NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship in Tri-States Wrestling (NWA Tri-State). The original version was created in 1954, however, it was phased out in favor of the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[1][2]
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||
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Details | |||||||||||||
Promotion | NWA Tri-State NWA Mid-America (1960-1974) | ||||||||||||
Date established | March 31, 1954 | ||||||||||||
Date retired | No later than March 1982 | ||||||||||||
Other name(s) | |||||||||||||
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Alabama version) | |||||||||||||
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The Alabama version of the NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship existed from 1960 until 1974. It was defended primarily in Alabama under the banner of NWA Tri-State Wrestling, and at times in Tennessee for NWA Mid-America. Because the championship was a professional wrestling championship, it was not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The championship was awarded after the chosen team "won" a match to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.[3]
The title was revived to replace the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship as the promotion's top singles title after Bill Watts left to form Mid-South Wrestling in 1979.[4] It was vacated and decommissioned when Tri-State promoter Leroy McGuirk closed the promotion in 1982.
Title history
- Key
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
# | The overall championship reign |
Reign | The reign number for the specific set of wrestlers listed. |
Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title changed hands |
— | Used for vacated reigns in order to not count it as an official reign |
Indicates periods of unknown lineage | |
(NLT) | Indicates that the championship changed hands "No Later Than" a certain date. |
¤ | Indicates that the data presented in this cell is uncertain. |
Names
Name[5] | Years[5] |
---|---|
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship | March 31, 1954 – April 28, 1954 |
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Alabama version) | September 12, 1960 – October 3, 1974 |
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship | September 7, 1980 – 1982 |
NWA-MCW Heavyweight Championship | 1982 – March 1982 |
Title history
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Original version)
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
1 | Whitey Whittler | March 31, 1954 | House show | Joplin, MO | 1 | 28 | Defeated Red Berry in a tournament final. | [6] |
2 | Red Berry | April 28, 1954 | House show | Joplin, MO | 1 |
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Alabama version)
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||||
1 | Joe Scarpa | September 12, 1960 | Tri-State show | Memphis, Tennessee | 1 | [Note 1] | Defeated Mario Galento in tournament final to become the first champion. | |||
Championship history is unrecorded from September 12, 1960 to September 1971 (NLT). | ||||||||||
2 | Jerry Lawler | September 1971 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 1 | [Note 3] | Won a battle royal, last eliminating Jimmy Golden. | |||
Championship history is unrecorded from September 1971 (NLT) to October 29, 1971 (NLT). | ||||||||||
3 | Jimmy Golden | October 29, 1971 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 1 | [Note 4] | ||||
4 | Tony Russo | November 5, 1971 | Tri-State show | Gadsden, Alabama | 1 | 20 | ||||
5 | Gary Martin | November 25, 1971 | Tri-State show | Anniston, Alabama | 1 | [Note 5] | ||||
6 | Tony Russo | December 1971 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 2 | [Note 6] | ||||
7 | The Golden Hawk | December 16, 1971 | Tri-State show | Anniston, Alabama | 1 | [Note 7] | Still billed as champion on January 6, 1972 | |||
Championship history is unrecorded from December 16, 1971 to March 16, 1972 (NLT). | ||||||||||
8 | Buddy Wayne | March 16, 1972 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 1 | [Note 8] | ||||
9 | Jimmy Golden | April 6, 1972¤ | Tri-State show | Anniston, Alabama¤ | 2 | [Note 9] | Still champion as of 72/06/08 | |||
Championship history is unrecorded from April 6, 1972¤ to October 5, 1972 (NLT). | ||||||||||
10 | Ramon Perez | October 5, 1972 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 1 | [Note 10] | ||||
Championship history is unrecorded from October 5, 1972 (NLT) to December 21, 1972 (NLT). | ||||||||||
11 | Tony Russo | December 21, 1972 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 3 | [Note 11] | ||||
Championship history is unrecorded from December 21, 1972 (NLT) to January 26, 1973 (NLT). | ||||||||||
12 | Buddy Wayne | January 26, 1973 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 2 | [Note 12] | ||||
