated the title.

51	Mike Rapada	September 19, 2000	House show	Tampa, Florida	1	56	56	Defeated Jerry Flynn in tournament final.

52	Sabu	November 14, 2000	House show	Tampa, Florida	1	38	38

53	Mike Rapada	December 22, 2000	House show	Nashville, Tennessee	2	123	123

54	Steve Corino	April 24, 2001	House show	Tampa, Florida	1	172	172

—	Vacated	October 13, 2001	53rd Anniversary Show	St. Petersburg, Florida	—	—	—	Title was held up when Corino lost a title match against Shinya Hashimoto when he became unable to compete due to head injury sustained in the match.

55	Shinya Hashimoto	December 15, 2001	House show	McKeesport, Pennsylvania	1	84	84	This was three matches round robin style; Gary Steele vs. Steve Corino, Gary Steele vs.

56	Dan Severn	March 9, 2002	House show	Tokyo, Japan	2	80	80	Match ended in controversy, as the referee gave a fast count.

—	Vacated	May 28, 2002	—	—	—	—	—	Severn was stripped of the title after failing to make a defense in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at their inaugural PPV.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

57	Ken Shamrock	June 19, 2002	NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event #1	Huntsville, Alabama	1	49	49	Defeated Malice in the finals of a Gauntlet for the Gold.

58	Ron Killings	August 7, 2002	NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event #8	Nashville, Tennessee	1	105	105

59	Jeff Jarrett	November 20, 2002	NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event #22	Nashville, Tennessee	1	203	203	Unified with the WWA World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Sting on May 25, 2003 in Auckland, New Zealand.

60	A.J. Styles	June 11, 2003	NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event #48	Nashville, Tennessee	1	133	133	This was a three-way match, also involving Raven.

61	Jeff Jarrett	October 22, 2003	NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event #67	Nashville, Tennessee	2	182	182

62	A.J. Styles	April 21, 2004	NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event #91	Nashville, Tennessee	2	28	28	This was a steel cage match.

63	Ron Killings	May 19, 2004	NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event #95	Nashville, Tennessee	2	14	14	This was a four-way match, also involving Raven and Chris Harris.

64	Jeff Jarrett	June 2, 2004	NWA-TNA Weekly pay-per-view event #97	Nashville, Tennessee	3	347	347	This was a King of the Mountain match, also involving A.J. Styles, Raven, and Chris Harris.

65	Ray González	April 3, 2005	Juicio Final	San Juan, Puerto Rico	1	<1	<1	González was stripped of the title later in the evening due to the fall having been counted by the wrong referee.

†	Jeff Jarrett	April 3, 2005	Juicio Final	San Juan, Puerto Rico	—	—	—	The title returned to Jarrett later on due to the nature of the championship match. This was originally considered a continuation of Jarrett's previous reign but is no longer recognized.

66	A.J. Styles	May 15, 2005	Hard Justice	Orlando, Florida	3	35	35	Defeated Jeff Jarrett for title. Tito Ortiz was the special referee.

67	Raven	June 19, 2005	Slammiversary	Orlando, Florida	1	88	88	This was a King of the Mountain match, also involving Abyss, Monty Brown, and Sean Waltman.

68	Jeff Jarrett	September 15, 2005	International Incident	Windsor, Ontario	4	38	38

69	Rhino	October 23, 2005	Bound for Glory	Orlando, Florida	1	2	2	Rhino won the right to face Jarrett in a Gauntlet for the Gold match after designated challenger Kevin Nash fell ill and withdrew.

70	Jeff Jarrett	October 25, 2005	Impact!	Orlando, Florida	5	110	110	Aired November 3, 2005.

71	Christian Cage	February 12, 2006	Against All Odds	Orlando, Florida	1	126	126

72	Jeff Jarrett	June 18, 2006	Slammiversary	Orlando, Florida	6	126	126	This was a King of the Mountain match.

73	Sting	October 22, 2006	Bound for Glory	Plymouth, Michigan	2	28	28	Kurt Angle was the special outside enforcer. This was a title vs.

