Johnny Valentine
In 1966, Texas promoter/wrestler Jack Adkisson (aka Fritz Von Erich) instituted a version of the title for his promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). Von Erich himself mostly held this title apart from losses to Johnny Valentine, Brute Bernard and The Spoiler. The title was renamed the NWA American Heavyweight Championship in May 1968. Later, when WCCW pulled out of the NWA in 1986, the championship was renamed the World Class Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship. The title was briefly unified by Jerry Lawler with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1988-1989 and continued as the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship until the demise of the USWA in 1997.