Championship history is unrecorded from January 26, 1973 (NLT) to March 7, 1974 (NLT). | ||||||||||
13 | Jimmy Golden | March 7, 1974 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 3 | [Note 13] | ||||
14 | Jack Donovan | March 14, 1974¤ | Tri-State show | Anniston, Alabama¤ | 1 | 70 | ||||
15 | Jimmy Golden | May 23, 1974¤ | Tri-State show | Anniston, Alabama¤ | 4 | [Note 14] | ||||
Championship history is unrecorded from May 23, 1974¤ to October 3, 1974 (NLT). | ||||||||||
16 | Dennis Condrey | October 3, 1974 (NLT) | Tri-State show | [Note 2] | 1 | [Note 15] | ||||
— | Deactivated | 1974 | — | — | — | — | Championship abandoned. |
NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Final version)
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
1 | Tom Jones | 1981 | Tri-State show | N/A | 1 | |||
2 | Mr. Pogo | 1981 | Tri-State show | N/A | 2 | |||
3 | Tom Jones | 1981 | Tri-State show | N/A | 2 | [7] | ||
4 | Mike George | February 28, 1981 | Tri-State show | Tulsa, OK | 1 | 30 | [8] | |
5 | Bob Sweetan | March 30, 1981 | Tri-State show | Tulsa, OK | 1 | 63 | [9] | |
6 | Mike George | June 1, 1981 | Tri-State show | Tulsa, OK | 2 | 81 | ||
— | Vacated | August 21, 1981 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated when George leaves the territory. | |
7 | Jimmy Snuka | January 18, 1982 | Tri-State show | Tulsa, OK | 1 | 42 | Won tournament. | |
8 | Paul Jones | March 1, 1982 | Tri-State show | Tulsa, OK | 1 | [10] | ||
9 | Eddie Mansfield | March 1982 | Tri-State show | N/A | 1 | [Note 16] | [10] | |
10 | Paul Jones | March 17, 1982 | Tri-State show | Springfield, MO | 2 | [10] | ||
— | Deactivated | 1982 | — | — | — | — | NWA Tri-State closed in 1982, and the championship was subsequently abandoned. |
List of top combined reigns
¤ | The exact length of several title reigns are uncertain, so the shortest possible length is used. |
Rank | Champion | No. of reigns | Combined days |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mike George | 2 | 111 |
2 | Bob Sweetan | 1 | 63 |
3 | Terry Gibbs | 1 | 55¤ |
4 | Jimmy Snuka | 1 | 42¤ |
5 | Mr. Pogo | 2 | 29¤ |
6 | Whitey Whittler | 1 | 28 |
7 | Eddie Mansfield | 1 | 1¤ |
8 | Red Berry | 1 | N/A |
9 | Terry Orndorff | 1 | N/A |
10 | Tom Jones | 2 | N/A |
11 | Paul Jones | 2 | N/A |
Explanatory footnotes
- The length of this reign is too uncertain to calculate.
- The location of the match was not captured as part of the championship documentation.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 424 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 64 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 402 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 20 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 91 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 90 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 182 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 258 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 112 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 440 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 404 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 133 days.
- The date the championship was won and lost has not been documented which means the championship reign lasted anywhere between 1 day and 221 days.
- The exact date on which the title was won is not known, which means their title reign lasted between 1 and 15 days.
References
General references
- Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "United States: Louisiana/Oklahoma". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 235. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- "NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- "NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Alabama version)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- Miller, Bob (2004). "Regional Territories: Tri-State". KayfabeMemories.com.
Specific
- Laffere, Charles (2004). "Regional Territories: UWF #35". KayfabeMemories.com.
- Rowland, Sean (2004). "Regional Territories: Mid-South #8 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
- Ed Grabianowski. "How Pro Wrestling Works". How Stuff Works. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- Rowland, Sean (2004). "Regional Territories: Mid-South #8 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
- "NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- "Tri-State Title Tournament 1954". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- "Tom Jones". Online World of Wrestling.
- "Mike George". Online World of Wrestling.
- "Bob Sweetan". Online World of Wrestling.
- Baker, David (July 23, 2011). "Paul Jones". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. David Baker's Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Results.