74	Abyss	November 19, 2006	Genesis	Orlando, Florida	1	56	56	Abyss defeated Sting by disqualification after Sting pushed the official.

75	Christian Cage	January 14, 2007	Final Resolution	Orlando, Florida	2	119	119	This was a three-way elimination match, also involving Sting.

—	Vacated	May 13, 2007	—	—	—	—	—	Cage was stripped of the title when the NWA and TNA ended their business relations and title agreements.

National Wrestling Alliance

76	Adam Pearce	September 1, 2007	House show	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	1	336	336	Defeated Brent Albright in the finals of the Reclaiming the Glory Tournament. Pearce competed as a substitute for Bryan Danielson, who defeated Pearce in the semifinals but withdrew from the tournament due to a detached retina.

77	Brent Albright	August 2, 2008	Death Before Dishonor VI	New York City, New York	1	49	49

78	Adam Pearce	September 20, 2008	Glory By Honor VII	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2	35	35

79	Blue Demon Jr.	October 25, 2008	House show	Mexico City, Mexico	1	505	505

NWA Pro/Championship Wrestling from Hollywood

80	Adam Pearce	March 14, 2010	House show	Charlotte, North Carolina	3	357	357	Three-way elimination match also featuring Phill Shatter.

81	Colt Cabana	March 6, 2011	NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood	West Hollywood, California	1	48	48

82	The Sheik	April 23, 2011	Subtle Hustle	Jacksonville, Florida	1	79	79

—	Vacated	July 11, 2011	—	—	—	—	—	Sheik was stripped of the title for refusing to defend against Adam Pearce on July 31, 2011.

83	Adam Pearce	July 31, 2011	NWA at the Ohio State Fair	Columbus, Ohio	4	252	252	Defeated Chance Prophet, Jimmy Rave and Shaun Tempers in a four-way match to win the vacant title.

84	Colt Cabana	April 8, 2012	NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood	Glendale, California	2	104	104

85	Adam Pearce	July 21, 2012	Metro Pro Wrestling	Kansas City, Kansas	5	98	98	This was a two out of three falls match. It was match four of a seven-match series between Cabana and Pearce.

National Wrestling Alliance

—	Vacated	October 27, 2012	NWA Warzone Wrestling 14	Berwick, Victoria, Australia	—	—	—	Pearce left the NWA and resigned as champion after the organization refused to allow him to defend the title in the concluding match of the best-of-seven series against Cabana.

86	Kahagas	November 2, 2012	Wrath of Champions	Clayton, New Jersey	1	134	134	Won an elimination match for the vacant title by last eliminating Damien Wayne. Match also featured Chance Prophet, Jason Kincaid, Lance Erikson, Anthony Nese, Papadon, Biggie Biggs, and Lance Anoa'i.

87	Rob Conway	March 16, 2013	A Monster's Ball	San Antonio, Texas	1	294	294	Rob Conway replaced an injured Jax Dane and defeated Kahagas for the title.

88	Satoshi Kojima	January 4, 2014	Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome	Tokyo, Japan	1	149	149

89	Rob Conway	June 2, 2014	Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion Show	Las Vegas, Nevada	2	257	257

90	Hiroyoshi Tenzan	February 14, 2015	The New Beginning in Sendai	Sendai, Japan	1	196	196

91	Jax Dane	August 29, 2015	World War Gold	San Antonio, Texas	1	419	419

92	Tim Storm	October 21, 2016	House show	Sherman, Texas	1	414	414

93	Nick Aldis	December 9, 2017	Cage of Death 19	Sewell, New Jersey	1	266	266

94	Cody	September 1, 2018	All In	Hoffman Estates, Illinois	1	50	50

95	Nick Aldis	October 21, 2018	70th Anniversary Show	Nashville, Tennessee	2	186+	186+	This was a two out of three falls match.

Sentence(s)

Baba was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Baba was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Baba is a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

final_sentence: Baba was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
final_sentence: Baba was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
final_sentence: Baba is a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.